The Outlander Club scene in George Lucas’ Attack of the Clones can be read as an allusion to the Burdette Saloon scene in Howard Hawks’ Rio Bravo. What emerges from analysis are similarities in premise and thematic concerns. In each film, an assassination plot kicks off a pursuit that concludes inside a drinking establishment. Both films are concerned with the themes of perception vs. deception, which is evident when the heroes and assassins attempt to best each other through deception. Therefore, intoxication as a motif allows the filmmakers to test and question the perception of the heroes. With that motif in mind, the themes can be more specifically categorized as lucid perception vs. intoxicated perception.
In Jameson’s article, Talking and Doing In Rio Bravo, he speaks to the importance of perception. He states, “Hawks’ characters live by their senses. They have to be able to take in information quickly, register it, and act on it, or very likely—they die” (29). It is clear from Jameson’s statement that Hawks believes that the ability to register information (i.e. lucid perception) grants a person that ability to determine their own destiny, specifically by preventing their own death. We should note that part of registering information is determining which information is deceptive and which is helpful. Given the presence of the theme of intoxicated perception, being able to differentiate between helpful and deceptive information is a useful survival skill for the characters to have because helpful information leads to the truth while deceptive information leads away from the truth.
While Hawks believes that lucid perception grants a person the ability to determine their own destiny, Lucas’ variation states that surrendering to a “force” larger than oneself grants the most lucid perception. What both filmmakers agree on is the fact that lucid perception can be used to avert death. Their agreement on that point is evident in the fact that both films place visual emphasis on the lethality of the assassins. However, physical death isn’t the only type of death that Lucas and Hawks are concerned with. Beyond simply averting death, a quality life is dependent on the capacity to perceive the world and the self with clarity. Lucas and Hawks wish to encourage the viewer to maintain their lucid perception. In other words, both men want to prevent the death of the lucid persona (who a person is when they are identified with their lucid perception). After all, if the lucid persona dies, truth becomes invisible. If the truth is invisible, it might as well be dead. It is no surprise, then, that Lucas chose to allude to Hawks’ film when weaving the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker.
Lucas and Hawks have their characters exchange dialogue outside of each drinking establishment. The purpose of the dialogue is to exposit the value-motivated goal for the action that is about to occur. On the surface, the goal is to catch the assassin. On a deeper level, catching the assassin allows the hero to reclaim his neglected identity. This neglected identity is informed by the value of lucid perception. In other words, they want to reclaim their lucid personas from intoxication. Of course, each character has a version of the lucid persona unique to his story.
All Screenshots Sourced from the Blu-ray.
Both films follow a mentor and a student as they track the assassin. In Attack of the Clones, the mentor is Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and the student is Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen). In Rio Bravo, the mentor is Chance (John Wayne) and the student is Dude (Dean Martin). We find that both mentors have concerns about their students’ capacities to embody the lucid persona. Obi-Wan’s concern is established back at Padmé’s apartment. He expresses concern over using Padmé as bait, but Anakin assures Obi-Wan that “no harm will come to her. I can sense everything going on in that room.” Obi-Wan disagrees, arguing that Anakin’s “senses aren’t that attuned.” A similar exchange occurs in Rio Bravo when Dude informs Chance that the assailant is still inside the saloon. Chance inquires, “How do you know?” Dude answers “I can see both doors from here.”
Chance and Obi-Wan have sound reason for their concerns because intoxication is a problem for both Dude and Anakin. Dude reminds the audience of his status as a recovering alcoholic with his wry comment, “I’m an expert on saloons.” Likewise, Anakin admits that just being near Padmé “is intoxicating,” and that, “The Chancellor doesn’t appear to be corrupt.” Obi-Wan warns him that Palpatine “is very clever in following the passions and prejudices of the Senators.” Basically, both Padmé and Palpatine obscure Anakin from his lucid persona. Obi-Wan chastises Anakin for his comment about Padmé, “Be mindful of your thoughts Anakin, they betray you. You’ve made a commitment to the Jedi Order, a commitment not easily broken.” Here, Obi-Wan explains that lucid perception is intertwined with duty and commitment. Passions and prejudices, by contrast, are intertwined with intoxicated perception.
Obi-Wan later expands upon how a Jedi’s duty and lucid perception are related. Obi-Wan reminds Anakin, “Patience. Use the Force. Think.” What is conveyed by Obi-Wan’s dialogue is that patience, thinking, and The Force are synonymous with lucid perception. Remember, it is The Force that alerts Anakin to the presence of danger in Padmé’s apartment. To be a dutiful Jedi is to be patient, lucid, and open to The Force. Obi-Wan returns Anakin’s lightsaber and pleads, “try not to lose it. This weapon is your life!” Obi-Wan is reminding Anakin of his misplaced lucid persona by equating that persona with the lightsaber. For Anakin, his version of the lucid persona is to be a dutiful Jedi.
The commentary of Rio Bravo speaks directly to Dude’s version of the lucid persona. It explains that Dude “wants to go in the front door because he’s been so humiliated” and “the whole sequence is about reclaiming your dignity, and reclaiming your competence, or reclaiming how you feel about yourself” (Carpenter & Schickel). For Dude, his dignity and competence are intertwined with lucid perception, while self-doubt and humiliation are intertwined with intoxicated perception. So, the main intoxicant that Dude is fighting isn’t just withdrawal, but self-doubt as well. Simply put, Dude’s version of the lucid persona is to be a man of dignity and competence.
Each bar serves as the climactic setting for each chase sequence. Therefore, as a location where the characters shall either succeed or fail in obtaining their value-motivated goal, the bar—by necessity—becomes a place that is charged with meaning. Obviously, the bar itself is an example of the intoxication motif. After all, patrons attend with the intention of literally intoxicating their perception with alcohol. In effect, a bar is the perfect location to test the perception of the heroes. However, the intoxication motif isn’t just expressed by the presence of alcohol inside the bar. The motif is also expressed by the production design: lighting, colour, and even the unsavory characters who inhabit the space.
Left: The Outlander Club; Right: The Burdette Saloon.
The bar in Attack of the Clones is the Outlander Club. In Rio Bravo, the drinking establishment is The Burdette Saloon. Thematically, the two bars may share the same purpose, but visually they contrast one another. The Outlander Club is a complex of colourful lights and dark shadows. In contrast, The Burdette Saloon is more evenly lit. Zam (The assassin from Attack of the Clones) has plenty of shadows to navigate while the Burdette assassin has fewer options. Prominent use of colour and shadow in the Outlander Club keeps the viewer on edge while Hawks’ restrained use of shadow sneaks up on the viewer with a sudden rush of worry when he cuts to the high angle in the shadowy loft.
Left: High Angle In The Shadowy Loft; Right: Zam Lurks In The Shadows.
Appropriately, shadows intoxicate optical sight. Anakin and Dude have to successfully perceive the danger that lurks in the shadows if they wish to nullify it. The colourful lights of the Outlander Club are a passionate, saturated, out of control array of purple, red, yellow, orange, and pink. One of the most prominent colours is red, which is often associated with the dark side in Star Wars mythology. In turn, the dark side is associated with passion (“Code of the Sith,” l. 1-2), the very intoxicant Anakin is struggling against. Essentially, the colours mimic Anakin’s passionate temperament. Red and purple especially compete for attention, creating a high-energy space of distracting stimulation, making lucidity difficult for anyone who steps inside. For the Burdette Saloon, Hawks takes the opposite approach and uses a monochromatic palette; an assortment of earth tones. Furthermore, the colours are not highly saturated, creating a calmer atmosphere than the Outlander Club. As a result, the calm colours contrast with the intense use of shadow in the loft. This contrast contributes to the rush of worry the audience feels when seeing the high angle shot in the loft for the first time. The Rio Bravo commentary describes Hawks as “a laconic man with his camera” (Carpenter & Schickel). Hawks’ laconic visual style likely influences the colour palette and the production design as a whole. Additionally, genre may also play a role. For example, Howard Hawks’ musical—Gentlemen Prefer Blondes—is decidedly more colourful than Rio Bravo. Given the genre specific differences between musicals and westerns, it is understandable that Hawks would take a different approach to colour depending upon which genre he is working in. Despite Hawks’ scaled back approach to shadow and colour, his bar feels just as dangerous as Lucas’.
Unsavory characters use literal intoxicants in an attempt to sway the heroes away from their lucid personas. To overcome these temptations, the heroes must seize superior perception for themselves. Charlie repeatedly calls Dude’s perception into question, encouraging him to drink: “Dude, you’ve been seein’ things again. You better have a drink.” Essentially, Charlie externalizes the voice of Dude’s self-doubt. To overcome this self-doubt, Dude will have to obtain the knowledge that Charlie possesses: the location of the assassin. However, by encouraging Dude to take a drink, Charlie draws Dude’s attention to the very detail that will tip him off to the whereabouts of the assassin’s location. In the end, Charlie surrenders lucid perception to Dude.
Left: Charlie; Right: Elan and Obi-Wan.
While Charlie’s weapon of choice is alcohol, Elan approaches Obi-Wan with, “You wanna buy some death sticks?” According to the Star Wars.com Databank, death sticks are illicit and highly addictive (“Death Sticks,” par. 1). Death sticks themselves come in bright reds and orange-yellows, the same passionate colours that decorate the club itself. Obi-Wan responds to Elan’s offer with a Jedi mind trick, “You don’t want to sell me death sticks. You want to go home and rethink your life.” In this moment, Obi-Wan creates a reversal where he uses deception to sell an idea to the seller. What he sells to Elan is the possibility of a better life, one where Elan will no longer help others intoxicate their senses. Ironically, Obi-Wan deceives Elan into lucidity. Elan comes across as someone who often deceives people with cheap trickery. The method in which he handles the death stick is an example. He twirls it and makes it disappear like a magician. While Elan’s tricks may work on the average patron, he is no match for a Jedi Master who possesses the genuine lucidity of The Force. Like Charlie with Dude, Elan underestimates Obi-Wan as someone who can be deceived.
Cinematography
Charlie and Elan may act as antagonists in each scene, but the assassins are obviously the main threats. How Hawks and Lucas frame the threat expresses their differing philosophies and shared opinions about lucid perception. For example, both filmmakers present the assassins as lurking in the shadows as a way to communicate unseen danger. Secondly, emphasis is put on their lethality by visually highlighting their weapons. Lastly, philosophy is specifically explored through camera placement.
The Assassin Perches in the Shadows Above Dude w/ Gun Emphasized in Silhouette.
Lucas does not show us the true location of the assassin until the last second. Hawks does not wait until the final moment, instead he opts to inform the audience part way through the scene. To show us the location of the assassin, Hawks uses a high angle shot of Dude from the assassin’s perspective. In the commentary we learn that “Hawks was famous for eye level cameras, the simplest imaginable shot, which holds everyone he needs to hold in the shot without strain. It’s almost odd that twice in the course of the sequence he goes to a high angle shot. He only did that sort of thing when it was absolutely necessary” (Carpenter & Schickel). Hawks chooses the high-angle because it establishes the geography of Dude’s vulnerability. To that effect, the assassin towers over Dude, dominating half the frame. When Dude moves to the bottom-left quadrant, the result is that the silhouetted gun barrel points directly at him. The high angle also literally suggests the assassin’s superior vantage point. In response, we feel a strong sense of worry for Dude and hope that he will somehow discover what we know. If he fails, the emphasis on the gun makes it clear that the results may be fatal. If Dude isn’t killed, his failure will at least mean the death of his lucid persona.
Jameson also comments on Hawks’ framing, explaining that, in addition to eye level shots, the director’s “habitual shooting style favors middle-distant cinematography that imposes an analogous responsibility on the viewer: if you can’t watch a roomful of people interacting, talking about one thing while, collectively and individually, conveying something subtlety different through look, stance, gesture, then you can’t really get much out of a Hawks movie” (29). Here, Jameson is referring to how images provide additional subtext to the dialogue. If we compare Jameson’s thoughts with the commentary track, we can illuminate what the images are saying. By placing all of the necessary information within the frame at a distance that is viewable to the audience, Hawks is telling us that truth is readily available, and as Jameson made clear, we are responsible for finding it. The availability of truth indicates Hawks’ belief that lucid perception allows you to access this available truth for the benefit of one’s destiny; whereas Lucas views The Force as the gateway to the truth.
Tracking Shots w/Boosted Brightness & Contrast For Ease Of Visibility.
To conceal Zam’s proximity to her target, Lucas uses lateral tracking shots in close-up at waist height and frontal tracking shots in close-up at waist height. The tracking shots at waist height also establish Zam’s lethal intentions because the shots give us a clear view of Zam removing her weapon from its holster. Like the silhouetted gun barrel from Rio Bravo, Zam’s blaster instills the same sense of worry in the audience (in terms of Anakin’s safety) that was experienced with Dude, albeit with a different result in mind. The fact Zam is preparing to use her blaster is also the most obvious clue that implies her distance to her target.
Frontal Tracking Shot – Anakin.
In addition to the tracking shots of Zam, the frontal tracking shot of Anakin searching the crowd bolsters Zam’s apparent invisibility. In the frontal tracking shot, the camera is supposedly pointing in the direction Zam is approaching from, but she is nowhere to be seen, betraying no clues as to her progress. Is she obscured by the dark and out of focus background? It is more likely that Lucas didn’t even place the actress in the frame, in order to maintain the illusion. The inability to see Zam creates doubt she is approaching at all. We realize that she could be approaching from anywhere, a realization that adds to the general unease of the scene. In the end, Zam isn’t approaching Anakin at all. Eliminating the actress from the background of Anakin’s forward tracking shot is both effective for creating uncertainty and unknowingly maintaining the reality of the situation.
Screenshots From Anakin’s POV w/Boosted Brightness and Contrast.
Anakin’s vulnerability to the threat is built by classic horror tropes such as POV and rearward tracking shots. It also doesn’t hurt that Obi-Wan’s advice to Anakin before entering the club sets Anakin up to be in the vulnerable position here. Anakin’s POV shot makes it feel like Zam could jump into the frame at any moment. The POV lasts for about 7 seconds, making it one of the longest shots in the scene. This slows the pacing and thus increases a sense of anxiety in the audience. We could say it is like the scene holds its breath along with the audience.
The Series of Shots That Occur After Anakin’s POV. w/Boosted Brightness & Contrast.
To remind the audience that Zam is still in pursuit, Lucas cuts to the frontal tracking shot of Zam at waist height. Following this reminder is a rearward tracking shot of Anakin. He is framed at far left, only partially in camera, a choice possibly meant to imply the imbalance of the situation. The camera is placed in close proximity to him, giving the impression that Zam is getting closer. Immediately following Anakin’s rearward tracking shot is the lateral tracking shot mentioned earlier. In it, Zam removes her blaster from the holster, reinforcing the impression that she is close enough to strike. The film cuts back to the rearward shot of Anakin, who now stops in his tracks, all but guaranteeing that Zam is about to reach him. However, closure is delayed when Anakin continues walking.
Closure, in the form of a reversal, is finally reached when Obi-Wan is revealed to be Zam’s true target. The sequence of shots successfully builds the idea that the situation is progressively getting worse. The scene reaches the lowest point when the barrel of the blaster points directly at the audience.
Danger Emerges From The Shadows.
The gun barrel shot is the scene’s most dire moment because the hidden danger has finally arrived, confronting the audience directly. Zam’s gun barrel is reminiscent of an eye, which makes it clear that Zam possesses superior sight over the audience. Our previous instinct that Zam could be approaching from anywhere turns out to be more accurate than we imagined. By misdirecting us as to Zam’s true target, Lucas implicates the audience with a sobering reminder that it isn’t just the heroes’ perceptions that are fallible, but the audience’s as well. Furthermore, because the editing concealed the location of the threat from the audience, even the authority of the camera is not to be trusted. This is appropriate to Lucas’ worldview, as he already made it clear that authority figures like Palpatine are not to be trusted. After all, authority figures are skilled at manipulation.
Overall, the shots leading up to the reveal are discomforting because we sense that something dangerous is lurking outside of our field of vision. By narrowing our vision, Lucas actually expands it, making us painfully aware of what we can’t see. He excludes key information from the frame, suggesting that what we don’t know is just as crucial as what we do know. In the end, both filmmakers wish to remind the audience how crucial lucid perception is to well-being. However, by deceiving the audience in order to demonstrate how perception is fallible, it is accurate to say that Lucas is far more earnest about reminding the audience that what they can’t see can be harmful.
Turning Points
Once the audience is confronted with Zam’s gun barrel, it appears that Zam has the jump on Obi-Wan and all is lost. In Rio Bravo, the lowest point of the scene occurs when Dude is unable to locate the assassin. At this point, Dude believes that his lucid perception has eluded him. Hawks punctuates this moment with one of the few medium close-ups used in the scene.
Dude Humiliated – Medium Close-Up.
Dude’s close-up lends the moment extra power via contrast, as most of the scene’s framing tends towards medium and full shots. The result is a strong sense of Dude’s humiliation within the audience. Thus, lucid perception leans in favour of the villains in both films. Dude quickly regains the lucidity he needs to succeed. During Dude’s moment of defeat he glimpses a vital clue as to the whereabouts of the assassin. When Dude sets the shotgun down on the bar, a glass of beer waits at the bottom of the frame, anticipating its importance.
Dude’s Moment of Insight.
Next, the assassin’s blood drips into the glass, catching Dude’s attention. Dude experiences a rush of insight, and so too does the camera, as it swings in for a close-up of the beer. The blood confirms that Dude’s perception is not compromised. His perception was well enough intact to allow him to wound the assassin during the pursuit that lead into the saloon. Ironically, the thing that once blinded Dude now reminds him of his lucidity. This moment of insight gives Dude an idea. Like Obi-Wan, Dude uses the pretense of getting a drink to lure the enemy into a false sense of security. In effect, both heroes make themselves appear vulnerable. Obi-Wan appears to be an irresponsible leader slacking off on the job while Dude plays into Charlie’s expectation that he is just a foolish drunkard. The result of Obi-Wan’s trickery is that Zam believes she can sneak up on Obi-Wan. Meanwhile, Dude’s trickery causes the Burdette assassin to let his guard down. Dude and Obi-Wan’s deceptive maneuvers provide the openings necessary to swing around and attack the enemy. Each scene climaxes on a positive turning point, favouring the lucid perception of the heroes.
Dude & Obi-Wan Swing Around To Attack The Enemy.
Dude derives his insight from the bloody beer; whereas Obi-Wan derives insight from a different source. Obi-Wan keeps his back turned to Zam’s approach, surrendering his physical sight in exchange for the extraordinary perception that the Force endows. Via editing, Zam gets the jump on the audience. However, constraining audience perception also expands it. Something similar happens when Obi-Wan surrenders his physical sight. The Force allows Obi-Wan to see beyond the constraints of his physical sight. In a similar way, excluding information from the audience makes them painfully aware of what they don’t see. Another way to look at it is that Obi-Wan becomes passive in order to be directed by The Force. An important distinction is that his passivity is a conscious choice on his part. As a result, we can categorize Obi-Wan’s surrender as an active form of passivity. The Force allows Obi-Wan to “see” Zam’s approach and proves that his earlier advice to Anakin is correct. Ultimately, Obi-Wan gains control of the situation by surrendering control.
Denouements
After the defeat of the assassin, both films end their respective scenes with a denouement. During these denouements it becomes clear that Zam and The Burdette Assassin mirror a crucial aspect of Anakin and Dude respectively. This act of mirroring involves faces, specifically concealed faces. Not only does Zam conceal her face by shapeshifting, she doubly conceals it by wearing a veil. In Rio Bravo, Hawks conceals the assassin’s face with shadow and camera placement. The audience does not get a clear view of either of the assassins’ true faces until both of them are killed. In order for the heroes to gaze into the mirror, they must first uncover the face of the enemy.
In Attack of the Clones, the denouement is Zam’s interrogation. Zam, as a changeling, literally embodies Anakin’s ability to be deceived by his own passions and prejudices; the ability to have even his own identity obscured from himself. While Zam shifts between her beautiful human face and the monstrous face of a Changeling, Anakin shifts between the role of a dutiful Jedi (lucid persona) and the role of a passionate young man (intoxicated persona).
Anakin Unleashes His Intoxicated Persona. Zam’s True Face Is Revealed.
Lucas Hints At Anakin and Zam’s Mutual Duality By Lighting Half Their Faces Purple.
This shift of identity occurs when Anakin attempts to extract information from Zam by playing good cop. He begins asking questions in a soft, calm voice. However, as Obi-Wan observed earlier, Anakin’s patience is lacking. The young Jedi quickly loses control and lashes out angrily at Zam. In other words, his intoxicated persona overwhelms his lucid persona. Once Anakin makes this “transformation,” Jango kills Zam with a toxic dart. The poison causes Zam to drop her human mask, rendering her monstrous face permanent. Anakin’s intoxicated persona is thus likened to Zam’s monstrous face. Poison is the ultimate intoxicant because it induces death, and death destroys the ability to perceive entirely. The moment Anakin fails to keep his blinding passion at bay is the moment Zam is about to speak the truth, only to be silenced by Jango. The inability to perceive leads to the death of truth. This inability is compounded by the indiscernible speech that pours out of Zam’s mouth as she struggles against the poison. Anakin’s impatience blinds him to the truth. We learn from this turning point that intoxicants that blind us from the truth, no matter their variety, are their own kind of poison.
“A nice, fresh 50 dollar gold piece.” – Dude.
In Rio Bravo, the unnamed assassin represents Dude’s own moral intoxication that he must confront and defeat. Once Dude defeats the assassin, the shadows that cover the assassin’s face are lifted. Hawks doesn’t give the man’s face a close-up, but the face is visible in full shot, at the bottom of the frame. Dude also discovers a 50 dollar gold piece on the corpse. In a functional sense, this discovery wraps up the mystery of who hired the killer, whereas the toxic dart in Clones serves as the next clue to continue the mystery plot. What is more important about the 50 dollar gold piece is that it draws a comparison between the assassin and Dude. The assassin sold his identity and became an agent of Burdette’s will. Now the assassin is nothing more than a nameless pawn. Dude previously accepted money from anyone in order to fund his addiction, despite the cost to his dignified identity. According to Hawks, anyone who takes money for dubious purposes is a type of whore, selling their values and identity. Dude recognizes himself in the assassin when he says of the gold piece, “That’s earnin’ money the hard way.” Dude was morally intoxicated, but now he sees lucidly. Where Anakin fails, Dude succeeds in obtaining his value-motivated goal.
Conclusion
Hawks and Lucas want to prevent the death of lucid perception so that truth is available to enrich the individual’s identity. When truth is unavailable, it turns from friend to foe, into something that can be used by forces seeking to bend the individual to their will. Maintaining a quality life, then, is dependent upon the health of the individual’s identity, the lucid persona. Dude used to sell his identity for a drink while Anakin’s lucid persona is obscured by his own passions and by the manipulations of Palpatine. Hawks believes that truth is readily available, and that those who possess lucid perception can access the truth, allowing them to control their own destiny. Lucas demonstrates truth as being accessible through the lucidity of the Force. In order to gain this lucidity, one must surrender control to the Force. However, as witnessed with Obi-Wan, surrendering control to the Force is a paradox, as it grants the practitioner a different kind of control. Unlike his Master, Anakin seeks control more directly by scaring Zam into divulging the truth. The direct route turns out to be less effective than the paradoxical route. It is true that Dude gives up a certain amount of control, but this is not ideal in Hawks’ mind. According to Chance, “Dude’s hitting the Burdette man on the run ‘wasn’t bad,’ but it wasn’t ‘good’ either, because the man still had life in him and the lawmen had to go into Burdette’s saloon to get him” (Jameson, 29). Clearly, Dude’s perception could have been even better. Truth may not require the recognition of humans, but humans need to recognize the truth in order to live quality lives. Otherwise, people are doomed to live a nihilistic existence.
The Outlander Club scene, on the other hand, is available on YouTube, albeit with fan-edited music.
Lastly, the interrogation of Zam Wesell.
Works Cited
“Code of the Sith.” Wookiepedia, Wikia Inc., starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Code_of_the_Sith. Accessed 6 January, 2016.
“Death Sticks.” Starwars.com Databank, Lucasfilm Ltd., www.starwars.com/databank/death -sticks. Accessed 6 January, 2016.
Rio Bravo. Directed by Howard Hawks, audio commentary by John Carpenter and Richard Schickel, Warner Bros., 1959. Blu-ray.
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Directed by George Lucas. Lucasfilm Ltd., 2002. Blu-ray.
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