Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Vader vs. Kenobi: reimagined

I've long wanted to see a redo of the rather lame fight between Obi-wan Kenobi and Darth Vader from the first Star Wars movie. My version of the fight would be much faster and more vicious, although not nearly at the athletic level of the three-way fight we get in "The Phantom Menace." The original 1977 fight between Ben Kenobi and Darth Vader was limited in several ways: first, Alec Guinness (Kenobi) was in his sixties; second, George Lucas is on record as not having been all that invested in lightsaber choreography; Lucas felt that these fight scenes amounted to little more than two men waving glowing sticks at each other. I don't think Lucas realized just how primal and iconic the saber battles would become—at least not until he'd had a chance to process fan reactions to "Star Wars: A New Hope," after which the saber choreography was amped up for the next two films, then taken to a whole new level in 1999 when choreographer Nic Gillard was brought on board to introduce a Jedi/Sith fighting style that showcased these warriors in their prime.

Anyway, some fan or group of fans has taken on the task of reimagining the original Kenobi/Vader fight, and while there are flaws in the presentation (e.g., Kenobi's stand-in is obviously not Alec Guinness), the overall fight is glorious to behold and tantalizing in its brevity. Here's the YouTube video:






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