This is actually good dialogue.

They called Darth Vader a Sith Lord on his trading cards back then as well.

I'm honestly surprised Lucas didn't restore this in 1997 in the Special Editions, as he was working on the prequels where the Sith were obviously quite prominent.

It's cool to see the Sith as a concept being referred to and said during the filming of the first movie, despite them never being mentioned by name in the original trilogy. It's also cool that Tagge points out Tarkin's personal ego is a prevalent force behind the construction of the Death Star. It's nice seeing Tagge and Motti getting more dialogue!

I love his voice. He definitely has mastered the Imperial sound.

This is like watching recovered footage from an historical documentary about the Galaxtic Civil War produced in 100ABY.

So the word “Sith” had been there since the beginning! Cool!

I'm shocked George Lucas didn't add this scene back into the Special Editions, especially with the mention of Vader being a sith lord.

But that's impossible! How will the Emperor maintain control without the bureaucracy?

I have never seen this deleted scene before.

It took a long while for me to realize that when Tarkin refers to "the regional governors now have direct control over their territories," he is referring to himself. "Fear will keep the local systems in line. Fear of this battle station." Fear of Grand Moff Tarkin.

That line about the senate being dissolved is really helpful to get a sense of when this is on the timeline of the Empire's ascendancy. This is the point at which it became fully autocratic with even the semblance of democratic checks on power removed. Really communicates the urgency of the alliance's plans.

In the early notes George referenced the Jedi Bendu and their ancient rivals known as a the Sith Knights. A lot of cut terms or ideas would later make it into the expanded universe and the prequels. Midi-Chlorians and even the ability shatterpoint are in early drafts.

an actually competent officer, how is this possible

It's amazing how this extra dialogue but back into the scene almost feels like a scene out of Rebels. The fact that he said The Emperor sent him.... , rather than Vader just being there, as if he's always hanging out at The Death Star implies a larger universe than the few planets seen in A New Hope. They do SO MUCH sending of new people in Rebels to replace those who failed, this makes it feel like a continuation.

I love how as soon as Peter Cushing comes into the room, the whole atmosphere changes, he had such a powerful presence as an actor. One of my all-time favourites.

I remember back in the 90s people arguing about whether this scene existed/was just an unproven claim, and Sith weren't a real term. Then Phantom Menace came out, shame this never showed up as evidence that we needed back then.

"Sith LOOOOWWWWWD"

Dissolve the Senate? Impossible, Palpatine cannot dissolve himself.

Who here thinks they originally wanted to do Shogunate and Meiji Restoration in space? Emperor is a figurehead and he wants to be reinstated as the true ruler, thus he sent Vader.

Gareth Edwards showed this back in 2016 I believe - before the release of Rogue One.

This particular movie’s writing and casting is what allowed it to become a timeless classic. Classically trained actors portraying military and political personnel discussing tactics. The Disney movies (aside from the horrendous writing) suffer because the actors are patronizing the audience with the “Netflix” style of dialogue delivery

Vader was a dark lord of the Sith in the novelization from 1976.

The novelizations also mentioned that the emperor's name was Palpatin, so I knew the "plot twist" back in 1999 when the Pantom Menace came out.

The dialogue in this scene is incredible

I actually read " A New Hope Book" from 76 and was surprised to see the word "Sith" made me very happy.

the term sith was mentioned in the novalization of a new hope which was released BEFORE the movie. so technically it is the first mention of the sith

The novelisation is your friend. It mentions the Sith and was published in 1976 before the movie was released. This scene was there along with many others not shown or filmed.

This is probably some of the best dialogue in the movie and it was cut?! This felt much more cinematic as well. Weird how a loud echo can intensify a scene and make the room feel so much bigger. The actual scene that proceeds this feels far more claustrophobic and a little stale imo.

I always thought the word "sith" came from the prequel trilogy. It's cool to see they referred to them this early, even if that line got cut out of the film

Mace Windu: SITH?! LORD?!

this is excellent dialogue. i would have loved to have seen this kept in the movie. That Commander had competence and foresight to recognize that the Rebel Alliance was a threat even given their small size even compared to the Empire. "a smart enemy will hit you where you think you're safest"

great camera movement Lucas did care in the early days

In the 70's and 80's, Vader was referred to as "The Dark Lord of the Sith" on several products! It was my DAD that pointed out to me that Vader was the "Dark Lord of the Sith" and we all knew that sounded important and ominous!

Bro Got the Lloyd Christmas haircut

George Lucas definitely had a vision. Genius mind 🙌🏻

Excellent dialogue and fantastically delivered by an expert in his craft

Why am I just now realizing that they never directly refer to the Sith by their actual name anywhere in the Original Trilogy

It’s good to see that not everyone in the Empire thought the Death Star was necessary. It just galvanized the focus of the rebellion. Even Vader recognized this as a misplaced focus of power. Fear as a tactic only goes so far that if done blindly when not allow you see your weaknesses.

Speaking as an old Star Wars nerd, I always thought it was cool how so much lore seemed to become universally known through word of mouth long before it ever appeared or was mentioned in a movie. Sith, Mandalorians, the molten pit, Palpatine, etc etc.

I really like the way the camera pans and rotates behind the officers and follows Vader and Tarkin marching in.

Out of all the scenes removed, this is one they should have kept. It not only mentions that vader is a sith, implying he's more than just a man in suit. It also mentions that there's a higher up to vader as well as bringing up vulnerabilities.

Seeing this makes me realize just how epic this entire setup is, from the set design, to the outfits, to the lore. This was truly epic for the 70s considering it’s still epic today when done right. Just watching Cushing walk in with that level of authority and his suit makes me realize how ahead of its time Star Wars was.

I have/had a Star Wars story book from around 1978 described Vader as the 'Dark Lord of the Sith'.

The first time I remember hearing the term "Dark Lord of the Sith" was in the FROM STAR WARS TO JEDI documentary narrated by Mark Hamil.

There is more Star wars creativity in this clip than all of episode vii to ix

This is my favorite scene from A New Hope. What makes it great is that they're all taking it seriously. No one is being overly melodramatic and the writing is excellent.

The first time ever the word “sith” is used in the prequels in episode one so it’s interesting George had this Idea from the very beginning

The sound here is perfect. Like being there. Awesome scene

Great to see all the British stalwart character actors like Don Henderson here in bit parts in the original trilogy. Don was the lead in a few Brit telly shows. The fella over his shoulder who later warns Grand Moff Peter Cushing about the danger to the Death Star, was often a villain in Doctor Who or Blake's 7 in the same period. See also Michael Sheard, Julian Glover, Michael Culver in Empire

So much important information that will become evident in the sequels. Fascinating!

Damn should’ve kept it in. I always liked the idea that rebels discussed of the Death Star having been Tarkin’s idea and having been up against other proposals

It's a shame George Lucas removed this from the movie. When we first watched the original trilogy prior to the prequel trilogy, Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader were not called Sith.

This scene is actually really good and fits in with the lore really well

The first mentions of Sith are in early drafts of the movie. They’re first called the Knights of Sith, then the Black Knights of Sith. Jedi were known as Jedi Bendu, the light side of “the Force of Others” was called the Ashla and the dark side the Bogan. “Beware the Bogan, serve the Ashla”. The Skywalker was a mythical figure who lived 100,000 years earlier. Jedi Knights came from only twelve families. A prophesied hero (first named Annikin Starkiller, then Luke) was known as The Son of the Suns (because he would be born on Tatooine). A Jedi Bendu apprentice named Biggs Darklighter fell to the Ashla and ended up teaching it to a clan of Sith pirates, hence the original origins of the Sith who grew into a “fierce rival warrior sect to the Jedi Bendu”. The second Sith knight we meet in the May 1974 draft is named Prince Valorum, who works side by side with General Darth Vader. By the time of the first Star Wars novelization, they have become the Dark Lords of the Sith who serve Emperor Palpatine, the former President of the Republic who is being used as a tool by corrupt politicians in the Senate of the 20,000 year old Republic.

Not just the mention of the Sith, but also a reference to Tarkin's ego which also adds a little depth to the line at the end, "Evacuate, in our moment of triumph?"

The sith was actually mentioned in the original book version of a new hope so it is a concept from the beginning of Star wars.

They should add this scene into the original movie

Sith is also mentioned in the 1977 Star Wars Annual when the Millenium Falcon destroys Vader's flanking tie fighting in the trench run. Instead ot the "whaaaaattttt????" we got on screen his speech bubble was "by the immortal gods of the sith!"

Interesting that the dialogue also fits in with Rogue One as well. Vader arriving after capturing Leia. He usually hangs out on his Star Destroyer.

Gorge always had everything planned. It was a story of Anakin told across 6 movies. Always was and always will be

Much better than the original cut.

Don Henderson is an absolute British icon. He had such a commanding presence in everything he did

Never heard the term sith till phantom menace and then it was all downhill from there. Midichlorians, gungans, chosen one

This is canon in my mind

A quei tempi non eravamo ancora pronti a sentire il termine "Signore Dei Sith"❤❤❤

I remember this and other later deleted scenes on an old vhs version i had of the original trilogy

I remember the Thrawn novels, and various EU material pre-Episode 1 used "Dark Jedi" mainly, though "Sith" was still used when talking of Vader specifically, as if it meant his species, religion, or clan name. Wild how much the prequels changed when they dropped, though i still enjoy all of it.

the fun thing about the original is it always hinted at a much larger universe than it described, and let your mind fill in the details

Once again, you have to listen to the Star Wars radio drama. The best source of little tidbits (aside from reading the book) that make the story better. "This dark lord of the sith the Emperor has inflicted on us will be our undoing."

Man this scene makes me like Tagge even more. He's a no non-sense military commander who doesn't think a "super-battlestation" is a very good idea and his voice is pretty cool

In 77 or 78 I had a poster of Darth Vader on my wall that had “Darth Vader Lord of the Sith” written on it. I was 10 and remember being confused by this because I didn’t know what or who the Sith were. I didn’t care, I just liked DV.

I actually have a bootleg T-shirt that came out BEFORE the film released using Vader's early Ralph McQuarrie drawings and the term "Sith Lord". Clearly a script or the novelization had leaked.

I'm seeing this for the first time after 45 years.

Always wondered if Tarkin is referring to it as the old “Republic” or the “Old Republic”

And then Disney lit it all on fire by making his sacrifice and redemption in Episode VI be for NOTHING.

Why isn't this in the movie it's great

I love the camerawork. Just holding on that guy until Vader shows up in the background, then panning. And like everybody else has said, this dialogue rocks.

And there was a Lord of the Sith mentioned in one of the original comics about Starlord in 1977 or so. It was a title held by Peter Quill's off world father.

In addition to appreciating the scene itself, it gives you a glimpse of the actual job of an actor in filmed work. Note how after he delivers the line, he has to just hold that pose knowing that he's being filmed but the ultimate scene would have to contain the other camera's view of the dialog partner. It looks really unnatural as you generally don't follow just one person's profile during a dialog in real life, and people tend to shift around a bit when they're done speaking. But I guess he has to stay put to make sure everything is still aligned for his next line. There is also a person on the other side of the camera and you think of the cooperation between the two. Subtle stuff and maybe boring to everyone but me, but it's what I thought about watching that..

I hope they put this scene back in a future blu ray 4k release 😊

This line was also represented in the Radio Drama version of the scene.

I’d always wondered how far back that term stretched, and it hard to ever take George on his word. It’s nice to have confirmation that it goes back to the beginning.

I had no idea about this. I always thought that, like the name Coruscant first introduced in Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy, Sith was just another expanded universe term George took on for the prequel trilogy, very cool to see 'Sith' is actually a part of the original movie writing.

Notice how the charachter is speaking to NO ONE, as revealed later by the camera movement?

Nice to see how it would have looked before they chopped it down for fast-pacing.

I hate how Sequel defender always claim “Lucas also made it up from movie to movie, he had no plan” He had drafts for not only the OT but also the prequel trilogy in the early/mid 70s He just had to change some things along the way because it had to work on screen and Star Wars is not only George Lucas ideas Like a New Hope, he didn’t know if it was going to be a standalone movie or he could get the trilogy he wanted. So he made it so it could be both.

Wished George kept the line in the final edit. Wondering if he kept it out to lessen people asking, “What’s a Sith Lord?”

I love how they project their voices

Lucas is famously cited for given little more direction to actors than "faster, and with more intensity". This scene vividly illustrates that wisdom. Every line here is bleakly read in comparison to what ended up on the screen, and the more tightly cut dialogue propels it forward even further. While it's interesting to retrospectively hear the first mention of the "Sith", the reference - along with the other cut dialogue - only bogs down the story. It's a shame Lucas didn't remember this years later when so much of the prequels involved such expansive exposition over so much sitting around like this.

This table set is stunning. It's as grand as the war room in Dr. Strangelove.

How interesting. I remember somehow knowing Vader was a Sith Lord; but never hearing it in the films. I remember the Jedi Academy games using “Dark Jedi” because “Siths weren’t created yet.” But now I see Sith was there from the beginning. I remember having a school binder with Vader on it that said “Dark Lord Of The Sith,” and I remember asking my dad what that meant.

He didn’t become a Jedi master so he made fucking sure everyone calls him a Sith Lord 😅

Great dialogue.

Is this from the "Lost Cut" of A New Hope?

Ojalá lanzaran una nueva edición especial que incluya mucho del material eliminado como esta escena. Siento que es una lástima que este tipo de escenas caigan en el olvido y no esten restauradas

Now this is the kind of dialogue that makes a good movie.

Wait a second... some of this dialogue is in "A New Hope", while the mention of "Sith Lord" is completely new to me! Thank you for sharing this!

that cinematography

For how much of the OT Lucas made up on the fly, it’s amazing how much of it he had fleshed out at the start.