Star Wars, Episode V The Empire Strikes Back

The Empire Strikes Back!

After the huge unexpected success Star Wars had, 20th Century Fox surrendered to George Lucas' talent allowing him to continue with the remaining stories of his saga. To this point so much has been said about Lucas already having a 9 part storyline for his galaxy far far away. However, Lucas has stated at different stages in his career that he originally only had one storyline which he divided into three parts to make the story more believable giving his characters further room to develop properly as he did not want Star Wars to be a cartoonish space adventure. Therefore, others state that Lucas did have a storyline that ran for six episodes, the question is who cares about that now? Having six episodes released and three final episodes on the way all we can say is Star Wars lives on!

Nostalgia may play a rather relevant part in the many reasons why fans around the world think The Empire Strikes Back is the best Star Wars film ever made. This film has a fully realized sense of escapism, wonder and adventure that wasn't quite nailed in the first Star Wars film. Episode V is where the Star Wars universe really blossomed and became something truly special. George Lucas' limitations as a director and writer of dialogue have thankfully been sidelined this time round; here we have a different director (legendary Irvin Kershner) and new scriptwriters who take the genius of Lucas' imaginative story and enhance it with rapid-fire pacing and brilliant comic-book melodrama.

Irvin Kershner, the directing genius of episode V.

This has often been praised as the best of the Star Wars films, and I agree entirely with this opinion; as all exposition was dealt with in the first film, Empire gets down to business almost immediately. As there's no loose ends to tie up (leave that for Return of the Jedi), it ends with an astounding cliffhanger that has rightly gone down in cinema history.

So, what have we learned from the previous film?

From Star Wars Episode IV a New Hope, we have learned a few things about the lead cast:

Luke Skywalker is a farmer who will become a Jedi in the near future. 

Leia Organa is not your average politician who would choose bureaucracy over taking action on important matters. 

Han Solo is not only interested in money, he likes adventure and prefers sharing it with friends. 

Obi Wan Kenobi's spirit will somehow teach young Skywalker how to deal with the force furthermore. However, this could have only been an assumption as Sir Alec Guiness had no interest in returning for the sequel. Thankfully he changed his mind.

Darth Vader did not die in the death star battle and he probably will be seen again as old Ben Kenobi told Luke it was because of Vader that the jedi are now extint. 

R2D2 & C3PO are not average droids, they do play an important part in the story whether it is for mere casualty or luck they're there for a reason and after all they're the only characters seen in the six existant episodes to date.

As we all know character development was not really that deep in the first movie. Perhaps Lucas knew it was not necessary to explain a lot of details, and instead focus in the spectacular space adventure. However, it is fair to say George Lucas must be one of the few film makers that have developed a special talent when it comes to portraying lots of characters the proper way in a two hour movie. 

Enter: Lando Calrissian.

What makes Empire stand out is its darkness; the full-blown optimism of the first film's happy ending pushed aside for deepening conflict, worsening odds and a greater awareness of the sheer power and evil of the Dark Side of the Force. Saying that, optimism is here too; as Luke undertakes training from Yoda, the Jedi Master, who hopes his new young apprentice will learn the ways of the Good Side and not become seduced into evil as Darth Vader did. Meanwhile, after a breathtaking assault on their temporary home base of Hoth, the Rebels are forced to separate, with Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbecca and C-3PO flying through asteroid fields, taking sanctuary in a mysterious cave and finally seeking refuge in the spectacular airborne Utopia of Cloud City, where Solo is reunited with his old friend Lando Calrissian.

As for Darth Vader, his quest to find Skywalker, for reasons unknown, is bordering on the obsessive; is there something about Luke we don't know? Why is he destined to meet Yoda and become a Jedi? As previously mentioned, Empire is dark; it begins gloomily and ends with merely a glimmer of hope after a finale of tragedy, betrayal and revelation.

Empire's atmospheres are bleaker than anything seen in the Star Wars universe to date. The ice planet Hoth is barren, desolate and so cold at night you could freeze to death. The swamp planet of Dagobah, where Luke receives training, is a sinister, brilliantly gloomy world of forests, bogs and murky rivers. Even Cloud City is revealed to sit atop of a world of limitless space and bleak emptiness.

the AT-AT walkers crushing Hoth's surface.

The action is often superb; the battle on Hoth is probably the best aerial fight sequence of the entire trilogy, though it's possible that Jedi's concluding space battle outdoes it. The asteroid sequence is exciting, funny and wonderfully backed by a classic John Williams score. The final half-hour is a fantastically dramatic crescendo of high drama; Luke and Darth Vader's light sabre duel is a superb sequence, brilliantly staged and lit, very powerful and the culmination of the film's darkness.

Another scene of great power occurs on Dagobah, where Luke enters a cave of horror and is confronted by a surprise visitor, leading to an even bleaker twist of events. There's absolutely nothing in the first Star Wars film that even comes close to the power of this moment, it's arguably George Lucas' strangest, most unsettling moment in any of his films.

Master Yoda.

Yet, despite the fact that Empire is the darkest Star Wars film, I also find it to be the funniest. Han Solo is splendidly grouchy, and wonderfully played by Harrison Ford. C3PO's campiness is hilariously taken to the logical limit, while Yoda is a glorious new addition to the cast of characters; his early scenes are extremely funny. Darth Vader has developed a wickedly nasty sense of humour; his penchant for killing off unsatisfactory lackeys becomes shamefully amusing. I love the scene where the computer operator tries to keep his cool in the background even as Vader's telepathically choking the commanding officer right next to him.

Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams and Alec Guinness play their roles without a hint of irony, as it should be. Escapism can lazily be delivered with a knowing wink, which can be a cop out when the creators don't have the imagination or the verve to create a truly convincing, sweeping world of wonder. The puppet-work on Yoda is pretty amazing, even to this day. I just don't think of him as a puppet, more a real character. Frank Oz's voice work is just perfect, effortlessly switching to playfully mischievous to wisely dignified. Mark Hamill as Luke is less of a bland, wet fish as he was in the first film; here he has actually has conflicts, both inner and outer, to deal with, and he handles the job nicely, especially in the ending.

Bobba Fett the bounty hunter.

Overall, The Empire Strikes Back is a remarkable example of screen entertainment; it has the proper sweep of a real space opera, it has confidence, imagination, beauty, humour, excitement and a truly brilliant story. It may very well be the best blockbuster movie of all time...

The Empire Strikes Back tasty secrets

The following information has been taken from several real movie websites with professional experts that are paid for doing this kind of thing, unlike me that I'm a regular guy in the regular world. I know there are lots of info about the making of this film, nevertheless,  I chose the ones that could prove to be more appealing to the connoisseurs that frequently visit this humble blog that refuses to die. 

George Lucas Bank.

In order to avoid sharing creative rights, George Lucas decided to avoid using a major studio to finance this film. Instead, he bankrolled the $33 million production himself, using a combination of his profits from Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) and a bank loan. Although the move was risky, it paid off several times over. Lucas recovered his million investment within three months of the film's release. He then showed gratitude far beyond the Hollywood norm, by sharing the profits with his employees (nearly $5 million in bonuses). 

The eight R2D2s.  

Eight Artoo Detoos (R2D2) were used in the making of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Kenny Baker used two that were lighter and more comfortable than the ones from Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). Three were dummy versions which could be damaged and another three were remote controlled.  

The Team is back!

Chewie & Leia.

Episode II: Attack of the empire that strikes back?

The book "Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays" reveals that, when the script for this movie was first written, the idea of it being "Episode V" of a 6 (or 9) part serial had not yet been established, and it was at one point called Episode II.  

1:1 Millenium Falcon.

The entire Millennium Falcon was built live size for the first and only time for this installment (only half of the spacecraft was constructed for Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) and just part of it was used for the deleted sandstorm scene in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)). It measured 65 feet in diameter and 16 feet in height with a mandible giving it an overall length of 80 feet. The Falcon's weight was 23 tons. 

Groceries & footwear asteroids.

In the asteroid scene, one of the asteroids is actually a shoe. The rumor is that George Lucas asked the SFX people to redo the scene so many times that they got annoyed and one of them threw in their shoe. 

Another of the asteroids is actually a potato. It appears just as the Millennium Falcon first enters the field. Two asteroids travel from the top left to the bottom right corner of the screen. Just after the second asteroid leaves the screen a third one appears in the top left corner. This is the potato.  

Shit is about to get real ma' man!

The epicness of the Jedi VS the Sith.

Ben Kenobi, the upset one.

During principal photography it remained unclear if Sir Alec Guinness would return as Obi Wan Kenobi. Guinness was suffering from an eye infection at the time and was still a bit upset about the last minute decision of his character being killed off in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). He finally did agree and worked one day on the film: Wednesday September 5 1979 

Deleted Wampas.

Further scenes with the Wampa were shot, and later cut. R2-D2 encountered one within the Rebel base, where it was killed by troopers. Later, the beasts were lured into a prison within the complex. In the completed film, a medical droid is seen examining the wounds of a tauntaun killed by a Wampa, and Princess Leia mentions the "creatures" while discussing the Imperial probe droid. A scene filmed but cut had Han, Leia and C-3PO running through a corridor. Han went to take a short-cut through a door with a sign on it, but Leia warned him "that's where those creatures are kept". They run off, but not before C-3PO rips off the sign, hoping that the stormtroopers will enter the room. They did. A few seconds of this last scene can be seen in the theatrical trailer on the DVD. 

Darth Vader & C3PO.

The carbon freezing chamber is the only time in the original trilogy that Darth Vader and C3PO can be seen on screen together. 

The elevated Dagobah environment.

The Dagobah set needed to be elevated to give Frank Oz and three other puppeteers room to control the Yoda puppet from below. For proper interaction, Mark Hamill was given an earpiece so he could hear Oz doing Yoda's voice. On numerous occasions, Irvin Kershner would give a direction to Yoda by mistake and Oz would have to remind him who to talk to.  

Where are thou Lord Vader?

"Obi Wan killed your father"

Vader's Shuttle in Return of the Jedi.

A scene where Darth Vader's shuttle lands in his Star Destroyer's landing bay, after his light saber fight with Luke, was added to the Special Edition. This was actually an unused scene from Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) 

Irvin Vader 

Director Irvin Kershner provided the voice of Darth Vader himself in the temporary mix of the film, before James Earl Jones recorded the final version. 

Han Solo & the Lightsaber.

Han Solo is the only non-Jedi/Sith in the entire original trilogy to ever use a lightsaber when he cuts open the tauntaun's belly. 

Boba Fett, the extra.

After an extra fell sick, Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) was called in as a replacement to the Imperial Guard who escorts Princess Leia and pulls her into the elevator after she screams "Luke! It's a trap!". He's the same Imperial Guard who is captured by Lando Calrissian's men. 

No more Han Solo?

Having Han Solo frozen in carbonite was (at least in part) due to the fact that they were not sure that Harrison Ford would return for a third film. When the original Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) was made Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill were signed for a three picture deal, but Harrison Ford refused. Ford even requested George Lucas to kill off Solo, since the character had played its part already, but Lucas refused, saying that he still had a heroic part for Han Solo to play in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).  

Rated X Princess Leia.

Deluxe Darth Vader & Millenium Falcon.

Darth Vader's costume was more detailed in this film, including the flashing red lights on his chest box. A new Millennium Falcon (32-inches long) was built for this film and has two additional landing gear boxes on its underside. As a result, the original Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) model (5-foot long) was modified and given the extra landing gear bays and was used for all FX scenes of the Falcon in a landed position.  

Mark Hamill, the stuntman.

With the exception of being sucked out of a Cloud City window, Mark Hamill did all of his own stunts.

Reverse Force Secret.

The shots where Luke uses his Jedi powers to retrieve his lightsaber from a distance were achieved by having Mark Hamill throw the lightsaber away and then running the film in reverse. 

Tatooine, where are thou?

The only Star Wars Original Trilogy film that does not take place on the desert planet Tatooine (although it is mentioned by name at the end of the film). Tatooine also appears in Episodes I, II, and III, making it the only planet that appears five times in the entire saga.  

Boba Fett Action Figure Mystery.

Boba Fett's action figure was originally to have had a rocket-firing mechanism, but after a child choked to death on a similar toy, Kenner dropped the mechanism and made the rocket stationary. A trace of the rocket launcher survived to the completed toy, however, as there is a rectangular area on the backpack in which the rocket launcher would have been embedded. The version with the mechanism is now considered the longest-running unobtainable action figure; contrary to popular belief, it was never sold to the public. 

Yoda, the dislexic?

Yoda's iconic manner of speech (i.e: "begun the war has" and things like this) has the parts of speech in Object Subject Verb order. Very few languages on Earth use this and most are based in the Amazon river basin.  

My favorite poster design.

The Emperor was a girl.

This movie featured the first appearance of the Emperor whom appeared as a hologram to Darth Vader. The 'Emperor' was actually portrayed by an elderly female stand-in with a hood and heavy makeup. The yellow, Dark-Force eyes were in fact chimpanzee eyes superimposed over the stand-in's eyes to give the Emperor a less-human, more unworldly look. The Emperor's voice was provided by Clive Revill who provided the voice only and not the appearance.

Darth Vader's Command Module.

Darth Vader's command module is said to be a hyperbaric chamber which charges the interior air to greater than one atmospheric pressure, thus allowing him to remove his helmet and breathe normally for limited periods of time; this was not as originally presented in the film, however, which featured an additional breathing mask for Vader in the chamber, which was notoriously shown for only a split second and never made it into the official continuity.  

Lost in Alien Translation.

One of only two Star Wars films without English subtitles to translate alien languages, the other being Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005). 

"Obi Wan killed your father"

Security surrounding this movie was so intense that George Lucas had regular reports about "leaks" from actors. George Lucas was so determined that the ending be kept secret that he had David Prowse (Darth Vader) say "Obi-Wan killed your father", and dubbed it later to be "I am your father". In fact, only five people eventually knew about the ending before the film's release: George Lucas (came up with the idea in his second draft, after the death of Leigh Brackett), director Irvin Kershner (informed of such during story conferences), writer Lawrence Kasdan (also informed during story and script conferences), Mark Hamill (informed shortly before the shooting of the infamous scene), and James Earl Jones (told during the recording sessions for the final dub, and whom himself believed that Vader was lying).  

Anakyn Skywalker's ghost.

In Leigh Brackett's original draft of the script, Darth Vader was not Luke's father. The character of Anakin Skywalker actually appeared in the film as a Force ghost to train Luke. Anakin's characterization was later split into the characters of Yoda, and to allow Obi-Wan Kenobi to appear in the film. 


The Trailers Strike Back!

Now, after that complete list of the Empire Strikes Back secrets we move on to the final section of this review: the trailers.

N°1 Video is the teaser trailer promoting the film as early of 1979. Notice that it was only made using original Ralph McQuarrie concept art plus John Williams background music.

N°2 Video presents the 1980 original theatrical trailer:

N°3 Video presents the 1997 Special Edition  Trailer with added flavours:

N°4 is a side to side comparison between the original 1980 take of the film versus the 1997 special edition with added features. Notice that of all the original trilogy films, The Empire Strikes Back is the one with the least alterations, maybe because George Lucas was more than satisfied with the amazing direction of Irvin Kershner. Unfortunately some changes even killed the acting of...

Next entry will be the final episode of the original trilogy. Until then, be mindful of your thoughts and expect the prequel trilogy reviews sooner than later.