Palatine was a horrible parody in the prequels. Tolerably when played as a politician but when unmasked in Revenge of the Sith comic book cheese level bad.
I always preferred the version in Empire not the look but the voice characterization in the 1980 version.
Ian requested that he be allowed to do his own thing on Return of the Jedi because otherwise he would not do it.
Lucas initially wanted him to copy the Empire Strikes Back version of the Emperors voice.
He already became a comic book villain in Jedi but not yet a total parody.
I don't want a return of the character and we already know they have said they are not doing EU adaption so if he resurrected its just a bad ripoff of Dark Empire.
“Always loved Vader’s wordless self sacrifice. Another shitty, clueless, revision like Greedo and young Anakin’s ghost. What a fucking shame.” -Simon Pegg.
The depiction of Palpatine in ROTS has really soured my opinion of McDiarmid's interpretation of the character over the years. There's no way in hell that over-the-top, pseudo-homoerotic bullshit would have ever come to pass if they'd stuck with a Clive Revill-styled Palpatine.
DuracellEnergizer said:
pseudo-homoerotic
Wut.
DuracellEnergizer said:
The depiction of Palpatine in ROTS has really soured my opinion of McDiarmid's interpretation of the character over the years. There's no way in hell that over-the-top, pseudo-homoerotic bullshit would have ever come to pass if they'd stuck with a Clive Revill-styled Palpatine.
Yes a transgender Palpatine would have been much less homoerotic.
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I said pseudo-homoerotic, not homoerotic. There's a difference =P
I think Emperor in ROTJ is one of the best written and portrayed character in the series.
In ROTS McDiarmid over-exaggerated with the performance. But it might not be his fault. he might have been instructed by Lucas to act like that.
As for ESB, the guy looks like some boring grandpa. The actor even read the line like one. Still I prefer the old version to the one in 2004 SE simply because they made McDiarmid have the ROTS Palpatine make-up instead of ROTJ one (the two are actually very different). And I don't like prequel parasites in OT.
真実
IMO McDiarmid was amazing in ROTS, note perfect in fact. But it was the terrible, terrible makeup, script, CGI additions to his eyes, CGI body doubles, soft lighting, CGI lighting, editing, plotting, Ligtsaber design, presence of Lightsaber, Lightsaber choreography, pacing, costume, sets etc etc that let him down (Let me know if I left anything out).
The voice had nothing to do with it.*
Go watch the long shots in Palps office at around 01hr18mins, where you can't see how bad the makeup is and it's damn good. You also have to remember that Lucas no longer has the ability to judge a good take from the bad ("You will know!"), all he can see is wether they are reading the lines out as he's written.
(*However, if you listen, Lucas completely f*cked with his voice in post-production too. Massively deepening it at points to near comic levels.)
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I love McDiarmind's Palpatine/Emperor in all movies where he is. He's one of the few actors who actual care to act in the prequels. So, yes, he is in some political boring parts and when he becomes Emperor he plays it "over the top evil" with the "witch voice" he had in ROTJ, turned up to 11. But at least it was acting. He presents a real character to the audience. And it was actualy fun to watch, IMO. The only thing I did not like was seeing him jumping and twisting in the air with a lightsaber. But that was not him. That was Lucas playing with a computer. And the bad make-up too, indeed. But in the case of the make-up I think it's also because they did not played enough with the light during the shooting. It's badly illuminated most of the time. But, yeah, it was a bad make-up anyway...
imperialscum said:
As for ESB, the guy looks like some boring grandpa. The actor even read the line like one.
I really wished that the public face of Palpatine in the films was the disguise and the ravaged face of the Emperor was his true self, rather than the reuslt of being scarred by his own force lightning in ROTJ
buddy-x-wing said:
I really wished that the public face of Palpatine in the films was the disguise and the ravaged face of the Emperor was his true self, rather than the reuslt of being scarred by his own force lightning in ROTJ
This is among the greatest posts in the history of forums. Palpatine getting scarred by lightning makes absolutely no sense at all.
It's been an idea for a while. Even incorporated into a few Episode III edits.
I’m just here because I’m driving tonight.
Before the prequels I'd always thought Palpatine's appearance was down to the Darkside eating away at his body across the decades like Gollum in LOTR.
The PT could've gone down the Sauron route where he once had the ability to take on a more friendly visage to decieve people.
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buddy-x-wing said:
I really wished that the public face of Palpatine in the films was the disguise and the ravaged face of the Emperor was his true self, rather than the reuslt of being scarred by his own force lightning in ROTJ
It should be simply a result of aging and dark side "side-effect".
真実
imperialscum said:
buddy-x-wing said:
I really wished that the public face of Palpatine in the films was the disguise and the ravaged face of the Emperor was his true self, rather than the reuslt of being scarred by his own force lightning in ROTJ
It should be simply a result of aging and dark side "side-effect".
In fact, that's exactly what The Making of Return of the Jedi (the book in which Lucas says that anybody can use The Force) says. Specifically, it says that he's an ancient man who uses the dark side to extend his life and his appearance is a result of that.
I personally like to go with the idea that Palpatine isn't very old -- only in his sixties or so -- and only looks the way he does because the ravages of the dark side have eaten away at his body and made him look far, far older.
Of course, I do also go with the idea that he's used up countless clone bodies over the decades, so he actually could be very old in my canon *shrug*
Was Palpatine supposed to have a lightsaber when ROTJ was made? I ask because Kasdan asked Lucas if Palpatine was a Jedi and Lucas responded by saying that anybody can use The Force.
darklordoftech said:
Was Palpatine supposed to have a lightsaber when ROTJ was made? I ask because Kasdan asked Lucas if Palpatine was a Jedi and Lucas responded by saying that anybody can use The Force.
Not as far as i know he only ever had a cane like Yoda. And then both have lightsabers in the prequels which is rubbish.
“Always loved Vader’s wordless self sacrifice. Another shitty, clueless, revision like Greedo and young Anakin’s ghost. What a fucking shame.” -Simon Pegg.
The only way I could see ROTJ Palpatine using a lightsaber would be the same way I could see a Satanist using a crucifix -- as an improvised weapon to murder a priest, taken from the priest himself. He certainly wouldn't make one himself and carry it on his person.
Was Zahn the one that had the Emperor keep slain Jedi's lightsabers as a trophy. Or was that Dark Empire.
Or was that specifically just Luke's lightsaber stored at mount tantiss along with his hand in the vault?
That seems to me the kind of conceit the Emperor would have like when he refers to Vader as Kenobi's star pupil in the Return of the Jedi novelization.
“Always loved Vader’s wordless self sacrifice. Another shitty, clueless, revision like Greedo and young Anakin’s ghost. What a fucking shame.” -Simon Pegg.
skyjedi2005 said:
Was Zahn the one that had the Emperor keep slain Jedi's lightsabers as a trophy. Or was that Dark Empire.
Or was that specifically just Luke's lightsaber stored at mount tantiss along with his hand in the vault?
The Thrawn Trilogy established that Luke's hand and old lightsaber were kept at Mount Tantiss while Dark Empire established that Palpatine kept Jedi lightsabers as trophies in his clone chambers on Byss.
That is what i thought.
So i got my memory a little mixed up because i read both originally around the same time. Have not read Dark Empire in over ten years and am afraid it would be too jarring to read again as i think it has probably not aged well. Loved it in the 90's.
I bet i would be super critical of dark empire II and Empire's end as well. Probably better left in memory only.
Also if i am not mistaken Zahn, Veitch and Anderson tried to have some kind of overlapping continuity if not successful in execution they had the idea for the stories to intersect.
Worst thing about the Jedi Academy trilogy for me was Mara and Luke not being together. But apparently that was a decision that came from LFL and they did not relent til vision of the future and union were published.
Throw in Barbara Hambly not being on the same page and creating Callista its sort of a mess.
“Always loved Vader’s wordless self sacrifice. Another shitty, clueless, revision like Greedo and young Anakin’s ghost. What a fucking shame.” -Simon Pegg.
I have high hopes for a new villain, perhaps a Sith cult or splinter group that has tapped into the Darkside's power and become possessed by Sith spirits or something. It sounds like something from Indiana Jones but I think it would work.
I don't see Abrams going into the EU though apart from taking Anakin's offspring and transplanting them into whatever storylines the writers devise.
If the Sith return, it should be in the form of a secret apprentice of Sidious. All the other ways that I've heard scream "TFN".
just an idea, but I'm sort of leaning towards the idea of Jedi survivors of order 66 coming out of hiding, and while not being darkside, it becomes a clash of OLD JEDI Ways clashing with Luke's way of teaching that causes conflict