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Original Darth
Vader Helmets (Screen-Used)
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A New Hope |
So who
actually "made" Darth
Vader?
Well it was mainly a collaboration of conceptual artist, Ralph McQuarrie,
Costume Designer John Mollo, Production Designer Norman Reynolds and Brian
Muir who actually sculpted the infamous character.
For more information Click Here for the John Mollo Interview
which deals with the overall design and Click Here for the Brian Muir
Interviews to understand a little more about the
sculpting process. |
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Darth Vader on the Tantive IV |
Original Publicity Photo (1977) |
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Original Darth Vader Costume from Lucas archives |
Unusual publicity photo (1977/78), note dome
skewed/unaligned. Taken from UK Poster Mag #4 |
| Below, some great ANH Hi Def grabs
from RoCKo, the second showing Darth Vader's dome very much off-kilter in his TIE
fighter! |
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Look at the detail -don't ya just love Hi-Def! |
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| Above, another photo from the UK SW
Poster Mag (1978). This time the fold-out poster from #3 of Vader and
Stormtroopers taken from the same publicity junket as the shot above
right. |
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Above three screen grabs from aboard the Tantive
IV of Darth Vader looking his meanest (and best) and below a crop from a new
Hi-Def screengrab at full resolution - see the difference!
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Above is a nicely detailed shot from the SW Chronicles
clearly showing the two tone tusks |
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Here's a couple of nice screen grabs from Anson from the
Making of Star Wars in 1977. The one on the right is especially
interesting as you can see three bumps on the top of the head which look
VERY similar to the marking found on the top of the ESB 20th Century
helmet (see here) |
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| These four images above and below
were taken in May 2003 at Disney MGM Studio's (in the AFI 100 Exhibition)
of what is purported to be one of the "Original" ANH Vader's.
Note that it's under glass so therefore there's some distortion and
reflection but I tried to get the best shots I could. |
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The profile looks very good although the dome doesn't
look like its sitting correctly on the face. |
| Below a couple of shots of ILM's Joe
Johnson's Vader which was made for a Halloween party. Its based on the
original Ralph McQuarrie prototype design but what is not clear is
whether it was made before or after Star Wars. |
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| It was apparently trashed at the
party (sounds like my kind of party) so it really was a one-off. I recently
asked John Mollo whether he had seen this before the screen-used
costumes were made and he said that he hadn't, suggesting it was in fact
made after 1977, or it had never left California. Below another shot, this
time with what looks like some Death Star surface behind it - again
suggesting it was something the guys in the US worked on. |
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| Below, this is a photo newly
released of the original Vader costume. The photo dates back to 1977 and as
you can see it looks fantastic. IN these publicity shots its a gentleman
called Kermit Eller wearing the suit. Thanks to Bill
Malone and Golgotha |
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| Below, here's a good shot from one
of the VH1 shows (and previously I think from the original "Making of Star
Wars" first screened on TV in 1977), showing a dome-less Vader. The 3 Apple
latches are just out of shot at the top, but the paint scheme is very clear.
Note that a decision was taken mid-February 1976 to make Vader this two-tone
design. Originally it was thought that this was a last-minute idea but
recent info points to this being something decided long before filming. |
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| ...and finally as we segue into ESB,
here's one of the photos that I think was used as part of the pre-release
"Vader in front of Stars" one-sheet for ESB. |
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The Empire Strikes Back The
story continues...following
the success of the first film, Lucas realised he had a problem as all the
original Vader helmets had gone (of the ones that made it back to the
U.S., were either "picked-up" by collectors and in the case
of one used for PR, were unusable due to damage). Therefore LFL prop-makers working
from an original cast (the moulds had long gone) recast an existing
helmet or possibly a Tour helmet?. Its for this reason that the ANH looks
significantly different from the ESB/ROTJ which has a softer more polished appearance
with less pronounced cheeks, more rounded
eyes and softer edges around the mouth. An obvious difference is the missing "widows
peak" on the ESB/ROJ. Whether
this is true or not is anyone's guess, and given the number of
similarities between the 20thC ESB and the ANH Vader (see
"Compare" section) it may well not and in fact the ESB is merely
a tweaked version of the helmet from the same mould (or a tweaked recast),
WHO KNOWS!!! |
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Above and below, various scenes from the
movie (ESB). Note point on front of dome, above frown, has now gone. |
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| Above and below a couple of shots
from May 2003 from the Planet Hollywood Store at Downtown Disney in
Orlando Florida of a supposed original ESB Vader. Overall condition was
fairly good despite the broken tusks. It looks pretty clear to me that the
20th Century Vader Helmet (see Fans/Vader) has
come directly from this. |
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| Above and below from a very interesting
recent auction of an original ESB Stunt helmet. Used
specifically for the Vader/Luke fight scenes you can see that the cheeks
are transparent and the lower grill has been removed to allow the wearer
an improved field of vision. In addition the tusks appear to have been
removed (don't know why unless is was to avoid the possibility of Mark
Hamil being caught by them as they are VERY close on a couple of
occasions). Note that this helmet (as with all "Stunts") would
have been used for long-shots, being replaced by one of the Hero helmets
for the close-up shots. |
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The text from the auction is as
follows: Lot 72 - Original Darth Vader fighting helmet from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. (TCF, 1980) This Darth Vader helmet was used extensively throughout the climactic fight sequences in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. It is a highly modified version of the "hero" helmet used during standard shooting, and was specially created so that Olympic fencing champion Bob Anderson had much clearer vision when he was performing the fight sequences with Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker).
The two-piece helmet is constructed almost entirely of highly-polished black Perspex, a proprietary acrylic used by the film industry's top special effects
modellers. The helmet is joined to the mask at the crown. The mask is padded with foam, and secured to the wearer's head with a three-point head strap. Inside, the "grotesque breath screen" (as it was described in Vader's 1978 character biography) is held in place with plastic filler, as are the eye lenses, which are lightly tinted but appear black from the outside. |
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The modifications to this helmet, as distinct from the "hero" helmet, include special tinted brown lenses which were fitted into the cheek areas and around the neck, replacing the solid resin/fiberglass areas in the standard helmet. This made it possible for Mr. Anderson to see his opponent's blade around and below him, which would have not been possible with the restricted vision that the standard eye lenses normally provided.
Bob Anderson took over the role of Darth Vader for the complex fight sequences, his amazing fencing skills making it possible to take the Darth Vader character to a new level of menace with all the reactions and skill of a true sword's
master (ed. who writes this stuff!!).
Special thanks to producer Gary Kurtz and Jason Joiner of the Kurtz/Joiner Star Wars Archive for their assistance in identifying this particular helmet, and also in providing these splendid reference images of the piece as used in the
production. Estimate $40,000 - $60,000. This helmet was originally sold in the December 17, 1992 auction of Film and Entertainment Memorabilia by Christie's South Kensington, lot 577.
Below some shots from Mike of the same Bob Anderson Fencing helmet in it new
home (part of the Paul Allen collection).... |
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As you can see the lower grill was been completely removed
to help Bob |
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| You can see the Perspex cheek areas
quite clearly, however in lower light (and on-screen) they're very hard to
pick out (cue lots of slo mo on your DVD's). Thanks again to Mike for
sending these pics - Mike's currently working on a project to replicate this
specific fencing helmet - more pics in the
Fans/Vader/ESB section |
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| Below, excellent b/w (Front Of House) publicity shot of Vader
on Cloud City from ESB. |
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Below, many
thanks for regular contributor and Vader-expert Thomas for these nice shots of the reconditioned ESB
Vader auctioned by Profiles in History on ebay. Originally created
for and used in the production of The Empire Strikes Back, the
stunning costume pieces offered here were repainted in June, 1992 by
Lucasfilm resident archivist Don Bies, who then personally reassembled and
mounted the pieces in an oversize, museum-quality Plexiglas display case,
custom fabricated under his direct supervision. The finished piece was
then sold at an Artist's Rights Foundation auction held at the Directors
Guild of America (Hollywood, CA) in October, 1992. |
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| Accompanying the helmet, mask and
shoulder armor are a number of important pieces of provenance, directly
tying these magnificent costume pieces to Lucasfilm. Crowning the archive
is a signed Letter of Authenticity from George Lucas himself, on Lucasfilm
Ltd. stationery, dated July 29, 1992: "This letter is to confirm
that I have personally examined the 'Darth Vader Mask and Helmet' and that
it is an original, authentic piece of costume created by Lucasfilm Ltd in
1980 which was used in the film entitled 'The Empire Strikes Back'.
Sincerely, George Lucas (signed), Executive Producer" |
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| The whole dome/face and shoulder
structure was bolted together and an ample application of glue has ensured
that it will never be taken apart (and recast). |
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Despite its complete renovation it still went for an
impressive $70,000 in December 2003. |
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| Above-another excellent Hi Def
screengrab, thanks to the anonymous source for these. |
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| Above and below a couple of shots
from Patrick H when the "Star Wars In Concert" show toured Tulsa. Though
this is an "official LFL" Vader statue, the provenance of the individual
items is unclear suggesting they're "production made" rather than
screen-used. |
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Return of the Jedi
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| First up another of those Hi-Def
screengrabs, this time the RotJ variant Vader |
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| Heres a photo from TK7602, taken at
one of the LFL exhibitions of the RotJ Vader (although the dome's set
slightly wonky), showing the wider chin vent of this particular helmet. |
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Front Cover DK's SW Guide, probably ROJ. If you look
close you may notice to chip to the right of where the Widows peak should
be. Note that this may be ESB as the bottom lip looks thin. |
On-set Photo in DS2 Hangar. The bottom lip of the ROJ is
thicker on the ROJ over the ESB |
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Film Scene |
"Reveal" Face mask |
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| Above and below, some great shots sent to me by
Anson of the (I presume ROJ) Vader, shown last year in the UK, and
another shot of the ROJ reveal face. |
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Below, two shots from the LFL Archive of the Dark Lord. |
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The one above looks RotJ but not sure if the one below isn't
ESB. |
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Below four cool shots from Franz Bolo from the Houston MOM
exhibition.
First up a complete RotJ Vader |
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Then a great photo of the Reveal face |
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...and again from a lower angle... |
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...and finally a close-up of the lower jaw and neck brace |
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Original Trilogy Promotion and Tour
Suits |
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Revenge of the Sith |
| Lucasfilm has been releasing some
of the photos of the new Vader costume, including the now symmetrical
helmet. Thanks to Vader71 for sending me these. |
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And below a photo of the actual Helmet prop itself, in all
its symmetrical glory! |
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| Finally a couple from a source who
would prefer to remain anonymous. Thanks for the pics! |
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| Here are more great shots from
TK7602, taken at one of the recent LFL exhibitions. |
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| Above and below, looking a bit dusty
(the flash picking this up more than the naked eye at the time would have
seen). The clear symmetry of the cheeks apparent in the way both cheeks
sweep up and down like a wave (whereas on the OT helmets only Vader's left
does this). Despite these differences the helmet connectors and detailing
are otherwise quite similar to the reveal seen in Jedi |
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| and a superb final shot of Vader's
mask showing all the intricate internal detailing seen in Sith |
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| Thanks again 7602 for sharing your
photos! |
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Back to Real Props Menu |
