Friday Feature: Star Wars Drinking Game! by @destroytheearth

You may have noticed that this week has been rather Star Wars themed due to Star Wars Day. Without further ceremony, we complete this event with yet another of my trademarked drinking games. It may be a bit late for your Star Wars marathon, but after all, every day can be Star Wars Day if you want it to be...

...so, drink every time:


1) George Lucas buggers your childhood!

If you're watching the Special Editions, then drink every time you noticed a new scene, altered visual or touched-up graphics.

Advanced viewers: For those hardcore Star Wars geeks, you can watch the originals and try to drink every time you remember a scene that has been altered in the new version!

Down it when: Greedo shoots first!


2) Anyone extends or retracts a Lightsaber

The original prop Lightsabers had thin plastic filaments sticking out of them and resembled a child's toy. ILM painted the blade over the top of them in post-production. However, this was obviously not so easy when the saber is seen head on, as when Obi-Wan is parrying Vader's attacks, and you can clearly see how the props looked on set. This was corrected in the Special Editions.

As to the prequels, they had their own post-production issues: legend has it that both Ewan MacGregor and Hayden Christensen could not resist making humming noises during their Lightsaber duels.

Down it when: Han becomes the only non-Jedi/Sith character in the films to use a Lightsaber when he uses Luke's to hack open the Tauntaun.

3) Someone has a bad feeling about this

The franchise's running gag sees the famous phrase uttered eight times over the course of six films. It even turns up in Indiana Jones and the Monkey Island games, all Lucasfilm properties of course.

Down it when: Han utters the phrase for the last time in the saga, adding that he has a "really" bad feeling about this.

4) You hear the Wilhelm Scream

The Wilhelm Scream is the most famous sound effect in the history of cinema, but it would be largely forgotten were it not for Star Wars popularising its use, thanks to sound engineer Ben Burtt. You hear the scream a lot in all the films, usually when some poor Stormtrooper, unable to aim properly through his idiotic helmet, falls victim to those crackshot farmers and spoiled princesses.

Down it when: Ben Burtt himself does a live imitation of the Wilhelm Scream when he plays the Imperial Officer that Han knocks over the railing in the bunker in Jedi.

5) A household item is substituted for scifi gadgetry

Lucas is famous for using repainted items from his house as props. Examples include: General Grievous' head being inspired by a soap dispenser; three Hewlett-Packard Inkjet cartridges in the background as Amidala's ship leaves Tatooine in Phantom Menace; and the hilt of the Lightsaber given to Luke in A New Hope is a Graflex 3 Cell Camera flash tube.

Down it when: Qui-Gon uses a Sensor Excel Razor for Women to communicate with Obi-Wan in Phantom Menace.

6) There's a screen wipe

Lucas loves a good screen wipe, in fact, there are 40 such transitional effects in Revenge Of The Sith alone.

Down it when: The screen "whites up" as Ben and Luke carry C-3P0 to repair him after the Sand People attack. This was because Anthony Daniels was only wearing black tights below the waist.

7) Someone bangs their head

The common coincidence of actors getting a bump on the noggin is so commonplace in the franchise that Lucas had Jango Fett intentionally bang his head on a door frame in a background shot to Attack Of The Clones as a parody.

Down it when: The famous shot appears where a Stormtrooper knocks his head on a Death Star door frame.

8) Potasteroids!!!

Legends abound that ILM employees, infuriated by their draconian boss' attitude, began to throw various objects such as trainers and potatoes into shot during the big space battles.

Down it when: You see one of the buggers! In a lifetime of watching these films, I've never been able to make one out, if they exist at all...

9) Someone worries how they're gonna wipe in future

Ponda Baba, Luke, Vader, Dooku, Grievous, Mace, Anakin several times... there are limbs flying all over the place in this most-regarded of family films.

Down it when: Mark Hamill overacts and generally comes across as a huge wuss when his dad, a.k.a. Kevin the Teenager, barely whimpers.

10) The film ends with a scene without dialogue

Every film in the saga ends with a silent scene. Co-incidentally, R2-D2 is in every one of these scenes except in Revenge Of The Sith.

Down it when: All of them! After all, you'll want a fresh one for the opening crawl...