September 16, 1977, ABC
May 20, 2019 9:22 PM Subscribe
The Making Of Star Wars [49m]
It sounded an awful lot like either the guy that played Cannon in the 70s tv show of the same name (William Conrad), or the guy that did the voice-over narration for the original intro scene of the Buck Rogers show (the one in the late ‘70s and early 80s with Gil Gerard).
posted by darkstar at 11:51 PM on May 20, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by darkstar at 11:51 PM on May 20, 2019 [2 favorites]
Which, just having googled it, was also William Conrad! So that’s my bet.
posted by darkstar at 11:53 PM on May 20, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by darkstar at 11:53 PM on May 20, 2019 [5 favorites]
Narrator is William Conrad, probably most recognizably known for his role on Jake and the Fatman. But yeah, he was Cannon, and the narrator for The Fugitive, Gunsmoke, How the West Was Won, Buck Rogers, and Hudson Hawk.
Also, if this is going to be the current Star Wars thread, I figure I should share this bit of work from YouTube Channel FixItInPost: Star Wars SC 38 Reimagined, which takes A New Hope's Vader vs. Obi-Wan lightsaber fight and tries to bring it more in line with what we've seen in the other films.
posted by radwolf76 at 11:54 PM on May 20, 2019 [16 favorites]
Also, if this is going to be the current Star Wars thread, I figure I should share this bit of work from YouTube Channel FixItInPost: Star Wars SC 38 Reimagined, which takes A New Hope's Vader vs. Obi-Wan lightsaber fight and tries to bring it more in line with what we've seen in the other films.
posted by radwolf76 at 11:54 PM on May 20, 2019 [16 favorites]
Holy cow, that’s a brilliant reimagining of the fight scene.
I’m generally an old school Star Wars purist, but jeez, that was beautiful.
posted by darkstar at 12:09 AM on May 21, 2019 [3 favorites]
I’m generally an old school Star Wars purist, but jeez, that was beautiful.
posted by darkstar at 12:09 AM on May 21, 2019 [3 favorites]
42 years. Life, the Universe, EVERYTHING!
Including, later this year, "Close Encounters". Dah-dee-DAH-Doh-Doh.
posted by Twang at 1:34 AM on May 21, 2019
Including, later this year, "Close Encounters". Dah-dee-DAH-Doh-Doh.
posted by Twang at 1:34 AM on May 21, 2019
Star Wars SC 38 Reimagined
How very ... prequel-ly. George Lucas would be proud.
posted by rikschell at 4:11 AM on May 21, 2019 [4 favorites]
How very ... prequel-ly. George Lucas would be proud.
posted by rikschell at 4:11 AM on May 21, 2019 [4 favorites]
Star Wars SC 38 Reimagined
Now do it like the battle scene in Up.
posted by rochrobbb at 4:29 AM on May 21, 2019 [2 favorites]
Now do it like the battle scene in Up.
posted by rochrobbb at 4:29 AM on May 21, 2019 [2 favorites]
When I saw this as a kid, no utility pole guy-wire was ever safe from my laser blaster sound effects
posted by NoMich at 4:52 AM on May 21, 2019 [9 favorites]
posted by NoMich at 4:52 AM on May 21, 2019 [9 favorites]
Narrator is William Conrad, probably most recognizably known for his role on Jake and the Fatman. But yeah, he was Cannon, and the narrator for The Fugitive, Gunsmoke, How the West Was Won, Buck Rogers, and Hudson Hawk.
Don't forget Rocky and Bullwinkle!
posted by 2N2222 at 5:21 AM on May 21, 2019 [9 favorites]
I didn't like SC 38 Reimagined at all. I don't think it's the concept of redoing that fight scene I don't like, I think it's just something about the cinematography of it that rubs me the wrong way.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 6:11 AM on May 21, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 6:11 AM on May 21, 2019 [3 favorites]
If anyone tries to insert it into the film in place of the original fight scene, they will find the cinematography jarringly different.
posted by timdiggerm at 6:16 AM on May 21, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by timdiggerm at 6:16 AM on May 21, 2019 [1 favorite]
On SC 38 Reimagined, it's very well executed but it bugs me a bit. The emotional power of that scene is that Obi-Wan is obviously too old and too frail to have a chance of winning: he's sacrificing himself as a distraction to allow the others to escape. Making Obi-Wan more athletic and adding a telekinetic element to the fight undermines that pathos. Having Obi-Wan thrown around also takes away some of his dignity: in the original he's choosing to literally die on his feet.
It's a very impressive achievement though, I can see why they wanted to add the more elaborate stunts and effects of later episodes to the original characters. I liked the lightsaber damage to the scenery which would have been difficult/impossible to do in 1977.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 6:40 AM on May 21, 2019 [10 favorites]
It's a very impressive achievement though, I can see why they wanted to add the more elaborate stunts and effects of later episodes to the original characters. I liked the lightsaber damage to the scenery which would have been difficult/impossible to do in 1977.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 6:40 AM on May 21, 2019 [10 favorites]
Ugh, I hated that "re-imagining". Let 1977 be 1977, don't try to wedge 2019 aesthetics into a forty year old movie.
posted by octothorpe at 7:23 AM on May 21, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by octothorpe at 7:23 AM on May 21, 2019 [1 favorite]
Confession: I never saw any Star Wars, Star Trek, or superheroes movies
posted by growabrain at 7:24 AM on May 21, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by growabrain at 7:24 AM on May 21, 2019 [1 favorite]
Yeah, that re-imagining is in parts impressive but misses the point. I think like 1/3 of it is good (e.g. I actually like the slightly more dramatic establishing shot of Vader, etc), but the fight itself quickly spirals into the same troubles that I have with the Yoda vs. Dooku scene, wherein a character who has no reason to be a flip ninja and is kinda too old to be a flip ninja is suddenly a flip ninja because it'd be "cool".
posted by tocts at 7:28 AM on May 21, 2019 [5 favorites]
posted by tocts at 7:28 AM on May 21, 2019 [5 favorites]
How very ... prequel-ly. George Lucas would be proud.
That's what I said when they revealed the title of Episode IX.
posted by straight at 8:11 AM on May 21, 2019 [1 favorite]
That's what I said when they revealed the title of Episode IX.
posted by straight at 8:11 AM on May 21, 2019 [1 favorite]
Confession: I never saw any Star Wars, Star Trek, or superheroes movies
Well, now you can find out one was made.
posted by timdiggerm at 8:35 AM on May 21, 2019 [5 favorites]
Well, now you can find out one was made.
posted by timdiggerm at 8:35 AM on May 21, 2019 [5 favorites]
the fight itself quickly spirals into the same troubles that I have with the Yoda vs. Dooku scene, wherein a character who has no reason to be a flip ninja and is kinda too old to be a flip ninja is suddenly a flip ninja because it'd be "cool".
Yes, thank you. That's why I hated the Tasmanian Devil Yoda, and that's why I don't like this. Ugh.
posted by Fleebnork at 8:56 AM on May 21, 2019
Yes, thank you. That's why I hated the Tasmanian Devil Yoda, and that's why I don't like this. Ugh.
posted by Fleebnork at 8:56 AM on May 21, 2019
Star Wars SC 38 Reimagined
This is a tangent, but I always thought it was a shame that they mostly abandoned the idea that a Jedi Master should fight elegantly, with a clear mind. I'd love to see a fight with no wasted energy, just a single move at the perfect moment, like the last scene in Sanjuro.
You know, the way a guy who can read the emotional state of his opponent like an open book, force their will on people and literally see the future might fight.
We got a tiny little taste of that when we saw Qui-Gon meditating while Darth Maul stalked around like a caged tiger.
Instead they are getting more frantic and more bombastic and more desperate.
posted by Reyturner at 9:21 AM on May 21, 2019 [8 favorites]
This is a tangent, but I always thought it was a shame that they mostly abandoned the idea that a Jedi Master should fight elegantly, with a clear mind. I'd love to see a fight with no wasted energy, just a single move at the perfect moment, like the last scene in Sanjuro.
You know, the way a guy who can read the emotional state of his opponent like an open book, force their will on people and literally see the future might fight.
We got a tiny little taste of that when we saw Qui-Gon meditating while Darth Maul stalked around like a caged tiger.
Instead they are getting more frantic and more bombastic and more desperate.
posted by Reyturner at 9:21 AM on May 21, 2019 [8 favorites]
I'd love to see a fight with no wasted energy, just a single move at the perfect moment, like the last scene in Sanjuro.
I was gonna say Dodgeball, but yeah.
posted by The Bellman at 10:09 AM on May 21, 2019 [3 favorites]
I was gonna say Dodgeball, but yeah.
posted by The Bellman at 10:09 AM on May 21, 2019 [3 favorites]
An example I would add: the final fight in The Matrix, where Neo is finally fully able to see the code beneath the world around him and just effortlessly take on Agent Smith one-handed. I'm not sure I'd go quite that detached, but I think a Jedi in a similar vein of only the smallest, necessary movements to deal with opponents would be interesting.
posted by tocts at 10:22 AM on May 21, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by tocts at 10:22 AM on May 21, 2019 [1 favorite]
Also there's no reason to swing a weightless lightsaber around like a broadsword, unless you accept the (canon?) explanation that lightsabers generate a lot of angular momentum like a gyroscope.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 11:30 AM on May 21, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 11:30 AM on May 21, 2019 [1 favorite]
Well, with the variations in the sounds they make, I think the angular momentum thing is a given.
posted by lhauser at 6:53 PM on May 21, 2019
posted by lhauser at 6:53 PM on May 21, 2019
I'd love to see a fight with no wasted energy, just a single move at the perfect moment
For a Star Wars scene like this, you need to see the final confrontation between Obi-wan and Darth Maul in Star Wars: Rebels
An absolutely perfect scene.
posted by Paladin1138 at 4:05 AM on May 22, 2019 [3 favorites]
For a Star Wars scene like this, you need to see the final confrontation between Obi-wan and Darth Maul in Star Wars: Rebels
An absolutely perfect scene.
posted by Paladin1138 at 4:05 AM on May 22, 2019 [3 favorites]
Something about watching these on my phone... every time I see Darth Vader, I think about his brother Chad.
I saw the original (IV?) on a big TV recently and did not think of Chad once.
posted by MtDewd at 4:29 AM on May 22, 2019
I saw the original (IV?) on a big TV recently and did not think of Chad once.
posted by MtDewd at 4:29 AM on May 22, 2019
For a Star Wars scene like this, you need to see the final confrontation between Obi-wan and Darth Maul yt in Star Wars: Rebels
An absolutely perfect scene.
Thank you. This is how Yoda should have been. All movements carefully considered with no wasted energy. a Jedi MASTER.
posted by Fleebnork at 6:07 AM on May 22, 2019
An absolutely perfect scene.
Thank you. This is how Yoda should have been. All movements carefully considered with no wasted energy. a Jedi MASTER.
posted by Fleebnork at 6:07 AM on May 22, 2019
Is that scene typical of Rebels? Am I going to have to watch all of it?
posted by thedward at 7:38 AM on May 22, 2019
posted by thedward at 7:38 AM on May 22, 2019
Rebels is pretty good. I recommend it. The people making it seem to understand why we loved Star Wars in the first place.
posted by Fleebnork at 10:08 AM on May 22, 2019
posted by Fleebnork at 10:08 AM on May 22, 2019
The character designs in Rebels look so much like plastic action figures it’s like they were looking in on my childhood. But I have zero interest in trying to redeem the prequels or synch up their narratives or whatever. I’m fine with pretending they don’t exist.
posted by rikschell at 5:03 AM on May 23, 2019
posted by rikschell at 5:03 AM on May 23, 2019
The posted doc has some cool footage, but the framing around the droids is SO annoying. Writing R2 as a truculent toddler is not half as comedic as they seem to think it is. And a little C3PO goes a long way. I was 5 in 1977 and even then I was old enough to know that they were mistreating the characters I loved trying to talk down to kids like me.
It was rampant at the time. I loved the Black Hole movie except for the dumbed down comic relief robot that made it obvious it was just a stupid kids movie. Star Wars was so big because it was so effective in getting the tone exactly right 100 percent in that first movie.
posted by rikschell at 5:24 AM on May 23, 2019
It was rampant at the time. I loved the Black Hole movie except for the dumbed down comic relief robot that made it obvious it was just a stupid kids movie. Star Wars was so big because it was so effective in getting the tone exactly right 100 percent in that first movie.
posted by rikschell at 5:24 AM on May 23, 2019
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posted by mwhybark at 11:40 PM on May 20, 2019