PRESENTING:

THE MANY FACES OF OUR EMPEROR
(Return of the Jedi analysis)

An explanation is in order. I was watching Return of the Jedi the other night and found myself seeing the Emperor clearly for the first time. Since the first moment Ian's wonderful performance is on screen, the sheer wonder of the faces he makes is massive. This is not surprising, as Ian is a wonderful theater actor with great experiance. What makes it special is that this is the first time I have seen a character under heavy mask and make-up making facial expressions that most modern 'live' actors cannot even imagine.

With all of that, I've decided to transfer a preview of his most intresting faces to the site. There is an entire science devoted to studying facial expressions, but I just bring about a simply ameteric look at the whole matter from a fan's point of view.

So, I present: THE MANY FACES OF THE EMPEROR!

Right click - Save Target as to save full size wallpaper...

STEP BY STEP ANALYSIS OF HIS FACES
(with captions below them describing current feeling / appropriate thought):

Coyish smile - Boyish charm (a Yearbook-type smile)	Thinking Happy Thoughts
I'm happy...	I didn't expect you...
I'm kind of sad for you...	Flash of the Dark Side
Luke is Mistaken (preceded by a walk style I will henceforth call the 'Luke is Mistaken manuever' - short, fast striding with such smile)	Midsentance (notice huge opening of mouth indicating the speeker feels strongly about what he speeks)
Oh, oh. Look out, Luke! He's MOCKING YOU. Yep, the mocking smile (goes well with words about the lightsaber: much like your fathers)	'I can see the fairy'
Superior smirk	'Sour Milk' face (no other comment needed)
Ahem. Let's just call this one 'the big O'	Simply: 'the Grand Schemer'
'Recollecting the past' (those were happier days...)	Thoughtful wonder
'So, you think your tough, do you?'	'You're not so tough!'
THE THREE PHASES OF THE 'I DIDN'T PLAN THIS' EVENT After Luke fails to accept the Dark Side, the Emperor relizes he has made a mistake. During this scene, he goes through three classical phases of responses to unexpected developments. Here they are.
	PHASE 1: Puzzlement ("What?") The Emperor hears Luke's words and gains a face marking he did not expect this. The left end of the (slightly opened) mouth is slightly lowered, along with the right eye frowning.
	PHASE 2: Acceptance ("Oh, well.") The Emperor comes to accept Luke's decision as a fact, even though he does not like it. The mouth closes, lowered end goes deeper down and the frown relaxes.
	PHASE 3: Indifferance ("I'll just have to kill you.") The Emperor goes past the acceptance phase into the indifferance phase to Luke's decision. The face is that of sad indifferance (as in, it would be better if he'd say YES, but there are alternatives). This is the moment in the ROTJ where the Emperor accepts the fact that Luke has to die. Mouth relaxes completly to 'down' position, with the right eye narrowing to 'damn' position. Simply wonderful facial expression!

Well, that's about it about ROTJ.

If I have the time and patiance, I can do the same thing for the other movies, but this is the most important moment as far as I'm concerned!

Thanks for your attention, hope you've enjoyed it as much as I did.