That was the voice of David Prowse, the six-foot-six
English bodybuilder who donned the Darth Vader suit in all three films of the original
Star Wars trilogy. On set, Prowse was concerned that his voice
was being muffled up by the mask, but George Lucas assured him that all of his lines would
be re-recorded later in the studio. And they were. Just, not by Prowse. George Lucas had a quote end quote deeper,
darker sound in mind. He wanted
the voice of esteemed and classically trained stage and film actor... Orson
Welles. Star of The Third man, creator of Citizen Kane, one of the most
famous actors and filmmakers in the world. But on second thought, Lucas feared Welles’
voice would be too recognizable. And so Lucas turned to another actor whom
he’d heard about through a couple of screenwriter friends of his. It was March 1st, 1977, and a 43 year old
James Earl Jones walked into a recording booth at Goldwyn Studios to lay down some
of the most iconic lines in cinematic history. Two and a half hours later... Jones walked
out with a check for $7,500 and not so much as a credit in the movie. As a matter of fact, for another 20 years,
James Earl Jones would remain uncredited in A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, with
the actors own blessing. Jones considered David Prowse to be the true
actor behind the character of Vader, thinking of his own performance as little more than
a special effect. But of course, the voice of Darth Vader is
so much more. What Jones and Lucas managed to achieve in
just two and a half hours in a sound booth, was nothing short of culture-changing, breathing
life into what would become possibly the most recognized villain in cinema. And how did they do it? Well, according to Jones, by keeping things
relatively simple. Vader, says Jones, is a man who never learned
the beauties and subtleties of human expression, so we figured
out the key was to keep it on a very narrow band of expression. On the original Star Wars, this approach was
something of a product of necessity. Jones and Lucas simply didn't have the time
to explore the character’s history, his psychology, the characteristics that
make us human, that make us complicated. These were facets Jones later admitted
he hoped to explore when it finally came time to record for the Empire Strikes
Back, but George Lucas said no. Whatever they had done before, that’s what
Lucas wanted again. Yet despite these constraints, there remains
a clear mastery to Jones’ vocal performance. I mean, no doubt Hayden Christensen was performing
his dialogue as a burgeoning Darth Vader on a very narrow
band of expression, too, Just maybe not quite to the same level of
cultural impact. Now, James Earl Jones and his legendary tamber
aren’t the only ingredients to comprise the sound of
Darth Vader. Vader is menacing due one part to his physical
suit and stature, one part to the bass of Jones' voice, and
another part to what lies beneath them. His cold,
mechanical breathing. And for that we can thank this guy: Star Wars
sound designer Ben Burtt, who took the description of an
oddly filtered voice made through a complex breathing mask from George Lucas's
script and brought it to life by breathing into the regulator of a scuba tank. Burtt is also responsible for recording the
playback of Jones's vocal tracks in rooms of various sizes in
order to achieve the effect of the lines being spoken from inside of a mask. Darth Vader is iconic for so many reasons,
thanks not only to Jones or Prowse or Burtt, or even Lucas, but to the
trilogy's cinematography, to John Molo and Brian Muir who constructed
Vader's suit and mask, to Star Wars conceptual artist Ralph McQuarrie,
and the samurai of Akira Kurosawa's films that inspired Lucas. But had we gotten this, instead of
this, there's no knowing how the legacy of the character and the Star Wars franchise
might have changed. Darth Vader's conception, and the
property of Star Wars as a whole, is an exceedingly rare coincidence of history. But one that will no doubt continue to have
an incalculable impact on popular culture for generations to come. Hey everybody. I’m Danny. What's your favorite Darth Vader quote? Leave a commen! and if you want to support
me here at Filmcraft, the absolute best thing you can do is hit like and share this video
with someone you think might enjoy it. You can also support me directly at Patreon.com/filmcraftessays. Until next time.
