Friday, December 15, 2017

Does the Jawa in Star Wars say "Houdini"?

Ok, today we delve into the important stuff. In the original 1977 Star Wars, does the Jawa who, after zapping R2-D2, call out "Houdini!"? I know I've always heard that. But if a car backfires I think I hear Houdini!, so I've largely kept this to myself. But recently I found this meme online.


So it looks like I'm not the only one who hears this afterall. So what do we think? Is there a Houdini namecheck in the original Star Wars? Is George Lucas a closet Harryphile!?

Below are a few more "Houdini!" Star Wars connections. Today sees the release of the latest movie, The Last Jedi.

Related:
at

11 comments:

  1. Rick DeNataleDecember 15, 2017 at 8:31 AM

    Maybe, but it always sounded more like “Houtini” to my ears.

    ReplyDelete
  2. MantooDecember 15, 2017 at 7:13 PM

    According to the Jawa Trade Language:

    "Utinni" is a shout of astonishment or surprise. Wow. A battle cry. An alert to other Jawas, Come here, etc.
    "Utinni!"
    ―A commonly used Jawa expression[s

    Also heard in the ‘special edition’ when the Jawa falls off the dinosaur creature.

    But if Houdini ever appeared on Tatooine, I’m sure they would shout, "Utinni, it's Houdini!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John CoxDecember 15, 2017 at 9:00 PM

      Jawa Trade Language -- I love it. Thanks.

      "Utinni!"

      Delete
  3. MantooDecember 15, 2017 at 9:11 PM

    https://www.myinstants.com/media/sounds/utini.mp3

    ReplyDelete
  4. John CoxDecember 24, 2019 at 3:21 PM

    Fun to see this post receiving traffic again as in the new Star Wars movie The Rise of Skywalker we again hear a Jawa say....well, whatever it is he says.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Leo HeviaDecember 25, 2019 at 9:53 AM

    I wonder what folks like Dorothy, Dunninger, and Walter Gibson, who all lived into the modern age thought about their surroundings. Dorothy and Gibson could have seen Star Wars, and these are people who saw silent movies when they were young.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousOctober 18, 2020 at 1:34 PM

    Clearly Hutini!

    ReplyDelete
  7. dzasta2002July 17, 2021 at 12:13 AM

    Actually they say "Uthini?" pronounced "utini", which is Zulu for "what did you say", They also greet in a Zulu phrase "Sikwamukela ngezandla ezimhlophe" Which means "we welcome you with clean/open arms"
    They can also be heard on A New Hope, when the carry Artoo saying "iyasinda lensimbi" meaning "this metal is heavy".

    Hope that helps.

    It's a pity they no longer use Zulu in the newer properties like The Mandalorian.

    ReplyDelete