Something that's always bothered me (about Lightsabers)...

[DarthLinde]

OK, lightsabers were around for over 4000 years, so how come through all that time, the Jedi and the Sith lords were the only two people smart enough to even think about using them. It's an all purpose tool being a sheild, sword, and metal cutter all in one. Yet, the jedi in all stupidity never once thought to train republic soldiers in using them. Same for the stormtroopers. Nineteen years with hardly any bother and the emperor never thought about training them to use them. If anyone knows anything about this, please tell me because it really bugs me.

[The Seeker]

Literal Answer: Because George Lucas wanted them to be unique to the Jedi/Sith.

 

Technical guestimation: First, the Jedi and Sith clung rather tightly to the technology and schematics, and some books even say that a degree of force input is required in the creation to get all the parts perfectly melded together.

 

Now, look at it this way with a real world comparison: For thousands of years, swords were an extremely well used, well developed technology that dominated the battlefields of the world since their creation. Even through the advent of primitive ranged weapons, the sword held it's ground in warfare.

 

Then, there came guns, and other extremely powerful and effective ranged weapons that little by slowly pushed swords and bows out of the way. Why did a brand new technology so callously replace such a well developed and respected piece of weaponry?

 

Because any idiot, after a few days, a week at most, can be proficient with a gun, where a sword takes months to be good enough, and years if not decades to master. Once the gun came around, suddenly, an army could be supplied with disposible troops without investing hardly any time at all in their training. The soldiers no longer had to be as well fed, nor was armor necessary, or even practical anymore.

 

Now, look at swords compared to lightsabers. With a sword, if you slip up, you cut yourself. A lightsaber, you kill yourself. Jedi are trained from birth on how to use the lightsaber, as well as their sixth sense, so that they don't kill themselves or others by accident. They are masters, where say, an entire army would just be a bunch of guys hacking each other up.

 

So, I would imagine that in SW, just as with here, that Blasters are much cheaper to make, more readily accessible, and as with guns, can be handed to any given grunt to mow down an enemy.

 

So, while an army of lightsaber weilding bada$$es would be quite daunting, it just isn't practal, in terms of finances, time, resources, and risk.

 

Just my take. Sorry for the long post, but the history of the sword intrigues me.

[Astrotoy7]

Bieng able to use a lightasaber effectively requires the instinct and physical reflexes associated with the force.

 

Can you imagine all the accidental dismemberments is any ole jackass was allowe dto wield a saber

 

mtfbwya

[jomaster]

answer: its because the crystal needed at the center of the saber and key to its power had to be positioned exactly in allignment a feat only possible with the power of the force so it was only jedi and sith that could construct them plus they wouldn't got round handing them out to anyone on account oif the fact they were a formidable weapon

 

*case closed*

[Kurgan]

Han Solo seemed able to wield a lightsaber, and he had no force power that we know of...

 

But perhaps you mean to use it with the skill required to say, block blaster bolts and have duels and such? Even in the ANH: Infinities, Han Solo is able to get the drop an Imperial Royal Guard with a Darth-Maul style saberstaff and kill him with a Saberstaff of his own.

 

And of course we've all seen General Grievous who used FOUR lightsabers and had no force sensitivity whatsoever as well. In the EU there are saber training droids that wield lightsabers too.

[MachineCult]

The answer is simple, it takes a Jedi to create a lightsaber, and a Jedi to use a lightsaber for any use other than a dangerously long welder.

and lastly, the location of the crystals used to power the lightsabers is a closely guarded secret.

[Kurgan]

Not guarded too closely, since the Sith can also make them easily enough.

 

Plus, Jaden Korr makes his/her saber without any Jedi instruction, if you take Jedi Academy's storyline into account.

 

I don't see why lightsabers can't be machine-built. In fact, Jedi Outcast and Academy both strongly imply this is done. Furthermore, in AOTC and ROTS it's clear that the Jedi have "mass produced" generic lightsabers. Notice how they just have spares to toss to Obi-Wan and Anakin. Lucas himself may have said that they started mass producing them since Jedi were always losing their sabers. It's not like they have all sorts of time to just painstakingly construct identical lightsabers all the time, right?

 

10,000 Jedi Knights need at least 10,000 lightsabers, plus spares for their entire lifetimes. That's a lot of sabers! The Jedi Order ended. So how was this "secret" passed on? Was Luke the only one who knew how to build one based on what he found in Obi-Wan's hut? Perhaps the knowledge was diseminated after that point.

 

How did General Grievous get lightsabers identical to the ones used by Obi-Wan and Anakin? Did he steal them? Did Dooku make them all for him? Or did he construct them himself? Or were they mass produced? You can't say he got them all from Jedi he killed, since wouldn't he need some sabers to kill Jedi with in the first place? All of a sudden here is this guy and he has four lightsabers and a "collection!" Or maybe he doesn't really kill Jedi the way we think he does in "Clone Wars" (if enough of the story is just exaggerations anyway, since it would logically conflict with the movies otherwise). He may have just taken the discarded sabers off of dead Jedi that his droid armies slew, or he may have captured them from some Jedi supply dump (I would think the Jedi would make sure to keep extra sabers with them when they traveled to these planets to fight).

 

Computers and droids can construct things to exacting standards and crunch numbers for effects of probability (to match certain types of Jedi precognition). So I'm sure even if "aligning the crystals" is really difficult that you could get a machine to do it. The machines in SW are even intelligent and self-aware, remember, and can move much faster than a living being is constructed for that purpose.

 

In any case, I see a lightsaber as a piece of technology, like a blaster, not something magic. It's a tool, not the Force itself.

 

Much as I love lightsabers, I am inclined to dismiss these EU claims that lightsabers are magic-tech that require the Force to use and build. The movies don't seem to imply any such thing, and even in the EU you have conflicting evidences. The idea that every lightsaber is a uniquely constructed Jedi product also doesn't seem bourne out by the evidence of the films. I can see individual construction being necessary in times of great need like in Luke's case, but in the time of the Republic or even in the NJO it would seem perfectly reasonable to have them being mass produced.

 

As for the crystals being "hidden" I have never heard such a thing, but let's say it's true. Only the Jedi know where the one planet in the known universe lightsaber crystals come from. A planet of vast deserts, planet Arrakis, known also as... ooh, oops, wrong sci-fi mythology! Anyway, let's assume that's true. You still have the concept of "synthetic crystals." This gets brought up ad-infinatum by people that "Sith use synthetic lightsaber crystals." Well if that's the case then it proves you don't need to know where these crystals are to make the weapons. If "Sith crystals" are inferior, then why would Jedi who become Sith trade up? We should see Dooku using the supposedly "superior" blue or green blades instead of red. Or if the red blades really are superior, the Jedi should have traded up years ago. Recall that they thought the Sith were extinct for 1,000 years! There would be no reason to assume they'd be confused with Sith if they used synthetic crystals in that time. But I digress... it's all pointless anyway, because according to Shadows of the Empire Luke's green saber he uses in ROTJ is made with synthetic crystals. And last time I checked, Luke is not a Sith, and his saber is not red!

 

So hiding the crystals away will not stop even some random farmboy from making his own lightsaber.

 

Anyway, I can see why lightsabers aren't used by more beings who are non-force sensitive in the age of blasters, but I don't see supernatural explanations for why they aren't used more as being adequate. Perhaps it is somehow "Illegal" for non-Jedi to use them, but then we should see them outside the Republic's sphere of influence or during the reign of the Empire, or during the chaos that ensued after the Empire's collapse...

[Prime]

Furthermore, in AOTC and ROTS it's clear that the Jedi have "mass produced" generic lightsabers. Notice how they just have spares to toss to Obi-Wan and Anakin.

Perhaps they were taken from Jedi that had already been killed? Who knows. But the fact that they had lightsabers to toss doesn't prove that they were manufactioned in a mass production facility.

 

Lucas himself may have said that they started mass producing them since Jedi were always losing their sabers. It's not like they have all sorts of time to just painstakingly construct identical lightsabers all the time, right?

"May" have said?

 

10,000 Jedi Knights need at least 10,000 lightsabers, plus spares for their entire lifetimes. That's a lot of sabers! The Jedi Order ended.

The construction of a lightsaber is a part of the Trials to become a Jedi Knight (according to the EU). So the 10,000 Knights would each have to constructed at least one themselves, and that is not unreasonable. As for spares, how many did they really go through? Before the Clone Wars most Jedi were likely not in situations where they could potentially lose them very often. I can't see the majority going through more than a handful at most.

 

So how was this "secret" passed on?

Yoda presumably. The construction of a lightsaber is a part of the Trials to become a Jedi Knight (according to the EU). And this is hinted at in the films when Vader looks at Luke's lightsaber and comments that his skills are complete.

 

Was Luke the only one who knew how to build one based on what he found in Obi-Wan's hut?

Probably not. But such knowledge would probably be of little use to most people, especially at that time.

 

How did General Grievous get lightsabers identical to the ones used by Obi-Wan and Anakin?

Are they identical, or merely similar? There are lots of lightsabers that are similar in appearance (Kenobi's and Vos's for example, and even Qui-Gon's).

 

Did he steal them?

Or looted?

 

Did Dooku make them all for him?

Perhaps his first, or taken from a Jedi that Dooku might have killed (Syfo-Dias perhaps?).

 

Or did he construct them himself?

Extremely unlikely, I would say.

 

Or were they mass produced?

Also unlikely. At least not "mass".

 

You can't say he got them all from Jedi he killed, since wouldn't he need some sabers to kill Jedi with in the first place?

He might not have looted his first one, but all sources claim that most/all that he had were taken from Jedi he killed. And the EU has him killing lots of Jedi. There are also lots of canon examples of Jedi being killed by simple blasters and things other than lightsabers. The Jedi are not as hard to kill as some fanboys would have us believe.

 

All of a sudden here is this guy and he has four lightsabers and a "collection!"

From the Jedi he killed.

 

Or maybe he doesn't really kill Jedi the way we think he does in "Clone Wars" (if enough of the story is just exaggerations anyway, since it would logically conflict with the movies otherwise).

There are lots of EU sources that have him killing Jedi. I don't think this point is worth debating.

 

In any case, I see a lightsaber as a piece of technology, like a blaster, not something magic. It's a tool, not the Force itself.

Indeed. It is the Jedi that really makes the lightsaber such a potent weapon.

 

Much as I love lightsabers, I am inclined to dismiss these EU claims that lightsabers are magic-tech that require the Force to use and build.

Right. Constructing a lightsaber is a rite of passage and a traditional and symbolic thing for a Jedi.

 

The idea that every lightsaber is a uniquely constructed Jedi product also doesn't seem bourne out by the evidence of the films.

Perhaps not every one, but all Jedi Knights have constructed one of their own.

 

I can see individual construction being necessary in times of great need like in Luke's case, but in the time of the Republic or even in the NJO it would seem perfectly reasonable to have them being mass produced.

I don't think individual construction is necessary in that there is no other way, but it seems clear that it is an extremely important activity for the Jedi, and is viewed as a spiritual thing. I doubt that tradition has changed much over the centuries.

 

Anyway, I can see why lightsabers aren't used by more beings who are non-force sensitive in the age of blasters, but I don't see supernatural explanations for why they aren't used more as being adequate.

Indeed. I think the lack of force abilities is more than enough reason for the "average joe" not to use a lightsaber. Without the Force to provide extremely percision for blade manipulation, blaster deflection and such becomes impossible. It reduces the lightsaber to a "really sharp sword", which makes it inferior and harder to use effectively than blasters.

 

Perhaps it is somehow "Illegal" for non-Jedi to use them

I wouldn't think so. I think the limitations for non-Force users is reason enough for why they aren't more common. It is certainly conceivable, and also hinted, that there is some section of the non-Jedi population that use them, but there is no reason they should be widespread.

 

but then we should see them outside the Republic's sphere of influence or during the reign of the Empire, or during the chaos that ensued after the Empire's collapse...

I would say that if you are not a Jedi the last thing you want is to be carrying is a lightsaber, since it identifies you as a Jedi, and that is usually not desirable. If you are outside the Republic, odds are it is on a world that has limited law and order, or is run by less than reputable beings, such as the Hutts. Having a lightsaber identifies you as a Jedi, rightly or wrongly, and that means any anti-Republic/Jedi factions will be gunning for you. Even more so after the Empire came to power. They go out of their way to eliminate Jedi, and the lightsaber is like a big bullseye. Most of the latest post-Order 66 EU stories have Jedi ditching their lightsabers and going underground for that reason. And much of the general population views the Jedi with suspicion, especially after the Emperor's propoganda.

 

Having a lightsaber, and only being able to use it less than effectively, seems like a deathwish.

[Kurgan]

Well, I had a set of responses to your last post but accidentally closed the window, so I'll just have to get back to you later.

 

Suffice to say, it seems there's plenty of evidence in the movies that lightsabers are mass produced (and if you have a problem with the term "mass" just realize I'm talking machine produced or assembly line style construction... rather than each lightsaber being built individually by a lone Jedi craftsman). The existence of duplicate lightsabers owned by different Jedi and Grievous's sabers which appear to be copies of those used by living Jedi (without any resemblance to those used by Dooku) and the convenience of having "spares" for everyone to use seems to go against the idea of all sabers being unique products.

 

Another argument could be made for blade color. If differences in construction or taste causes different colors, then why are all Jedi lightsabers blue or green (with the exception of Mace Windus) and why are all the Sith sabers red? I already explained about synthetic crystals so that excuse doesn't fly with me.

 

The EU explanation seems very contrived and a stretch of logic when viewed in light of the new evidence presented in the Prequel films (which Lucas was clearly making up as he went along, and thus all this info was stuff EU authors were not privy to before the movies came out in all cases).

 

It's one thing to argue that Lightsabers in the hands of non-Jedi aren't that useful in combat, and after the death of the order it might not be politically correct to use them. But that's a far cry from saying that non-Jedi are physically INCAPABLE of using or building them, which is what is being argued, using questionable sources within the EU that state you need to use the Force to build them, which is ridiculous.

[MachineCult]

I would say that a non-Jedi is physically incapable of effectively using a lightsaber in combat, simply for fear of dismembering themselves.

Kurgan, maybe training sabers are mass produced, but not by machines. Obi-wan and Anakin made their sabers themselves, the fact that grievous had the same ones is merely a continuity error.

[Justus]

I heard they were easter eggs in the movie, Luke's ROTJ hilt is there too.

[MachineCult]

If thats true then Kurgan has defiantely read way too far into it as we all know that Luke constructed his own hilt.

[Prime]

I heard they were easter eggs in the movie, Luke's ROTJ hilt is there too.

Just like the fact there are potato asteroids in ESB.

[Astrotoy7]

lolz, have a good look kids. Never a better two exponents of "Force Long Posting" will you find than Kurgan and Prime

 

[align=center][/align]

 

yes, the movie depiction of sabers definitely doesnt gel well with what is spouted in EU. Still, I think this is related to the practicalities of making a movie, not any conscious effort by GL to create a mythos around them...though the saber color argument is a valid one.

 

There are indications in the movie that a saber has a high personal value, though this could be symbolic rather than sentimental to each particular one...

 

Obi want to Anakin - This weapon is your life

Obi to Luke - Your father wanted to have this when you were old enough (A lie !)

Vader to Luke - I see you have constructed a new lightsaber.....indeed you are powerful as the emperor has foreseen

Little Ani identifying Qui Gon as a jedi from his "laser sword"

 

mtfbwya

[Kurgan]

If thats true then Kurgan has defiantely read way too far into it as we all know that Luke constructed his own hilt.

 

We know he constructed a new lightsaber (unless he just got it at a gas station, and Vader's comment was that his skills at slacking were complete!), but he may have used a pre-constructed hilt! Ha ha... there's always a way to explain things in a geekish manner. It gets much easier with practice.

 

If the only "trial" is the alignment of the crystal, then all Luke would need to do to "complete" this action (did Ben's ghost assign it to him?) would be to pop the crystal out and then re-align it himself.

 

Grievous's sabers:

Calling them easter eggs would wipe out the discrepency, however it still doesn't explain the spares. Would you feel better if the assembly line had Jedi on all sides using the Force to form the parts together, align the crystals or whatever it is that "requires" force sensitivity?

 

As far as non-Force sensitives being unable to use sabers effectively, that's incorrect. Grievous seems to fight with them well enough and didn't cut himseful up. Han was able to use a staff to kill an Imperial Guardsman in ANH: Infinities (granted, it's Infinities!). In the EU they have saber droids that can fight and even possibly kill low level Jedi.

 

I still find it hard to believe with the level of technology in the SW galaxy, they can't align crystals without the Force. I mean, c'mon, they have computers advanced enough to calculate the jump to Hyperspace which is supposed to be really complex. If it's just a matter of lining it up, why not just use a laser? Computers can calculate probability as well.

 

Jedi and Sith are identified with their choice of weapon yes, but that has nothing to do with if their weapon was specifically built by them or not.

 

People popularly associate AK-47's with terrorists, but that doesn't mean every terrorist constructs his own AK-47, or that non-terrorists can't build or use them effectively.

[Justus]

Instead of having those two Jedi throwing Anakin and Obi-Wan a saber they should have two Jedi get slain by the droid troopers, Anakin and Obi-Wan could've taken their lightsabers... it's weird how they had two spare lightsabers, unless they were the dual-weilding types. After all, Obi-Wan was captured - and Mace gave Anakin an order to stay put.

[Prime]

lolz, have a good look kids. Never a better two exponents of "Force Long Posting" will you find than Kurgan and Prime

Well, at least it is better than the "Force No Post" that is much more common in the EU forum.

 

yes, the movie depiction of sabers definitely doesnt gel well with what is spouted in EU. Still, I think this is related to the practicalities of making a movie, not any conscious effort by GL to create a mythos around them...

Or just a joke by the animators. They did the same with TIE fighters and X-Wings flying around the "streets" of Coruscant. That sort of thing happens everywhere (pop can missiles in Macross!).

 

There are indications in the movie that a saber has a high personal value, though this could be symbolic rather than sentimental to each particular one...

 

Obi want to Anakin - This weapon is your life

Also, Anakin mentions that Obi-Wan is going to kill him (he he) when his lightsaber is destroyed on Geonosis. Why would Obi-Wan care if Anakin lost one if he already had 15 spares? And why didn't Anakin have a spare with him if they were so prevalent? Spares aren't quite as useful if you leave them all at home. And if some had spares with them, why didn't all the Jedi?

 

however it still doesn't explain the spares.

But any story can be made up as to why those Jedi had two with them. That doesn't imply that they were mass produced extras any more than that they might be recovered from dead Jedi. I'd say that Justus' idea that these Jedi were dual wielders is a good explanation.

 

As far as non-Force sensitives being unable to use sabers effectively, that's incorrect. Grievous seems to fight with them well enough and didn't cut himseful up. Han was able to use a staff to kill an Imperial Guardsman in ANH: Infinities (granted, it's Infinities!). In the EU they have saber droids that can fight and even possibly kill low level Jedi.

I will put an obligatory "LOL" here that you would cite an Infinities source.

 

The droids and Grievous both have mechanical bodies and the means to control their limbs with more precision than the average organic being (IIRC Grievous has an additional droid brain, but I can't remember the source). In any event, these are definitely special cases that can't be used to necessarily prove that a regular person can be trained to use lightsabers effectively. But I agree that there isn't evidence to show that an average person could not be trained to use a lightsaber as effectively as a sword. But they will be no means be as effective as a Jedi wielding one.

 

I still find it hard to believe with the level of technology in the SW galaxy, they can't align crystals without the Force.

I'm sure it can be done without the Force. Again, I think the construction of a lightsaber is a symbolic/traditional/spiritual/training requirement in the path to becoming a Jedi.

[Astrotoy7]

I'm sure it can be done without the Force. Again, I think the construction of a lightsaber is a symbolic/traditional/spiritual/training requirement in the path to becoming a Jedi.

 

yes, I think this sums it up, before this discussion becomes even geeky than the EU forum allows

 

Kurgz, your jedi saber factory explanation is almost as weird as Yoda's midichlorian cloak(mentioned elsewhere) ... perhaps senility is creeping in ! (although you are actually younger than Pime or me)

 

mtfbwya

[edlib]

The Jedi Temple probably had a lightsaber construction/ repair workshop. Makes sense, no?

I doubt every Jedi had the time or technical inclination to bother to make or repair their own every time they needed a new one. Anakin, being the mechanical whiz he was supposed to be, probably did, so it would be customized to his personal needs.

Luke was forced in ROTJ to build his own from Obi-Wan's spare parts he found in his Tatooeen hut simply because there was nowhere else to get one at that time. Same thing with Vader.

 

Lightsabers probably have a commercial, non-weapon counterpart, such as a laser cutter/ welding tool.

 

But to use one as a weapon takes the Force. Otherwise any battle-droid with a gun will mow you down before you could ever get near enough for a swing.

[Kurgan]

Well on the other hand, after purging the Jedi, Palpatine would have full access to the Jedi Temple's resources (I doubt EVERYTHING inside was destroyed, as he'd want to save some of that stuff for himself anyway). It might have been painfully simple for Vader to just waltz in and get himself all the parts, schematics, crystals, whatever he needed to keep him in lightsabers forever. Plus you have all those sabers off the dead Jedi. Just do whatever it is that it takes to turn the blade red and you're set to go.

 

Explaining Grievous's sabers as an easter egg is a good argument. However comparing it to the TIE Fighters in AOTC is problematic, since those things we only see out of the corner of the screen, they are TINY and barely visible. Whereas Grievous's sabers are front and center almost the whole time he's fighting. In this case I guess you'd need a confirmation by the SFX crew or Lucas to say that it was a genuine mistake/joke. You can never tell anymore, what with Lucas canonizing actor gaffes like the Stormtrooper banging his head on a door...

 

If a genuine mistake, you'd think he would have had ample time to fix it on the DVD since the movie really didn't change (or change much) in the process. Then again Lucas is notorious for "forgetting" to fix obvious blunders in the Star Wars movies. But then, ROTS would be the least susceptable to such problems since it was fully digital.

 

As far as Astrotoy's comment, I don't see why having an imagination, that isn't enslaved to the latest EU nerd-vocabulary is a sign of senility. Perhaps a sign of cynicism with regard to what gets shoveled for Star Wars lit these days, but certainly not senility! Now where's my prune juice????

 

Too much radiation.... from the monitor...

[edlib]

Well on the other hand, after purging the Jedi, Palpatine would have full access to the Jedi Temple's resources...

Good point.

 

As far as Grievous' saber hilts: well that just feels like digital animator laziness to me. "How many saber hilts do we already have rendered? 4?!?? Cool... exactly what we need. What? They're already seen in the movie on the heroes? Well,.. Nobody will ever notice..."

Creating a fully formed and rendered 3D object is a bit of work. Pixar is renowned for recycling objects in their movies. Saves time and money. I suspect this was all this was.

I doubt they ever suspected anyone would go out of their way to freeze frame the film to identify each saber hilt.

 

Lucas has stated somewhere that these movies were meant to be seen only once, in the theater. Not thousands of times, and with a frame-by-frame analysis. Very few films can withstand that type of scrutiny without exposing the seams of film-making, or continuity flaws.

[Kurgan]

Good point.

 

As far as Grievous' saber hilts: well that just feels like digital animator laziness to me. "How many saber hilts do we already have rendered? 4?!?? Cool... exactly what we need. What? They're already seen in the movie on the heroes? Well,.. Nobody will ever notice..."

Creating a fully formed and rendered 3D object is a bit of work. Pixar is renowned for recycling objects in their movies. Saves time and money. I suspect this was all this was.

I doubt they ever suspected anyone would go out of their way to freeze frame the film to identify each saber hilt.

 

The thing is, they had to render those 3-D models based on the prop hilts that the actors were using, so it must have been intentional. I mean sure it somewhat makes sense that they would create CG replicas of the hilts for possible use in stunts or whatnot, but such models wouldn't need to be very detailed. Since we see the hilts several times in closeup and they appear to be identical, it makes me think it was intentional. So either it was a joke placeholder that they forgot to fix, a deliberate easter egg, or else they want to create the impression that these hilt designs are very common, which hints strongly against the idea that all lightsabers are always uniquely hand made by individual Jedi or Sith.

 

They obviously had to take the time to create CG hilts for Grievous, but why not make them less obviously copies of the hilts that Obi-Wan and Anakin use? Did the continuity guys get lazy and forget that Obi-Wan and Anakin got their sabers back after Grievous held them for only a few seconds? Why not use the other models "in his collection" and just duplicate them? (although I'm told those too are copies of sabers used by other living Jedi in the movie).

 

Lucas has stated somewhere that these movies were meant to be seen only once, in the theater. Not thousands of times, and with a frame-by-frame analysis. Very few films can withstand that type of scrutiny without exposing the seams of film-making, or continuity flaws.

 

This is complete and utter BS and Lucas (assuming he actually did say that) knows it. The vast majority of people who've seen the original trilogy have seen it at home on VHS. That's Star wars history and fact. And far more people see the Star Wars prequels on DVD than see them in the theater. One can't go back to the theater to see them again now can they? And Lucas knows that the fandom is such that people saw each film multiple times in most cases, especially the last few movies. Each movie was RELEASED multiple times, so even then he fully expected people to see it multiple times in the theater. Had he not wanted people to go frame by frame, he would not have released the original trilogy MULTIPLE TIMES on LaserDisc, a format of which one of the selling points is the ability to go frame-by-frame. And he would never have released it on DVD for the same reasons if it were that important to him.

 

Lucas has enough money that he could have just continued to release the movies in theaters up to the present day. If they can show The Rocky Horror Picture show every year on Halloween to big crowds in cities all over the country, they can show Star Wars or Empire or whatevever. Lucas surely has more money than some fans of a crappy cult movie that came out before Star Wars!

 

If Lucas thinks people only watch his movies once, why does he spend so much time tweaking minute details that few people notice except by careful analysis? I grant you most people miss the changes because they DON'T go frame by frame (I'm talking the average movie-goer/DVD owner vs. the Star Wars fan). But Lucas still feels it's worth spending millions of dollars making those tweaks. So clearly he cares and that statement is nonesensical in the extreme. It really sounds like an excuse more than anything.

 

This might have been true with the original movies made before the advent of VCR's, so I'd check the date on the quote. It's certainly not true of the prequels. And several of the easter eggs can only be spotted if you have the widescreen version and make use of zoom, freeze frame or whatever.

[edlib]

Well, I forget where I heard him say that... in one of the interviews or commentaries I believe.

 

This site seems to confirm it, so it wasn't just my imagination:

(From about half-way down that page):

 

George Lucas has repeatedly admitted in interviews that he originally made the film with the intent of it being seen once in a theater and that's it.

 

I think he said that about the very first film released, and probably in reaction to the phenomenon of people seeing it dozens, if not hundreds of times, and making lists of flaws, and creating entire back-stories for extras only seen for a few frames or so.

Maybe he has changed his attitude in the DVD age...

 

But anyway, several of the main characters involved in saber fights had to be partially or fully digitally replaced at various points, so there must have been hi-rez versions of the saber hilts floating around. Either that, or they were left over from blueprint CAD/CAM files.

 

Who knows? I personally think it wasn't particularly intentional. They probably thought that no one would ever notice, or care very much if they did.

Or it was an Easter-Egg for the fans...

I doubt it was intended to show that there was a saber assembly line somewhere, though. I honestly don't see anyone involved with the production giving it that all much thought.

 

I could be wrong, though...

[MachineCult]

I believe it was an easter egg.

I can understand them re-using saber hilts but i'm sure that they would have more than two saber hilts to re-use for Grievous, and they would not use the two most recognisable lightsabers in the whole movie.

[edlib]

Just thought of something:

Grievous was handed Obi-Wan's and Anakin's sabers at the beginning of the film, on the bridge scene. They were scaled for his hands and were hi-def renders, seen in close-up when he's holding them and putting them in his cloak.. That's probably where those models came from.

 

 

Easter eggs in films are nothing new... and they pre-date the video age by quite a bit. Probably as old as moving pictures themselves. Things the film-makers do to amuse themselves, if nobody else.

 

One that comes to mind is the tiny R2-D2 model mounted on the body of the mothership in "Close Encounters." Before video most people would have missed that, even on multiple viewings. I know I did.

It wasn't until I got it on DVD that I caught it.

 

The question is: If Lucas and his crew deliberately put these things in there now, knowing obsessive ubergeeks are going to look at each and every frame in the film, one at a time?

Or do they just make a film that most people will enjoy watching a couple of times in real speed, but not question the use of each and every prop and worry about how it all fits into the continuity of the larger Expanded Universe?

 

Personally, my bet is on the second, or maybe a little of both.