The roots that drag us down are the things we can't forget

[sovay]

I remember when Bob Anderson died, because I had not realized until then that the same person was responsible for the fight choreography of The Master of Ballantrae (1953), Star Wars (1977), Highlander (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), The Mask of Zorro (1998), The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003), and Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) among other swashbucklers. I had never seen a photo of him on the set of any of the original Star Wars films, where he stunt-doubled David Prowse. Courtesy once again of moon_custafer:



He does look like a formidable Sith lord in his own right. A weary, grim one, too. I'm sorry Lucas never thought to cast him in a major¹ unmasked role, perhaps some other high-ranking Imperial officer; he and Peter Cushing could have had a hell of a cheekbone-off.

1. I found after putting up this post that Anderson does appear uncredited as an ex-Imperial Rebel in The Empire Strikes Back (1980). I still think Lucas missed an opportunity.

Comments

[sovay]

There's a lot about Anderson in a book I have on duelling, the name of which escapes me; he seems to have been a fascinating guy.

Cool! I know mostly that he went to the Olympics in 1952 and had a tremendous effect on just about everyone who learned to fence in the UK, but that's the sort of thing all the obituaries mentioned. Also he once stabbed Errol Flynn.

And God knows, I love his work.

I really want to rewatch all the Star Wars fight scenes now.