Friday, 25 November 2022

'ATTACK' AT 20: IN THE AFTERMATH OF SLAUGHTER!


The horrific confirmation of Shmi Skywalker's death is delivered to the Lars family, and Padme, with Anakin's grim return, in a sad and emotional sequence at the homestead, heightened by John Williams' ominous music. This is a tragedy that Anakin will never truly recover from and which will have terrifying repercussions later on for his wife, the Jedi and the war-fractured Galactic Republic by the time of EPISODE III...


The Lars family are hit by tragedy.

Padme tries to bring comfort to the emotionally wrecked Anakin.

In the familiar environs of the Lars homestead garage, Padme tries to help Anakin through his emotional turmoil and is soon shocked to hear of the Tusken slaughter atrocity in its entirety. Regardless of the darkness and murderous instincts within Anakin, Padme nonetheless shows great compassion for the haunted young Jedi and continues to help him emotionally through the turmoil of hate, as well as his heightened jealousy towards both Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Jedi. "To error is to be human," she responds sympathetically after Anakin slowly collapses to the floor...

“It’s the next day (from the Tusken slaughter) and I’m in the garage with Padme working on some droid. I break down and cry. I’m definitely my most vulnerable in that scene. It was a way to justifying a lot of Anakin’s immaturity and some of the naïve qualities that I had taken from Jake Lloyd’s performance. It was very important for me that he breaks down and re-tells it, in a really childish manner to justify his young sensibilities. Because after he had done this horrific thing, how he explains it, and how he has immature qualities, was very important to me.” 

This scene would have a mild dialogue extension for its 2002 DVD release.

“That was one scene where George and I were in conflict as to how it should be played. He wanted me to pay it much stronger and not break down and show any real emotion until the very, very end, and I was like, “I don’t know if I can do this, because the way I had been justifying playing these younger and more naïve situations was because I had this scene coming up. His not breaking down wouldn’t justify all those qualities. And so I compromised a little bit and it was sort of a melding of the two, which was really neat, to have this sharing with him.” 

Hayden Christensen - Arena magazine - June 2005

As the Lars family, Threepio and Padme join Anakin by Shmi's graveside a short time later, trusty little Artoo appears to give his master communication news of Obi-Wan Kenobi, of which Republic confirmation comes through that the Jedi Knight has been captured by the Separatists on Geonosis...


Anakin says goodbye to his mother but makes a personal pledge that will have shattering ramifications for him, and the galaxy, during EPISODE III.


Artoo brings news to Anakin and Padme of an urgent communication regarding Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Threepio and Artoo are reunited after ten years...

... then head back to Anakin's ship in a deleted moment filmed on location.

As Anakin and Padme (with droids) depart on an urgent rescue mission to Geonosis, the Lars Family wave their goodbyes in a deleted scene.

Special group shot taken during location filming.


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