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Bob Anderson, the Man Behind Vader's Lightsaber, Dies at 89
An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from Australia's ABC News: "Bob Anderson, an Olympic swordsman who staged fights for films including the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings trilogy, has died at the age of 89. ... Anderson donned Darth Vader's black helmet and fought light-saber battles in two of the three original Star Wars films, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, but his role was not initially publicized." The accompanying video clips are great; I never thought about anyone being in the Vader suit besides David Prowse.
What would Star Wars have been like if James Earl Jones also did the stunts? RIP, they don't make guys that can do all the special effects without green screens like you anymore.
Monstar L
... the real guy behind Darth Vador is still alive and kicking. Oh, and he likes the comparison, too.
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Anderson donned Darth Vader's black helmet and fought light-sabre battles in two of the three original Star Wars films, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi
The epic duel between Vader and Obi-Wan was apparently so bad they had to hire an Olympic swordsman just to make things 'OK'.
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I loved the lightsaber fights in the original trilogy (particularly RotJ). They were perfectly paced; fast enough to be exciting, but slow enough that you could read a pace and flow to them. They were supported by those wonderful sound effects and music that matched the action perfectly.
By contrast, the lightsaber battles in the prequels left me absolutely cold. It felt like Lucas had watched the Matrix and decided that he wanted that bullet-time wire-fu in his film whether it actually worked or not. The Darth Maul fight in Ep 1 gets a better press than it deserves on the basis of Duel of the Fates (which is a great piece of film music), but other than that, I couldn't see any of the Ep 1-3 battles as anything but soul-less exercises in camera trickery. They're too fast and there's no drama to them. There's just a lot of flailing about and then somebody wins.
Bottom line, talented performers and traditional effects outperformed modern CGI and wire-fu.
He was the swordmaster behind LOTR and the Princess Bride. His skill was not just being able to do it, but to teach others to do it so it looked right on screen. RIP, Bob Anderson.
No matter what your other achievements, if you appeared in Star Wars that is what gets talked about when you die.
I wonder if reports of Alec Guinness' death talked about "the actor who immortalised Obi-Wan Kenobi".
The light saber fights in the first 3 (eps 4,5,6) were clunky and slow and looked planned. It looks like they rehearsed once and then filmed.
Whereas the last 3 (eps 1,2,3) were wonderfully choreographed - they looked real - the choreographed "mistakes" looked great. The last 3 actually looked like the actors spent many many hours practicing (they did) and it showed.
The first part of the Trilogy did the saber fighting much better than the second part of the Trilogy (eps: 4,5,6)
There is another man behind the suit. He did all the public appearances and its his prints that are at Mann's Chinese Theater. Starwars.com did a piece on him back in 2006 but its no longer there.
Here's a repost of the article: http://com2.runboard.com/bstarwarscollectorreplicapropboard.f7.t109
I work with him and he's a pretty cool guy. With a little Macallan he'll even reenact some of the scenes.
It would be interesting to know what he considered to be his greatest professional achievement -- something he did in films, or representing Britain in the 1952 Olympics (where he finished around the median in the Men's Individual Sabre competition, and was on Britain's Men's Sabre Team, which finished tied for fifth place). Or maybe something else.
Did he view his cinema work positively (e.g., in that he was "bringing fencing to the masses, who otherwise would never see it," or some such), or did he view the work as corrupting a purer art form, that he had to do to support his family? It would be interesting to have heard his thoughts on the matter.
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The makes of the original episodes were doing what they could with what they had. I still enjoy the Luke/Vader fight in Ep 5, even though it's fairly slow paced and some of the moves are silly. ESB and RoTJ both have short clips during fights wherein someone is beaten (on the ground), yet the victor continues to pound away his lightsaber at the opponents lightsaber as if he hasn't won yet. This actually looks quite retarded to anyone who knows fighting, and should look so to anyone with critical thinking skills.
OTOH, the choreography in Ep 1,2,3 is much improved. With the huge exception of the Palpatine/Sam Jackson fight in Ep 3 (which was a f-ing disaster), they look much more like real fights.
BTW, have you ever seen a fencing match? They've VERY fast. Swordfighting isn't for grandma.
I swear they give me mod points to shut me up.
Bob was a gentleman in every way. A hard working individual that gave much to the Canadian Olympic teams and individuals. A modest man that taught more than sword play and contributed much to the growth/maturity of many young people. Forever his film legacy will entertain and be enjoyed by many, but also many will remember his other gifts.
My condolences to his wife and family. May he rest in peace.
When Luke is pounding on Vadar in Ep 6. he isnt thinking, hes filled with emotion and rage. This should be obvious to anyone with emotions.
Good-bye
First, RIP Bob Anderson.
Some of the critiques are justified for each side, old and slow v. new and fast.
I always saw Vader v. Obiwan as 2 masters greatly respecting/fearing the ability of the other (15+ years in the making), like two master samurai carefully testing one another near the end of their time. Jedi fighting driods and much lesser skilled foes should be faster paced, or an emotionally driven battle (not very Jedi). A "slower" fight between 2 equal combatants should not be too fast or have Michael Bay style cuts; there's more drama (appropriate for a climatic battle in a space opera) with a fight where the action is easy to follow and EACH strike can make you a bit nervous. However, there should also be modulation within the pacing of the fight; all one pace can make for a very flat, mediocre fight.
He was a neighbor of mine in Largo Florida where he wintered.
Yes he owned the actual mask used on the Bespin catwalk.
He said he had to do the scene because an actor would not be precise enough to not get hurt or hurt the other actor.
I think his best work was on Lord of the Rings altho teaching Errol Flynn is up there too.
Used to say 'the dark side of the force was in Largo Florida'.
Just out of curiosity, what didn't you like about it? I can see how, from a technical sword fighting perspective, it wasn't that realistic - it was more of an "artistic" fight. But this did not cheapen the emotions of what was at stake during the duel.
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Mr. Anderson's family was reportedly mortified when he reappeared at his own funeral as the blue sparkly ghost of Hayden Christensen.
The power cord was not for illumination - It powered a small motor that spun the blade, which was not round but triangular in shape. The wooden 'blade' was covered with 3M reflective material similar to what is used on road signs. The blades reflected available light from the studio key lights.
And yes, they broke like crazy. Beginning with Empire they used aluminum rods that could take more contact.
RIP, and thanks for all the fun. He spent well his time.
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It's a little eerie: I just watched the documentary "Reclaiming the Blade" with my friends last night. Bob Anderson was very interesting in it.
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He's not pounding on Vader. He's pounding on Vader's lightsaber for no reason, which is the equivalent of kicking a wall next to the the guy you're really angry at instead of punching him. The emotion is lost in the stupidity of the action.
I swear they give me mod points to shut me up.