How did Darth Vader become a symbolic existence of 'Star Wars'?

One of the characters symbolizing the "Star Wars" series " Darth Vader " is a highly popular character as a villain. However, there are not many scenes appearing throughout. Nerdwriter 1 explains why Darth Vader became a symbolic character of Star Wars in a movie.

What Made Darth Vader Visually Iconic - YouTube


Total showtimes of Star Wars's former trilogy, "Episode IV / New Hope", "Episode V / Empire Strikes Back", "Episode VI / Return of the Jedi" total 6 hours 28 minutes.

However, in that time Darth Vader appears on screen for a total of 33 minutes 41 seconds. Surprisingly it appeared only in about 8.7% of the whole of the former trilogy. Still, Darth Vader has an overwhelming impact and is famous for being able to call it as the face of the work.

In 'Episode IV / New Hope', a dark black dozen vader always carries a white light source behind so that it does not blend into the background.

This is a production by Gilbert · Taylor 's idea who served as director of photography in "Episode IV / New Hope".

By designing a white light source around the inside of the Death Star, the distinctive silhouettes and movements of Darth Vader passing in front of it are devised so that you do not have to bother to directly hit a strong light directly.

However, in the sequel's "Episode V / Empire's Counterattack", he not only reflected the dozen vaders, but also emphasized the existence of Darth Vader by devising lighting and composition.

The dozen vaders' mask has been greatly remodeled. Darth Vader of "Episode IV / New Hope" was not glossy on the mask and there was uneven painting on the helmet, but it was Darth Vader of "Episode V / Empire Strikes Back" ) Has become a shiny mirror finish for both mask and helmet.

In the scene where Darth Vader looks at the universe from the window at the beginning, a dozen Vader helmet reflecting the light inside the ship emerges on the screen while taking the black universe as a background. It is a completely different technique from "episode IV / new hope" which always carried a white light source.

In "Episode V / Empire's Counterattack", by expressing the light thoroughly in the helmet and the mask, the expression of the mask of Darth Vader is now well understood.

Also, in a scene where Darth Vader takes a villainous behavior, the whole body is projected firmly on the screen, and the impressive silhouette of Darth Vader is tied firmly with the image of evil in the audience.

The dark side of Luke's confrontation while training is appearing in the form of Darth Vader, but it is established because it firmly connects the silhouette of Darth Vader to evil.

Also, in the scene confronting Luke Skywalker, the silhouette clearly appears on the screen by backlighting. Because of that, in "Episode V / Empire Strikes Back" Darth Vader only shows 11 minutes 51 seconds, but its mask and silhouette will have a strong impact on the audience.

At the beginning of "Episode VI / Return of the Jedi" there is a scene of exactly the same composition as the one at the beginning of "Episode V / Empire Strikes Back". However, unlike the previous two works, Darth Vader does not need to give a brutality, so in the "Episode VI / Return of the Jedi" there are not many scenes that Darth Vader symbolizes evil.

Darth Vader who was a villain in 'Episode VI / Return of the Jedi' Anakin Skywalker exposes his unclean face under the mask to his son and smiles the scene is a tragic last scene, a strong impression on the audience's heart leave behind.

Of course, the breathing sound "sho ko" can be said to be the most symbolic of Darth Vader. However, the movie is a visual art expression. George Lucas and the staff thoroughly impressed the audience with a character called Darth Vader while devising lighting and composition in the former trilogy of "Star Wars".