I lived in Germany for 3 years and took 4 years of German in college (plus 2 years in high school). The pronunciation is: fah-tah. So yes, it is very similar.
One of many old words which have the same roots in both languages which sound similar despite the different spelling. Father - Vater, Mother - Mutter, Wife - Weib, Sister - Schwester.
I would love to talk to the set designers and art designers of the original trilogy. My guess that some of the things you noticed were in the original storyboard, and emerged from the imagination of the artist almost subconsciously, but it's entirely possible that as the sets were being built the symbolic import of specific details could have been highlighted. The columns relating to bones seems too perfect to be chance, that's for sure.
Vader is the Dutch word for father. ( Dutch and German a lot of similarities) The Dutch invented the banking system that turned us all into numbers when they invented check writing. There are a number of Dutch churches who have portraits of rich bankers and business men in their stained glass windows and it was Dutch settlers who invented Apartheid in South Africa. The system of apartheid was a military dictatorship. The metaphor still works.
This scene just blew my mind when I was a kid in 1980 - who knew that all these years later it would still retain all its power, as an action/dramatic sequence.
I was about six years old when I saw the film on the cinema. Darth and the AT-AT's were pretty scary. It was only the second film I'd seen on the cinema. I came out with a strong mixed bag of feeling about it. Like I'd been snuck into watch an adult movie.
Yoda's lessons and the vision give even more foreshadowing of Luke's failed confrontation with Vader at the end. Before his vision quest in the cave/tree, Yoda tells Luke that Jedi use the force for knowledge and defense, never attack. When Luke asks what's in the cave, Yoda tells him "only what you bring with you". We then see Luke put on his belt, which holds his blaster and his lightsaber. Yoda warns him against bringing them into the cave: "Your weapons, you will not need them", but Luke brings them anyway. When we see "Vader" silhouetted in opening of the cave, Luke is the first to draw and activate his lightsaber, despite Yoda's earlier teaching. He then chops off Vader's head, but sees himself in the mask. In the Cloud City, the scene is replicated. Luke travels to another dark, chthonic location, and Vader reveals himself, silhouetted like in the cave. Vader begins talking to Luke, But Luke draws and activates his lightsaber before Vader. If I recall correctly, Luke doesn't say one word to Vader in that moment. He's angry, knowing this guy has killed his master, and endangered his friends. Once again, he ignores Yoda's teachings and attacks. In the logic of the vision quest, Vader represents Luke's dark side, which according to the philosophy of Star Wars, is his fear, anger and hate. In the vision, he defeats his dark side, but sees it for what it is: a part of him. The vision is a warning. In the fight at the end, he doesn't heed the warning. He angrily attacks, so he's basically trying to fight dark with dark. So he fails, loses an arm, and is confronted with an even more powerful reminder of his darkness, that this monster he's fighting is his own father.
What I noticed the most about this scene is how Vader first uses only one arm, almost as if he realises how comparatively weak Luke is and just toys with him, like cat with a mouse. And then later he gets more serious and has at Luke using both arms.
Actually the one handed hold was director Kershner's idea and Lucas didn't agree with it. Lucas said lightsabers are supposed to be very heavy and thought Vader looked too cavalier using only one hand so Kershner had David Prowse begin using both hands as Lucas wanted.
@@skylx0812 Lucas should have called them heavysabers then. But seriously, what you're saying sounds odd since we see Luke waving it around gracefully with one hand when he picks one up for the first time in New Hope in Kenobi's hut. Also, just from a visual perspective, they don't look any heavier than a large flashlight. Even if they were made of solid lead, all the weight is in the handle, so it wouldn't be a big deal to use one with one hand.
That's common for sith, they prefer to fight with only their force powers and trickery. They only really use sabers to mock the jedi and lure them the the false sense of security when fighting them.
It fits with Vader’s original goal: to capture Luke (“All too easy…”). Once Luke escapes that trap (“Impressive.”), Vader takes him a lot more seriously.
I like that vaders clearly going very easy on luke, you can see the almost obviously deliberate sloppy swings of the saber, but the when luke actually manages to catch him he's like "right, that's enough" *hand chopped off It makes you wonder if in return of the Jedi he's still pulling his punches. Its also interesting that he kills the emperor by throwing him down the shaft similar to how luke falls from the platform into the shaft. luke rebels against the dark side by throwing himself down the shaft, then vader rejects the dark side by throwing the emperor down the shaft.
Empire is the only pure Star Wars movie ever made. A New Hope and Jedi feel like spinoffs for kids in ways. Some of the prequels are ok but really, Empire is 'it.'
After the terrible disappointment of The Last Jedi, my wife and kids and I all sat down to watch the original trilogy. It had been years for me and the first time for them. Wow! What an awesome film! Your review is so timely too, because it helps me see the reasons it was so impactful and important. Thanks!
That carbon freezing chamber ... Is there a more beautifully lit set in movie history? Everything about that area just feels epic and legendary ... With the hot orange lights below, and the dark smoke and cooler blue lights above ... it's an absolutely perfect setting for a final confrontation.
The theory about Darth Vader's name being a clue is false. Vader was written in as Luke's father between the movies. Ben's line from the first movie "He betrayed and murdered your father" was the story Lucas originally intended to tell.
Compare Luke in the recovery tank, to the later scene where we see Vader in his own isolation chamber. That's another hint of the Luke-Vader relationship, and foreshadowing of Luke's being lured to his Father's path.
Collative Learning vader is speaking with yoda. luke takes his orders from ob1. remember your failure in the cave....yoda to luke. where luke beheaded vader and sees his face. luke seperated from the dark side....he did not follow vader....also the timelines are messed up anakin had no father ...luke is actually Vader father....something that may never be revealed. later on ob1 reveals that it was a certain point of view.....interesting that han solo and Leah child follows the dark side and murders his father.....where as luke tells vader he will not fight him. the cut off arm is a reference to the mechanical hand.
I think that chamber is symbolic of Vader being trapped. Physically trapped in a broken body, and spiritually trapped in the Dark Side. I swear that Luke cave scene could have been directly inspired by the famous Nietzsche quote *"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze too long into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."* This idea could easily be put to the Vader-Luke duel at the end. Just a thought.
In Return of the Jedi Luke chops off one of Vader's robotic hands, then looks down at his own robotic hand. I think it showed that Luke and Vader were not so different. Luke then turns off his lightsaber and refuses to kill Vader. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YZ_j3s5xj8I.html
I can never get over the short few seconds of the fight leading up to Luke's hand being cut off. How Luke is doing his very best and then a short elegant move from Vader and Luke is defenceless.
It's a great sequence. It's the moment where Vader toyed with Luke too long and Luke managed to get an actual damage-causing hit on Vader. Vader in anger and frustration immediately ramps up to what he is actually capable of, disarms Luke so he's no longer capable of doing any damage or defending himself, and takes Luke hand right off as punishment to boot. Very father and son moment of the father encountering a rebellious young man who actually hits him back for the first time so the father stops pulling his own punches and lets the son know who is still fully in charge.
@@gabydize Firstly, I'm British, hence spell "defence" with a c instead of the more American "defense." Even my spell checker highlights the s spelling as incorrect. Secondly, grammar is different to spelling. :3
Also, when Luke goes down into the cave on Dagobah, notice how everything is not man made, UNTIL Luke sees Darth Vader. He puts his hand on what looks like the edge of a doorway, and starts to back away. Notice how the shapes of the doorway and walls look almost exactly like the scene near the end of the movie where Vader ambushes Luke and is swinging his lightsaber around and destroying everything in his way. This was great foreshadowing of what was to come at the end of the movie.
There is a meme floating around out there of that scene.... I can't link the image, but I can try to do it justice with just text:Vader standing there, says, "The Force is with you Young Skywalker, but you are not a Jedi yet."Second frame is of Luke, who says, "Well, maybe if there was a member of the Jedi Council here, he could make me a Jedi."Third frame is Vader pointing at Luke saying, "Listen here, you little shit!"Always found that hilarious!
The thing that scared me the most was how fast the doors closed. Imagine getting your hand shut in one of those things. I know they probably have sensors, but Luke was barely out of the door and they shut quick. What if a sensor is bad?
Of the lightsaber fights in the original trilogy, The duel in Empire is most certainly my favorite. It’s not limited to one room like the duels in IV and VI. It begins in the carbon freezing chamber (which has a motif of hell, very dark lots of red lights and smoke like what Steven Spielberg dose with the Temple of the Thuggees in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.) then in another room and into the reactor shaft. So it’s like three rounds in a boxing match.
Hearing Vader get short of breath for the first time in this duel always felt significant to me. Not necessarily that Luke is challenging him, but that we’re finally seeing some of the cool facade slip. This is personal for him.
Ruin Johnson's version of this scene: Look defeats Vader from a single strike.......then reveals he is actually a transgeder woman, and has a black girlfriend..........Vader starts to cry like a baby, and then Look defeats all the empire from a sneeze, and then is revealed his fater was Punda Bubu, the armless alien from Ep4 who got his hand cut by Obi Wan........this is why he was trying to call Look's attention, he was all like "hey!! son!! I'm your father!" and then Obi Wan was like "get off you prick!! this one is mine!!"
Vader meant to let Luke go, by the end. Originally all too happy to deliver Luke to his master, Vader changes his mind, feigns temporary defeat on the freezing platform in order to lure Luke to the new final confrontation, the Abyss. Vader wanted Luke for himself, he was now too good for the Emperor to destroy or corrupt. His once single minded drive to capture Luke was replaced by a tentative knowledge that Luke was connected to him and that he was in his heart, like Obi Wan had been for him. When Luke turns himself into the Empire in Return of the Jedi, Vader's disappointment is immense, now the Emperor can no longer be deprived of Luke. Vader wanted to confront Luke in battle, hoping to turn him, but Luke had picked the battle ground, betting everything on winning the battle in his father, Anakin's heart.
I understand and appreciate your perspective that Luke is like a fetus in the bacta tank. However, ever since I was a kid, I have had a different perspective on the visual significance of the bacta tank. My mind immediately went outside to the freezing landscape of Hoth, and the fact that the bacta tank is deep within an ice cave of Hoth. He looks so incredibly vulnerable to the cold, and yet he is warm and protected by a thin veil of his friends, protecting him from his deadly surroundings. The bacta tank has always been a very uncomfortable image to me for these reasons, and that is why I love it so much.
These movies, this one in particular, made my childhood what it was. I know it’s cliche, but I can’t describe how special it is for me. With that said, it’s very interesting to look into what makes it special years later. I wonder if all of the symbolism and metaphorical tactics were intentional, of if we’re just reading into it. If it was all intentional, it’s amazing to see all of the work that went into making these scenes so special even though most people don’t realize it.
In Dutch father is literally 'vader'. In my opinion, Lucas had this told to him after the success of Star Wars, and he subsequently retconned it into Empire. I don't believe for a second he always intended Vader to be Luke's father. Vader is clearly 'invader' just as 20 years later he would similarly create Darth Sidious (i.e. insidious).
One thing I love about this duel is that vader despite his depression and hate and all that was always afraid to die, same with his family. When he finally sees his son and tries to turn him. Luke makes a choice that I also think would go on in return of the Jedi. Luke makes the choice to die he doesn’t know that he’s gonna live he literally let’s go. I think Vader’s reaction was probably everything from the darkside. But knowing your own son who you thought was dead rather die than join you is why i love his hand falls as Luke does.
I'm a storyboard artist and I don't know if it applies to your analysis but in the scene where Luke first meets Vadar in the carbonite freezing facility, notice the pipes in the background converge in a way that makes them look like spider webs, symbolizing the trap that Vadar has lured Luke into. Background designers are always encouraged to give sets character or meaning so I believe this was intentional adding to the hellscape as you call it. I know you brought it up later in another scene but I think they are even more prominent there, making it a repeating theme.
To me when realizes Luke escapes into hyper space it looks almost sad in the angle of his mask you can’t see his face behind the mask but the mask kinda tells you his feelings
A lot of people try to disown Star Wars from George Lucas, and that happens a little here. But keep in mind that Lucas did not direct because he was focusing most on the art design of the movie -- meaning all of the set details were Lucas's contribution. And the screenplay adds depth to the movie. Early in the movie, the fleet commanders actively frustrate Vader's search for the rebels. And based on the scene w/ the Emperor, Vader conceals his knowledge about Luke Skywalker. The political theme of Empire is how personal motivations effect powerful bureaucracies. And there is every reason that too was Lucas's contribution. Lawrence Kasdan's career waded little into that subject matter. But Lucas directed THX 1138, a dystopian, political sci-fi epic.
4:48 - If we watch the Star Wars saga in order, the bacta tank scene is more foreshadowing; Vader relies on a bacta tank in Rogue One. Also, the sounds of Luke’s “awakening” at 4:56 sound like a weaker version of Vader’s breathing. ETA: The hallway suddenly lighting up for Luke at 15:02 reminds me of the sudden lighting of the sleeping chamber in Alien as well.
I've always liked that ambient sound at 15:00...and the sci-fi genre in general must have liked it as well, since "Blade Runner" would also happen to use it a few years later.
Star Wars is almost a retelling of Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung, which itself is based on Norse mythology. Han Solo being put into carbon freeze is identical to Brunnhilde being put to sleep in a ring of fire until later awakened by her love. Solo is put into carbon freeze in a setting that looks very similar to a ring of fire made by the reddish lights and smoke rising in a ring. Solo is also awakened by Leia herself in Return of the Jedi. There's too many parallels to list, Vader being the conflicted lord The All-Father Odin, Luke being a version of the naive hero Siegfried but also Siegmund, who happens to also have a female twin. Yoda is similar to Erda, the all-knowing Earth mother. He's found in a very natural and creature-filled swamp planet, he is the wise old man of the story, and also is 'put to eternal sleep' at his end much like Erda finally is put to sleep forever. He's sought out by Luke much like Odin seeks out Erda for answers to the world's problems.
Very interesting video. I hadn't considered the foetal imagery of Luke in the bacta tank, but I wonder how you feel it compares with the later scenes of Vader in his meditation chamber, which itself looks almost like the maw of some strange sort of skull. Perhaps as Luke is seen as a metaphorical baby, then Vader is symbolically being shown to sit within the gaping maw of death.
What if jedi is short for jesus disciples ? It makes it a very differend and interesting watch. I see a lot of religious themes in both star wars and star trek.
Luke cutting off the Wampa's arm is interesting because it wasn't in the Script. It has recently been revealed that Mark Hamill was not even aware he cut the Wampa's arm until he saw it on film, that's why you see an horizontal swing (that in the script was only meant to scare the monster away according to Mark Hamill) yet you see a vertical cut that slices the Wampa's arm off. Like you said, this is intentional and used for shock value on the actors themselves, the same principle was used for the "I am your father" dialogue, that was only revealed to the actors in the very last moment.
Rob makes me miss older film makers and though I love his analysis, it saddens me that Star Wars is and has been in incompetent hands for so many years. I don't think we'll see anything good like this again. Rogue One had some promising elements, but ultimately it was still loaded with fan service and really serves only as a good thriller.
A very interesting analysis. I think that during Luke's vision in the cave, he's essentially fighting a mirror image of himself, or rather a Luke Skywalker fully corrupted by the Dark Side. Even when he does finally confront the "agent of evil" that is Vader, the young Jedi still lashes out in fury, which only seems to empower the Dark Lord. Contrast this with the way in which Luke duels Vader in Return of the Jedi. He's grown in power, but also in wisdom and understanding of who the man behind the black mask truly is. Luke initially tries to talk Vader into letting go of his anger and hate and joining him, and is more disappointed than upset when his father tells him it's too late. Even when their second duel erupts on the Second Death Star, he manages to overpower Vader twice, but each time pulls back and emphasizes that he doesn't want to fight. This, in turn, is what helps Luke to win, as he doesn't make himself the Emperor's servant as his father did and pulls Vader/Anakin back to the light and redemption.
The only direct historical analogy is to Constantine, who was held captive by Emperor Diocletian in the East, but went on to kill his own wife and son for conspiring against him. Is this narrative something that drives the original SW trilogy?
Some of the tortures endured by the droids also seem like references to history. upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Christian_heroes_and_martyrs_%281895%29_%2814778548661%29.jpg/800px-Christian_heroes_and_martyrs_%281895%29_%2814778548661%29.jpg
Well. This is one of my favourite films ever and you've pointed things out there I've never really thought about. Especially the bacta tank sequence. Subscribed.
We also see Luke upside down in all the environments he visits in the film. Hanging in the cave and from Cloud City, and doing a handstand while training with Yoda.
The epic story of Star Wars happened roughly 100 to 500 million years ago. When the deathstar destroyed Alderaan, it was debris from that planet that crossed intergalatic space for millions of years and eventually crashed into earth and killed our dinosaurs.
@@alexanderanderson4765 Black Hawk Down doesn't have the same thrilling action scenes backed by science fiction and emotional drama that The Empire Strikes Back has in it ✅
While you say that you don't consider yourself a hardcore SW fan I reckon you understand certain parts of the SW franchise much, much better and in a much deeper way than most SW fanboys. Episodes from I to VI are much, much, much deeper than most give them credit. On the surface they're classic tales of mythology but underneath that they're films about life, about humanity, Authoritarianism and Imperialism, Man VS Machine, etc. I could go on all day. At the core these films and stories are about people and their relationships. Thr six Lucas films (even though V and VI wren't directed by him they were still mostly his vision and story) and a lot of the books, comics, games, short stories and expansive material was about all these themes I described before, something that is extremely lacking in the franchise nowadays. While some of the new comics and books go back to these themes, these themes flew absolutely over the heads of the executives, writers and directors of the sequel trilogy and other Disney material. Disney SW feels like Disney Marvel films, generic and to a certain extent soulless.
Burn Burt explained that often times music was not used during the lightsaber battles because the sabers hum already had a musical quality to it, thus getting lost in the mix, so it was decided to refrain from a musical score during such sequences where lightsabers were being depicted. Similar change was made when it was decided to make Luke’s lightsaber green instead of blue in ROTJ. Green showed up better against the blue sky of Tattooine during the rescue at the pit of Carcoon.
Luke's abandoning his pistol, a weapon he would not carry again in the films, could be interpreted as him abandoning convention and more fully embracing the 'larger world' that Obi-Wan spoke of in the first film.
THE TRUE SKYWALKER SAGA THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY Episode IV: A NEW HOPE (5/25/77) Episode V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (5/21/80) Episode VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI THE PREQUEL TRILOGY Episode I: THE PHANTOM MENACE (5/19/99) Episode II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES (5/16/02) Episode III: REVENGE OF THE SITH (5/19/05)
For me, as someone from the Netherlands, the fatherly connection has always been obvious, as our word for father is indeed written “vader”. (Only pronounced, not like “Vader”, but more like “father”.)
Something i never noticed until just now watching this vid was the constant use of the colours Red and Blue. In the carbon freezing room with the battle they fight surrounded by both coloures, like the battle between Sith and Jedi was all around them. In the shot where Han fell in carbonite it was shaded red, imposing Vader's dominance in the scene (as well as the torture scene where Han was lowered into a red light). But the water 'birthing' scene was in blue, possibly signifying that Luke was still on the side of the Jedi, or even that with he was being born as a real Jedi. When C3P0 was lured into a room and shot it was again in blue. This time possibly to bring the audience into a false sense of security. Even when Luke called for Leia the Falcon was flying through a red sun set, again signifying that the Sith had prevailed in this battle. I would never have noticed anything like this before if not for watching your vids so thank you. :)
also re: your criticism of cgi being abnormally well lit- what is considered the most epic lightsaber battle of all the movies is powered by silhouettes and darkness
It's not VADER who is the "spider." It's not the EMPEROR who is the "spider." It's EVIL. It's Luke's conflict, man-it's that fateful, patient allure of Luke's DARK SIDE. More than any actual singular threat, these movies-well . . . THIS movie, is about nothing less than the battle for Luke's SOUL. It's Luke's struggle with himself.
It's never occurred to me, but if one has the force that can literally block lasers (this seems simply impossible) and telekinesis and mind reading abilities, then why would this incredible power not apply to 'sword-fighting' with light sabers? One could seemingly use the force to block a light saber, while also predicting the swing and use an effective counter attack. I think the 'Force' was probably a "too-powerful" weapon not carefully thought out in the balance of things. In this fight, Vadar is a very powerful Jedi and could simply turn off Luke's light saber or pull it from his hands or force him to drop it. Or just use a "shield" to block attacks, much like against Solo's laser blaster pistol... Likewise, when Luke leaps away, and falls, we know Vadar could just use the Force to suspend him and levitate him back to the platform. On deep critical analysis the film really starts to fall apart.
oh SHIT. You know, I actually never cogently noted how R2D2 was locked the fuck out! Man, I grew up with this stuff as a kid, y'know? It's like the famous _Jurassic Park_ continuity mayhem with the t-Rex paddock's sudden change into a cliff. You don't really notice the very obvious, because you're wrapped up in the DRAMA. That's good fucking movie-making, dudes.
Luke falling down the shaft is also akin to dropping into the belly of the beast / a fetus in a womb.. (as you mentioned) almost to suggest being reborn after failing through the hole at the bottom of the garbage shoot. At the start of Return of the Jedi he is already a Jedi Knight Thoughts?
This is why the lightsaber fights in the original trilogy are the best. Some Star Wars fans go on and on about how the choreography of the fights is much better in the later movies. But they’re missing the point. Those fights aren’t ABOUT anything. Sure, Darth Maul’s choreography is impressive, and he looks menacing. But he’s an empty vessel, and he has no history with our heroes. He’s just a guy who shows up to fight them. The fight is just a fight, there’s no theme or any development of the characters or their relationship to each other.
Empire Strikes Back was the first movie I saw at the theater, I was two. That scene of Luke walking in on Vader standing at the top of the stairs in the carbonite pits, scared the shit out me.
I love your videos and your analysis always seems to be right. But as a dutch person I can say Vader of Darth Vader is a dutch word for father. The german word for father is Vater instead of Vader. This is a mistake I hear all the time. Since you are right on everything else because of your sharp mind I thought maybe you would like to know this small detail. Thanks for your insights, I enjoy the background information, you never hear anybody talk about these lind of things. It makes the movies all the more special if you know the underlying thoughts behind it.
A very interesting and insightful video. But one thing I would like to note: (and this is from a "storyline" perspective) When Vader dueled with Obi-Wan in ANH, he used more caution because he didn't know how powerful Obi-Wan was(or wasn't) at the time. The last thing Vader wanted, or could afford, was to be bested by his old Master again, this time in front of witnesses(his own troops). With Luke, he 'took it easy' on the boy to ascertain his level of training. It was once he KNEW he was dealing with an inexperienced duelist that he became more aggressive. When Luke scored the "lucky shot" on Vader's shoulder armour, it "pissed daddy off". The sound Vader made wasn't one of pain, but of surprise and anger. That's when he decided to "quit playing" and "disarm" the kid(Yes, pun intended).
@@ALocalClown A little advice: If you just want facts, a discussion on art probably isn't for you. Just read all the books on the official account of things. Art is a very deep and fascinating subject, but there are few facts to be found in it as such. Even an artist of a work often fails to perceive all of his/her sub-conscious intentions in what they create, which are sometimes spotted in psychological analyses of literature or film.
John Linde Vader went easy on Luke bc the point was to lure, trap and turn him via the telepathic opening/closing of all the blast doors. Han and Chewie's torture, foreseen by Luke on Dagobah, was the bait. The duel was a meaningless charade until V got burnt, pissed off and violent, as Sith are prone to do.
The Roo: I'd seen you relate the term ' inevitability and fate' with Anton and it reminded me of Laurie's teacher in Halloween speaking of it, when she saw Mike standing outside her school watching her...
i always learn something new about these movies, i didn't realize the foreshadowing/symbolism in Luke being in the tank till now, and my mind is fuckig blown.
