Darth Vader's lightsaber sold at auction for over 3 million euros
The weapon used in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), sold Thursday in Los Angeles, was specifically used in the famous battle scenes between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker.
Darth Vader's famous lightsaber, which was used to sever Luke Skywalker's hand in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back , sold for $3.65 million (€3.11 million) at an auction in Los Angeles on Thursday. The "Holy Grail" was estimated at up to $3 million (€2.6 million), and the initial bid was set at $500,000 (€425,000).
"It's simply an incredible piece of cinematic history," Brandon Alinger, director of operations at the Propstore auction house, told AFP during a presentation in London of the sale's top lots in early August. The weapon was wielded by Darth Vader during legendary fight scenes in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).
Skip the adDavid Prowse, the actor behind the black mask, and stuntman Bob Anderson actually used two models. One, bladeless, attached to the villain's belt, and the other, for fight scenes, equipped with a wooden blade. It is the version used for combat, but without its wooden blade, that is being put up for sale after being kept for 40 years by an American private individual.
"Someone (...) came to us and said, 'I have this for sale.' We were amazed," said Propstore founder Stephen Lane, comparing the piece's significance to the red slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz . Experts authenticated the item by comparing its dents and scratches to those seen in the films. "Look at the big dent on the back, it's probably from (Luke Skywalker actor) Mark Hamill's lightsaber blade," said Brandon Alinger.
The object was specifically used in the famous battle scenes between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, including the iconic "I am your father" scene, in which Luke's hand is cut off by his father. Despite its value, the object is made from part of an old camera flash, to which salvaged parts, including a calculator, have been added.
Other items on offer at the auction, which runs from September 4 to 6, include the whip, belt, and holster used by Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). A "neuralyzer" used by Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) to erase memories in Men in Black (1997) is also on offer. The luminous object, whose LED display still works, could fetch $150,000 (around €129,700).
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