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Who Makes Vader such an Icon

Discussion in 'Star Wars Saga In-Depth' started by YodaDaMan13, Apr 23, 2003.

  1. YodaDaMan13

    YodaDaMan13 Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 19, 2002
    Who do you think makes the character of Darth Vader so sinister and such an icon to the sci-fi, Star Wars Saga?

    Hayden Christensen as Anakin w/o suit

    Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader in the suit( We shall see this one)

    David Prowse

    James Earl Jones

    I belive that it is a mix of great acting on the part of David Prowse and the powerful voice of James Earl Jones.

    What do you think?
     
    Sarge likes this.
  2. urgent_jedi_picnic

    urgent_jedi_picnic Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 14, 2003
    James Earl Jones all the way. The physical performance of Vader doesn't seem terribly "amazing" to me. They could have had any tall guy in the suit. I don't really like Anakin at all (but hey, that's just me ;) ). JEJ is the one that truly made him "iconic" (IMHO). Ahh, the infamous voice, now used a million times over in advertisements and Late Show bits....

    The Picnic :eek:
     
  3. Darth_Hawkeye

    Darth_Hawkeye Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Jun 4, 2002
    It's all in the mask. It's so much easier to hate a faceless villain.
     
  4. urgent_jedi_picnic

    urgent_jedi_picnic Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 14, 2003
    I amend my answer to include Hawkeye's. The mask is bad @$$ too.

    The Picnic :eek:
     
  5. DarthSil

    DarthSil Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 19, 2003
    It's a combination of the two; Hayden and James Earl Jones. Whether slaughtering a tribe of tuskens or force choke holding an incompetent officer, the magic comes through each time, with each actor.
     
    Sith Lord 2015 likes this.
  6. Ret

    Ret Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 17, 1999
    The costume and voice. Very intimidating.
     
  7. Benny_Blanco

    Benny_Blanco Jedi Padawan star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 21, 2002
    Also the breathing...VERY scary!!

    That, and the total willingness to kill (without a 2nd thought) anyone who ****es him off, even those on HIS side!!
     
  8. FogeyKenobi

    FogeyKenobi Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Mar 31, 2003
    The "I find your lack of faith disturbing" scene did it for me. How cool!

     
  9. Moog

    Moog Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Apr 23, 2003
    For me it's the costume/mask (which should probably be credited to Ralph McQuarrie), the imposing size (which is thanks to Dave Prowse, but not necessarily any skill on his part, other than being big), and the voice (which definitely is James Earl Jones). I also think that Hayden Christensen has given some more dramatic weight to Vader, as when we look at him now (in eps IV-VI) we can't help but think of him. And that feeling will only increase with ep III.

    So Darth Vader is really a collaborative work, and I don't think one element would truly work without the others. But, as enduring icons, the costume/mask and the voice do stand out.
     
  10. JediHunterCommand

    JediHunterCommand Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Feb 2, 2003
    James Earl Jones by a mile. He's got the Voice; no one else can touch him.

    Considering that Vader (and I'm talking Vader here, not Anakin) is mostly faceless, his entire personality emerges solely from the voice. And that's James Earl Jones.
     
  11. Aunecah_Skywalker

    Aunecah_Skywalker Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 25, 2002
    It's definitely the breathing for me. Throw in his calm demeanor, the apparently casual way with which he chokes people, you have the perfect villain right there.

    (I love Vader - almost as much as I dislike Anakin. 8-})

    Aunecah
     
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  12. Gregatron

    Gregatron Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 12, 2002
    Vader is shaping up to be one of the reichest characters in film history. It's taken many actors/creators to bring him to life.

    James Earl Jones's voice acting is incredible and David Prowse's bold strides and signiture body language (the "Force choke", the way he holds his belt boxes, etc.)...it all creates a great character.

    Of course, the *awesome* costume and Ben Burtt's breathing sounds help, too!


    The more I watch AOTC, the more subtleties I see in Hayden's performance. Several things clicked in my head a while back:

    1. In an interview, Hayden said he studied JEJ's Vader voice and subtly removed emotional inflections and such. His voice mannerisms are reminiscent of JEJ's (Compare "He's all yours, bounty hunter" to "Now that the Council has ordered an investigation, it won't take Master Obi-Wan long to find this bounty hunter".)

    2. Hayden and Lucas have said Anakin is a transitional chraracter, and thus he goes back and forth from being a whiny child to a more mature, charming young man. This symbolizes the conflicts within him and the fact that he's slowly becoming unstable (you know, thanks to some help from a guy named Palpatine...).


    Thus, we see flashes of the cold, clinical Vader Anakin will become, but we also see a more aggressive version of Anakin's "whiny" son, Luke.

    Cool.
     
  13. plutoneam

    plutoneam Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 21, 2003
    <<<I make Vader MY icon. ;)
     
  14. The_Deal_Alterer

    The_Deal_Alterer Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Mar 20, 2003
    The breathing is another reason why Vader stands above other movie villans. It's just so imposing on the screen.
     
  15. threepio_mania

    threepio_mania Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Dec 15, 2002
    Who do you think makes the character of Darth Vader so sinister and such an icon to the sci-fi, Star Wars Saga?

    Hayden Christensen as Anakin w/o suit

    Nope. Hayden did okay as Anakin, but the Vader character doesn't need him to be an icon. He was an icon long before the prequels.

    Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader in the suit( We shall see this one

    No. Vader was already an icon before the prequels.

    David Prowse

    Prowse was definately important. His performance in the suit helped make Vader the memorable villain he is today.

    James Earl Jones

    Definately important as well. I don't think I can really say anything about James Earl Jones' excellent work as Vader that hasn't already been said.


    So I think David Prowse and James Earl Jones were equally important in making Vader an icon.
     
  16. _Xanatos_

    _Xanatos_ Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 18, 2003
    Vader is awesome, the breathing, the voice of James Earl Jones, the darkside and the lightsaber make him the bad @$$ he is. In a minute my icon will be changed.
     
  17. _Xanatos_

    _Xanatos_ Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 18, 2003
    <<<<Now it is Vader, used to be Thrawn, oh and Thrawn is the EU icon with Mara Jade.
     
  18. J-Solo

    J-Solo Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 6, 1999
    You forgot to mention: JAKE LOYD! ;)

    I think the voice and the breathing are it. But, I don't know if you agree with me, but I think Vader's voice in ANH wasn't so threatening as in ESB and ROTJ. The moment he makes his first appearance in ANH, without even saying a word, he intimidated everybody.

    So....well, I guess it's a mix of all of those things. (except Anakin. In fact, it is the simple memory of Vader that makes Anakin interesting sometimes)
     
  19. niu354

    niu354 Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    May 1, 2002
    The suit is cool, the voice is cool....but to me it is his actions that make him the baddest of the bad

    BTW Hayden is not scary...when his mother dies and he puts on that angry face, I almost started cracking up. That face was just terrible
     
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  20. rhonderoo

    rhonderoo Former Head Admin star 9 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Aug 7, 2002
    BTW Hayden is not scary...when his mother dies and he puts on that angry face, I almost started cracking up. That face was just terrible

    Hayden is not supposed to be "scary" in these movies, that's Darth Vader's part in the saga. Hayden is still Anakin up until most of EpIII from everything we've heard, and Anakin was still a "good man".
     
  21. byrdnest

    byrdnest Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Apr 11, 2001
    Vader came along when there were no Bad guys. he hit a nerve with everyone. even people who arent fans. its like he came out of a fairy tale book from our childhood. he was the image of the boogeyman from the closet.
     
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  22. J-Solo

    J-Solo Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 6, 1999
    What do you mean, "there were no bad guys"? In films? There's always been villains and bad guys in movies. (and I'm not trying to start a fight. I honestly just want to know what you meant by that)
     
  23. StevenofGilead

    StevenofGilead Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Apr 23, 2003

    Sebastian Shaw.
     
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  24. Krash

    Krash RSA Emeritus star 5 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Oct 11, 2000
    I think it was the combination of the mask, James Earl Jones' voice, and the "breathing" that made audiences really afraid of Darth Vader. Long before we got to see Anakin Skywalker (both as Sebastian Shaw and Hayden Christensen) it was this image of a classic "dark warrior" that was all evil (or so it seemed) that made Darth Vader into the icon of our modern culture.

    Think of it this way, do you think the guy who dresses up as Darth Vader at Oakland Raiders games is wondering if his costume reflects his seperation from his mother? NO, he dressed like that because Darth Vader was the image of BAD GUYS from 1977-present ;)
     
  25. Darth_Zoo

    Darth_Zoo Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jul 15, 2002
    The mask and costume #1! When Vader first steps into the screen in ANH people know he's not to be messed with.

    #2 the incredible voice talent of James Earl Jones... could we even imagine Vader having another voice?!? Classic, deep, and threatning. I'd also through in the cryptic breathing as a scare factor too.