Vader stunt helmet?

Laspector said:
Has there ever been given any specs on this "stunt helmet" that Bob Anderson wore as Vader in ESB so he could see better for the lightsaber duels?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vGjNnZhJFI
Go to about 9min.
I would be anxious to know if somehow there was a clear or screened face plate used to better his vision.
Click to expand...

They cut the cheeks out and replaced them with a transparent material. Check out some pis here (about halfway down the page):

http://www.starwarshelmets.com/Original-Darth-Vader-Helmets.htm
 
Coop said:
They cut the cheeks out and replaced them with a transparent material. Check out some pis here (about halfway down the page):

http://www.starwarshelmets.com/Original-Darth-Vader-Helmets.htm
Click to expand...


A good chunk of the neck was cut off, and replaced with acrylic - with a chin vent cut into the acrylic.

2224_0039e.jpg
 
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There's a mention of these helmets in the book, Star Wars: Cosumes by Brandon Alinger, its got some good pictures too. There were 2-3 made. The entire neck as well as cheek inserts were tinted acrylic made by Talbot Designs.
 
Filmfan1138 said:
It was so Bob Anderson could have more visibility while performing the saber fights in ESB and ROTJ. Probably wouldn't be bad on a trooping helmet.

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Click to expand...

That's what I like about it, this helmet was custom made so Andersen could be on his mark for sword fighting

I know this helmet was used in the bespin fight scenes. And the helmet he is wearing when chasing Luke out into the cliff walk is this helmet. I remember watching a video of them explaining the helmet in this scene and they weren't worried about the light reflection off the glass because the helmets back was towards the camera

I'm curious if the helmet was used in RoTJ


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I don't know about this particular helmet but if the stories out of school is to be believed, it's used a fair deal in RotJ; especially towards the latter sequences of the film during the Vader/Luke/Emperor confrontation and aftermath. The reason for this, as I just found out from that David Prowse doc on Netflix, was that despite Prowse being on set for throughout the film, Richard Marquand preferred to use Bob Anderson in the stunt suit over Prowse. It's never clearly defined as to why, but it does shed light on to the reason why the stunt helmet is seen for close-ups during the final duel.
 
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PoopaPapaPalps said:
I don't know about this particular helmet but if the stories out of school is to be believed, it's used a fair deal in RotJ; especially towards the latter sequences of the film during the Vader/Luke/Emperor confrontation and aftermath. The reason for this, as I just found out from that David Prowse doc on Netflix, was that despite Prowse being on set for throughout the film, Richard Marquand preferred to use Bob Anderson in the stunt suit over Prowse. It's never clearly defined as to why, but it does shed light on to the reason why the stunt helmet is seen for close-ups during the final duel.
Click to expand...

Prowse was literally cut out from production after an interview with him was published during ROTJ production where he states that Vader dies at the end of the movie. Kazanjian (ROTJ exec producer) was so upset about that interview that he decided to cut down Prowses involvement to a minimum in order to avoid more story leaks, thats why Bob Anderson got more Vader scenes during the end of the movie. You can read more about that in Prowses book "Straight from the forces mouth".

The Vader ROTJ "fat-lipped" stunt faceplate is still in the LFL archives - I wonder if it was originally made for use in ESB.
 
A similar story is told in the doc I mentioned, but Prowse goes on to also say he was on set for the film's final duel and scenes (his segments, anyway) just sitting off stage while Anderson did stuff he could do. Throwing dummy-Emperor was originally done by Anderson but they just couldn't get the shot, Prowse interjects and does it in one, and the shot is the one in the film.
 
PoopaPapaPalps said:
I don't know about this particular helmet but if the stories out of school is to be believed, it's used a fair deal in RotJ; especially towards the latter sequences of the film during the Vader/Luke/Emperor confrontation and aftermath. The reason for this, as I just found out from that David Prowse doc on Netflix, was that despite Prowse being on set for throughout the film, Richard Marquand preferred to use Bob Anderson in the stunt suit over Prowse. It's never clearly defined as to why, but it does shed light on to the reason why the stunt helmet is seen for close-ups during the final duel.
Click to expand...

politics... :devil
 
It'll be there through Oct. 1st. $6 for parking, $24 for the exhibit and $5 if you want the little audio guide thing too. Primarily prequel costumes with a few from the Original trilogy and some from TFA.
 
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