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The force is still with Luke
31/07/2005 10:47 - (SA)
Los Angeles - The lightsaber used by intergalactic hero Luke Skywalker in Star Wars sold for $200 000 (about R1.3m) at an auction of Hollywood props that fetched far more than expected, officials said on Saturday.
The deadly laser sword brandished by actor Mark Hamill in the original 1977 film was the star of a lot of 550 pieces of movie memorabilia that went on the block on Friday and fetched a total of more than two million dollars.
The fictional weapon sold for well over its estimate of between $60 000 and $80 000 at a live and online sale in Beverly Hills, said Lorna Hart of auctioneers profilesinhistory.com.
Skywalker's lightsaber, which gave rise to a generation of replicas and knock-offs, is in reality a short chrome tube with a rubber hilt.
Also performing far better than expected was the lightsaber used by Skywalker's dark nemesis Darth Vader in 1980's The Empire Strikes Back, which fetched $118 000 dollars instead of the estimated $40 000 - $60 000.
Some 85 items used in producer George Lucas's cult Star Wars series went on the block after one of the film's original producers Gary Kurtz put them up for sale to help maintain and restore his historic collection.
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South Africa
