# The most important scene in Star Wars **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [December 4, 2020, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-important-scene-in-star-wars/927216 "2020-12-04T17:57:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2020, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-important-scene-in-star-wars/927216/21 "2020-12-07T14:02:49Z")
If Lucas had the “Vader is Luke’s father” thing planned that early, he didn’t tell _anyone_. I read the novelization (attributed to Lucas, actually written by Alan Dean Foster) many times back then, until the cover was literally falling off. Right before Obi-Wan tells Luke that Vader killed his father, the narration says, “Unlike Owen Lars, Kenobi could not take refuge in a comfortable lie.” So Foster certainly thought that Obi-Wan was telling the truth, and that Vader and Anakin were two different people. Likewise, the first draft of the script of _Empire Strikes Back_, written by Leigh Brackett, has Anakin appearing to Luke on Dagobah as a force ghost, along with Obi-Wan. So Brackett also thought that Vader and Anakin were two different people. It seems strange that Lucas wouldn’t have told the person he hired to write the script about such an important plot twist. Much more likely is that Lucas hadn’t thought of it yet, and the idea of Vader being Luke’s father was developed during the writing of _Empire_. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2020, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-important-scene-in-star-wars/927216/22 "2020-12-07T14:56:22Z")
> [@Lantern2](#): > > hadn’t noticed that. Sound design is an important and underappreciated reason for the success of Star Wars. There are probably no other films whose sounds have become such an integral part of popular culture. The lightsaber, R2D2’s beeps, Darth Vader’s breathing. …blasters, the TIE fighter engine scream, TIE fighter cannons, BB-8’s beeps, Chewie’s vocalizations… ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-important-scene-in-star-wars/927216/23 "2020-12-07T16:13:05Z")
… stormtrooper accuracy, jedi mind tricks, … ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2020, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-important-scene-in-star-wars/927216/24 "2020-12-07T18:08:45Z")
> [@Lantern2](#): > > There are probably no other films whose sounds have become such an integral part of popular culture. The lightsaber… Absolutely. That simple buzzing sound has such a menacing quality. Whoever thought that up was a genius. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2020, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-important-scene-in-star-wars/927216/25 "2020-12-07T18:11:24Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > > [@Lantern2](#): > > > > There are probably no other films whose sounds have become such an integral part of popular culture. The lightsaber… > > Absolutely. That simple buzzing sound has such a menacing quality. Whoever thought that up was a genius. - > **[Lightsaber | Sound](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightsaber#Sound)** > > The lightsaber sound effect was developed by sound designer Ben Burtt as a combination of the hum of idling interlock motors in aged movie projectors and interference caused by a television set on a shieldless microphone. Burtt discovered the latter accidentally as he was looking for a buzzing, sparking sound to add to the projector-motor hum. > The pitch changes of lightsaber movement were produced by playing the basic lightsaber tone on a loudspeaker and recording it on a moving microphone, gene... ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2020, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-important-scene-in-star-wars/927216/26 "2020-12-07T18:15:32Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Absolutely. That simple buzzing sound has such a menacing quality. Whoever thought that up was a genius. [Ben Burtt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Burtt), the sound engineer on Star Wars (among many other films), really is a master artist. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lantern2/32/3010_2.png) [@Lantern2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern2)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2020, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-important-scene-in-star-wars/927216/27 "2020-12-07T19:32:12Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/tZj1mYLC7h0/maxresdefault.jpg "Ben Burtt Sound Design Star Wars | Lightsaber Sound | Empire Strikes Back | Star Wars Sound Effects") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZj1mYLC7h0) Nice video where Burtt explains how he developed the lightsaber sound. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-important-scene-in-star-wars/927216/28 "2020-12-08T00:04:40Z")
> [@Lantern2](#): > > Sound design is an important and underappreciated reason for the success of Star Wars. I always loved the sound we hear as Obi-Wan powers down the tractor beam. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-important-scene-in-star-wars/927216/29 "2020-12-08T02:14:54Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > And the music. I claim that the ridiculous award ceremony would be laughingly bad were it not for the triumphant score. Deeg, you must be referring to this. If not, then you are in for a treat: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj-GZJhfBmI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tj-GZJhfBmI) ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-important-scene-in-star-wars/927216/30 "2020-12-08T17:21:44Z")
That’s an exhaustive article on Wiki about the light saber. I have only seen the first 3 movies so I had not seen any of the light saber variants from the later films. Even the name “light saber” is perfect! I can’t think of any other description that conveys the elegance of the weapon. Has there ever been another fictional weapon that has so much thought and development? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-important-scene-in-star-wars/927216/31 "2020-12-08T19:59:00Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > Even the name “light saber” is perfect! As noted Jedi master and US President Teddy Wan-Roseveltobi noted, “Speak softly and carry a light saber.” ---
**Author:** ![Lantern2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lantern2/32/3010_2.png) [@Lantern2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern2)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2020, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-important-scene-in-star-wars/927216/32 "2020-12-08T20:18:43Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > That’s an exhaustive article on Wiki about the light saber. I have only seen the first 3 movies so I had not seen any of the light saber variants from the later films. Even the name “light saber” is perfect! I can’t think of any other description that conveys the elegance of the weapon. Has there ever been another fictional weapon that has so much thought and development? Yeah one takes it for granted after all these years but “lightsaber” is a great name. And there was indeed a lot of thought packed into a single weapon, not least the whole “lightsaber versus blaster” theme which Lucas borrowed from Kurosawa and ultimately samurai history. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-most-important-scene-in-star-wars/927216.md?page=1)