Anyone see this ANH project? Looks good!

Y'all know I'm as much of an OT theatrical cut purist as there is, but I gotta admit, that fight looks pretty damn cool. Not that I would ever prefer it to the one George gave us, but when it's done, I'm sure it'll be fun to watch a couple of times..

The Wook
 
I came across this a bit ago myself and have been, surprisingly, watching this more often than I expected.

I know this is just a "re-imagining" of that fight in the likes of the later movies, but this little clip shows one thing that's really important, not just to the duels in Star Wars, but in action sequences: there's an equal and opposite reaction. Vader is swinging with some force and Ben has to meet it to defend himself. The people doing the stunt here impress me in this aspect because there's a snap and a pop when their blades meet, beyond just hitting their key marks. Just look at them at the 36 second mark; there's a power to these moves. It feels less like a choreographed piece and more like a two adversaries meeting.
 
I will go ahead and say it - this is better than the OOT version.

The original fight was severely limited by practical problems. One actor was an older man not known for physical roles and the other actor was in a restrictive heavy suit. Neither were known for swordsmanship, nor did they get the extensive training & stunt doubles & choreography that the duels got later in the OT (never mind today). The ANH scotchlite sword blades couldn't be hit together very hard and they were still breaking blades like crazy. The swords had to be kept in the lighted area & angles. The whole ANH shoot was very short on time. Etc.

I agree about how this looks faster/intense but still "real" and not overly choreographed. (The PT fights, great though they are, suffer from moments of that. Some of the blocks/reactions start too quickly before the attacks were clear enough.)


The SE version of the movie is a frustrating mess but that doesn't prove the 1977 (or '78) cut is perfect. This goes for a number of issues.
 
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I really like that. Not big on changing the original trilogy films but this is one of two scenes I always thought should be changed to fit better if they were going to do the special editions and put in new CGI anyways. It isn't just the speed of the fight that bugs me but the lightsabers themselves never matched the movies that followed. The yellow flicker that is on the saber clashes now and the length of the blades. Thanks for posting the link.

I will watch this with great interest.

They need to match Obi-wan's hilt though before they finish. Just an observation.
 
I saw this the other day and while its nice to see a different take (ha) on it, Obi-Wans bobblehead reaction looks like a loose mask on someone's head. Fix that and give Darth the ANH lenses and larger helmet (looks ESB/ROJ) and you'll be golden. :D
 
I will go ahead and say it - this is better than the OOT version.

I disagree. The OOT is perfect. You've got two warriors, far past their primes, who have immense respect for each other's skills with a lightsaber. Each one knows that one false move will prove fatal, and they engage one another with extreme caution. Like two champion boxers, with a long history between them, who face off in the ring--they walk in a circle, sizing each other up, even talking schit to each other, before throwing a few jabs, and then medium punches.

But they never got to the point of swinging haymakers in the duel, as it was cut short by Obi Wan's decision to sacrifice himself for Luke.

And for those of you who also saw the film in that magical summer of '77, you may agree with my childhood understanding of the lightsaber. What a strange weapon this was. I'd never seen anything like it. An energy blade coming out of a sword handle, which was described to us by Obi Wan Kenobi as the weapon of a Jedi Knight--warriors who had and used the Force. Well, I interpreted all that to mean that this was an extremely unwieldy weapon. So unwieldy, that only a Jedi Knight, or someone (like Luke) who was exceptionally strong with the Force, could wield it.

This, of course, was long before the acrobatic lightsaber fighting that the prequels featured. And even before Han sliced open a Tauntaun in ESB.

So, as cool as I think this teaser is, and as much as I'd like to see it when it's finished, the SW77 fight is and always will be perfection.

The Wook
 
What a strange weapon this was. I'd never seen anything like it.

This is such a good way to put it. Before I'd seen anything more than watching ANH on Betamax, there was nothing to make the fight look odd or anticlimactic, so it just seemed right.

Obviously that changed pretty fast, but I still like the original standoff, it was right for the context.
 
Looks like they were fighting underwater. I'd like to think that lightsabers were difficult to handle/master and thought the fight was fine as-is.
 
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