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Darth Vader

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Darth Vader is a fictional character in George Lucas's science fiction saga Star Wars. In the original movie trilogy, the character is depicted as a formidable Dark Lord of the Sith and the brutal head enforcer of the Galactic Empire's rule across the galaxy. He serves as the Sith apprentice of Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), using the dark side of the Force to mercilessly pursue the Jedi and the Rebel Alliance to the ends of the galaxy. The prequel trilogy recounts the heroic rise and tragic fall of Darth Vader's alter ego, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen). In the original movie trilogy, Darth Vader was portrayed by bodybuilder David Prowse and a series of stunt doubles, most notably Bob Anderson, while he was voiced by actor James Earl Jones. An old Anakin was portrayed by Sebastian Shaw at the end of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

Darth Vader is one of the most iconic villains in film history and was ranked third on American Film Institute's 100 Heroes and Villains list.

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Production and publication

Creation and concepts

File:Vadersketch.jpg
An early conceptual drawing of Darth Vader (right) by Ralph McQuarrie

The character's image was created when concept artist Ralph McQuarrie drew the opening scene where Vader and his stormtroopers board a Rebel ship. It was initially imagined that Darth Vader would fly through space to enter the ship, necessitating a suit and breathing mask. This equipment was later made permanent and incorporated in the story.

The iconic sound of the character's respirator breathing was created by sound designer Ben Burtt, who created the sound by recording himself breathing into a scuba regulator.

Darth Vader's costume is one of the areas in which Lucas' interest in feudal Japan -- in particular samurai warriors -- is most clearly manifested. According to Star Wars wardrobe master John Mollo, "Darth Vader's helmet started as a World War I German helmet".

Portrayals

David Prowse played the role of Darth Vader during filming of A New Hope. Prowse was originally given the choice between the roles of Chewbacca and Darth Vader, and chose the latter because he said "people would remember him." After filming, James Earl Jones was hired to read Vader's lines over Prowse's performance. This was in part due to Prowse's strong West Country accent. Producer George Lucas eventually chose Jones to provide Vader's voice for all the original trilogy films; Jones has since been closely identified with the role. In 1978, Jones returned as the voice of Darth Vader in The Star Wars Holiday Special, which used A New Hope footage of Prowse in the character's costume.

When National Public Radio commissioned writer Brian Daley to adapt Star Wars as a radio series, actor Brock Peters was hired to provide the voice of Darth Vader when James Earl Jones was not available.

The character of Darth Vader was also played by several stunt doubles, most notably fencing instructor Bob Anderson. Anderson handled all of Vader's fight sequences in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Mark Hamill, who portrayed Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy, noted in a 1983 interview in Starlog #72: "Bob Anderson was the man who actually did Vader's fighting. It was always supposed to be a secret, but I finally told George I didn't think it was fair any more. Bob worked so hard that he deserves some recognition. It's ridiculous to preserve the myth that it’s all done by one man."

Actor and former Industrial Light & Magic visual effects artist C. Andrew Nelson has also portrayed Vader at Lucasfilm events, in the Rebel Assault II and Dark Forces video games, and in footage filmed for the 1997 Special Edition releases of the original three Star Wars films. Nelson has also appeared as Vader on various television shows and in numerous commercials.

For Revenge of the Sith, Hayden Christensen, who played Anakin Skywalker in the preceding Attack of the Clones, wore the Vader armor rather than Prowse. However, as Christensen was shorter than Prowse, certain perspective trickery was used to make him seem as physically large as Prowse: a slightly scaled-down costume was created for him; the costume had extensions built into the boots and helmet; and some of the shots of Vader standing next to Palpatine were filmed using forced perspective. No one was credited for the briefly heard voice of Darth Vader at the film's end. When asked if he had supplied the voice, either newly or from a previous recording, James Earl Jones told Newsday, "You'd have to ask Lucas about that. I don't know".

Translations

  • Vader is called "Dart Fener" in Italy. Claudio Sorrentino proposed an online poll to decide whether to keep the name Dart Fener during the production of the new trilogy; 55.6 percent of voters chose "yes". However, the European packaging for the Darth Vader Voice Changer toy listed his name as "Darth Vader" in the Italian text.
  • In France, Vader is known as "Dark Vador". In addition, although most characters including Vader had name changes in the original trilogy, he is one of few characters not to have his French name change reversed in the prequel trilogy and Expanded Universe. Retention of the "Dark" moniker caused several other Sith lords to be among the few characters who had French name changes in the prequels (e.g. "Dark Maul"). However, he has his original name in Québecois dubs. He was voiced by Georges Aminel in the French versions of Episodes V, VI, and III and by Denis Mercier in the Quebec version of Episode III.
  • In a Chinese bootleg DVD version of Episode III known as Star War The Third Gathers: The Backstroke of the West, his name is displayed as "Reaching the west reaches" in the poor English subtitles. This was translated from "Daxi Weida", a Chinese phonetic rendering of Vader's name.
  • In Japan, Vader was voiced by Toru Ohira in the films, who also voiced Boss Nass.

Cultural figure

Due to his central role in the Star Wars films, the character of Darth Vader has entered the public consciousness as the quintessential villain. His powerful bass voice and imposing image (he is 6 feet 8 inches tall in his full suit), coupled with his heavy mechanized breathing, is easily recognizable. The American Film Institute's list of the greatest movie villains placed him third, beating the Wicked Witch of the West and the Terminator and coming just after Hannibal Lecter and Norman Bates. He has been parodied by such figures as "Duck Vader" from Tiny Toon Adventures, "Darth Benkyou" in an episode of Doraemon, "Dearth Nadir" as played by Gonzo for The Muppet Show's "Pigs in Space" sketch, "Girth Plotz" (Thaddeus Plotz) in an episode of Animaniacs that parodied the first trilogy, "Darth Koopa" as portrayed by Bowser from The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, "Dark Laser" from The Fairly OddParents, an episode of Codename: Kids Next Door where President Jimmy dresses in black and takes over the school, country music singer Darth Brooks in Late Night With Conan O'Brien, and Chef from South Park as Darth Chef in the episode "The Return of Chef". Marty McFly in Back to the Future (dressed in a radiation suit) pretends to be "Darth Vader from the planet Vulcan". At the beginning of Kevin Smith's Chasing Amy, the character Hooper X gives a speech at a comic convention on how Darth Vader is a metaphor for how poorly sci-fi treats black people; he is especially offended that Vader (the "blackest brother in the galaxy") reveals himself to be a "feeble crusty old white man". The character of the Huntsman from American Dragon: Jake Long was inspired by Darth Vader and a scene from the episode "Act 4 Scene 15" parodies the scene in The Empire Strikes Back when the back of Vader's head is briefly exposed before he dons his helmet.

In Mel Brooks' 1987 Star Wars parody Spaceballs, Darth Vader is parodied as Lord Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis), a short man with an oversize Darth Vader-like helmet who occasionally opens it to reveal his face. Instead of using a lightsaber, he has a ring that gives him abilities similar to The Force (called the "Schwartz"). The Schwartz ring allows Dark Helmet to produce a lightsaber-like projection at the ring's tip. He is given to making double entendres about his helmet and his ring sword. The film also pokes fun at Darth Vader's revelation to Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back; during their climactic battle, Dark Helmet declares himself to be main character's "father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate," before admitting that this means that they have no familial ties whatsoever.

In 2006, Blame Society Productions created a series of short videos featuring Chad Vader - Day Shift Manager. Chad Vader, ostensibly Darth Vader's younger brother, wears the same armor and cape and uses phrases and concepts associated with Darth Vader in the context of a modern grocery store. More recently, Family Guy parodied Episode IV, with Stewie Griffin appearing as Darth Vader. In another episode, Darth Vader is shown attempting to take out a loan. When asked what the loan is for, Vader replies, "To build a battle station that can destroy a planet"; when the accountant voices concern over his choice, Vader changes his answer to, "I want to open a sports bar."

Darth Vader as a cultural metaphor

Darth Vader's image and name have both become synonyms for evil in the public consciousness. Lucas has pointed to Vader's iconic status as a reason for making the prequel movies, since he felt the icon overshadowed the fact that Vader was intended to be a tragic character.

On June 22, 2006, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney referred to himself as the Darth Vader of the Bush administration. Discussing the need for vigorous pursuit of intelligence, he said to CNN's John King, "It means we need to be able to go after and capture or kill those people who are trying to kill Americans. That's not a pleasant business. It's a very serious business. And I suppose, sometimes, people look at my demeanor and say, 'Well, he's the Darth Vader of the administration.'" Jon Stewart put on a Darth Vader helmet to "talk" to Dick Cheney as a "kindred spirit" on The Daily Show on January 25, 2007. Cheney's wife, Lynne, presented Stewart with a Darth Vader action figure on her appearance on the show on October 10, 2007. Both Stewart and Stephen Colbert have occasionally referred to Cheney as "Darth Cheney". In the satiric cartoon show Lil' Bush, Dick Cheney's father is portrayed as being Darth Vader. At her presidential campaign event on September 19, 2007, Hillary Rodham Clinton also referred to Cheney as Darth Vader. At the 2008 Washington Radio and Television Correspondents' Association Dinner, Cheney joked that Lynne Cheney told him that the Vader comparison "humanizes" him.

Then-Vice President Al Gore referred to Tele-Communications Inc.'s John Malone as the "Darth Vader of cable." Political strategist Lee Atwater was known by his political enemies as "the Darth Vader of the Republican Party."

In 2005, former Cornell University entomologists Quentin Wheeler and Kelly Miller named 65 new species of slime-mold beetle of the genus Agathidium, with one named Agathidium vaderi after Darth Vader.

In the last years of construction, Washington National Cathedral held a competition for children to design new grotesques for the western towers. The third-place winner was a design featuring Darth Vader, which looms over the southern side of the northwest tower. Brisbane, California, has an ominous-looking building made of dark reflective glass and the architecturally acclaimed Dakin Building, a white futuristic antithesis -- these buildings are known as the "Darth Vader building" and "Luke Skywalker building", respectively.

The Fourth and Blanchard Building in Seattle, WA is informally dubbed the 'Darth Vader building'.

See also

References

  1. AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains", American Film Institute, last accessed April 17, 2008
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference sw.combts was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. Burns, Kevin and Edith Becker (2004). Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy (Documentary).
  4. Henderson, Mary (1997). Star Wars: The Magic of Myth. Bantam Books.
  5. Ingram, Richard (2007). Buying and Selling Wartime Collectibles: An Enthusiast's Guide to Militaria. Crowood. p. 17. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  6. Not specified (1983), Starlog #72, Starlog Magazine, text available at TheForce.net
  7. Template:Cite " web
  8. "Vader o Fener? Ecco il responso".
  9. "Transcripts". The Situation Room. Cable News Network. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  10. Gunther, Marc (2005-08-22). "Al Gore Battles Old Cable Demons". CNN. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  11. "Harvey Leroy "Lee" Atwater, was a Republican political consultant". Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  12. "Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld are now species of slime-mold beetles -- but strictly in homage". Cornell News. Cornell University. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  13. "About Darth Vader". Washington National Cathedral. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
  14. Egan, Timothy (June 29, 1986). "Focus: Seattle; Creating An Office Empire". NY Times. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  15. "the bell awards - Tom Graff (interview)". Belltown Messenger. June 2007. Retrieved 2008-05-08.

Further reading

External links

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Star Wars
EpisodesI: The Phantom Menace • II: Attack of the Clones • III: Revenge of the Sith • IV: A New Hope • V: The Empire Strikes Back • VI: Return of the Jedi
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