May the force be with you! Star Wars fans

[TransWarpDrive]

I didn't see this until just now. I posted an obituary thread for them over in General Discussion. But yeah, it's a good idea to post one here as well.
And I totally agree with you, jeriddian. The world has suffered a great loss with their passing.

[jeriddian]

I know it's been a year and half. As I am sure you've heard, Perter Mayhew, the original Chewbacca recently died at the age of 74. RIP

I recently ran across a piece of work by a Star Wars fan which totally blew my mind, and I want to share it here. But before you do, you need to review to the first lightsaber duel ever seen in a Star Wars Film. This is where the elderly Obi-wan Kenobi fights Darth Vader on the Death Star. To review this fight scene, go to time stamp 41:30 in the following YouTube video.... ...There you will see that fight scene on the Death Star in its entirety, about three minutes long.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2NUzCCmO8k&t=2661s

Of course, I know you will all remember that fight scene as it is iconic for the Star Wars films. It was the first one and it was amazing, of course. However, when you start to compare it to the later lightsaber duels in the later films, it starts to suffer in comparison. Now there was nothing better to be had at the time. In 1977, you had a venerated actor well into his 60's who also is arthritic, and David Prowse wearing a very cumbersome Darth Vader suit attempting to create a masterful fight scene. It's understandable that the quality of the choreography of that fight would be limited, and it was certainly nothing to be ashamed of. It was the best possible scene within the limitations of the time.

But when you compare it to a later scene such as the climactic duel between Qui Gon Jinn, A youthful Obi-Won Kenobi, and Darth Maul in Episode One, at time stamp 1:22 in the above video, a scene involving technology which is 25 years into the future from that first film, and in which the actors are young and used to doing fight scenes such as this, and for which they train extensively, (not to mention Darth Maul being played by Ray Parks, a noted Martial Arts Expert and performer), it is easy to see how much better the choreography and the excitement of the fight becomes.

Well.... Someone decided to do something about that. A fan re-imagined that whole first fight scene and posted it a few days back....

You will not believe a sole Star Wars Fan could do this.... .....Prepare to have your mind blown.............

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=to2SMng4u1k

[TransWarpDrive]

I don't know if you've heard this already, but David Prowse, the English bodybuilder who portrayed Darth Vader in the first trilogy (by the "first" I mean the films from 1977 to 1983), died over this past weekend at age 85. One of the news sites said he'd been treated two years ago for prostate cancer. Here's a link to the Star Wars web page concerning his death:
https://www.starwars.com/news/david-prowse

RIP, Mr. Prowse. And thanks for being such an iconic villain.

[jeriddian]

Yes I read about that. Sad to hear. I understand Gerorge Lucas and much of the cast gave tributes on social media to him.