Rogue One Bor Gullet the mind reading octopus

Well said. On top of all that, it taps into that sense of the grotesque that Lucas and McQuarrie did so well. Just more disturbing than ever. Great, very Star Warsy scene.

 

After having watched the film three times, my first reaction upon seeing Bor Gullet is still, "lol, tentacle monster."

I love the idea of a torture scene, but personally think that if they'd gone for less octopus and more spider in the design process, it would have been scarier and less ridiculous.

 

i liked bor gullet. it added nicely to saw's extremist ways. not only does he launch those attacks in jedha city but he is okay with damaging someone's mind beyond repair to gain information from them. luckily bodhi seemed to still be able to function afterwards (if he hadn't been i don't know if the rogue one mission would have succeeded). i imagined bor was sentient, perhaps even a jedha native (though who knows) and was in agreement with saw about what they needed to do against the empire. i liked also that bor was a creature weighing in on affairs that is not in the least humanoid. i did wonder why the empire wasn't utilizing such creatures though (did they not know of them? was it hard to find one that would cooperate with them?).

maybe bodhi didn't completely lose his mind because he was trying to share what he knew and maybe the creature realized he was trying to cooperate.

 

oncafar wrote

I did wonder why the empire wasn't utilizing such creatures though (did they not know of them? was it hard to find one that would cooperate with them?).

Perhaps Bor Gullet and others of his kind had learned what happened to creatures like themselves during the CLONE WARS. Somehow I can't help but picture Imperial scientists treating Bor Gullet and its kind pretty much like the "Brain Bug" near the end of Starship Troopers.



Other than that I'd take it as a hint that the Empire relies mostly (if not entirely) on sophisticated technology and advanced substances / drugs, while factions of the Alliance prefer a somewhat 'organic' approach to things.

 

Lt. Hija , yeah good point. It reminds me of the Zillo Beast in TCW that Palpatine wanted to exploit for its armor. Maybe Bor's kind has already suffered at the hands of the Empire and Bor is broken and in pain (a lot like Saw) and all too happy to destroy the minds of enemies who side with the Empire. That Bodhi genuinely didn't could be why he was spared. I think Saw said that those whose minds it reads *tend* to go mad, not necessarily that all of them do.

 

That scene was the only scene that didn't work for me. It just felt....off.

 

Nah, a spidery head-attaching alien is too "horror sci-fi" for Star Wars, IMO (like something from the mind of H.R. Giger, not Ralph McQuarrie). The Bor Gullet feels like Star Wars to me because its both unsettling - i.e. what the heck's an octopus doing in a desert (ANH and ROTJ - what's one doing in a trash compactor, and a jail cell?) and has strong pop-mythic/ fantasy sci-fi undertones (Cthulhu, 20,000 leagues under the sea, Dune, etc). I'd go far as to say it feels just as Star Warsy as the dianoga, the space slug, and the rancor. Nearly perfect, in my view.

I'd say it's because Bor Gullet's seem to be just as ineffective as Imperial mind probes.

And from a design/ thematic perspective, it makes sense that the Empire would use a mechanical mind probe, while the Rebellion/ Partisans would use something more organic.

 

From the little I've read, given that there's some horror/scifi stuff apparently hanging out on Dagobah and Tatooine, I think they could have gone that route at least a little?

I just have to personally disagree based on the amount of people who seem to find the Bor Gullet scene funny rather than scary. I'm not saying that it didn't necessarily fit the SW universe, or that you can't like it, of course? But it continues to look a bit silly to me, and I believe they could have done something (make it smaller? more spindly? a slug rather than an octopus? a standard torture orb? a spider-lobster? or cut the scene of it crawling towards him?) to forestall the many tentacle erotica jokes I've seen. /o\

 

Yeah, I think it's a very tiny number of people that even know what hentai is. So that's a niche audience issue. And as far as I am aware, a poll of the global public reaction to the scene hasn't been conducted. Just judging by the reaction of people on this forum, it seems that there's a pretty equal number of people who like the Bor Gullet vs. find it funny. It's important not to assume that small pockets of fandom are a consensus. To me, there's nothing funny about it. It's one of the better SW monster moments, IMO, and gives this part of the film a really unsettling, almost uncomfortable edge, which is what I believe the filmmakers intended. This first act exists in a moral swamp, if you will, and a number of visual elements, including the Bor Gullet, drive that home. And as a long-time fan of H.P. Lovecraft, I like the Cthulhu-ness of it.

 

I... don't think it's that tiny a number, actually? But even if it were, knowledge of tentacle-inclusive x-rated mediums aside, if about half the people (even in-fandom) who watch a torture scene find it amusing, whether due to adult anime or the viewer just thinking 'lol that's a weird CGI octopus,' I think that does indicate a design issue that should have been re-considered.

We'll have to agree to disagree, and I'm more than fine with that. : ) I'm still of the opinion that some better creative decisions could have been made for that scene, which I liked the idea of (Saw torturing Bodhi) very much.

 

I think it indicates a director who didn't play it safe. Edwards swung for the fences. The fact that a lot of people felt he hit a grand slam, while others feel he struck out, tells me that a bold, personal vision was put on screen. I'm glad the film doesn't feel like it was made in a committee, with all oddities stripped out. To me, moments like the Bor Gullet scene have an intangible wild artistry about them. Lots of those in Rogue One, and I suspect history will look favorably on it.

 

Random thought: I love how Forest Whitaker said the name "Bor Gullet." He sounded so other-worldly.

 

What was the point and why was Saw in the movie anyway? He was a disabled loony weird old man who he and his terrorist group abandoned Jun when she was younger.

 

When I first watched that scene, I thought Saw was speaking another language - one which the producers had chosen not to subtitle, in order to keep us in suspense. Then Bodhi said "Bor Gullet?" in what I thought was a questioning way as well as apprehensively, and I thought he was asking what it meant... though it's possible he knew what it meant and was repeating it in shock/fear.

 

R.I.P Bor Gullet....

 

I thought Saw was really important in the film because it complexified the situation in the galaxy... The Rebel Alliance isn't the only group fighting the Empire. Saw used to be one of them, but they've split because they disagree on tactics. The Rebel Alliance doesn't want the image of being terrorists; it would affect their funding and support most definitely. Beyond that, most of the Rebel leaders disagree with Saw's tactics for moral reasons.

However, Saw's philosophy that one must stop the Empire by any means necessary, no matter how brutal, is really compelling given just how horrible the Empire is (how it slaughters people, how it has dominated the entire galaxy, how it has likely killed billions of people already).

I like that we have this split because it made things more realistic and interesting.

 

Yeah ok...



So by the way where the hell is the official Saw Gererra topic thread? That I don't have to make two topic threads asking why and what was the point if Saw being in the movie?


I don't keep track of topic threads 24/7

 

You sound like a fun guy.

 

Couldn't agree more.

 

Felt Bor was just ok - what I didn't like was how Saw makes a specific point about people losing their minds, and yet Bodhi is seemingly fine after 30 seconds interaction with Cassian.

It set up for the audience to be like: "Oh, so that poor pilot will become braindead despite his defection." Nah, he's cool, don't worry...lol

 

Long term my friend long term. Bodhi had he survived would have suffered from PTSD. And for all his heroics of defecting from Director Krennic's side he ends up tortured by the Rebels. Theirs gratitude for you.

 

Ah I see, it seemed implied to me that it was instant and part of the reason Saw was considered 'extreme' because of using such measures. Lol - I know right, left his cushy job simply delivering cargo and gets treated so shabbily by the 'goodies'.

 

I'm now looking for opportune situations to whisper "Galen Erso" into the ears of those who look wiped out, drowsy, or are about to fall asleep..... to snap them out of it.
(With Cassian's accent, of course. I've been practicing)

 

Haha nice one - I randomly say "Bor Gullet" in the style of Saw, all hushed yet strong - I think it's a passable impression!