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

CT How old were you when you heard Vader's Revelation?

Discussion in 'Classic Trilogy' started by SateleNovelist11, Jul 19, 2018.

?

What was your age?

  1. 4-13

    87.3%
  2. 14-18

    12.7%
  3. 19-29

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  4. 30 or older

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. christophero30

    christophero30 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    May 18, 2017
    11. We debated for days/weeks/months/years whether Vader was lying.
     
  2. Dandelo

    Dandelo SW and Film Music Interview Host star 10 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Aug 25, 2014
    think I was 10.
    But already knew before watching ;)
     
  3. Fifi Kenobi

    Fifi Kenobi Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 13, 2019
    I was 18 going on 19 when it was released in 1980. Put that in your pipe and smoke it younglings! lol
     
  4. SateleNovelist11

    SateleNovelist11 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 10, 2015
    Then you did what Lucas wanted you to do. ;)
     
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  5. Iefan

    Iefan Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 31, 2013
    Star Wars has always been around me since I was a tot. Unfortunately, in a way, I don't even remember ever learning his revelation. It's like I always was aware, at least as far back as I can remember. I don't have a specific memory of seeing it for the first time.
     
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  6. SateleNovelist11

    SateleNovelist11 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 10, 2015
    It's interesting to note that Vader gestures and reaches out with his left hand. Luke had grazed his right shoulder before Vader upped the ante and put an end to the duel. Vader is really enthusiastic when he says, "If you only knew the power of the dark side." That was one of the things that frightened me as a kid.
     
  7. Grilled Hutt

    Grilled Hutt Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 24, 2003
    In 80-81, we were flabbergasted that another movie got made. We thought ANH was it.
    9 years old is the GREATEST age to see ANH. Being 11-12 is perfect for ESB.
    I found out from my older brothers dumb idiot friend (very much a hyde/kelso 70’s type personality) who walked up and said NO- I am your father while clenching his hand.
    “What?” I say.
    Then says “dude can you believe darth is luke’s dad??”

    me: “no,i haven’t seen it yet.” [face_plain]


    but still what a time to be alive...no internet, no divided loyalties, no cell phones, no anything other than reading bantha tracks, playing with epic toys, and playing outside. Evel Knieval, Star Wars, 6 million dollar man, the a team, etc etc.... 12 years old is a GREAT AGE for that era....But i’m not sure how well it would have been when i was 7 or 5 .....but i’m glad i experienced the OT in the theater and not even see it again until 10-20 years later when everyone could own a vcr and special editions.
    I’m stoked we have new movies coming out and hope a 12 year old is watching right now!!
     
    StarYogi likes this.
  8. Beautiful_Disaster

    Beautiful_Disaster Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 12, 2005
    I was 5. I didn't like Vader at the time because I thought he was very mean and the bad guy.[face_laugh] So, of course I thought he was a liar because I believed only bad guys lied. [face_shame_on_you]
     
  9. devilinthedetails

    devilinthedetails Fiendish Fanfic & SWTV Manager, Interim Tech Admin star 6 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Jun 19, 2019
    I think I must have been about 5 or so. I remember being shocked and totally relating to Luke's horror when Vader says he is Luke's father. For some reason, I didn't even think about the possibility of Vader lying to Luke. I just along with Luke felt the horror of this terrible truth being revealed.
     
  10. CT-867-5309

    CT-867-5309 Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Jan 5, 2011
    Personal anecdote: my dad was never really present in my life, he was a stranger to me, so that's probably why the Vader=father reveal never did anything for me. I was like, so what? Who cares? Stop whining, Luke. It was totally anti-climactic to me, it was nothing. I had a totally flat reaction to it. My dad didn't mean anything to me, so why should Vader mean anything to Luke? It was like learning Vader was actually...a total stranger to Luke with no actual existing relationship with him. Because he was. That Vader contributed some sperm to conceive Luke didn't seem like a big deal. It probably would have landed more with me if Vader was actually Owen or Beru.

    Probably also why I didn't see why Luke couldn't just kill Vader. Luke had no reason to care that Vader was his father, because Vader never did anything for him. I certainly didn't have any affection for my dad, and would have killed him without a second thought were I in Luke's position.

    You might think that my upbringing would make me identify with Luke more, but I never really cared to know anything about my dad, nor did I hate him or feel wronged by him, so I didn't see him as any kind of villain in my life, nor was I able to empathize with Luke feeling a connection to the father he never knew. You have to be present to be a villain, and I had things to worry about other than someone who didn't exist.

    So. That's why I've always scratched my head and shrugged at the biggest twist in Star Wars. Different life experiences make for different viewing experiences.
     
  11. christophero30

    christophero30 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    May 18, 2017
    I was 11. A lot of my friends thought Vader was lying. Vader being redeemed in ROTJ surprised me more.
     
  12. Dark Ferus

    Dark Ferus Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Jul 29, 2016
    I was five when I watched it on VHS. Unfortunately, I had been aware of the plot twist ahead of time, having read it in an Empire Strikes Back storybook (I also knew the plot of Return of the Jedi before watching it for the first time).
     
  13. Palp_Faction

    Palp_Faction Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 3, 2002
    7. Had to wait 3 years to find out whether he was telling the truth or not.
     
  14. StarYogi

    StarYogi Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Nov 18, 2005
    I was 6 in 1980 and Empire was my first Star Wars moviegoing experience. Since I hadn't seen a New Hope at the time, I suppose Vader's revelation didn't hit me as hard as other kids. I was finally able to see a New Hope when it was rereleased in the theaters in 1981(or '82?). That really brought everything together for me.

    I remember being the most freaked out by the back of Vader helmet-less head and also Luke's face in the Vader mask after he's decaptiated on Dagobah.
     
    Last edited: Jul 17, 2019
  15. SateleNovelist11

    SateleNovelist11 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 10, 2015
    I'm glad I did not see the twist coming when I saw the film in 1995. Leonard Maltin's interview with Lucas on the tape keyed me into learning how Vader "really was," but I didn't believe the answer would be Luke's father.
     
  16. Palp_Faction

    Palp_Faction Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 3, 2002
    I remember Luke decapitating Vader in the cave was really confusing for me at 7. Wait did Luke just kill Vader? How did he get there? Dad what's going on?
     
  17. Feologild

    Feologild Jedi Knight

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2016
    I was -3 years old in 1980
     
  18. christophero30

    christophero30 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    May 18, 2017
    yeah that scene confused me as well. I thought it was a dream. and I knew what Yoda looked like, so I thought the one he first met was Yoda's crazy cousin or something.
     
    Last edited: Jul 21, 2019
  19. SateleNovelist11

    SateleNovelist11 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 10, 2015
    When I initially saw Vader on Dagobah, I was like, "How did he figure out that Luke was there? And how did he get there?" I was confused as to why they were fighting slowly, and I was surprised that Luke defeated Vader with little effort. I was like, "How?" I didn't get the notion that this was supposed to be a foreshadowing that Luke could become like Vader or that Luke subconsciously suspected that Vader was his father. I was all too young for that. I figured it out by 1999 or 2000, but in 1995, I was freaked out.
     
    Last edited: Jul 21, 2019
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  20. christophero30

    christophero30 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    May 18, 2017
    I remember reading in Starlog magazine that Ford was thinking of moving on from the franchise so most of my friends assumed that Han would die and not come back. Esp. the next year when Raiders was so big.
     
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  21. SateleNovelist11

    SateleNovelist11 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 10, 2015
    He wanted to raid other franchises. ;)
     
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  22. Dagobahsystem

    Dagobahsystem Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Sep 25, 2015
    I was watching a VHS tape of Empire when I was about 7 or 8 and I found the reveal to be quite scary as I believed Vader was telling the truth. And Luke's reaction after Vader says "search your feelings." Wow. So impactful.

    That whole sequence is quite intense. I watched the 1995 version yesterday and it is still quite intense to this day.

    Brilliant filmmaking on every level.
     
  23. Thrawn082

    Thrawn082 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 11, 2014
    4 or 5. It was the mid-90's and my parents bought be the OT on a box-set VHS. And even then it was such a cool reveal.
     
  24. christophero30

    christophero30 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    May 18, 2017
    I see what you did there.
     
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  25. StarGuppy

    StarGuppy Jedi Padawan

    Registered:
    Jul 27, 2017
    I was around 10 or 11 and I didn't hear it from the movie. My brother had read the novelization ahead of time and told me about it. I wasn't upset about the spoiler because I never thought much about that kind of stuff back then. It was cool hearing about it and cool seeing it unfold onscreen.
     
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