- 2 months ago
What is Cloud City?
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00:0010 secrets of Cloud City you need to know.
00:03Number 10. What is Cloud City exactly?
00:06Cloud City resides on a gas giant called Bespin in the Anode Sector.
00:10And since this planet is similar to Jupiter, you'd think it would be the last place in the cosmos where life could thrive.
00:16But as the Star Wars franchise proves, there is no world where people aren't eager to set up civilization.
00:21I mean, people live on Mustafar for Christ's sake.
00:24Despite the fact that the planet isn't even solid, Bespin is a hotspot for the Elite.
00:28Since it naturally produces one of the most desirable resources in the galaxy, that being Tabana Gas.
00:34Because Tabana is the central component for hyperspace travel, space weaponry and repulsor technology, it's coveted by virtually everyone.
00:41When the Tabana miners discovered then that there was a breathable atmosphere 36,000 miles above Bespin's core, a habitable base was constructed there called Cloud City.
00:50Now, originally Lando Calrissian hoped to govern the city without any interference from the Empire.
00:55But when the Imperials found the planet and discovered it was mining trillions of tons of Tabana Gas, they immediately took over the city, hoping to use its resources to advance the Empire.
01:05Number 9. How does the city function?
01:07Even though we didn't get to see a lot of Cloud City, you can tell just by looking at it that it's bloody enormous.
01:13I mean, just look at how long it took for Luke Skywalker to fall to the bottom.
01:16It's never been specified how large the structure is, but Cloud City does consist of 392 storeys.
01:23By comparison, the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, consists of 160 storeys, which is around 2,700 feet.
01:30However, only the first 50 levels of Cloud City are open to the public, since the bottom 342 levels are for mining and processing precious Tabana Gas.
01:39However, even though the gas is a valuable commodity, it is very expensive to filter.
01:43Also, the 36,000 engines and tractor beam generators, which keep the city in the air, aren't cheap either.
01:49So, to bring in some cash, Cloud City was turned into a luxury resort, and tourists can also hire a flying car to sightsee or check out the local mines.
01:56Put simply, it would be way out of my price range.
01:59Number 8. It was supposed to appear in the first movie.
02:02It's common knowledge among Star Wars fans that George Lucas redrafted the script for the original movie about 10 bajillion times, give or take.
02:09At one point, the story was meant to focus on Samuel L. Jackson's character, Mace Windu, and in another draft, Luke Skywalker was a 60-year-old general who trained a pupil called Starkiller.
02:20Lucas also considered having giant bush baby aliens in the climax for some reason. I don't know, this was like the 70s, wasn't it?
02:27But another alteration that the Star Wars screenplay went through was the removal of Cloud City.
02:31In the second draft, concept artist Ralph McQuarrie designed a floating territory, which served as an imperial prison for Princess Leia's homeworld of Alderaan.
02:39And even though scenes of Alderaan were meant to be filmed, they were ultimately cut.
02:43However, Lucas loved the idea of a habitat hovering in the sky and didn't want to abandon it.
02:48As a result, he repurposed McQuarrie's floating imperial prison for the sequel, and then turned it into what we know now as Cloud City.
02:55Number 7. The Ugnaught keep everything working.
02:58As Darth Vader's forces frees Han Solo in Carbonite, several small pigmen called Ugnaughts can be seen operating the machinery in the background.
03:06Because these creatures are merely in the background and have no dialogue, you would assume that they're not particularly that important.
03:12But as will become abundantly clear on this list, everyone and everything in Star Wars has an unnecessarily complex backstory.
03:20When Cloud City was devised, for instance, the Ugnaught tribes were brought in to work on its construction,
03:24since they were known for performing monotonous tasks skillfully for an extended period of time.
03:29Because the Ugnaughts' territory as well was being taken over by the Galactic Empire at the same time,
03:33they agreed to this deal to avoid their people being enslaved by imperial troops.
03:37But when Darth Vader seized Cloud City, the Ugnaughts were forced to work with the Empire anyway against their will.
03:43Even though these critters turned Han Solo into a popsicle and tried to melt C-3PO into slag,
03:48the Ugnaughts aren't evil.
03:49Like many creatures throughout the galaxy, they just do what they must to survive.
03:54Number 6. Who or what is Lobot?
03:56One of the most mysterious citizens of Cloud City is Lando Calrissian's trusty aide and personal chef, Lobot.
04:03Despite never uttering a word, the cybernetic implants on his head help the character stand out,
04:08making viewers curious of Lobot's purpose on Bespin.
04:11And originally, he was a regular human who performed battlefield calculations for the Empire.
04:16After meeting Lando, Lobot became a smuggler and, although he lost his original memories, personality and even the ability to speak,
04:22became instrumental in the growth of his home Bespin,
04:25since Cloud City's central network was implemented directly into his mind.
04:29As a result, Lobot is tailored to the city's entire mainframe,
04:32making him arguably the most significant person on the whole planet.
04:36Number 5. What's that vein that Luke hangs on?
04:39After Vader famously defeated Luke Skywalker and lopped off his hand,
04:43the young Jedi jumped down the air shaft, seemingly plummeting to his doom.
04:47Even though Luke looked like he had no chance of surviving,
04:49he just happened to land on a perfectly placed vein, where he was rescued then by his companions.
04:54Now, most first-time viewers had the exact same thought upon seeing this moment.
04:59Why is there a freaking weather vein just out there?
05:02But as all Star Wars fans know, everything has a backstory.
05:06Salacious Crumb has a backstory, Han Solo's jacket has a backstory,
05:09and yes, even the weather vein has a backstory.
05:12First off, it's actually not a weather vein, I've been wrong this whole entry.
05:15It's actually a gas-processing vein.
05:18These instruments are designed to filter, stabilize, and store to burn a gas,
05:21as you probably have guessed.
05:22And they are positioned at the bottom of Cloud City,
05:24since that is where the mineral is the most potent.
05:27So yeah, that's right, George Lucas gave a backstory to a piece of metal
05:30to justify a plot convenience.
05:33Number 4. There were some significant changes in the special edition.
05:36In 1997, Lucasfilm released the first of several special editions of the original Star Wars trilogy.
05:41Even though fans did appreciate seeing the classic movies in perfect quality with crisp sound,
05:46they were also horrified to learn that George Lucas had made some absolutely unnecessary changes.
05:51I mean, why he thought the world wanted to see Cy Snootles perform a music solo in Return of the Jedi
05:55is just, well, that's anybody's guess, isn't it?
05:57Despite viewers grumbling, several changes in the Empire Strikes Back, though, were quite welcome.
06:01While our heroes are running around the corridors in the original version, for instance,
06:05it was obvious that the actors were just on a soundstage.
06:07But in the special edition, digital effects were used,
06:10so the walls in the background were replaced with windows showing off the futuristic landscape of the city.
06:15Even though many changes in the special edition are totally, totally irritating,
06:18these little tweaks are acceptable since they make the scenes more distinctive
06:22without ever feeling too distracting.
06:25Number 3. The actors were drunk in their Cloud City scenes.
06:28While filming The Empire Strikes Back,
06:30Carrie Fisher stayed at one of Eric Idle's flats for five whole months.
06:34And when the Rolling Stones came over, Fisher invited her co-star Harrison Ford over
06:38because, hey, who doesn't want to party with Keith Richards?
06:41Even though Fisher was allergic to alcohol and Ford wasn't much of a drinker apparently either,
06:45they knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
06:47and so got absolutely smashed with the legendary musicians
06:51and the Monty Python comedian throughout the night.
06:53The following morning, Fisher and Ford headed straight to the set
06:56and filmed the scene where their characters arrive in Cloud City for the first time.
07:00Since they hadn't slept a wink, because why would ya,
07:02Fisher and Ford were completely drunk while performing their scenes.
07:06And considering they consumed a beverage known as the Tunisian Death Drink,
07:09it's probably no surprise that it took a while for the effects to wear off.
07:13Number 2. What is that running man doing?
07:15After watching the Star Wars films a dozen times,
07:18you might notice tiny details in the background
07:20that you would never give a second thought to upon your first viewing.
07:23Such an example occurs in The Empire Strikes Back
07:25when multiple Imperial workers dash through Cloud City
07:28after the Rebel forces take over.
07:30Although a lot is going on in this scene,
07:32some eagle-eyed viewers only had one question in their mind.
07:36Why is there a guy in the background holding an ice cream maker?
07:39Well, despite appearing for just a split second,
07:41this character, Wilro Hood, has a backstory because of course he does.
07:45He was working on the Harbinger Star Destroyer,
07:48but was asked to evacuate after the Rebel Alliance hijacked the facility.
07:51Grabbing whatever valuables he could find,
07:53Wilro stuffed them into a container called a Comtono,
07:56aka the Ice Cream Maker, and then just fled.
07:59Of course, this container became so iconic
08:01that it has actually been implemented into other Star Wars properties,
08:04including recently the Mandalorian.
08:06Number 1. A Cloud City May Actually Be Possible
08:09As entertaining as the Star Wars universe is,
08:12we all know that it's just pure fantasy, right?
08:15Right?
08:15Well, maybe not entirely.
08:17And even though a city hovering in the clouds
08:20sounds like utter fiction,
08:21astrophysicists suggest otherwise.
08:23According to NASA researcher Jeffrey Landis,
08:26a floating Cloud City could exist over an inhospitable world like Venus.
08:30Despite the fact that it snows metal and rains acid on Earth's neighboring planet,
08:34the atmosphere just above Venus is surprisingly tolerable for human life to thrive.
08:39And because the Sun's second closest planet is overstuffed with floating gases
08:42like nitrogen and oxygen,
08:44the idea of keeping a city in the air isn't that far-fetched,
08:47at least according to Landis.
08:48So the next time you hear someone tell you that Cloud City is completely ridiculous
08:52and it doesn't make any sense,
08:53well, set them straight.
08:55So that's our list.
08:56What's next, what you guys think down in the comments below?
08:58Did you know all of these facts about Cloud City?
09:00And are there any really interesting ones I missed off here?
09:03While you're down there as well,
09:04could you please give us a like, share, subscribe,
09:05and head over to WhatCultureStarWars for more lists like this on the regular?
09:09Even if you don't though, I've been Josh.
09:10Thank you so much for watching,
09:11and I'll see you soon.
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