Pain and Sufferring

Star Wars just wouldn’t be Star Wars without people getting hurt, tortured, maimed or disfigured.

TORTURING HAN SOLO

In Laurent Bouzereau’s book, Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays, director Irvin Kershner speaks of the edited Han Solo torture scene:

“I originally filmed more shots of Solo as he is being tortured. There were flashes of electricity everywhere. But it was cut out because we were afraid it might be too intense for children. We also took out some of his screaming offscreen when Vader is talking to Lando outside the cell.”

 

LANDO RESCUES LUKE

In the finished film, when Lando is atop the Millennium Falcon and catches an exhausted Luke, we see Luke drop and the next thing we know, Lando is bringing him down the shaft and into the main hold. There were originally a few more shots we didn’t see.

There are a few bluescreen images from Star Wars Insider #41 that show Luke and Lando on top of the Millennium Falcon during this courageous rescue. If you look closely, you’ll see a lifeline hooked to Lando. It’s apparently the same one he attaches to the ship on the way out of the top hatch.

This scene was slightly enhanced for the Special Edition. In the original edition, it appeared that Lando was going through the top hatch twice. In one shot, while inside the hatch, we see the top open and it looks like he’s outside. That shot is from the interior point of view. Then in the next shot, which is from the external point of view, the hatch opens again and Lando pops out. They fixed this in the Special Edition, adding an extra door to the top hatch so when we see the interior shot, two doors open up right before the cut to the exterior shot and it works nicely.

 

 

 

THE HEALING POWER OF BACTA

The Wampas could never be completely removed from the film, regardless of the troubles filming them. Some of the Wampa sub-plot was developed specifically to cover up facial scars that Mark Hamill received in a car accident a few months before principal photography began – or so the story goes.

Luke’s “Bacta Mask” was never seen in the finished film, but there’s plenty of photographic evidence proving that a scene was shot with him wearing it. The scene opened with Luke wearing a bacta mask to help heal his facial scars. Faithful friend and medical droid 2-1B removes the mask for Luke, revealing the scars left by the Wampa attack. Leia is in the room observing.

This very brief clip from one of the early trailers shows Luke swishing around inside the bacta tank.

WIDESCREEN clip of Luke inside the bacta tank

THE FORBIDDEN KISS

According to the Marvel comics adaptation and the 4th draft of the script by Brackett and Kasdan, directly following Luke’s bacta mask removal, Luke and Leia were to share another romantic moment. Leia and Luke express how afraid they both were and move in to kiss. It is then that C-3PO and R2-D2 show up, interrupting the romantic moment. The humans continue to talk about the possibility of Luke leaving to go off to Dagobah and then Han and Chewie show up.

Here’s the scene from the 4th draft, which even mentions the Wampas:

57. INT MEDICAL CENTER – REBEL BASE
Luke is out of the chamber, lying on the bed previously occupied by Han. Leia is at his side. She brushes the hair out of his eyes and runs her fingers along the scar on his face.

LEIA
The Bacta are growing well.
The scars should be gone in a day or so.
Does it still hurt?

LUKE
I’m fine. Really. Leia…
when I was out there and it looked pretty bad…
well, it made me think about things.

LEIA
Me too. I was afraid.

Their eyes meet. Luke touches her cheek with his hand.

LUKE
I don’t really know how to say this…
I never have before… Leia,
you know how I feel about you…

She does and it’s confusing. Their lips are very close. About to kiss. The door opens noisily and Threepio enters with Artoo. Leia pulls back, startled. Luke realizes the moment has been lost. His mind races for a way to regain it as Leia takes on her more formal manner. The droids are a bothersome distraction; Luke’s concentration is on Leia. Artoo beeps a cheerful greeting.

THREEPIO
Master Luke, it’s so good to
see you functional again.

LUKE
Thanks, Threepio. Leia…

Artoo beeps and whistles.

THREEPIO
Artoo expresses his relief also.

LUKE
Good. Thanks, Artoo.

LEIA
(about to leave)
You rest now.

THREEPIO
So much has happened during the
period of your indisposition, sir.

LEIA
I’ll be back later.

LUKE
(anxious to keep her)
Leia… What would you think
if I went away for a while?

LEIA
What did you say?!

Leia’s reaction is so much bigger and more vociferous than Luke expected, it starts what is to become a growing snowball of confusion for him.

LEIA
Where are you going?

LUKE
I have this… feeling.
I’m not sure, really…

LEIA
That’s just great. Why doesn’t
everyone just take off?

LUKE
What are you talking about?

LEIA
First Han, now you. When am I going to
learn not to count on anyone but myself?…

LUKE
Han’s leaving?

LEIA
… I was getting along just fine
before I met you two moon jockeys.

LUKE
Calm down, will ya?
Tell me about Han.

LEIA
He wants to pay off that
criminal he’s in hock to.

LUKE
Jabba the Hutt?

LEIA
(back to her tirade)
I could get more loyalty if I went down
the hall and recruited some of
those snow creatures.

LUKE
Snow creatures… they’re here?!

THREEPIO
Yes, sir. But they’re being
trapped quite cleverly.

Artoo beeps and whistles proudly.

THREEPIO
(to Artoo)
What do you mean, you took care of that?
I would hardly call your part in that matter great…

Luke’s head is spinning as Han and Chewie make a vigorous entrance. The Wookiee GROWLS a greeting.

HAN
Hi kid, you look strong enough to wrestle a Gundark.

LUKE
Thanks to you.

HAN
That’s two you owe me, junior.

Han turns to Leia with a big, devilish grin.

HAN
Well, your worship, it looks like you arranged
to keep me close by for a while longer.

LEIA
I had nothing to do with it. General Rieekan thinks
it’s dangerous for any ships to leave the system
until we know where that probe came from.

LUKE
Probe? What probe?

HAN
That makes a good story. But I think you
just can’t bear to let me out of your sight.

LEIA
I don’t know where you get
your delusions, laser brains.

Chewie is amused; he LAUGHS in his manner. Han is enjoying this. He regards Chewie good-humoredly.

HAN
Laugh it up, fuzz ball. You didn’t see
her alone with me in the south passage.

Luke sparks to this; he looks at Leia.

LEIA
(to Luke)
I don’t know what he’s talking about.

HAN
Ooops! I guess you haven’t
told Luke about that yet.

LUKE
About what?

HAN
Now don’t get the wrong idea, pal. She was
just trying to express her true feelings for me.

LEIA
(to Han)
You must have gone completely
out of your feeble mind.

HAN
Come on, your highness, are you telling me
you haven’t been thinking about that kiss?

Leia is flushed, eyes darting between Luke And Han.

LEIA
Why you low-down, stuck-up, half-witted,
scruffy-looking nerf-herder.

HAN
Who’s scruffy-looking? (a big grin)
I tell ya’ sweetheart, I must’ve hit pretty close
to the mark to get you hoppin’ like this.
Doesn’t it look that way to you, Luke?

LUKE
(staring at Leia)
Yeah… it does… kind of.

Leia looks vulnerable for a moment, then the mask again, focusing on Luke.

LEIA
Oh it does, does it? Well, I guess you
don’t understand everything about women yet…
do you, sonny?

With that Leia leans over and kisses Luke on the lips. Then she stands and walks out. Everyone is dumbstruck. The door closes behind Leia and they all look at each other in silence.

In the distance, the muffled sound of an alarm is heard.

Clip of Luke’s recovery room as seen in an early trailer

 

LUKE’S HAND

When Luke lost his hand on Cloud City, Leia was the one who dressed his wound and set him up with that medical gear you saw him wearing in the cockpit later.