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Small details that took you FOREVER to notice in the Star Wars films — Page 6

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Booman said:

Here’s one that I found pretty recently, it’s the sort of thing that hides in plain sight and blows your mind when you finally connect the dots in your head.

So if you have some knowledge of the production of the original Star Wars, you’ll know that the Falcon’s early design was ultimately repurposed and used for the (much larger) Blockade Runner. It would have had a linear interior, basically a single hallway running the length of the ship.

It wasn’t until I saw the following production image that I realized the interior set design from the abandoned “linear falcon” concept made an appearance in the finished film. When compared to the sketch it’s almost an exact match.

I assume that this particular set was built as the Falcon’s interior, and quickly redressed for use as Princess Leia’s ship. This would mean that the Falcon’s original design made it way further into production, which is something I was absolutely unaware of. It’s just weird to think that the famous scene of Leia putting the plans in R2 technically takes place in what was once the Millennium Falcon’s interior.

And that small corridor was originally supposed to be the whole set for Leia’s starship – the large, gleaming white corridor with rectangular walls was a late addition during filming, using extra money Lucas got from Fox.

I think those “pipe/vent things” in the third picture were originally supposed to be escape pods.

“That Darth Vader, man. Sure does love eating Jedi.”

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I can see the similarity, but to say it’s almost an exact match between the drawing and the set, it’s a bit of a strecth. I can’t see anything in common than the roof profile and then there’s one round entrance.

And in the time of greatest despair, there shall come a savior, and he shall be known as the Son of the Suns.

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LexX said:

I can see the similarity, but to say it’s almost an exact match between the drawing and the set, it’s a bit of a strecth. I can’t see anything in common than the roof profile and then there’s one round entrance.

Plus the pipes on the ceiling and the grating on the floor… I think it’s pretty reasonable to assume that they had to redress the set.

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Here’s an audio detail that I only picked up on after my most recent watch of ANH:
when the band starts up their second song you can hear the other cantina patrons applaud in recognition.

I guess I was always too distracted by the band to notice, but I’m happy even a rough area like Mos Eisley still has enough culture that can recognize and appreciate some jazz standards.

“The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.” - DV

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It may be a wretched hive of scum and villainy, but they’ve got excellent musical taste! 😛

I watched a few minutes of The Phantom Menace on TBS over the weekend, and noticed for the first time there are little droids picking up and putting the downed battle droids on the Naboo grassland into tidy heaps after the Gungans have lost. Prequel Lucas would never show dead Gungans being stacked of course. 😉

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Where were you in '77?

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act on instinct said:

Here’s an audio detail that I only picked up on after my most recent watch of ANH:
when the band starts up their second song you can hear the other cantina patrons applaud in recognition.

I guess I was always too distracted by the band to notice, but I’m happy even a rough area like Mos Eisley still has enough culture that can recognize and appreciate some jazz standards.

One of my pet peeves is that so many fans think the band only plays one song (there’s even a joke about it on the FamilyGuy StarWars), when the second one is the one that gets the big cheer.
I’ve always assumed that the second one was their new hit while the first one is the old classic.

Ray’s Lounge
Biggs in ANH edit idea
ROTJ opening edit idea

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IIRC, it was never included on the soundtrack album until the anthology boxset in the 90’s, so that might be part of the reason.

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Where were you in '77?

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I’ve always noticed more production gaffs in ANH than the other films. I can’t really say when I noticed most of them, but one I know exactly when I noticed and why. When I sat down to watch Empire of Dreams in 2004, I saw that they used some alternate takes of R2 leaving the line in the droid sale. There is a partially costumed Jawa that helps R2 get started. In the final cut in the film (every version from 1977 though the 2011 blue-ray) you can see the long human arms coming out of the Jawa costume just behind R2 as he starts moving.

When the Imperial officer comes in to tell Vader and Tarkin that Dantooine is not the Rebel base, Vader’s dialog toward the end of the scene doesn’t line up to his hand gesture.

R2’s retraining bolt is put on in the correct place but then when he is sucked into the sandcrawler it is in the wrong position.

After R5-D4 blows his top, he is back in line next to R2.

I didn’t noticed the repeat for the Tusken Raider attacking Luke until Empire of Dreams and most of the time I still can’t unless I concentrate on it.

A lot of the dialog in the Blockage Runner if out of sync.

I think I first noticed this one thanks to comments on here. When they are headed to docking bay 94, as the camera pans as they walk around the corner, one R2 vanishes and another appears, skipping quite a distance.

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Only a few years ago did I notice that Darth Vader’s helmet wobbles in the wind while he delivers the “search your feelings” line (and the rest of the scene until Luke falls) in ESB.

It’s become for me one of those; once you’ve seen it you can’t unsee it moments.

Star Wars is Surrealism, not Science Fiction (essay)
Original Trilogy Documentaries/Making-Ofs (YouTube, Vimeo, etc. finds)
Beyond the OT Documentaries/Making-Ofs (YouTube, Vimeo, etc. finds)
Amazon link to my novel; Dawn of the Karabu.

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Another one is Leia saying “come on General, let’s move” (in ROTJ) but her mouth seems to be saying “come on Han…”

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yotsuya said:

When the Imperial officer comes in to tell Vader and Tarkin that Dantooine is not the Rebel base, Vader’s dialog toward the end of the scene doesn’t line up to his hand gesture.

This has always been a favorite of mine, those little moments only make ANH more endearing to me.

“The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.” - DV

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ZkinandBonez said:

Only a few years ago did I notice that Darth Vader’s helmet wobbles in the wind while he delivers the “search your feelings” line (and the rest of the scene until Luke falls) in ESB.

It’s become for me one of those; once you’ve seen it you can’t unsee it moments.

Or the bit where Luke leaps down from the Carbon Freezing platform and bounces off a little trampoline…(I didn’t spot that one, I read it somewhere)!

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Shopping Maul said:

ZkinandBonez said:

Only a few years ago did I notice that Darth Vader’s helmet wobbles in the wind while he delivers the “search your feelings” line (and the rest of the scene until Luke falls) in ESB.

It’s become for me one of those; once you’ve seen it you can’t unsee it moments.

Or the bit where Luke leaps down from the Carbon Freezing platform and bounces off a little trampoline…(I didn’t spot that one, I read it somewhere)!

Oh, yeah, I’d forgotten about that. Thought he wasn’t on a trampoline. Hamill simply lands on the ground after a very short jump and his head briefly pops up into the lower frame as he stands up again, and then we hear the landing sound effect afterwards.

I actually did notice that one on my own a long time ago. I don’t remember exactly which version it was I noticed it on, though it was definitely the original version (either VHS or GOUT DVD) and I remember the image was bright enough to make Luke’s head popping up before the landing sound effect was fairly obvious. As someone who’s always been very interested in the craft of film-making, it was always fun to notice small errors/quirks like that.

Star Wars is Surrealism, not Science Fiction (essay)
Original Trilogy Documentaries/Making-Ofs (YouTube, Vimeo, etc. finds)
Beyond the OT Documentaries/Making-Ofs (YouTube, Vimeo, etc. finds)
Amazon link to my novel; Dawn of the Karabu.

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One of my most favourite scenes from the OT, and I’ve never noticed this interesting detail before.

Escorting the carbon frozen Han Solo, Boba Fett, imperceptibly turns his head in the direction of the sound of Luke’s weapon being removed from its holster - from an impressive distance.

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Yes - I happened to be watching that exact clip on YouTube recently, as I was trying to match various themes from the soundtrack CD to scenes in the film. One or two comments mentioned Fett turning his head just after Luke pulls out his gun, and I couldn’t believe I had never noticed that before.

The music playing during the procession (sounds a bit like a funeral dirge) is one of my favourite motifs in the whole trilogy. A slightly slower version of the theme recurs a few minutes later on the CD and was originally due to appear during the early stages of the Luke/Vader duel. I spent ages trying to find it in the film before reading online that this second rendition was pulled last minute, since the duel was more suspenseful with no music.

Bluto

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Bluto said:

Yes - I happened to be watching that exact clip on YouTube recently, as I was trying to match various themes from the soundtrack CD to scenes in the film. One or two comments mentioned Fett turning his head just after Luke pulls out his gun, and I couldn’t believe I had never noticed that before.

The music playing during the procession (sounds a bit like a funeral dirge) is one of my favourite motifs in the whole trilogy. A slightly slower version of the theme recurs a few minutes later on the CD and was originally due to appear during the early stages of the Luke/Vader duel. I spent ages trying to find it in the film before reading online that this second rendition was pulled last minute, since the duel was more suspenseful with no music.

Bluto

My favourite piece of music from the OT. A variation is used as Han is being loaded into SLAVE-1.

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The gaffes, errors, problems and shortcuts in SW are all due to Fox nickel and diming everyone the whole time and then the final rush to get shooting finished with everyone bicycling between stages and multiple units going at once.
And that’s a big part of why it is great. And a big chunk of what the SEs remove.

Here’s one of my favorite “how did I not notice before!!”
I never realized it was Shane Rimmer who asked about Artoo in the Yavin hangar for the longest time-then suddenly my Bond fan radar went off into overdrive and I shouted HOW DID I NOT SEE HIM?

Also it took me forever to notice Vader’s helmet hood actually moving during the wind tunnel and climax of the Bespin duel.

VADER!? WHERE THE HELL IS MY MOCHA LATTE? -Palpy on a very bad day.
“George didn’t think there was any future in dead Han toys.”-Harrison Ford
YT channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader

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Holy crap, I never noticed him either. The voice should have been a dead giveaway. As Lucas was influenced by Thunderbirds (in which Rimmer voiced Scott Tracy) for the look of The Clone Wars, the circle is now complete!

This also makes the Thunderbirds gag I contributed to Frink’s Episode III edit even sweeter. 😉

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Where were you in '77?

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I never noticed him, even by the voice.

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I have his autograph on a hangar image.

And in the time of greatest despair, there shall come a savior, and he shall be known as the Son of the Suns.

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I’m glad it wasn’t just me who missed him at first. Now every time I start doing the YOLT radar tech, the beleaguered underling of Willard Whyte or TSWLM’s sub captain.

VADER!? WHERE THE HELL IS MY MOCHA LATTE? -Palpy on a very bad day.
“George didn’t think there was any future in dead Han toys.”-Harrison Ford
YT channel:
https://www.youtube.com/c/DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader

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Speaking of Bond, I like how Octopussy’s credits are the who’s who of Star Wars.

And in the time of greatest despair, there shall come a savior, and he shall be known as the Son of the Suns.

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Only just recently noticed this in Empire, but I don’t know if I really noticed it or if I think I noticed it.

The guy in Star Wars who says “enemy fighters coming your way” is, I think, in Empire too? As the same rebel?

I looked it up and apparently that guy’s name is Del Goren, played by Burnell Tucker. IMDB is showing that Burnell Tucker is also in The Empire Strikes Back, and I think he’s the guy who is monitoring the Imperial Probe Droid transmission before Han and Chewie go out after it.