Today’s behind the scenes post we go to the prequels which are still very much a favourite of mine despite being disliked by a lot of Star Wars fans for various reasons. I try to focus on the good stuff that a GFFA can bring to people, not the negative.
And with that, here is our behind the scenes image:
From the official website:
The Jedi and Sith went through three hundred aluminium lightsaber blades while filming The Phantom Menace. Stunt coordinator Nick Gillard helped build the new lightsabers for the physically and mentally intensive duels.
Via Star Wars dot Com
Whenever I see the behind the scenes content it always keeps me in awe at how amazing the actors must be to bring their characters to life in front of blue and green screens! And not only that but in many situations, they are surrounded by blank walls and set props that do nothing to encourage them as actors. When I see blank walls and green screens I just think its amazing how these characters are brought to life and enjoyed by fans the world over.
One of my very favourite lightsaber duels of all-time is the Duel of the Fates and the incredible music that was written by John Williams that accompanies it is equally as amazing.
For anyone that is interested in the behind the scenes content from the prequels, here is a great video clip via Star Wars on Youtube:
Do you have a favourite behind the scenes moment from the prequel trilogy? Let me know in the comments! I’m happy to feature any content on the blog that I haven’t yet found online so feel free to reach out.
darksiderconfessions.blog 
Hi Julie, what a coincidence…I just watched this documentary on my DVD while I’m waiting for my new Jedi boots to arrive! The amazing thing I found about the choreography was that Liam Neeson had sword fighting experience and of course Ray Park is a martial arts expert in Wushu (amongst other disciplines), the only one who didn’t was Ewan (as far as I know). However the REALLY amazing thing is that Ray walked the two Jedi through rehearsals at full speed, full contact…meaning Ewan and Liam would swing for real and Ray blocked them for real. If either took a mis-step or swing there would have been an injury. And you can see what damage a stunt prop blade can do as Nick Gillard (Stunt Co-Ordinator) attempts to straighten one of the metal tube blades after it had bent under the blows!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah I was quite interested in Ray Park as I am a fellow martial artist 🙂 I haven’t practised Wushu but I did know that he has had a lot of martial arts experience and is extremely skilled with quite a few weapons as well. So it’s not surprising to me that he was doing that during their fight scenes. But it really did make that fight sequence look so much more real 🙂 It makes all the difference when you can bring in real martial artists for certain movies rather than just an actor who is trying to learn the steps. Although, all of the actors on all of the Star Wars movies were incredibly dedicated to learning everything they could to make the fight scenes look as good and as real as possible 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi again, I did say that Ewan was probably the most inexperienced saber practitioner but boy he made up for it with energy and willingness. The great thing was this led him to be much more comfortable (and became the “dance leader”) with the duel in ROTS which was equally epic. There is a funny clip on YouTube where Ewan is on the Graham Norton Show (BBC UK) and he and Chris O’Dowd are handed replica lightsabers to play with. Ewan proceeds to do some “saber spinning” then uses the saber like a baseball bat to hit a ball thrown to him.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi ya and yeah I’ve seen that lol it’s hilarious. I used to watch the Graham Norton show quite religiously at one point lol it’s a really good show to get a glimpse of all the really famous people doing very silly things lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
Another bit I enjoyed was Ewan and Graham’s reaction when Chris ignited his saber with that wrist flick motion. But you’re right Graham has a way of getting great moments of entertainment out of celebs you wouldn’t expect to behave the way they do.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah it’s awesome lol 🙂 He’s a great host
LikeLike