Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999) influenced and still influences (almost) all film directors. Of course, George Lucas would not escape this and it is impossible not to see a direct relationship between ‘2001 – A Space Odyssey’ (1968), the film that brought realism to science fiction, and ‘Star Wars’ (1977), the opening chapter of a one of the biggest franchises in history, combining the most credible way of portraying the universe, galaxies and planets (heritage of the special effects designed in ‘2001’) with western and Akira Kurosawa’s samurai films.
However, the strongest connection between Kubrick and ‘Star Wars’, more specifically the main character of the entire saga, Darth Vader, the “chosen one” who ends up succumbing to the dark side of the force and going from a good guy Jedi to an evil Sith Lord , and other.
Most people don’t realize it, but Vader’s two parts were “formed” in the eccentric director’s films. The soul of the character, that is, his dark, serious and deep voice (even in his breathing) in the original English, which became a trademark, is that of the actor James Earl Jones, who you certainly know as the king of Zamunda, father of Eddie Murphy, in ‘A Prince in New York’ (1988).
Know that Jones’ career in cinema – previously he had only made a few appearances in TV series – began in a classic by Stanley Kubrick, ‘Doctor Fantastic’ (1964), as Lieutenant Lothar Zogg, aboard the B-52 which, Following insane orders from above, he can turn the cold war into a hot one and end humanity. It is an important part of the comedy about the end of the world that the director dared to make during the most critical period of nuclear paranoia.
The person who wore Darth Vader’s armor in the original trilogy was bodybuilder and weightlifter David Prowse, who died at the age of 85 in 2020, one of the millions of victims of COVID-19. And where did he take his first significant steps in his acting career? In a Stanley Kubrick film, even more controversial and shocking: ‘A Clockwork Orange’ (1971).
He plays half bodyguard and half handler of the man attacked by the psychotic, immoral and depraved protagonist Alex (Malcolm McDowell) and who later shelters him with the intention of taking revenge, applying against him the conditioning received by the government to become a “citizen Pacific”.
Prowse’s presence impressed Lucas so much that the choice to play his black knight in ‘Star Wars’ was almost automatic. So, ‘Star Wars’ fans, you can thank Stanley Kubrick because, in a sense, he was the one who “assembled”, almost like a cinematic Doctor Frankenstein, Darth Vader for all of us.
Check out the trailers for ‘Doctor Fantastic’, ‘A Clockwork Orange’ and the first film in George Lucas’ saga: ‘Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope’.
Tags: incredible connection Stanley Kubrick Darth Vader main character Star Wars saga Films
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