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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.
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.
the real guy behind Darth Vador
-5 Nerd points
the real guy behind Darth Vader
FTFY
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)
As a former fencer, I completely agree on the fight quality. During the lightsaber battles in the original three movies, the actors' movements were relatively slow and often didn't actually threaten their opponents. They're somewhat painful to watch: I keep thinking "stop thrust, stop thrust!" The actors in the newer trilogies look like they're mostly actually trying to fight each other. Although even in the new series, there still are plenty of moments when someone leaves themselves open to do something showy (i.e. swing their saber backwards) and their opponent doesn't press the advantage.
That said, in terms of fight choreography, what looks good isn't always what's most realistic.
Ep 4 is a bit clunky, yes. As other posters have noted, that was made before they brought in the expertise they needed - so you get a fight which is basically two untrained old(ish) men taking swings at each other.
But what you get in Eps 5 and 6 is a sense of story to the fight. In 5, when Luke fights Vader, he's clearly lost the fight before it even begins. He's distracted and off-balance. Vader's the older, smarter and more skilled fighter. Luke tries gamely enough to begin with, but every swing he takes is turned against him. Vader's not going all out; he doesn't want to kill, so he bides his time and breaks down his opponent before going for a disabling blow.
In Ep 6, the battle in the throne room begins much the same way. Luke is, once again, at a disadvantage (though he's more aware of it this time). However, once he "snaps" and charges Vader (culminating in him chopping Vader's hand off), his style changes completely. He leaves himself wide open and goes for all-out attack. To use an analogy from fighting games; he's button-mashing. And it catches Vader off guard. Vader's probably still more skilled, but he's also older and slower. He can't keep up with Luke, let alone counter-attack.
In Eps 5 and 6, the fights help to tell the story. The genius of the choreography of the fights is that it takes place at a pace which allows the average viewer to actually pick up on that.
By contrast, the eps 1-3 fights have very little sense of story to them. They're more concerned with "wow factor" and, to put a cynical hat on for a moment, with making sure that everybody gets a chance to look cool to boost the toy sales. I never got a sense that a character's emotional state is being reflected in how they fight.
Wish I could mod you up.
So many people seem to forget that Star Wars (original trilogy at least) wasn't action film, nor sci fi - it was space opera. The drama is the real point of the films. Realism in small details is pretty much irrelevant. That's what they lost in the prequels, which is why so many Star Wars fans despise them.
There is no -1 Disagree mod. Slashdot.org/faq defines mod options. USE IT.
That and the fact that the Ep IV sabers were so brittle, they weren't even allowed to make full contact with each other. The actors were told to keep it as gentle as possible 'cos the sabers kept shattering. The original light sabers actually emanated... you know... light. They wee made of real light bulbs in them illuminating a lucite-type material. You can actually see the power cord on Obi-Wan's wrist in one of the shots. Later on, they decided to colorize them after the fliming, It was only in later films that they decided to just use sticks and draw all of the effects in post production. The episode IV's fight scene's "lameness" is partially a result of the actors having to be gentle and play nice with their fragile props. Alec Guinness was actually an accomplished swordsman himself, but he was forced to "tone it down".
As to "corrupting a purer art form": competitive fencing and fencing that looks good on film (to non-fencers) are completely different animals.
One thing that's always amused me about the SW saber fights: almost all sword swings are dodged, parried, or blocked. But a punch or kick (or carbonite exhaust pipe to the face)? Connects 100% of the time! Bonus points if the hit happens on a ledge.
Xenon, where's my money? -Borno
You need to watch the fight more closely. At the beginning of the fight, yes, Vader is toying with him. He holds his saber loosely with one hand. He simply sizes Luke up as being no threat at all. "All too easy. Perhaps you're not as strong as the Emperor thought." Shortly after this, however, Luke escapes the Carbonite chamber, gives Vader a face full of exhaust gas, and kicks him off the platform. By the time we reach the gantry, Vader is going 'balls out' in his fighting. Even then, Luke connects a swing with Vader's shoulder, which is only saved by his armor.
You had your "prequel blinders" on. :) Episode 1: Recall the scene where Obi wan, Qui gon, and Darth Maul were separated by the force fields. Obi wan stood pensively and anxiously. Separated from his master, he's unsure what to do next. Darth Maul paces in his chamber like rabid animal locked in a cage. Qui gon... sits down and _closes his eyes_ in meditation. Everything you need to know about what these three characters think of this fight is right _there_.
Episode 2: Obi-wan versus Dooku - Watch the look on Christopher Lee's face as he mocks and taunts Obi wan. He clearly has the upper hand, and isn't afraid to show it. Dooku vs. Anakin - I liked this fight because it spent more time focusing on lighting and shadow than it did on the swordplay. Very indicative of the blurry line that Anakin is walking between the light and dark sides. It's the outcome of this fight (Anakin's dismemberment) that feeds his growing desire for revenge that he'll unleash in the next film. Yoda vs. Dooku? Come on! What fanboy who saw ESB when he was 6 in 1980 _didn't_ feel it was worth the 22 year wait to see him kick some ass. Best of all, as soon as the fight was finished, he reached for his walking stick. This simple act shows the nature of how a "true" jedi uses the Force.
Episode 3: You get _five_ saber battles here. Pick your favorite. My favorites were Mace Windu vs. Sidious (Come on! The head of the Jedi Order vs. a Sith Master? How much more "story" do you need to fill in the blanks here? Plus, as the event that finally pushes Anakin "over the edge", it's importance to the narrative cannot be overstated) , and Obi wan vs. Anakin. What needs to be said about it? Obi wan busts Anakin joining Sideous, murdering hundreds of Jedi (including children), and nearly murdering his pregnant wife. How much more motivation does Obi wan need at this point to turn to fisticuffs? Plus, you have the entire mythological narrative involving the Descent to Hell, eternal damnation, and attempted redemption. This fight, more than any other, shows two combatants who are pretty much evenly matched throughout the whole fight.
Xenon, where's my money? -Borno