In the clip that Robert Mclain posted, you see the bottom of it reflect a little, and it looks to be flat. I'm thinking it may be one of the stunt sabers.
Kenobi's Lightsaber Made A Cameo As A Tool In "ESB"!!
- Thread starter Captain Dunsel
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Could be ...I'm looking for the end cap separation line on the butt end of the hero and am undecided as whether I see one or not .
Just when you thought that your spaceship toolbox was complete, you find out that you not only need a new torch but another Obi-Wan saber, too ...
The only thing that has me thinking this could be the hero is the faint glimpses of a d-ring I see when the saber is waved about (I don't believe the stunts had D rings attached at this point did they? Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought they were added in ROTJ to the stunts) and the fact that the overall line of the prop from butt to emitter appears to be slightly crooked like the hero vs. the straight line of the stunts:
You can see the slightly crooked line of the original saber here--it appears to have a slight bend from butt to emitter like the saber seen in the shot above from Empire, to my eye:
You can see the slightly crooked line of the original saber here--it appears to have a slight bend from butt to emitter like the saber seen in the shot above from Empire, to my eye:
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It makes me wonder if this saber is in a box at the Archives mixed in with a pile of other miscellaneous props…. awaiting rediscovery….
cayman shen
Master Member
Awesome find! Wouldn't it be great if the saber showed up after all this time and we got to see it on display? A guy can dream...
I've watched the scene at home and I think it's just a stunt saber missing the blade.
In ANH the hero props were made by prop house Bapty and rented to LFL for the movie. After filming most of the props were returned to Bapty, which is why the Greedo Killer DL44 was constructed for pick-up Cantina shooting in California as well as the publicity photos of Harrison Ford (with the shorter haircut and the GK blaster). Also I believe Luke's original Graflex ANH saber was returned which is why it was not available for the Holiday Special and the set of publicity photos of Mark Hamill shot in California. It seems the only hero weapon that was purchased by LFL was the Vader lightsaber as it was kept with the costume and appears in the ILM publicity photos shot in California, the ones in the Chronicles book. A lot of costumes were made by LFL/ILM or purchased but not many props from Bapty.
To me the deal breaker is the flat end cap on the pommel. The flat bottom looks nothing like a real AS Handwheel and it looks exactly like a stunt saber pommel. The windvane and emitter area looks too much like a stunt saber to me also.
Also while Mark and David were practicing for the lightsaber fight pre-production only one bladed stunt saber is seen, and that one is also seen again in behind the scenes shots with Mark and Bob Anderson. And the Norway scenes were filmed first in production so having an second bladed stunt saber would not be as important or needed until the production moved to the soundstages England.
I think it was just a ANH stunt lightsaber like this one, being rigged to Kenobi's robe for the 'getting cut in half' scene. And all the ANH stunt sabers had D-rings in them.
In ANH the hero props were made by prop house Bapty and rented to LFL for the movie. After filming most of the props were returned to Bapty, which is why the Greedo Killer DL44 was constructed for pick-up Cantina shooting in California as well as the publicity photos of Harrison Ford (with the shorter haircut and the GK blaster). Also I believe Luke's original Graflex ANH saber was returned which is why it was not available for the Holiday Special and the set of publicity photos of Mark Hamill shot in California. It seems the only hero weapon that was purchased by LFL was the Vader lightsaber as it was kept with the costume and appears in the ILM publicity photos shot in California, the ones in the Chronicles book. A lot of costumes were made by LFL/ILM or purchased but not many props from Bapty.
To me the deal breaker is the flat end cap on the pommel. The flat bottom looks nothing like a real AS Handwheel and it looks exactly like a stunt saber pommel. The windvane and emitter area looks too much like a stunt saber to me also.
Also while Mark and David were practicing for the lightsaber fight pre-production only one bladed stunt saber is seen, and that one is also seen again in behind the scenes shots with Mark and Bob Anderson. And the Norway scenes were filmed first in production so having an second bladed stunt saber would not be as important or needed until the production moved to the soundstages England.
I think it was just a ANH stunt lightsaber like this one, being rigged to Kenobi's robe for the 'getting cut in half' scene. And all the ANH stunt sabers had D-rings in them.
Excellent points.
There were shots filmed where a robe and lightsaber were held up with wires and rigged to split in half when Vaders saber cut across the middle. In the footage, the lower half of the robe falls, and then the upper part a second later. Lucas wasn't happy with the way the effect looked and ultimately what you see in the movie is a traditional animation effect superimposed on top of the film.
The motorized stunt saber Alec used in ANH had a bubble strip and a D-ring, I don't think this one had a rotating blade but it did have the transistors.
Those pics were taken from the VH1 show from a few years ago 'When Star Wars Ruled the World'.
Skip to the 3:00 mark, although the entire show is a treasure trove of footage.
Skip to the 3:00 mark, although the entire show is a treasure trove of footage.
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Wow thanks James Kenobi 1138 ... and after you watch Star Wars Empire of Dreams part 3 go see part 4 too ... and see how just the emitter still spins on OB1's lightsaber without the blade attached starting in the scene from 2:40
Chaim
I'm pretty sure that's the hero switched for the stunt when you see it without the blade.
I think what we're seeing is just studio light reflecting on the outermost edge of the top lip as the saber is moved.
Although I have wondered for years if what we see as the 'cone ' is actually a ball-bearing assembly. Since the hero Obi saber is hollow I've wondered if they tried to motorize it first before making the stunt sabers.
see how just the emitter still spins on OB1's lightsaber without the blade attached starting in the scene from 2:40
Chaim
Didn't quite pick up on that¿
Loving this footage!
Thanks for linking us to those James,
I never knew VHI aired this
Somewhere on the RPF a member who is a completist sighed in relief because they don't have to track down parts for another 100% accurate parts Obi Wan lightsaber. :lol
Sym-Cha
Master Member
Ha Sluis Van Shipyards that was me ... and James as I watched it again in large format the emitter is still really spinning without the blade ... studio lights reflecting onto the emitter would not give that kind of weird on and off effect towards the camera ... so that said could this imply they just took the blade of the stunt version? Or did, as you suggested James, the hero saber indeed have a motor inside?
Chaim
... so that said could this imply they just took the blade of the stunt version? Or did, as you suggested James, the hero saber indeed have a motor inside? Chaim
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