No matter how you feel about each of the six of the previous Star Wars films, it’s undeniable that lightsaber battles have varied a lot throughout the franchise. These laser swords must be held two-handed, because they’re heavy, but beyond that? There’s a lot of variation in terms of speed, technique, fighting style, and aesthetic inspiration.
While deciding on how to stage The Force Awakens‘ lightsaber duels, J.J. Abrams told Empire he did a lot of research on other famous fights in cinematic history — from John Ford’s Western films, to Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low, toTerrence Malick’s wartime stories.
Abrams’ conclusion? Less is more. Or, in his words —
When you look at Star Wars and Empire, they are very different lightsaber battles, but for me they felt more powerful because they were not quite as slick. I was hoping to go for something much more primitive, aggressive and rougher, a throwback to the kind of heart-stopping lightsaber fights I remembered being so enthralled by as a kid.
Which were your favorite lightsaber battles, of the previous six Star Wars films? I always liked the delicately tense, high-emotion pacing of this old battle, personally.
(via Uproxx, image via Business Insider)
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