10 Times Star Wars Filmed Things You Weren't Meant To See
3. Obi-Wan's Lightsaber Wire - A New Hope
As gripping as Obi-Wan's (Alec Guinness) fateful clash with Darth Vader (David Prowse) is in A New Hope, once you notice a strange wire emanating from Obi-Wan's lightsaber, you'll never be able to un-see it. So, er, sorry about that.
The lightsaber effect itself was generated through a combination of in-camera and post-production trickery: on-set, the actors held thin wooden tubes coated with reflective material, which had bright spotlights shone onto it to give off a fluorescent hue.
The colouring and enhanced lighting effects were then rotoscoped over the film footage in post, creating one of the most iconic effects and weapons in movie history.
But due to technical restrictions, these tubes needed to be powered by a cable during shooting, and little attempt was made to hide them by, you know, painting the cable black or brown.
As such, they're extremely easy to spot if you know where to look, periodically stripping the mystery away and reminding everyone that the actors were basically just holding toy sticks while filming.