“I Am Your Father” is a tantalizing look at the man inside the helmet of Darth Vader. Actor Dave Prowse provides all sorts of interesting tidbits and revelations about what happened behind the scenes of the original “Star Wars” trilogy. Interviews with Producers Gary Kurtz and Robert Watts don’t sugarcoat their feelings about why Prowse was looked at as a troublemaker when it came to the press and public plot leaks.
I’m not taking sides, as I’ve met Mr. Prowse a couple of times and worked with him indirectly for a Hammer charity event I held and he was nice and very generous. The quick-moving documentary looks to right the “wrong” done to Prowse by re-casting Sebastian Shaw in the role of old-man Anakin / Darth Vader in “Return of the Jedi” and clear the negative air between the actor and Lucasfilm. I would almost say it’s a plea by Prowse to give him another chance to be involved in official Lucasfilm-sanctioned “Star Wars” events.
David Prowse, the actor who played Darth Vader in the first “Star Wars” Trilogy, never revealed his face during the films. He could have done it only once for “Return of the Jedi”, but something happened. Another actor did that sequence and that fact marked David Prowse’s life forever. Thirty years later, a young Spanish filmmaker Marcos Cabotá discovers why the producers made that decision. He is determined to pay Dave a deserved tribute, which seems almost impossible.
“I Am Your Father” is unrated and contains mild profanity and some indirect frightening scenes from different Hammer horror movies. There are also a few pictures of Prowse with nothing but small shorts on while doing bodybuilding poses.
“I Am Your Father” is available now on Netflix and Digital HD.