An Hour Long Lightsaber Duel

Ashoka VS Vader was great and just long enough.

 

My favorite lightsaber duels are Luke vs Vader (ROTJ) and Kylo vs Rey/Finn. These fights have something in common. There are rather short and more talking and getting in your opponents head than fighting. So no, I don't want to watch an hour long lightsaber duel...

 

Agreed. I would add to these the Vader and Obi Wan fight. For me this is among the most relevant duels as it isn’t only used to explain the competitive conflict between the old master and his old apprentice but also to consolidate Luke’s commitment to the force.

 

Even 5 minutes might seem a little long to be honest. Definitely not an hour long. I don't think all of the light saber sequences (live action and animated) combined would equal an hour.

For my money, I still think the best LS battle ever was Qui Gon and Obi Wan vs Darth Maul. The music, the changes in momentum, the tension. Showing symbolically how differently Jedi and Sith were raised by pausing them for a second in the middle of the fight and seeing how they used the time (one meditating like a monk, the other stalking like a caged Tiger). Seeing Kenobi briefly lose control and how it affected him. The fight was a microcosm of Anakin's journey. The light and dark battle until the dark triumphs for a moment, then at the very end the light prevails. Loved it.

 

All those guys who do not want an hour long lightsaber fight : but what is your point of interest in your life ? I'm shocked.
It would be so amazing, and - I'm not sure, but I think - a one hour long lightsaber duel has never ben made in the cinema industry, it would be a premiere. I find that extremely exciting and joyful.
I even wouldn't mind it to last one hour and half.

I don't know how you can enjoy life....

 

Absolutely agreed.

Action isn't necessarily narrative. In fact, generally the longer an action scene goes, the more narrative stalls. That's part of the reason films typically like to break up action scenes with ones that advance the story.



This is something Star Wars does really well. Look at ROTJ, for instance. The long Battle of Endor sequence has a few different threads, most specifically the Throne Room, the Space Battle, and the Ground Battle.

Each thread advances itself as the scenes go on. For instance, the Throne Room isn't just a prolonged lightsaber fight. In fact, a huge portion of the encounter is simply talking. Same with the other battles- goals change, characters make discoveries, etc.

Then, consider that all three threads are woven together, and we have three concurrent storylines that are each gradually increasing the narrative. These aren't just battle scenes for the sake of showing action. They're all working together to advance plot and character development.



I guess it would be possible for an hour long saber duel to be intercut with other important stuff like this, but it would probably have to be a sort of progressive fight not unlike the Throne Room. I absolutely do not see a full hour of uninterrupted saber fighting, that would be absurd and frankly it would get boring after just a few minutes.

 

If many are involved, it could happen. Just two, both them & the audience will be passed out.

 

This is a terrible idea. The duel between Obi-Wan and Anikan was terrible. The very beginning was fine, and was practical as student and teacher would know each other well. Obi should have always been on the defensive since Anakin was supposedly a very talented duelist and her has the dark side boost.

When the fight left the confines of the control tower, it was terrible. Floating on lava while fighting. Swinging on cables for one clash. It got very boring, overly complex and repetitive. The fights in 5 and 6, not in flash or style but they were intense and emotional. If you listen to the cloud city fight, it is very primal. The clashes seem unstable, the connections with the metal rang out, the hum of the sabers were angry. If there is one thing the effects of the new films lack, it is the Lucas style of making sound effects part of the dialog. In the dog fight above Maz's palace often you can barely hear an engine or the explosion of a defeated craft. Which was odd since they did it so well in the Falcom escape from Jakku. The R1 space battle did this well, like 8/10.

The fight in the snow in TFA was cool and kind of saved a disappointing movie for me. A Rey and Kylo intimate, aggressive, dialog filled fight for 10 minutes are more than enough. Plus a good reason for the win, too often fights ended without a real reason. I do not have very high expectations after a lackluster 7 and 8, but an emotional lightsaber fight (choreographed without disappearing swords) and for the love of Christ a Star War with capital ships and fighters would be nice. Then again, almost any explanation for Resistance with any ship volume to take on the FO will be hard to buy.