The duels: who do you focus on?

Post by **Vympel** » 2005-07-09 11:45am

As I wsa watching the duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan lately (*cough* thanks Laird) I noticed that I hardly ever looked at what Obi-Wan was doing- it was as if all I could see was Anakin's moves- I don't know if this is my subconcious (Obi-Wan has always bored me) but it seems as if the entire duel, to me, is "look at Anakin! How awesome is he?" and just ignoring Obi-Wan.

So I thought on it some more, and came to the following conclusions:

Episode I: It's all about Darth Maul.
Episode II: It's all about Darth Tyranus (vs Obi-Wan and then Anakin), and then Yoda.
Episode III: It's all about Anakin (vs Tyranus) and Vader (vs Obi-Wan).
Episode IV: Again, it's all about Vader.
Episode V: Vader again.
Episode VI: Luke.

This is purely a question of who you're looking at the most.

Vicious · Post by **Vicious** » 2005-07-09 11:50am

I noticed that I follow a similar pattern. When watching TPM, the fights are all about Maul.

In AotC, Obi-Wan was a blah. I did watch Anakin when he had the two sabers, though. Yoda drew my attention after that, but it's hard to ignor Kermit on Krack(TM).

In RotS, during the fight(s) with Palpatine, I watched Palpatine mostly in both his fights. During the fight on Mustafar, all I could see was Vader. He was so fast and ferocious that it was hard to not pay attention to him. That was possibly the one fight that looked like Vader would actually kill if he got any chance.

During the OT, I watched Vader mostly during all the fights, except the last one when Luke goes apeshit on him near the end.

The Grim Squeaker · Post by **The Grim Squeaker** » 2005-07-09 11:57am

Actually in Ep3 I would say that the fight concentrates more On Obi-Wan than vader.

Vicious · Post by **Vicious** » 2005-07-09 11:59am

the .303 bookworm wrote:Actually in Ep3 I would say that the fight concentrates more On Obi-Wan than vader.

It's not about who the camera focuses on, but about who you focus on.

The Grim Squeaker · Post by **The Grim Squeaker** » 2005-07-09 12:17pm

Actually in Ep3 I would say that the fight concentrates more On Obi-Wan than vader.
It’s not about who the camera focuses on, but about who you focus on.

Most of the action is Obi-wan’s with Anakin mainly pursuing him going “kill,kill”, it seems to me to be the peak of his career and his most crucial battle.
Quote tags fixed-Bean

PainRack · Post by **PainRack** » 2005-07-09 02:43pm

I don't really concentrate on who, but rather, the flow of the fight. That's probably why I loved the duel in TPM the most. It just seems so smooth and cool.

Pcm979 · Post by **Pcm979** » 2005-07-09 03:41pm

I actually find it hard to concentrate on the battles in the PT; They're moving too damn fast for me, especially on Mustafar. In the OT however, Vader definately grabs my attention.

Guardsman Bass · Post by **Guardsman Bass** » 2005-07-09 04:16pm

I actually saw the opposite in the OT; usually, my focus was on the people fighting Vader, rather than Vader himself. Vader seemed almost more like the background color, larger than life, whereas Obi-Wan in ANH seemed to contrast strongly both with Vader and with the Death Star Corridor.

Crazedwraith · Post by **Crazedwraith** » 2005-07-09 05:48pm

Pcm979 wrote:I actually find it hard to concentrate on the battles in the PT; They're moving too damn fast for me, especially on Mustafar. In the OT however, Vader definately grabs my attention.

I agree completely.

All of the mustafar duel up until the chokes/ fush pushes in the control room is nothing by an unintelligable blue blob to me. I especially hated that bit where Ani and Obi are both whirling their blades and standing far enough apart they aren't making contact.

Srynerson · Post by **Srynerson** » 2005-07-09 08:06pm

Crazedwraith wrote:I especially hated that bit where Ani and Obi are both whirling their blades and standing far enough apart they aren't making contact.

I thought the point of that bit was that both of them were anticipating each other's moves so minutely that neither one could connect.

Noble Ire · Post by **Noble Ire** » 2005-07-10 07:38pm

Srynerson wrote:
Crazedwraith wrote:I especially hated that bit where Ani and Obi are both whirling their blades and standing far enough apart they aren't making contact.
I thought the point of that bit was that both of them were anticipating each other's moves so minutely that neither one could connect.

That's how I interprited it. I didnt have a problem with that fight.

As for who I focus on, generally either Obi-Wan or Luke. Typically, they are fighting somewhat more on the defensive, and thus it is easier to follow their actions. Orwise, I really dont focus on any one combatant.

Civil War Man · Post by **Civil War Man** » 2005-07-10 10:45pm

Crazedwraith wrote:I especially hated that bit where Ani and Obi are both whirling their blades and standing far enough apart they aren't making contact.

There's a ytmnd that has that segment repeating back and forth with rave music playing in the background (a rave version of Luke's theme, IIRC).

Anyway, here where I focused on in the movie duels:

TPM: Maul. That was the whole point.

AOTC: Dooku. First his arrogant bitchslapping of Obi-Wan and Anakin, then his frustration at being unable to kill Yoda, then desperation when he realized that a prolonged fight would work out to his detriment.

ROTS: For Dooku vs. Anakin: All Anakin. Focus on him since it was his revenge on Dooku. The look on Dooku's face when Palpatine casually told Anakin to kill him was very telling, though, since at that moment he realized where he had gone wrong. For Palpatine in his duels, all Palpatine. It was interesting to contrast the barely contained glee as he fought Mace Windu or threw Senate pods at Yoda when compared with his panic when his lightning wasn't working on Yoda after the initial surprise. For Obi-Wan vs. Anakin: Obi-Wan, mostly because it was a much more emotional experience for him, having to fight his friend and prodigy who at this point was acting like a mindless animal.

ANH: Vader. The bitterness was palpable in his voice.

ESB: Vader. It was interesting watching how he kept pulling his punches against Luke. After all, it was his idea to capture Luke alive in the first place, and I doubt Palpatine would have been disappointed if all Vader brought back was a corpse. Luke wasn't just Obi-Wan and Yoda's last hope, he was also Vader's last hope, the last remnant of the family Vader inadvertently destroyed. Vader didn't just want him alive, he needed him alive.

ROTJ: Luke, particularly with his emotional explosion when Vader talked about turning Leia. I do have to point out, though, that when Palpatine was electrocuting Luke, I could almost see the anguish on Anakin's face through the mask.