Daily Dialogue — April 30, 2013

Darth Vader: There is no escape. Don’t make me destroy you. [pauses] Luke, you do not yet realize your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me, and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy.
Luke: I’ll never join you!
Darth Vader: If you only knew the power of the Dark Side. Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.
Luke: He told me enough! He told me you killed him!
Darth Vader: No. I am your father.
Luke: No. No. That’s not true. That’s impossible!
Darth Vader: Search your feelings, you know it to be true!
Luke: [anguished] No! No!

— Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back (1980), screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, story by George Lucas

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is: I’m not who you think I am, suggested by Mark Twain. Today’s suggestion by plinytheelder_t.

Trivia: Security surrounding this movie was so intense that George Lucas had regular reports about “leaks” from actors. George Lucas was so determined that the ending be kept secret that he had David Prowse (Darth Vader) say “Obi-Wan killed your father”, and dubbed it later to be “I am your father”. In fact, only five people eventually knew about the ending before the film’s release: George Lucas (came up with the idea in his second draft, after the death of Leigh Brackett), director Irvin Kershner (informed of such during story conferences), writer Lawrence Kasdan (also informed during story and script conferences), Mark Hamill (informed shortly before the shooting of the infamous scene), and James Earl Jones (told during the recording sessions for the final dub, and whom himself believed that Vader was lying).

Dialogue On Dialogue: One of the most famous revelations in cinematic history.

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