10 More Star Wars Scenes Even More Impressive When You Know The Truth
Transcript
00:00 Behind the scenes stories from the galaxy far, far away's film and TV shows are littered
00:04 with accidents, incidents and misfortunes that had to be overcome in order to produce
00:09 iconic scenes.
00:11 Damaged equipment, injured actors, crazed fans.
00:15 Star Wars has seen it all and is still going strong.
00:18 And while you may already love some of these scenes, be prepared to view them in an entirely
00:23 new light once you find out just how much stress they cause those working on them.
00:27 Gareth here from War Culture Star Wars and here are 10 more Star Wars scenes even more
00:32 impressive when you know the truth.
00:34 10.
00:35 A rainstorm almost ruined everything.
00:37 A new hope.
00:38 Tatooine, arguably the most important planet in all of Star Wars.
00:42 It's the first planet we visit in the Skywalker saga and the final one.
00:46 In the order in which they were made, of course, otherwise we'd be sat here talking about
00:50 Naboo.
00:51 The surface of the twin sun desert world was mimicked here on Earth in Tunisia, a very
00:55 dry country right next to the Sahara.
00:58 Great thought George Lucas, what could possibly go wrong?
01:01 Then the heavens opened.
01:02 The shooting of the first scenes on Tatooine was significantly delayed because of an extremely
01:07 rare rainstorm.
01:08 Thankfully, Lucas did what he does best and ignored the obvious signs.
01:12 He persisted and finally captured those iconic scenes on the Skywalker's homeworld.
01:17 9.
01:18 Liam Neeson's wig was lost, The Phantom Menace.
01:21 Much like the first film of the original trilogy, the first film of the prequel trilogy was
01:25 also beset by weather-related issues.
01:27 George Lucas stared down the gods once again when he returned to Tunisia to film the Tatooine
01:32 sequences for this film.
01:34 Not to be trifled with, the deities sent yet another warning to the director, this time
01:38 in the form of a sandstorm.
01:40 This huge phenomenon caused serious damage to several sets and props being used on the
01:44 film, including the pod racers.
01:47 This was a disaster as that scene is the best thing in the entire Phantom Menace.
01:51 That and the duel of the fates, of course.
01:53 Perhaps the greatest tragedy of all those suffered during the storm fell at the feet
01:57 of Liam Neeson, or rather on the top of his head.
02:00 The Qui-Gon Jinn actor lost his long brunette wig, robbing the Jedi of his iconic hairstyle.
02:05 Thankfully, the hairpiece was replaced and Qui-Gon could strut about on camera living
02:10 his best flowy life.
02:11 When the Star Wars team returned to Tunisia to shoot scenes for Attack of the Clones,
02:15 things actually went off without a hitch.
02:17 Which is a shame because that meant we all had to sit through that terrible movie.
02:21 8.
02:22 It took four puppeteers to operate - The Mandalorian
02:25 In the previous list on this topic, which you should definitely go and check out, we
02:29 covered the fact that the galaxy's greatest slug, Jabba the Hutt, needed seven people
02:33 to operate him.
02:34 That's a lot of effort, but it does sort of make sense.
02:37 The Jabba puppet was huge, with arms, a tail and a head to control.
02:41 So pray tell why four different people were needed to work the minuscule Grogu puppet
02:46 in the Disney+ show, The Mandalorian.
02:48 Grogu, also known as Baby Yoda to people who don't really like Star Wars, is tiny.
02:53 Jabba probably has bowel movements larger than he is.
02:56 Hell I do, that is a lot of information I should not have just said.
02:59 So why were four people needed to bring him to life?
03:02 Created by Legacy Effects, the Grogu puppet was relied on heavily during The Mandalorian
03:07 as the crew wanted to avoid CGI where possible.
03:10 One person would be in charge of the critter's head and body, another its eyes, another its
03:14 mouth and another its arms.
03:17 That is an insane amount of people working on a puppet the size of Mando's head.
03:21 This makes practically any scene involving the little green fella more impressive, especially
03:25 the ones where he is most active.
03:27 7.
03:28 Ak-To was overrun with puffins, The Last Jedi
03:32 Though it appears very briefly at the end of The Force Awakens, the planet of Ak-To
03:36 is one of the main settings for The Last Jedi.
03:38 You know, that film every Star Wars fan unanimously loves.
03:42 It is the hiding spot of Luke Skywalker following the demise of his new Jedi Order at the hands
03:46 of Kylo Ren.
03:47 Rey tracks the Master down there to try and recruit him to the Resistance.
03:51 In his best grumpy old man voice, Luke says "No!"
03:54 In real life, Ak-To is the island of Skellig Michael off the southwest coast of Ireland.
03:59 It's about 54 acres big, home to a medieval monastery, and became a UNESCO World Heritage
04:05 Site in 1996.
04:07 It's also full of birds.
04:09 The island is home to several species of seabird, including gannets, razorbills and puffins.
04:14 There were so many of that last one that it presented a massive headache for director
04:18 Rian Johnson.
04:19 He couldn't film around them, and it would take too long to digitally remove them.
04:23 So he just decided to roll with it and put them in the film.
04:26 And that's where porgs came from, so now you know.
04:29 6.
04:30 The Darth Vader suit was intentionally uncomfortable - Revenge of the Sith
04:34 The scene in Revenge of the Sith where Anakin Skywalker first dons the famous black helmet
04:39 might be more famous for its French dub, but it is the canonically first glimpse we get
04:44 of Darth Vader.
04:45 After Obi-Wan used the high ground to leave Anakin for dead on Mustafar, Palpatine rescues
04:50 his new apprentice and shoves his charred remains inside of a big Halloween costume.
04:54 Said costume might look impressive on screen, but for actor Hayden Christensen it was the
04:58 stuff of nightmares.
05:00 In his infinite wisdom, Lucas made the Vader suit intentionally top-heavy.
05:05 This was done so Christensen wouldn't feel comfortable in the suit, which would reflect
05:08 Vader's adjustment period to his new exoskeleton.
05:12 A good idea from an artistic point of view, but practically this was not the smartest
05:16 decision.
05:17 Poor Hayden must have hated trying to wobble around in a deliberately wonky costume on
05:21 a dark set.
05:22 No wonder Vader only gets up and walks around for a little bit in Revenge of the Sith.
05:26 Christensen must have been exhausted.
05:28 At least Lucas didn't try and take him back to Tunisia for this scene.
05:31 That would have been the icing on the cake, wouldn't it?
05:33 5.
05:34 Mark Hamill blew out a blood vessel - A New Hope
05:37 The trash compactor scene from A New Hope is one of the most iconic in the entire franchise.
05:42 Luke Han and Leia attempting to overcome both the rapidly approaching walls and the mysterious
05:46 creature that dwells in the sewage water is classic stuff.
05:50 Although in real life, one actor was facing a very different obstacle.
05:54 Mark Hamill revealed on Twitter that he attempted to make Luke look as strangulated as possible
05:58 to add to the realism of the scene.
06:01 This backfired as he managed to pop a blood vessel in his eye.
06:04 This was not in the script, obviously, so the crew had to film the side with Luke's
06:08 good eye on it to cover for the injury.
06:10 Worst of all, Lucas then told Hamill that his technique was pointless as the lighting
06:14 would have obscured it anyway.
06:16 What do you like, George?
06:18 4.
06:19 Chewbacca had anti-Bigfoot hunter protection - Return of the Jedi
06:22 Ah, Peter Mayhew.
06:25 The gentle giant sadly passed away in 2019 from a heart attack.
06:28 But not before giving the world numerous memories as the most famous man inside the Chewbacca
06:33 costume.
06:34 Mayhew's height and eye-watering 7ft 3 made him the perfect candidate to portray the gigantic
06:39 Wookiee.
06:40 It also garnered him a lot of attention, sometimes from the wrong people.
06:44 Filming for scenes in Return of the Jedi taking place on Endor took place in the forests of
06:48 North California, aka Bigfoot country.
06:51 Owing to his huge height and furry outfit, Mayhew was warned not to wander off set unsupervised
06:57 in case he was mistaken for a Sasquatch and shot at by hunters.
07:01 In fact, Mayhew got a special escort in the form of people in orange vests to alert people
07:06 that he was not the missing link.
07:07 Whilst this may sound ridiculous, put yourself in this position.
07:10 You're wandering through the woods, lost and afraid, when all of a sudden you come
07:14 across a giant hairy figure roaring in the middle of the woods.
07:17 Don't tell me your brain wouldn't immediately jump to Bigfoot.
07:20 3.
07:21 Fans broke into the Sarlacc pit - Return of the Jedi
07:24 Lovers of the series definitely embody the fanatical part of being a fan.
07:28 Star Wars enthusiasts have long had a reputation for being amongst the nerdiest, more devoted
07:33 followers of any franchise.
07:34 This was exemplified during the filming of Return of the Jedi, when a group of devotees
07:39 managed to get onto the set.
07:41 Not just any set, mind you, the set of the battle between our heroes and the forces of
07:45 Jabba the Hutt above the Sarlacc's lair.
07:47 Don't you know what happens if you fall in there?
07:49 Ask Boba Fett.
07:51 Not put off by the idea of being digested, the fans not only managed to get past security,
07:56 but also snapped a few pictures.
07:58 Thankfully this was in a pre-internet age, so the secret of the Sarlacc remained unshared.
08:03 Breaking into anywhere is highly ill-advised.
08:06 Breaking onto a movie set which is full of pyrotechnics, heavy equipment and angry actors
08:11 is even more so.
08:12 Luckily, these irresponsible fans didn't do any harm, and didn't reveal any of the
08:16 movie's spoilers.
08:17 But imagine how differently things could have been if the release of Return of the Jedi
08:21 was delayed because a few idiots wanted some cheeky snaps.
08:24 2.
08:25 When Mando's face was injured by the Mandalorian The reveal of Din Djarin's face in The Mandalorian
08:33 is one of the biggest moments of the entire show.
08:35 They did it way more often than they should have, i.e. more than once, but it was still
08:39 a cool moment to catch a glimpse of the visage hiding beneath that chromed helmet.
08:43 The first and what should have been the only time we see Mando's face is during the eighth
08:48 episode of season one, when the droid IG-11 removes his helmet to tend to his wounds.
08:53 In a case of art mirroring life, actor Pedro Pascal had hurt himself for real right before
08:58 this scene was filmed.
08:59 The star himself said "I stepped out of the makeup trailer looking at my sides and
09:03 walked into a piece of plywood."
09:05 This faux pas cut open the bridge of his nose and required seven stitches.
09:10 All this happened before they had filmed his big helmet removal scene.
09:14 But as show creators Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau would later note, the legit injury actually
09:18 worked for the scene, due to Mando being in fairly bad shape at that point.
09:22 Lemons and lemonade and all that.
09:24 1.
09:25 "I Am Your Father" was a huge secret - The Empire Strikes Back
09:29 Is it the most famous twist in movie history?
09:31 If not then it's up there, right?
09:33 Like top two, three, yeah.
09:35 Vader dropping the F-bomb - the F stands for father - on Luke in The Empire Strikes Back
09:40 is the moment that launched Star Wars into the stratosphere, and is still the most famous
09:44 line in the whole series.
09:46 To protect this classic moment from leaking ahead of time, Lucas and Irving Kirchner went
09:50 to some pretty extreme lengths.
09:53 In the script, the line from Vader was actually changed to "Obi-Wan killed your father",
09:57 and even Luke himself didn't know about the revelation until one day before the scene
10:00 was shot.
10:01 Mark Hamill got told the real line by Kirchner, and then had to keep it a secret both from
10:05 his castmates and crew, not to mention the rest of the planet, for over a year.
10:10 All this hard work paid off in the end, and the twist is still as shocking today as it
10:14 ever was.
10:15 The fact they couldn't tell the guy who played Darth Vader, David Prowse, his own biggest
10:18 secret, will never not be funny though.