7. The Tusken Raiders' Horned Banthas Were Played By An Asian Elephant
It makes perfect sense when you hear it, but it's not something you're likely to consider when watching A New Hope. At the beginning of the film, we see Tusken Raiders riding large creatures similar in appearance to mammoths, called Banthas; extremely hairy beasts that sport huge, curled horns. These Banthas were actually portrayed by an Asian elephant called Mardji. Mardji was decked out in a Bantha costume made from layers of fur and an extremely lightweight horned headpiece. As the shooting location was Death Valley, California, Mardji's scenes were shot in January in order to try and keep conditions as cool as possible. The creativity used here was insane - the shot where Luke spies two Banthas in the distance is just a composite of two different shots of Mardji. Mardji's movements were also the inspiration for the slow, weighty movement of the AT-ATs in The Empire Strikes Back.
Brian Wilson
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Commonly found reading, sitting firmly in a seat at the cinema (bottle of water and a Freddo bar, please) or listening to the Mountain Goats.
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