Post by strange on Dec 28, 2011 8:42:15 GMT -5
The military make up of the original Star Wars films was very interesting. I've
often compared Darth Vader to Custer because Vader seems to be a high
ranking leader commanding ground forces in the first two films. And,
similar again to Custer, Vader is actually outranked by Peter
Cushing's Tarkin character and a number of other guys but after Tarkin
dies the Empire kinda lets Vader do whatever the hell he wants because
they know he is good at it. Custer was the same way, he was always
commanding from the ground and personally participating in battles.
Also, Custer was given a lot of power and free reign regardless of
what rank he held (he climbed to General during the civil war but then
the brevet ranks were stripped when the war ended so he became a
captain and then a Lt Colonel for the 7th cavalry. The official
commander of the 7th cavalry at the time of Custer's death was an old
guy named Sturgis whose son was killed in the Little Bighorn Battle.
Sturgis actually never did anything and he only held the rank strictly
for his seniority, Sheridan had him sent away because he did not want
Sturgis to get in the way of Custer who had been the real functioning
leader for quite some time,so it was that Sturgis had nothing to do
with the Little Bighorn Battle and was a Colonel in name only. General
Terry didn't even order Custer around too much either, he also stepped
aside and let Custer work.).
The set up of the Empire vs the Rebels is much like a combo-mixture of
Civil War and WWII, I noticed.
By the way, David Prowse's physical performance in the Vader suit is
very interesting too. I call it a "relaxed strength", and I don't know
if that is just the way he is or whether he intentionally played it
that way but it is there and it is real. He played a physical
assistant in Clock Work Orange who carried people around in his arms
and there you can really see what I mean by that. Prowse had reached
that level of physical power where he can go to pick up someone just
as if he were going to pick up a glass of orange juice or a milk
carton, with that amount of ease and just getting it done, and this
shows in his Vader performance because you can see where Vader does
not feel the need throw his weight around and yet we all can plainly
see that he is quite powerful and that he is carrying that inside of
him. The guy who they cast as Anakin just felt all wrong, and the old
guy behind the unmasking was kinda sucky too now that I think of it,
one was a guy who looks like he should be frying hamburgers at
Macdonalds and the other is some old grampa (not that there is anything wrong with grampas!).
Custer in turn was considered to be rather physically imposing for his time. I may have overhyped his stature in the past, but most definitely he is considered top rate in all physical categories, he excelled in all of the physical tests at west point such as boxing, swords, and riding. A man I talked to also said he swam the Hudson River, and a lot of us also know that Custer lifted weights when he was bored. He also slept only about 3 hours a day (if that) and was just an amazingly intense individual. Maybe not a "relaxed strength" but definitely very powerful.
So what do you guys think?
often compared Darth Vader to Custer because Vader seems to be a high
ranking leader commanding ground forces in the first two films. And,
similar again to Custer, Vader is actually outranked by Peter
Cushing's Tarkin character and a number of other guys but after Tarkin
dies the Empire kinda lets Vader do whatever the hell he wants because
they know he is good at it. Custer was the same way, he was always
commanding from the ground and personally participating in battles.
Also, Custer was given a lot of power and free reign regardless of
what rank he held (he climbed to General during the civil war but then
the brevet ranks were stripped when the war ended so he became a
captain and then a Lt Colonel for the 7th cavalry. The official
commander of the 7th cavalry at the time of Custer's death was an old
guy named Sturgis whose son was killed in the Little Bighorn Battle.
Sturgis actually never did anything and he only held the rank strictly
for his seniority, Sheridan had him sent away because he did not want
Sturgis to get in the way of Custer who had been the real functioning
leader for quite some time,so it was that Sturgis had nothing to do
with the Little Bighorn Battle and was a Colonel in name only. General
Terry didn't even order Custer around too much either, he also stepped
aside and let Custer work.).
The set up of the Empire vs the Rebels is much like a combo-mixture of
Civil War and WWII, I noticed.
By the way, David Prowse's physical performance in the Vader suit is
very interesting too. I call it a "relaxed strength", and I don't know
if that is just the way he is or whether he intentionally played it
that way but it is there and it is real. He played a physical
assistant in Clock Work Orange who carried people around in his arms
and there you can really see what I mean by that. Prowse had reached
that level of physical power where he can go to pick up someone just
as if he were going to pick up a glass of orange juice or a milk
carton, with that amount of ease and just getting it done, and this
shows in his Vader performance because you can see where Vader does
not feel the need throw his weight around and yet we all can plainly
see that he is quite powerful and that he is carrying that inside of
him. The guy who they cast as Anakin just felt all wrong, and the old
guy behind the unmasking was kinda sucky too now that I think of it,
one was a guy who looks like he should be frying hamburgers at
Macdonalds and the other is some old grampa (not that there is anything wrong with grampas!).
Custer in turn was considered to be rather physically imposing for his time. I may have overhyped his stature in the past, but most definitely he is considered top rate in all physical categories, he excelled in all of the physical tests at west point such as boxing, swords, and riding. A man I talked to also said he swam the Hudson River, and a lot of us also know that Custer lifted weights when he was bored. He also slept only about 3 hours a day (if that) and was just an amazingly intense individual. Maybe not a "relaxed strength" but definitely very powerful.
So what do you guys think?
