Lightsaber duels in Original Trilogy
I hear a lot of prequel fans complain about how the lightsaber duels in the Original Trilogy are just lame compared to in the prequels, and how the OT should be modified to make the duels better. However, as one who liked the prequels myself, I disagree.
With the slaughter of the Jedi in Revenge of the Sith, the days of the lightsaber were over. As Obi-Wan said, it is an "elegant weapon of a more civilized age." 20 years later, by the time the Original Trilogy comes around, the art of lightsaber dueling is all but forgotten.
After seeing the prequels, the OT lightsaber duels have more of an epic feeling to them, as if they are an echo of the events of a much more glorious time for the galaxy.
They don't need to be as fast or as elegant, because they are not the same kind of duels. These are more personal duels such as father vs. son (Luke vs. Vader) or old friends-turned-archenemies (Vader vs Obi-Wan). Its the dialogue that matters here, not the sheer speed of the swinging of the blades. Vader is not fighting Luke out of pure hatred or will to kill as Darth Maul fought the Jedi in Episode I.
And as Lucas himself said, Vader is a machine, Obi-Wan is an old man (somehow he aged fast on Tatooine, must have been the twin suns), and Luke had not been trained in the Jedi arts the way the Jedi Padawans of the Republic were trained.
I just wanted to say this because I read so much about prequel fans dissing the original trilogy duels because they are weak at times in comparison.