**Official Lightsaber Discussion Thread**

The lightsaber is the coolest fantasy weapon ever. The Ghostbuster's Proton Pack and blaster is a close second.

Star Wars/Ghostbusters fans unite!

 

ATOMIK: I don't think that Lucas had Cho Mai in mind when he had ob1 cut zams arm off, i don't think it is fair to compare lightsaber fighting styles with silly metal swords. If there is any similarities, it's wrong becuase there is no Cho mai in the starwars galaxy.

 

I think there is much meaning in the color of the saber, although I don't know what it is for sure.

Do the blue and green sabers represent different levels of skills? Do they represent different aspects of the force (unifying and living force). I have a hard time thinking they don't mean different things.

As for the purple one. On the AOTC dvd 2, Lucas and Jackson have this conversation about saber colors. Lucas says that good guys have blue and green colored ones and bad guys have red ones. Jackson says something about his purple one, and they both look at each other like they know something we don't. Surely there is more to the color than "that's the color Sam wanted." It's the combination of red and blue. Perhaps Mace is not this traitor that some people think he is, but maybe he has a greater command over the force than others, and he walks a fine line in the middle of the good and dark sides. Personally, I don't think we'll ever know for sure what it means. Just a thought.

 

I dont think it means anything becase Coleman Trebor obviously couldnt have been to strong with the force,but he had the same color as Yoda who is the most powerful jedi. Also one of Adi Gallia's apprentices had a purple lightsaber. I dont think it is based on rank or strength because the younglings had both green and blue sabers. I think it will be revealed in EP3.

 

With all the different questions and points being raised here, we may need an entire forum dedicated to lightsabers. In response to the points raised that attracted my attention :

1. Mace Windu's saber is purple ONLY because Jackson asked for it (see the AOTC DVD features). THAT'S IT! To think of any other explantion for it is just circumstantial. I don't think Lucas thought for one cotton picking second about
crystals and the like.

2. The best duel technically is, of course, Kenobi and Maul's one shot face off. For sheer speed and prowess, it's untouchable! Try recreating with a friend and you've got your work cut out, speaking from experience!

3. The coolest saber hilt in the saga is Kenobi's, the chrome AOTC version (the TPM version was machined metal). I'm biased, mind, because I now own the excellent Master Replica's reproduction of 'said' hilt and it is my most prized posession.

4. The best saber colour is blue.

5. I've just finished studying the Seven Forms of Jedi saber handling and I'd have to say I would pledge devotion to Form III. While perhaps not techically offensive enough to secure a victory, it has long been held that true Form III masters are unbeatable. It's the form that truly represents the Jedi's role as protector, negotiator and offensive-only-as-defence. Well, that and Kenobi utilises this Form and he's the most stylish Jedi in the whole saga.

And yes, the lightsaber is by far and away the coolest weapon ever seen, ever!!!

 

The Weenie agrees with everything said above.

Except -- 1. Mace Windu's saber is purple ONLY because Jackson asked for it (see the AOTC DVD features). THAT'S IT!

Did you notice that during the arena battle, bad guys shoot red lasers and good guys shoot green and blue? The same exact colors as they use for lightsabers. Red = bad. Green/Blue = good.

George always color-coordinates for a reason. And that reason is...affilitation. You can always tell, by color, who/what is good/bad. It even goes so far as the good guys missiles in AOTC leave behind white smoke, and the bad guys missles leave behind trails of black smoke.

Lucas is that thorough...

...yet he gives an actor a different color simply because he wants it? No, my freind.

The Weenie just DID look at the ep2 features, as you suggested, and he quotes:

GL: Good guys get blue and green. Bad guys get red. Thats just how it works.

SLJ: What about purple?

GL: *smiles* You might get purple. *Both start laughing.*


Now, what the significance is, who knows. But there is a clear message being sent in AOTC that blue/green=good and red=bad...and theres SLJ with a purple.

Hes on his own. He doesnt fit in completely with the good guys or the bad guys. He is his OWN affiliation. Hes on his OWN side.

Now, true, you will never see 2 lightsabers of the same color in a fight. Never. The purple saber could be given to Mace for the simple reason of having a 3 on 1 lightsaber fight in Ep3. Green/blue/purple vs. red.

But if that were the case, wouldnt GL have thrown in a few other purple's here and there in the arena?

 

I wish he threw in a few yellow too...

 

Totally!!

Look how incredibly-EDIBLY GOOD it looks. Especially with this guy...

Yellow lightsabers ROCK!

 

Okay Weenie, points taken. I totally agree that the colours are there for a reason but I haven't heard of any other reason why Windu's saber is purple other than Jackson requesting that colour.

I guess George wouldn't have to come up with any particular reason for that specific colour, we do that for him by studying the films and applying reason where there is seemingly none. There's tons of stuff I really hadn't given thought to till I registered here. It's intriguing stuff.

 

Woo! Plo Koon wallpaper!

 

Kia-Ruse>>
Indeed, the colors ARE there for a reason. And if youve heard ANY reason other than Sam requesting it, its only fanboy speculation, at best.

But there IS a reason for it. Lightsaber color is in the movies to show affiliation, and the characters in the movie dont seem to be able to take notice of the color. Its in there for US. You and me.

Mark my weenie, there IS a reason, and we'll all see in Ep3. What it is, cant reasonably be deciphered with the information we have as of now. So come up with your own explanation and be a genius in 2005.

 

This is probably nitpicking, and it doesn't bother me much, but I was wondering : have you noticed how different lightsabers sound, across the span of all 5 movies so far? Even within the same movie, they don't always sound alike. And it's not a matter of different sounds for different sabers - for instance, in AOTC when Obi-Wan and Anakin are tossed their sabers in the arena, the ignition sound is different to the sound we hear when Anakin turns on the second saber Obi-Wan throws to him, after he is injured by Dooku.

I know the sith sabers are supposed to sound "nastier" than the Jedi lightsabers, I think it was said the Jedi sabers have a more musical quality to them, whilst the sith's weapons sound more like buzzsaws.

 

Wow an official Lightsaber thread.

My old Black Light Sabers thread.
You'll find comments on BlackSabers, black light light sabers. StrobeSabers and other colors of light sabers. on the Black Light Sabers topic.

 

oNLY ONE KENOBI--

Actually, the lightsaber sounds in AOTC are different a lot. When Dooku ignites his saber to fight Obi-Wan, its a lot different than when he ignites it to fight Yoda. (Its Lukes saber "start up" sound from ROTJ.)

Also, when Anakin and Obi jump off the republic transport, Obi-Wan's has a certain sound to it, the Luke's blue OT startup sound from ESB and ANH. Then when Obi throws it to Anakin later on, it has the other startup sound, the same as Luke's ROTJ saber.

One more little thing like this is, Jango Fett's blasters sound one way on Kamino, he loses one. The one he has left over sounds COMPLETELY different when he uses it in the arena. (And dont try telling anyone that you couldnt hear right because of the rain, and dont give me any "hes using a different type of blaster in the arena", you filthy stinking gushers!)

Back to the lightsabers...

Oddly enough, it seems that they used to try to give each lightsaber its own startup sound. Luke's blue one was always the same. And Vaders always had that distinctive "ksssss....". Then Lukes green one had an equally distinctive sound in ROTJ, and it was consistent every time. Same goes for TPM.

In AOTC, they are rarely the same from startup to startup - sparatic at best. Was this intentional, or is it just another example of the small amount of effort put into that movie? Dont know.

~Everytime Luke starts up his blue saber, it sounds the same.
~Everytime Luke starts up his green saber, it sounds the same.
~Everytime Vader starts up his saber, it sounds the same.
~Everytime Maul, Qui-Gon, and Obi-Wan start up their sabers, it sounds the same.

~In AOTC, its all over the place.

Anyway, listen to the Jango Fett's blasters one, thats a biggy. Its really weird.

 

I've noticed the Jango blaster thing too, but I'm pretty sure lightsabers have some inconsistancy in the other movies too, not just AOTC, but, of course I have no proof. Maybe it's just because sabers are ignited and shut off more times in AOTC than in any of the other movies? Except maybe TPM?

 

Darth Maul had the coolest lightsaber.

 

My lightsaber is gold and the handels have the same gloing look so it looks like I'm holding the blaid. I have practiced it for 10 years. And it is defintaly a crystal lightsaber.

~~ impy ~~

 

about the mace windu purple lightsaber thing, electrum is NOT the gold casing around mace's lightsaber. electrum is a kind of crystal. if you look in the AOTC visual dictionary you can also find that some holocrons are made of electrum too. probably the reason that mace is the only one with a purple blade (yeah i know it's because sj asked for one but we gotta think in the star wars universe right) is because he's the only one (that we know of anyway) that has an electrum lightsaber. i remember reading something somewhere that said the reason mace got a cool shiny special hilt was because he was a senior member of the jedi council (pretty high status) and was a master of form VII. anywho, that's my two cents.

my ultimate lightsaber would probably be a hilt like mace's except chrome rather than gold, with a blue blade.

best lightsaber duel: def. yoda vs. dooku (despite it's shortness). after that the obi-wan vs. maul duel.

MTFBWY

 

I dont buy the "Can I get a purple one" thing. I know it is on the DVD but why would Lucas change the rules and invent a new crystal just because SJ wanted Purple?


It would be like a royal guard not happy with his robe so he says "I want a green robe" It doesnt fit the picture so there has to be another reason.

 

It would be like a royal guard not happy with his robe so he says "I want a green robe" It doesnt fit the picture so there has to be another reason.

That's not really a fair comparison... a Royal guard has to wear red, if he doesn't they will replace him with some other dude willing to wear a red robe. They can't really replace Sam Jackson with someone else over something so trivial as a lightsaber colour, especially since we've already seen Mace Windu played by Sam Jackson in Episode 1.

 

Well THATS not exactly fair either. It is the DIRECTORS choice, the actor can only say what he WANTS. The director doesnt have to do it, especially when that director is as powerful as GL.

Remember, Sam Jacksons not some huge actor that the director has to appease because hes the only reason someone will see the movie.

No, Sam Jackson is the one who begged GL to be in Star Wars. He is at GL's mercy. Not the other way around.

Theres a dern good reason in the STORY for a purple lightsaber.

And the Weenie just had his friend check his episode 2 book. Electrum = the gold on the hilt.

 

I think the only story related explanation you'll ever hear for Mace's purple saber is because he's a senior member of the Jedi council, and that the crystal that generates the blade is either synthetic, or very rare... I don't think there's much more to it than that.

 

ELECTRUM IS A CRYSTAL!!!! where are you getting that it's the gold covering??

 

about the blade color symbolism thing, really the color doesn't symbolize anything but the nature of the crystal inside the lightsaber. it's an ease way to tell the good guys from the bad guys but that's about it. it's not like it switches from green to red cuz a bad guy picks it up.. the only reason sith sabers are red is because they use special synthetic crystals they make which create a slightly stronger blade.

 

"it's not like it switches from green to red cuz a bad guy picks it up"

It does in the Star Wars movies.

Why wouldnt Jedi use sinthetic crystals ever?

Face it kid, as far as GL is concerned, lightsaber color serves the sole purpose of identifying good guys from bad. Gushers and EU created this whole "crystal" thing. Thats why bad guys ALWAYS have red, and good guys ALWAYS have green/blue.




"I think the only story related explanation you'll ever hear for Mace's purple saber is because he's a senior member of the Jedi council,"

Mace is not special. Sure hes a good fighter, but not better than Yoda. If he had some special distinction it would make it easier to believe that that was the reason that he has a purple lightsaber. Why would he have the one unique, special purple lightsaber? If its because hes a member of the council, fine. BUT WHY WOULD GL DENY ANY OTHER PURPLE LIGHTSABERS? What makes Mace have the right to be the only one to hold one. If GL just wanted to introduce a new lightsaber color, thats fine. But why wouldnt there be one or two more scattered throughout the arena?