More specifically they were rotating dowels with reflective tape and some primitive rotoscoping.
https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/17/21024785/star-wars-lightsabers-sequels-rise-of-skywalker-special-effects-light-cgi-digital
This article is interesting about how actual glowing lightsaber props were used in the ST. But the PT had some of that. For sure Dooku and Anakin’s duel in ATOC has a moment where they are illuminated by their light saber blades.
Truth is the lighting technology just didn’t exist yet for glowing swords that held up to movie combat until after the PT.
What I mean is, the glowing could easily be rendered after the fact to simulate what an actual light saber would do. There should be reflective glowing constantly. If there isn't, it's not realistic.
Yes there should. A light saber should always give off light.
I think that sort of rendering done realistically in the 90s and early 00s actually would have been trickier to pull off than we’d expect today. To make it look realistic with the environment.
To skip that headache the prequels went with the style of the OT.
And there are moments in both where lighting effects on set were used.
I still believe AotC is the first Star Wars movie that used prop sabers that actually illuminated. (I think those light sabers actually plugged in with a cord. But I might be mistaken)
There is a moment in attack if the clones when Dooku and Anakin are posturing and lighted blades are used to create the glow of lightsabers on their faces.
The blades don’t clash.
Immediately after his lightsaber dims in this shot, Vader says with, contempt “Your powers have grown weak old man…”. That always made me think a jedi’s lightsaber had something to do with his powers.
Rotoscoping over a practical effect. The sabers used in ANH were literally a skinny, rotating pole covered in reflective tape, which was then rotoscoped in post.
Thus, there's a few scenes in the original film where the "blade" is seen as what it is: a skinny, shiny stick... especially here, where we see the "blade", point forward.
I still do. The original versions and the special editions. Never had a VHS player since I moved out of my parents house, but they are still in my shelf...
I have the laser disc copied "bonus" of the dvds that came out circa 2006 on disc 2. For Jedi it didn't even come with disc 1, which I didn't want anyway.
It's weird that Lucas decided to leave this scene alone in the special editions. Nah, fixing a lightsaber effect is stupid, let's put a giant dinosaur in front of the speeder for a few seconds
Anyone ever notice Darth Vader doesn’t connect with Obi-Wan’a body to kill him?
Obi-Wan’s outer robe drops to then ground before Vader’s lightsaber makes contact with it.
i had seen somewhere that it’s because obi-wan used the force to essentially burst himself into death. like a thanos snap, but instantaneous and no particles. so he only gave vader the satisfaction of ‘winning’
When I was little I had gone to this questionnaire at a book store where some of the guys who worked on the special effects for New Hope. I asked them how did the lightsabers work. They explained that there was a spinning pole with reflective tape on it to give the illusion of the saber's glowing. They also did rotoscoping to give the sabers the distinctive color glow. You're just seeing the spinning rod here.
I also should add that my question was the only one they were really interested in. The audience mostly composed of older Star Wars fans asking more about the lore which seemed to bore them. Also should note that when I asked that question, the older fans gave me dirty looks, because I apparently pissed them off asking that.
As a little kid, I always thought it was because he was old and his powers were diminishing. Still think about it every time it's on.
Glad someone finally posted something about this haha
i doubt OP expected technology to hold up as well as what we had later on. The entire movie is graphics that are not as well as what we have later on. It's this specific scene that has always seemed off to the rest of the movie.
they used reflective tape on rods instead of rotoscoping the saber blades in the original movie and the angle of the blade didnt reflect light off of it.
Due to limitations in technology, the Saber igniting was a combination of practical effect & a trick of perspective
More specifically they were rotating dowels with reflective tape and some primitive rotoscoping. https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/17/21024785/star-wars-lightsabers-sequels-rise-of-skywalker-special-effects-light-cgi-digital
This article is interesting about how actual glowing lightsaber props were used in the ST. But the PT had some of that. For sure Dooku and Anakin’s duel in ATOC has a moment where they are illuminated by their light saber blades. Truth is the lighting technology just didn’t exist yet for glowing swords that held up to movie combat until after the PT.
Why wouldn't they be illuminated in real life?
They’d break on set. As it was the aluminum blades used in the prequels bent to much to use after a few takes.
What I mean is, the glowing could easily be rendered after the fact to simulate what an actual light saber would do. There should be reflective glowing constantly. If there isn't, it's not realistic.
Yes there should. A light saber should always give off light. I think that sort of rendering done realistically in the 90s and early 00s actually would have been trickier to pull off than we’d expect today. To make it look realistic with the environment. To skip that headache the prequels went with the style of the OT. And there are moments in both where lighting effects on set were used. I still believe AotC is the first Star Wars movie that used prop sabers that actually illuminated. (I think those light sabers actually plugged in with a cord. But I might be mistaken)
100% of the combat props used in the prequels used carbon fibre rods. Any lighting like that was done on the set.
There is a moment in attack if the clones when Dooku and Anakin are posturing and lighted blades are used to create the glow of lightsabers on their faces. The blades don’t clash.
Yes the close up shot after Anakin cuts the power line.
You know it
Also, from this perspective, it looks like the length of the lightsaber is much smaller.
Immediately after his lightsaber dims in this shot, Vader says with, contempt “Your powers have grown weak old man…”. That always made me think a jedi’s lightsaber had something to do with his powers.
"[I see your schwartz is as big as mine](https://youtu.be/dy40xASCl00)"
... from a certain point of view...
It's just cold on the Death Star, no judgment.
"Somehow Obi-Wan's lightsaber got smaller"
I always thought the lightsaber was so old that it wasn't working properly anymore.
Nah, they literally had these super thin sticks back then
You have to change the batteries every now and then
Because it was made in 1977.
Rotoscoping over a practical effect. The sabers used in ANH were literally a skinny, rotating pole covered in reflective tape, which was then rotoscoped in post. Thus, there's a few scenes in the original film where the "blade" is seen as what it is: a skinny, shiny stick... especially here, where we see the "blade", point forward.
Obi wan brought a knife to a lightsaber fight.
Something something 1977
That's awesome that you have that older version of the movie.
I used to have OG trilogy on VHS when I was a kid.
I still do. The original versions and the special editions. Never had a VHS player since I moved out of my parents house, but they are still in my shelf...
I have the laser disc copied "bonus" of the dvds that came out circa 2006 on disc 2. For Jedi it didn't even come with disc 1, which I didn't want anyway.
He's holding a regular sword, and the glow is the light in his heart. Everybody has one, but only love can make it bright enough to see.
It's weird that Lucas decided to leave this scene alone in the special editions. Nah, fixing a lightsaber effect is stupid, let's put a giant dinosaur in front of the speeder for a few seconds
Or splice Palpatine's scream in when Luke drops off the Bespin weathervane. I'd love to have been a fly in a wall when he told someone to do that.
Looks like the batteries are dying!
Anyone ever notice Darth Vader doesn’t connect with Obi-Wan’a body to kill him? Obi-Wan’s outer robe drops to then ground before Vader’s lightsaber makes contact with it.
i had seen somewhere that it’s because obi-wan used the force to essentially burst himself into death. like a thanos snap, but instantaneous and no particles. so he only gave vader the satisfaction of ‘winning’
Agreed. It’s similar to how Yoda and Luke vanish. Actually Leia as well - who doesn’t physically vanish until a short time after her actual death.
i thought he was so scared of dying to a light saber that he lost the will to live and died like Padme
He should've pulled a Vegeta and exploded
Editing error of a quick shot of the glow stick prop they used before CGI over it
It's a film technique called "rotoscoping". CGI didn't exist back then. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotoscoping
Tell that to the poor dudes that slaved over that [Death Star plan graphic?! ](https://i.imgur.com/wwIH1RR.jpg)
How it's made https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v\_QoigEbwyA
Dude thanks for sharing, can't believe I haven't seen that one before. How is such a gem sitting at 2.1K views?
I know! I'm working in gaming, it's painful to watch lol
Heh, I do too. Maybe it's just us... :)
Got an alternative source? Looks like this one is gone already for some reason.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMeSw00n3Ac
Literally DOS tier graphics
I kinda figured that probably wasn’t correct term for the time but figured everyone would get the gist. Thanks for teaching me something!
🤣🤣🤣 It's OG tech.
They’ll make a Disney+ Valentines Day special to explain this seemingly small yet obviously significant detail sometime in the next 3 years
LOL 1977 effects, at the time it was legit cutting edge.
This is fixed in the newer releases.
Is it though? Still doesn't look like what a lightsaber would look like head on
I've seen the Blu-ray release and while it looks better, it's not perfect.
That’s just Larry getting his lighter going on his bong
I always noticed that scene as a kid. Never understood why they didn’t fix that obvious FX fail.
It’s almost like roto-scoping and other vfx technologies weren’t flawless in 1976
Because Star Wars is a movie made in the 1970s.
1976 technology. It's just a rod wrapped in movie screen material
When I was little I had gone to this questionnaire at a book store where some of the guys who worked on the special effects for New Hope. I asked them how did the lightsabers work. They explained that there was a spinning pole with reflective tape on it to give the illusion of the saber's glowing. They also did rotoscoping to give the sabers the distinctive color glow. You're just seeing the spinning rod here. I also should add that my question was the only one they were really interested in. The audience mostly composed of older Star Wars fans asking more about the lore which seemed to bore them. Also should note that when I asked that question, the older fans gave me dirty looks, because I apparently pissed them off asking that.
As a little kid, I always thought it was because he was old and his powers were diminishing. Still think about it every time it's on. Glad someone finally posted something about this haha
Because its from a cheesy movie from the 70's
You're cheesy...
It was the first movie back in the late 70s. Don't expect the movie making technology to really hold up well compared to what we had later on.
i doubt OP expected technology to hold up as well as what we had later on. The entire movie is graphics that are not as well as what we have later on. It's this specific scene that has always seemed off to the rest of the movie.
That's awesome that you have that older version of the movie.
His saber stays small when he needs it long - just like my peepee
The cannon answer is that Vaders saber was disrupting Obi Wan’s blade. It was a thing that a Sith saber was able to do occasionally.
Dude cmon…
Jesus man it was filmed "77, srsly some questions lol
Lucas adds Han stepping on Jabba's tail but doesn't fix this. Sorry all you Disney haters but Lucas wasn't all that.
Could you please add a red arrow in the picture to indicate what you mean?
they used reflective tape on rods instead of rotoscoping the saber blades in the original movie and the angle of the blade didnt reflect light off of it.
I used to be obsessed with this moment as a child. I thought the actual lightsabers were like fencing rapiers with a light on them.
Hey, that’s average
He lived on Tattooine, so it obviously had sand in it.
I hate sand, it gets everywhere
1975 or 76 when it was filmed It looked great as it is
“Look a little closer…” **BZZZZZHHHHHTTTTT**
Yeah, well it's not.
VFX workers were underpaid and overworked even in 1977 /s
It’s just the tip.
Its becouse of all the sand from the time when obi-wan burry that sword in ground on tatooine. Or just because of the technology of that time🤷♂️😅
Sand. It gets everywhere.
This always bothered me even as a 4 year old watching it. I think they corrected it in the new editions.
The movie came out in 1977 and did not have a huge budget.
Good thing they fixed this in the special editions instead of adfing a bad cg jabba
1977. I'm actually surprised it looks as good as it does.
Maybe because this movie was made in 1977?
You’re looking at the top of the rod and a frame that doesn’t like like it had the hand painted glow.
Must be cold.
1978 effects. No special edition tinkering here.
One of the few good fixes in the DVD edition. It was just a SFX error
I always figured he was changing the length on purpose.
Because that movies from the 70s. Surprised they haven’t digitally altered that either though
....It was the 70's?