The Empire Strikes Back was my first Star Wars movie. I was only five but I remember it vividly and the parts of the movie are burned in my imagination; the dark and snowy imagery, the spooky duel in the Dagobah cave, the dramatic reveal of Vader's identity. It made a huge impression on me and I have been obsessed with Star Wars ever since.
Empire is widely considered the best of the Star Wars movies and is tonally a much different movie than its "gee whiz!" predecessor. It is the prototypical "dark sequel" and is slower, moodier, and more character-driven than Star Wars. It famously ends with a dark and traumatic twist.
After their rousing victory in destroying the Death Star, the Rebels are now on the run and hiding out on the inhospitable ice planet of Hoth. We learn in the opening crawl that Vader has become obsessed with locating Luke Skywalker after apparently learning his identity at some point off screen and he soon learns the base location and leads a memorable land assault in one of Star Wars most memorable sequences, the Battle of Hoth (later to become fodder for many many video games.)
Han, Leia, Chewie and 3PO escape on the Falcon (which is strangely unreliable in this movie) and Luke and Artoo head for Dagobah where a ghostly Obi-Wan has instructed him to find Yoda and complete his training. Meanwhile, after avoiding the Empire in an asteroid field the Falcon and her crew limps to Bespin where Han's friend Lando Calrissian runs Cloud City-one of Star Wars' most awesome and iconic locations. Han is betrayed and frozen in carbonite and turned over to the bounty hunter Boba Fett to be delivered to Jabba the Hutt on Tattooine.
When he senses his friends in danger, Luke heads to Bespin to rescue them only to face Vader in the series' most dramatic duel and Luke finally learns the truth about his father's identity. Battered and defeated, he is rescued by Leia in the Falcon as she makes her escape with Chewie, Lando and the droids..
Compared to the original movie The Empire Strikes Back is surprisingly heavy and features an ending that can be charitably described as a "bummer" and there are fans that prefer the more light-hearted entries in the series but Empire goes a long way towards enriching the world and (to an extent) developing its characters. That said, it still suffers the same flaw as all the Lucas produced Star Wars movies: god awful dialogue. This is mitigated somewhat by director Irving Kirshner's steadier hand directing actors but it is still an issue.
Where the movie really resonates is in developing a deeper mythology of the Star Wars universe and its mysterious Force. The chunk of the movie on Dagobah with Luke and Yoda really develop the Force idea from what was a sort of vague spiritual concept in Star Wars and speaks to a definitely Eastern philosophy with some profound implications.
Like the best parts of Star Wars, the most powerful sequence in the movie is a purely visual sequence: Luke's mysterious encounter with "Darth Vader" in the Dagobah cave. In this brief sequence Luke is drawn to a strange cave and is warned by Yoda that it is a place strong with the Dark Side. When Luke asks him what is inside, Yoda cryptically warns him "Only what you bring with you." When Yoda warns Luke that he will not need his weapons, Luke ignores him and ventures in where he encounters...Darth Vader. Luke beheads him in fear and anger. When he looks down at Vader's head he sees his own face beneath the mask.
As a five-year-old boy, I remember being simultaneously scared, confused by and in awe of this scene. While on the surface it was confusing to me, I think that I understood it in my gut what it meant. It's an example of the really powerful visual storytelling for which the series is known. The best thing is that no one ever talks about it, except Yoda referring to it obliquely as Luke's "failure in the cave." A lesser movie would spend time analyzing it or telling the audience what it means but Empire leaves it
In the context of the larger six film saga, Empire connects to the prequels in a number of ways. We finally see Palpatine and Yoda after a long absence. Since we have already spent a lot of time with Yoda, our introduction to him plays different than it did in 1980. Instead of asking "Who is this weird little creature?" now it is "OMG Yoda went nuts!"
In this movie, Boba Fett plays his most important role and production-wise this was his first live-action appearance (although he actually debuted in the Holiday special and also in some live appearances.) So began the weird cult of Boba Fett, a character with little screen time and importance. Oh, Star Wars fans, you are an intense bunch.
If you are familiar with the wonderful "Star Wars Ring Theory" which describes how movies in both trilogies "rhyme" with one another and allude to one another in very specific ways, you can see how Empire connects in a lot of ways to Attack of the Clones. Both movies feature Fetts, chases through asteroid fields, a ship attaching itself to a larger body to hide, a Skywalker getting his hand cut off, giant ground battles featuring walkers, romance subplots, Skywalkers abandoning their missions to rescue loved ones, etc. If you haven't already, check it out. It is a good read.
At the very least, both trilogies compare and contrast the journeys of both Skywalkers and the choices they make. It's hard for us old school Star Wars fans to see it fresh but watching the movies sequentially and seeing Luke begin to replicate his father's choices should fill the viewer with trepidation. In retrospect, Hayden Christensen does a good job of subtly channeling some of Mark Hamil's vocal and speech patterns. The two really do seem to be credible as father and son and when Luke takes off because he is compelled to go after his friends, it should bring up some red flags.
Where the movie really resonates is in developing a deeper mythology of the Star Wars universe and its mysterious Force. The chunk of the movie on Dagobah with Luke and Yoda really develop the Force idea from what was a sort of vague spiritual concept in Star Wars and speaks to a definitely Eastern philosophy with some profound implications.
Like the best parts of Star Wars, the most powerful sequence in the movie is a purely visual sequence: Luke's mysterious encounter with "Darth Vader" in the Dagobah cave. In this brief sequence Luke is drawn to a strange cave and is warned by Yoda that it is a place strong with the Dark Side. When Luke asks him what is inside, Yoda cryptically warns him "Only what you bring with you." When Yoda warns Luke that he will not need his weapons, Luke ignores him and ventures in where he encounters...Darth Vader. Luke beheads him in fear and anger. When he looks down at Vader's head he sees his own face beneath the mask.
As a five-year-old boy, I remember being simultaneously scared, confused by and in awe of this scene. While on the surface it was confusing to me, I think that I understood it in my gut what it meant. It's an example of the really powerful visual storytelling for which the series is known. The best thing is that no one ever talks about it, except Yoda referring to it obliquely as Luke's "failure in the cave." A lesser movie would spend time analyzing it or telling the audience what it means but Empire leaves it
In the context of the larger six film saga, Empire connects to the prequels in a number of ways. We finally see Palpatine and Yoda after a long absence. Since we have already spent a lot of time with Yoda, our introduction to him plays different than it did in 1980. Instead of asking "Who is this weird little creature?" now it is "OMG Yoda went nuts!"
In this movie, Boba Fett plays his most important role and production-wise this was his first live-action appearance (although he actually debuted in the Holiday special and also in some live appearances.) So began the weird cult of Boba Fett, a character with little screen time and importance. Oh, Star Wars fans, you are an intense bunch.
If you are familiar with the wonderful "Star Wars Ring Theory" which describes how movies in both trilogies "rhyme" with one another and allude to one another in very specific ways, you can see how Empire connects in a lot of ways to Attack of the Clones. Both movies feature Fetts, chases through asteroid fields, a ship attaching itself to a larger body to hide, a Skywalker getting his hand cut off, giant ground battles featuring walkers, romance subplots, Skywalkers abandoning their missions to rescue loved ones, etc. If you haven't already, check it out. It is a good read.
At the very least, both trilogies compare and contrast the journeys of both Skywalkers and the choices they make. It's hard for us old school Star Wars fans to see it fresh but watching the movies sequentially and seeing Luke begin to replicate his father's choices should fill the viewer with trepidation. In retrospect, Hayden Christensen does a good job of subtly channeling some of Mark Hamil's vocal and speech patterns. The two really do seem to be credible as father and son and when Luke takes off because he is compelled to go after his friends, it should bring up some red flags.
In terms of Special Edition changes, Empire was the least affected. The majority of changes expand and enhance to Bespin scenes to great effect. Other changes include alteration of Boba Fett's voice to match the prequels and a puzzling and unnecessary scene of Darth Vader walking to and from his shuttle. Perhaps the best change is replacing the original "Monkey Eye" Emperor hologram with Revenge of the Sith Ian McDiarmid. While his is a welcome addition I do wish the make-up was more in the style of Return of the Jedi rather than the Mrs. Doubtfire-looking Sith make-up.
Patrick Garone
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Patrick Garone
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