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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Saga What's your favorite small detail from the Saga?

Discussion in 'Star Wars Saga In-Depth' started by Darth Nerdling, Apr 23, 2013.

  1. Han Burgundy

    Han Burgundy Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jan 28, 2013
    I love the difference between the way Count Dooku and Palpatine use force lightning. When Dooku does it, his entire arm goes rigid, and you can tell he's putting a considerable amount of focus to channel that energy.

    Palpatine, on the other hand, just looks so casual about it. His arms are half raised, his fingers relaxed, you get the feeling that shooting lighting out of his hands is as easy as breathing for him (unlimited power, indeed). It definitely adds to the senseless brutality with which he attempts to kill Luke.



    Could you imagine if they hadn't shown the double lightsaber in any of the marketing? I'm pretty sure people would have started crying when they saw it. Nerds would be running wild in the streets.
     
  2. anakincol

    anakincol Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 28, 2009
    1. Yodas hut is the same design as Obi-wans just scaled down to Yoda size.

    2.. Lukes second Lightsaber being modeled on Obi-wans instead of his fathers.

    3. 3PO admonishing Artoo Not to trust a strange computer in ESB. It's a computer that runs an entire city why would it be programmed to lie? I get a kick out of that line every time.
     
  3. A Chorus of Disapproval

    A Chorus of Disapproval Head Admin & TV Screaming Service star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Aug 19, 2003
    Brilliant detail.
     
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  4. SlashMan

    SlashMan Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Feb 5, 2012
    The Treadwell droid at the Lars homestead is in Attack of the Clones. Even though he only appears in the background during A New Hope, it was a nice detail.
     
  5. Jeff Zach

    Jeff Zach Jedi Padawan star 3

    Registered:
    Jun 7, 2013
    Not aware of any close-ups to verify such details but Samuel L. Jackson had the letters BMF engraved into his lightsaber. I would not expect that in a Star Wars movie, but I would not expect anything less from Sam Jackson ;)

    One of the drink dispensers behind the bar in the Cantina was later recycled and used as the head of bounty hunter IG-88 in ESB.
     
  6. natureboy76

    natureboy76 Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Dec 11, 2009
    My favorite small details are the little creatures going about their business often shown on establishing shots (like the frog thing in front of jabbas palace)
     
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  7. Yanksfan

    Yanksfan Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 3, 2000
    Like the OP, I also love when Han pets Chewie on the head in ANH. Along the same lines, I love how Luke scratches Chewie's chest in ESB. Sooo cute!

    But randomly, a part I love? In ESB, when Darth Vader turns around abruptly and is like "General Veers!" Meanwhile, he's standing *right there*, like two inches from his face. Ha ha, that always makes me laugh.
     
  8. Samnz

    Samnz Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Sep 4, 2012
    My favourite small detail from the Saga is probably a sequence of connected small details.
    It's everything that involves Anakin's arm/hand in AOTC, because it's almost like a compact version of Anakin's story/arc in AOTC, mirroring what's happening with Anakin as a whole.
    [​IMG][​IMG]
    Early in the movie, you get to see Anakin using his hand for a lot of trivial, playful purposes. He uses them to "play with the Force" in Padmé's appartment and kind of "abuses" his powers when he tries to "impress" Padmé with the apple.
    What he does with his hands here is, basically, very jaunty and innocent. One could even include his navigation during the Speeder Chase scene on Coruscant, although that's on a wider scale somehow.

    Later in the movie, though, the mood drastically changes and the turning point is his mother's death.
    In that scene, we see Anakin who closes his mother's eyes after her death. It's a truly human act that honors and mourns the life that's gone. In the next scene however, of course, Anakin's destroys life with the same hand. That's a strong contrast.
    It also seems like Anakin later realizes that he's lost something, and it's not "just" his mother. It's very visible when he stares at his own hand in horror in the Garage.
    [​IMG][​IMG]

    Additionally. there is the following scene at Shmi's funeral where Anakin picks up a bit of sand with the same hand. It's like a final "good-bye" to Tatooine, his past, his mother, slavery and a a good part of his own innocence. Of course, this themes also came up previously when Shmi touched Anakin in the same way she did in TPM ten years ago when he left her.
    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]

    It just very obvious that Anakin lost something.
    Luckily, by the end of the film, we're also told what it is exactly. It is first hinted when his right arm gets "mechanized" in the Droid Factory and emphasized when his arm is being cut off by Count Dooku.
    [​IMG][​IMG]

    Then, in the film's scene, we see that his human arm/hand has been replaced by a mechanical "robot arm" and it becomes obvious that Anakin not only lost his mother and his arm, but also a bit of his humanity in the context of the film and his experiences. That last shot has also a nice symbolic meaning: it's Padmé, who keeps him human and prevents him from falling entirely at this point.
    [​IMG]

    Naturally, when Padmé's life gets in danger in ROTS, Anakin finally falls to the dark side.

    Now, that was a bit longer than expected. I still think it's a "small detail" because most people probably won't notice and/or care.
    I still love it and it's a prime example why both AOTC and Lucas's directorial abilities are severly underrated, imo.





     
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  9. Cael-Fenton

    Cael-Fenton Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jun 22, 2006
    Obi-Wan's raised eyebrows when Anakin admits he's been arrogant always make me LOL. You can just tell he's thinking he would never have thought he'd live to see the day.

    The series of minute twitches that go across Obi-Wan's jawline and around his eyes when Padmé says "You're going to kill him, aren't you." Says so much with such great restraint (His facial expressions throughout the whole conversation, really, but that moment in particular).
    I read somewhere that McGregor was unhappy with the particular take that went into the final product....well obviously I don't know how good the other takes were, but I thought the scene was one of the strongest in the entire Saga in terms of acting. And the music from The Duel playing with soft, slow foreboding in the background just makes it perfect.
     
  10. Ananta Chetan

    Ananta Chetan Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 11, 2013
    Some of the ones that often stand out for me are the campy expressions of the characters from scenes that seemed to have been strangely edited, perhaps intentionally. For example, aboard the Invisible Hand in ROTS when Obi-Wan and Anakin slice-up an elevator full of battle droids, in the final second of the shot we see Ewan with this sort of gallant melodramatic boyish smile and stance that seems completely out of character for Kenobi.

    Interesting that you mention that...by sheer chance one day during a YouTube SW search I cam across a clip of that scene that was entitled something like: Ewan almost breaks character or laughs in this scene. So intrigued, I watched it. I had to view it a couple of times, but when he says the line: "He's become a very great threat." to Padme, something in his eyes and the way he holds the expression suggests he was going to crack and break character and maybe laugh. It is very faint, maybe half a second, but when I read your post, I could understand why he was unhappy that take was used.
     
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  11. Cael-Fenton

    Cael-Fenton Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Jun 22, 2006
    I know exactly what you mean. You can definitely see the slight tension around his mouth and eyes, the way he locks his jaw, the tiny eye-twitch/blink just before he replies, and the almost-imperceptible tremor in his voice, as Ewan holding back a snigger. But I think George chose that take because those little facial movements could also be interpreted as Obi-Wan trying to convince *himself*, more than Padmé, of the impact of his own words. And it's subtle, perhaps more so than other takes which Ewan was happier with --- we know George likes holding actors back from emoting. So I think one can be aware that perhaps the actor himself was not completely in character, but still appreciate that moment from 'outside' Ewan's head, as instantiating the director's understanding of Obi-Wan's character: duty comes first.
     
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  12. The_Phantom_Calamari

    The_Phantom_Calamari Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 10, 2011

    I love this. It's even better than a lot of other "out there" interpretations of subtle details, because in this case you've actually convinced me these connections were intentional.
     
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  13. Darth Nerdling

    Darth Nerdling Force Ghost star 4

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    Mar 20, 2013

    He also uses that arm (the "evil" arm) to Force choke Padme at the end of ROTS.
     
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  14. jafo

    jafo Jedi Grand Master star 2

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    Oct 20, 2001
    When Vader has died in ROTJ youh ave this quiet moment, broken by the build up of an X-Wing's engine. Cut to the pan from right to left of the X-Wing's entering the Death Star's reactor.
    Love that scene, perfect editing, sound design and music
     
  15. The_Book_of_Sith

    The_Book_of_Sith Jedi Master

    Registered:
    Sep 5, 2012

    ...and going back to the first shot of Anakin playfully using the force to float the ball in Padme's apartment, I noticed that one of the big Jedi statues in the Jedi Temple holds exactly the same pose, floating a ball in the exact same manner (in the background as Obi Wan is about to intrude on Yoda's Younglings class).
     
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  16. Ananta Chetan

    Ananta Chetan Force Ghost star 5

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    Aug 11, 2013
    Maybe I'm alone here...but in ANH when Leia and Han go to greet Luke just as he is climbing down from his X-Wing after blowing up the Death Star, the three of them are almost hysterically giddy together, especially when Carrie says, "I knew there was more to you than money."...cracks me up every time. :p
     
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  17. AndyLGR

    AndyLGR Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    May 1, 2014
    When Vader launches his lightsaber onslaught at Luke in ESB in that corridor as he forces him out on the gantry the sound of his blade is almost operatic as he's slicing back and forth. The sound effects are fantastic on that one.
     
  18. Anakin's Daddy

    Anakin's Daddy Force Ghost star 4

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    Aug 13, 2002
    Those few seconds right after "a long time ago in a galaxy far far away..." Wait for it. Wait for it... BAM! I'm watching Star Wars!!!
     
  19. Vthuil

    Vthuil Force Ghost star 5

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    Jan 3, 2013
    I can't remember if it's been mentioned in this thread before or not, but I like the little reactions from some of the secondary characters watching the clone army with Palpatine at the end of AOTC. Mas Amedda looks like he's giving this little whistle of awe, and Bail Organa bows his head in sorrow right before the scene changes.
     
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  20. MOC Vober Dand

    MOC Vober Dand Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

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    Jan 6, 2004
    Pretty much all interactions between Han and 3PO.
     
  21. TheSequelTrilogy

    TheSequelTrilogy Jedi Youngling

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    Jul 9, 2014
    Any of Han's facial expressions when he interacts with C3PO. Its always funny that he has no respect for the droid!
     
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  22. The_Phantom_Calamari

    The_Phantom_Calamari Force Ghost star 5

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    Nov 10, 2011

    My heart was racing so fast at that moment the last time I was watching a new Star Wars film in theaters. Of course, I was in middle school back then. I'm probably too grown-up and jaded now to have a reaction like that.....
     
  23. MOC Vober Dand

    MOC Vober Dand Manager Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jan 6, 2004
    I'm a bit old and quite jaded but seeing those blue words up on the big screen still gives me a kick.
     
  24. Anakin's Daddy

    Anakin's Daddy Force Ghost star 4

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    Aug 13, 2002
    No way man. I was in my late 20's when ROTS came out and I was giggling like a schoolgirl and almost passed out I was so excited.
     
  25. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

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    Jul 11, 2014
    The fact that the show performed in the Coruscant opera when Anakin joins Palpatine in ROTS is a Mon Calamari ballet called Squid Lake. Simply priceless.