The Best Scene in Star Wars.

The novelization has an added line where Tarkin clarifies that the Senate was suspended “for the duration of the emergency”. Since the rest of Tarkin’s lines already get the point across, I can understand why that line was trimmed but I kind of wish it stayed.

I would even say the scene where Vader is redeemed is the most emotional part of all of Star Wars, the prequels are building towards it, and everything set after has to grapple with at least the repurcussions of the death of the empire, only made possible by Vader becoming good.

I think Lucas was watning public of martial law ..and or coup de tat

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the actors did a good job at pretending to be space Nazi's cause they REALLY come across as space Nazi's

Another absolute ECHenry banger bringing an interesting perspective on a scene I never really examined in any depth and making me appreciate this franchise I adore even more.

but the most fun part is always scrolling through the comments and seeing the absolutely unhinged faschie shit star wars fanboys say lol

This is the scene I often point to when discussing the sequels. In this one sequence we glimpse a grander view of the Empire, and its various factions. This one scene, often overlooked, gives more context and world building to the Empire than the First Order recieved across its trilogy.

To this point i still don't understand the First Order's structure, size, composition or purpose. We never see a First Order civilian, or a First Order run world. We are told they take over the galaxy, but their presence is never felt like the Empire.

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Nice breakdown. Cool that you can make a scene I've watched 100 times seem new again.

Hi! Just wondering, how is trial on the island moon going?

You should see the extended deleted seane of the imperial conference.

Dear sir, i have a small question about Bobba Fetts armor. Im 55 and have this old magazine article/picture from Empire Strikes Back days that talks about "A Bunch of Bobba", im sure i already scanned it. Its around here somewhere. It talks about Bobba Fetts armor coming from the clone wars...something about Fett being a Commando who went rogue or something. For me i was just a bit disappointed when i took my son, as my dad took me to see the original Star Wars when i was 7....with Revenge of the sith , attack of the clones etc....i was expecting to see Bobba Fett armor everywhere?....

The Empire was no joke, they made that clear.

With the amount of lore star wars has, the only thing that comes to my mind with this scene is that when Vader talks about how the Death Star isn't shit when compared to the force is something that just holds a lot of weight. We have Darth Nihilus who drained the entire life of a planet because he was hungry. One guy did that. The death star is a moon sized space and Starkiller Base being imbedded into a planet all took considerable money, man power, and tons of planning, all eclipsed by a guy who woke up at 3am and wanted a snack.

Of course I know it was really foreshadowing to Luke using the force to shoot the torpedo instead of the targeting device but I digress.

Hi Henry, i’m just curious; do you use blender to create your models?

…damn this is an excellent analysis of the scene. Also, good call in pointing out the differences between the empire, Vader and even obi wan. It’s showing us on very selective bits what motivates the empire minions and why Vader is different.

But also, I really like what the officer says to Vader “don’t scare us with your sorcerer ways lord Vader. Your ancient religion…” this is gives enough to back up obi WAN’s claim that long ago the Jedi were guardians. Whatever happened was enough to make an entire generation or two forget what force users can do, or rather the difference between a Jedi and sith. To this new generation, the empire is all they know and the stories of Jedi/with are legends

With the way Hollyweird writes movies now this type of scene would never be written

What's the status of Trial on the Island Moon? Seems like it's been months since an update.

YES!

A deleted part of this scene also mentions the sith.

Too bad Disney doesn’t understand the power of the Force. They tried too often to steam roll over subtle, world building scenes like this one in favor of their agendas and propagandas.

This scene is why I tell people Andor's canon feels closer to A New Hope than Empire Strikes Back's extension of the then-existing canon. Like some spiritual successor to Star Wars (1977) from an alternate universe 1978.

Another benefit to this scene: Beforehand, we have Obi Wan going on about the Force and framing it in a very spiritual sort of context, fitting with the Jedi mindset. We also only really see it used for fairly subtle little things like the Jedi mind trick. Then not long after that we have an officer openly committing insubordination while denigrating Darth Vader's belief in the Force, and Vader responds by putting him in his place with a force choke. It sets up that sort of escalation of what the Force can do as seen throughout the OT (culminating with force lightning being the moment where it's revealed the Emperor is, despite appearances, exactly as big of a threat as he's made out to be and completely blindsiding Luke), not to mention how things escalated in EU and other works ever since.

It all started with Vader showing that the Force is more than just mysticism and telepathic trickery, but also capable of being used very directly as a weapon itself.

Can we please stop pretending Shart Wars was anything other than a mid movie made at the right time.

Please, please watch Empire Strikes Back . Just after Han solo gets tortured watch the stormtrooper on the right and hans left as they drop him in the holding sell . Everyone talks about a new hope head bop this is practically a 360. Let me know if anyone catches the troopers error .

This breakdown makes me realize I need to watch the old movies again.

Of all the points of in interest here, the only one I already knew was the death star active to dissolution of the Senate political relationship. Yet a couple more seem like things I'd have noticed if I had actually seen a full 4-6 Star wars movie since I was a kid seeing them a dozen times or so, but all back when I was of one digit years in age. Apparently this scene is Star Wars' version of the lunch scene in Jurassic Park and now I know I need to see a movie I thought I knew because of it. There is a degree to which I only actually know what a ~9-year-old caught onto and thought important.

I can't even remember the first time i saw this scene. I probably couldn't even talk yet. I never caught on to the fact that vader being a force user roots him in goodness. Especially since in rotj, Palpatine seems like his power comes from being inhumanly evil. And later Darth maul is basically a demon. It would've been cool if star wars kept that theme. Like if Darth maul had some tragedy other than "obi wan took my legs." And who knows what palpatines deal is. He's kinda just an idiot in every episode except rotj

Edit: nah he's an idiot for trusting vader throughout 5 and 6 actually

It’s kind of amazing how much better this scene gets if you’ve seen Andor and Rogue One.

Thats an interesting interpretation of Vader's ability to use the force making him redeemable. I always thought Vader seems more evil at first because of this scene than the redeemable "I am your father" shown later. He's showing this smug, young and lesser ranking up and coming officer whos used to talk over action that the true power of the empire lies in dark power beyond his comprehension. It's also swiftly putting everyone in their place a warning to anyone who thinks that they could just take over the empire by taking command of the Death Star and establishes quite literally with this menacing figure in black armour that there are much darker forces behind the empire than some mere power hungry generals and bureaucrats.

Just looking at 1977 Star Wars in isolation with no prequels or sequels we dont really know what Vader even is. I actually get the opposite impression in the "redemption" category from this scene most imperials are just humans following orders walking around in relatively normal military costumes. Maybe some might even switch sides later on. Vader on the other hand looks like the true danger overshadowing the whole movie from this point, a black knight that cannot be reasoned or bargained with that would never stop until it was dead and could only be defeated by someone else with the same power. Vader surviving while the whole Death Star dies is terrifying and feeds into this idea even more

There where only 3 Star wars movies ever but Leia kissing Luke was weirdoerama

The empty chair is now established as Director Krennic's....who just perished at Scariff ( no thanks to Tarkin)

This scene has always been tops for me. Thank you for appreciating it!

That hard cut is what happens when one reel of film ends and another reel begins.

I think that an understated but valuable bit of storytelling in this scene is that everyone, save Tarkin, is very uncomfortable watching Motti being strangled. Tagge is especially distressed, despite being very much at odds with him, and visibly wants to protest but hesitates as the wizard cyborg is currently showing what happens when you speak out of turn. This continues in the original sequels, where officers are not okay with their colleagues and superiors being summarily executed by evil space wizards, but cannot object because those evil space wizards are the ultimate authorities.

It's one of those details that make this fictional word feel alive, that they act like real people would to one of their own being tortured by a superior, and that they have standards. They aren't just one-dimensionally evil, smirking about this, because you don't need all the bad guys to act flat evil, just a few that they tolerate and/or submit to.

A small detail: Tarkin said the council had been disolved permanently, not the senate. As if to say the senate had previously been downgraded from a governing body to an advisory board.

I think another essential part of this scene is that it shows Darth Vader is not omnipotent within the Empire. We just saw him as a commander, but now we see him as a somewhat obedient executioner. He still answers, to an extent, to Grand Moff Tarkin, and he does not sit on the fancy chair. He may wield significant military power (and power of his own), but does not have political control, and important people within the empire feel free to question his ideas.

Visually, the scene recalls the Imperial Star Destroyer coming from overhead at the beginning.

The fact that Tarkin never got his own action figure in the vintage line is criminal.

I couldn't agree more. This scene combine characterization, indirect exposition of the political background of the universe and dramatic tension in less than 2 minutes without needing all the laborious exposition of the prelogy.

It's scenes like this and in Star Trek, the 'conference' scenes that made me love dialogue.I'm a writer now, and dialogue is everything for me.

Compare this scene to the other two trilogies.

Here, I know how the government works, the bad guys are in charge, and they make decisions in meetings like this. And its made better by great actors reciting snappy and quotable dialogue.

In the prequels, you have all those scenes in the senate to show how ineffective and inefficient the Republic is. It gets the point across but in a way that is dry and feels longer than it probably is.

Then there are the sequels. 3 movies and I still dont know how the government works, why the Republic and Resistance are different entities, or what the First Order even is. Is it the Imperial Remnant that regained power and influence? Is it some New Faction that decided to mimic the Empire? I dont know and I never will. And Im sure attempts have been made to explain it in the books and all that jazz but the movies completely failed to convey basic information that this one scene and even the prequels were able to convey.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing." -- favorite line to use during office meetings

The scene was a great setup and foreshadow for Empire Strikes Back by saying "Hey all you imperial officers, you better hope Darth Vader never gets supreme command, and all restraints removed".

Not to mention how Vader's quote about technological terrors being no match for the power of the Force foreshadows the Death Star's destruction.

One thing I find interesting about this scene is the contrast between Admiral Motti and General Tagge. Motti is technically on Tarkin's side, but he behaves like a smug, overconfident asshole and get choked by Vader for it. Meanwhile, Tagge is allowed to openly criticize the Empire's lack of action against the rebels, and even questions the Emperor's decision to dissolve the senate. But he's allowed to speak his mind unopposed and even Tarkin was on the verge of taking him seriously before getting interrupted. Tagge is clearly the smartest and most reasonable man in the room, and I think he's a really underrated character despite his very small role in the movie.

This was my favourite scene as a kid. The intro to return of the jedi, where Vader has a "chat" with I believe the same imperial officer whom he chokes out in this scene, was another absolute favorite.

I've been saying this for a long time and people always look at me like I'm crazy. Glad to see a video on it.

Nowadays, it seems like everything has to be explained to a movie audience as if we are kindergartners. Back then, we didn't expect things to be explained with such overt exposition. We got what we needed rather, unintentionally with scenes like this that advanced the story without us even noticing. We didn't need to be exposed to the 'scaffolding' of the storytelling. We were just going a long for the ride and it made our suspension of disbelief more real and engaging. This is just good Cinema.

Exposition done right. It's not ham fisted or clunky. It has a purpose, flows with the scene given and informs the viewer what is going on while keeping engagement. It's like you were in the conference room itself as the characters talk to each other instead of them talking to the audience directly which breaks the suspension of disbelief.