Star Wars Episode VI : Return of the Jed: Darth Vader (David Prowse)

Comments for death : Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi: Darth Vader (David Prowse).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2006 09:36PM by Mr Mouseburger.

I still don't see Vader's death as being all that honourable.
I'm pretty sure his total betrayal by the master he served loyally had a lot to do with his final act of defiance. Self-sacrifice? Well, OK - but, revenge undoubtedly had something to do with it too.

I also have a problem with the concept of someone being redeemed in the afterlife with such a simple act. Christianity holds to this dubious value system too - "kill women and children, destroy planets and perform medical experiments on ewoks throughout your life, but providing you recant with your final breaths then there will be a place in Jedi Heaven for you."

Pah!

OB

I disagree with the above poster immensely. Having seen the new trilogy (and read the novels), it seems fairly obvious that Vader had hated the Emperor and known that he had been duped by the Dark Side since he awoke inside his metallic prison in Ep. III. He had not the power to defeat the Emperor, but hated him - knowing he was actually evil from that point on. Vader sought to overthrow the Emperor in Ep. V, but couldn't "find the light" so to speak. At the end of Return of the Jedi, Vader saw his son fighting against what seemed impossible odds and with no victory in sight. Somehow, Luke awakened the good man inside his father again, and Vader killed the Emperor - not for glory, or honor, or for redemption - but because it was the right thing to do. Vader did not seek a reward, or a place in this new and better world, he just wanted to try to make up for the evil the two had done in their years. He requested death, and while never undoing the wrongs he had done, he ensured they would come to an end, fulfilling his prophecy and bringing balance to the force. Vader did not ask for a Jedi's funeral, it was his son's tribute to his father - a man guilty of terrible mistakes and misguided ideals. This death-scene is one of my favorites of all time.

I wish I shared your idealistic view of Vader, but I am a firm cynic when it comes to Star Wars, especially since the travesty that were episodes I-III.

Nobody can deny Annakin committed frequent and numerous atrocities, both before and after becoming Vader. He is an evil character, as defined by his actions. To romanticise about him being the victim of a manipulative Emperor is naive in the extreme.

Vader was quite willing and eager to carry out his master's bidding throughout the films, and clearly revelled in the abject terror his actions caused amongst his minions.
It was only when he lay near death, and witnessed the emperor sneering and encouraging Luke to kill him that he was moved to redeem himself.

As you can probably tell, I felt very let down by the new trilogy telling Vader's backstory. I was anticipating some truly cunning manipulation whereby a tool of justice was slowly and insidiously corrupted by Palpatine, but all we were given was a sulky teenager who was an obvious arse from puberty.

OB

IT'S A MOVIE!!!!!
Darth Vader is not real!!!

Yes, but they are simply debating your storytelling style, I see nothing wrong with that.

So many actors play Darth in this film. We have Prowse and Jones, and Sebastain Shaw and Hayden Christensen (in the SEs - yuck!). And that's not counting Vader's sabre double...

I was a junior in high school when this movie came out and for as much as I loved it, it had/has many disappointments. I did not mind it when Vader tosses the Emperor down the shaft. One of the biggest disappointments of the movie was the final reveal of his green egghead when Luke takes off his mask. ESB established that it was something horrible to see even for villains. I understand that George was trying to appeal to the masses, and toy corporations but every one was expecting to see the ultimate Dr. Phibes not Humpty Dumpty. I guess it was just a preview of things to come.

One of my favorite death scenes in all of cinema history. Very emotional.




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Actually OB I'm a Christian and I can contradict your original comment. God is very forgiving but all-knowing. If you do something good just before your death whether or not you go to Heaven depends on why you did it. If you did it because you thought that would evade your inevitable trip to Hell then God ain't going to forgive you. If you did it because it's the right thing to do then God realizes that you deserve eternal peace in the afterlife (although with what Vader did he probably may be looking forward to a century or two in the purgatory beforehand). Let's take two other guys who went out with a bang in cinema that is memorable: Boromir from Lord of the Rings and Tony Montana from Scarface. Boromir is going to heaven because he didn't try to defend Pippin and Merry because he thought Aragorn was going to reward him handsomely, he did it because it would be horrible for such two innocent Hobbits who are young in the ways of the world to be tortured by Orcs. Montana however won't cut it because he did take down the bastards who killed him but not because he was giving his employees a clear getaway: because he wanted to survive and that's selfish so he's going to Hell.

This whole statement actually gave me a new death category: Redemption. While some may argue that's the same thing as Blaze of Glory it's not because redemption means you've done something bad and you've made up for it whilst Blaze of Glory means you die fighting against momentous odds. Again let's compare and contrast Boromir and Tony Montana: Boromir did die taking a helluva lot of Orcs to the grave with him but in a (vain) attempt to save two innocent little Hobbits. Montana went down fighting because he wanted to live and he was high on coke at the time so in his warped mindset that may have seemed like a good idea. Think about it.