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The Empire Strikes Back (1980) ft. Robb Conlon and Andrew Corns

  • Writer: Thomas Duncan
    Thomas Duncan
  • May 14
  • 7 min read



Guests:



Cast:

  • Irvin Kerschner, Director

  • Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, Writers

  • Peter Suschitzky, Cinematographer

  • John Williams, Music

  • Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker

  • Harrison Ford as Han Solo

  • Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa

  • Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian

  • Anthony Daniels as C-3PO

  • David Prowse / James Earl Jones (voice) as Darth Vader

  • Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca

  • Kenny Baker as R2-D2

  • Frank Oz (puppeteer/voice) as Yoda

  • Alec Guinness as Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi


Background:

  • The Empire Strikes Back was released on May 21, 1980. (45th anniversary)

  • The highly anticipated sequel became the highest-grossing film that year, earning approximately $401.5 million worldwide.

  • However, Empire was met with mixed reviews from critics, and fans were conflicted about its darker and more mature themes at the time.

  • Nevertheless, in March 1981, The Los Angeles Times released a summary of the leading critics' choices for top 10 films of the year: Robert Redford's Ordinary People appeared on 42 lists, while Empire made it onto 24.

  • The Empire Strikes Back won the award for Best Sound and a Special Achievement Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. The film received a further two nominations: Best Art Direction and Best Original Score (John Williams).

  • Subsequent releases have raised the film's worldwide gross to $538–549 million and, adjusted for inflation, it is the 13th-highest-grossing film in the United States and Canada.

  • It has had a significant impact on filmmaking and popular culture and is often considered an example of a sequel superior to its predecessor. The climax, in which Vader reveals he is Luke's father, is often ranked as one of the greatest plot twists in cinema.

  • Empire magazine selected the film as the sixth greatest movie sequel, lauding the "bold" unresolved ending and willingness to avoid the same formula as the first film.

  • Den of Geek called it the second-best sequel—after Aliens (1986)—and hailed it as Lucas's "masterpiece".

  • Playboy named it the third-best sequel, describing the disclosure of the relationship between Luke and Vader as the "emotional core that has elevated Star Wars to the pantheon of timeless modern sagas".

  • The BBC and Collider listed it as one of the best sequels ever made, while Time and Playboy described it as a sequel that surpasses the original.

  • The American Film Institute ranked Darth Vader as the third best villain on its 2003 list of the 100 Best Heroes & Villains, after Norman Bates and Hannibal Lecter.

  • Filmmakers such as the Russo brothers, Roland Emmerich, and Kevin Feige, and actors such as Neil Patrick Harris, Jim Carrey, and Jude Law, cite Empire as an inspiration in their careers or identify as fans.

  • The United States Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2010.

  • The Empire Strikes Back currently holds a 93% among critics on RT, an 82 score on Metacritic, and 4.4/5 on Letterboxd.


Plot Summary: After their triumphant but costly victory against the Empire, the Rebel Alliance struggles to evade Darth Vader’s relentless pursuit. Forced into hiding on the remote ice planet Hoth, they soon find themselves under attack, prompting a desperate escape across the galaxy. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), guided by visions of wisdom, seeks out the reclusive Jedi Master Yoda to sharpen his abilities and prepare for the battles ahead. As Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fischer) attempt to evade Imperial forces, they seek refuge in the seemingly safe Cloud City—only to find betrayal lurking within. When Luke abandons his training to confront Vader, he faces a chilling revelation that will shake the foundation of his destiny and alter the course of the Rebellion forever.


Did You Know:

  • 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.

  • Mark Hamill had to bang his head sixteen times on the ceiling of Yoda's hut before director Irvin Kershner was satisfied with the scene.

  • When shooting on-location in Finse, Norway, a fierce snowstorm hit the hotel where the cast and crew were staying. This would have normally halted filming, but director Irvin Kershner thought these weather conditions were an excellent opportunity to film the scene where Luke wanders through the snow after escaping the Wampa cave. He did this by sending Mark Hamill outside into the cold, while he and the cameraman stayed and filmed inside the hotel's front hall.

  • During the filming of the Battle of Hoth, the Echo Base troops were actually Norwegian mountain-rescue skiers. In exchange for participation in this movie, Lucasfilm made a donation to the Norwegian Red Cross.

  • George Lucas was so impressed by Frank Oz's performance as Yoda that he spent thousands of dollars on an advertising campaign to try and get him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Lucas' campaign ultimately failed because it was felt that a puppeteer wasn't an actor. Lucas felt this wasn't fair to Oz, who honestly didn't care.

  • When Mark Hamill was having trouble with the Dagobah scenes with Yoda, Frank Oz brought in Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog to make him laugh.


Best Performance: Mark Hamill (Luke)/James Earl Jones (Vader Voice)/Lawrence Kasden (Writer)

Best Secondary Performance: Billy Dee Williams (Lando)/Frank Oz (Yoda)

Most Charismatic Award: Harrison Ford (Han Solo)/James Earl Jones (Vader Voice)

Best Scene:

  • Hoth Battle

  • Asteroid Field

  • Vader Force Choke(s)

  • Yoda Shows Up Luke

  • Han Solo is Frozen

  • Luke Confronts Vader

Favorite Scene: Yoda Shows Up Luke/Luke Confronts Vader/Yoda as a Backpack/Hoth Battle

Most Indelible Moment: I Am Your Father


In Memorium:

  • N/A


Best Lines/Funniest Lines:

Darth Vader: If you only knew the power of the Dark Side. Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.

Luke: He told me enough! He told me *you* killed him!

Darth Vader: No. *I* am your father.


Princess Leia: I love you.

Han Solo: I know.


Echo Base Officer: Your Tauntaun will freeze before you reach the first marker!

Han Solo: Then I'll see you in Hell!


Yoda: Ready are you? What know you of ready? For eight hundred years have I trained Jedi. My own counsel will I keep on who is to be trained. A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. This one a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away... to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing. Hmph! Adventure. Heh! Excitement. Heh! A Jedi craves not these things. You are reckless!


C-3PO: Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1.

Han Solo: Never tell me the odds.


C-3PO: Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating attacking a Star Destroyer....

Han Solo and Princess Leia: SHUT UP!


Han Solo: [cutting open his dead Tauntaun and shoving Luke inside] Ugh. And I thought they smelled bad on the *outside*.


[Darth Vader has just learned of Admiral Ozzel's big blunder, and activates a viewscreen]

Admiral Ozzel: [appearing onscreen with Captain Piett] Lord Vader, the fleet has moved out of lightspeed and we're preparing to...

[Ozzel stops, and suddenly begins to choke, clutching at his throat]

Darth Vader: You have failed me for the last time, Admiral! Captain Piett?

Captain Piett: Yes, my lord?

Darth Vader: Make ready to land our troops beyond their energy field, and deploy the fleet, so that nothing gets off the system.

[beside Piett, Admiral Ozzel utters one last strangled gasp, and falls over dead]

Darth Vader: You are in command now... Admiral Piett!

Admiral Piett: Thank you, Lord Vader.


Princess Leia: [annoyed] Why, you stuck up... half-witted... scruffy-looking... Nerf-herder!

Han Solo: [shocked] Who's scruffy-looking?


Yoda: Why wish you become Jedi?

Luke: Well, mostly because of my father, I guess.

Yoda: Ahh... father. Powerful Jedi was he. Powerful Jedi.

Luke: [suspicious] Oh, come on! How can you know my father? You don't even know who I am. Oh, I don't even know what I'm doing here! We're wasting our time!

Yoda: [Looking away from Luke] I cannot teach him. The boy has no patience.

Obi-Wan: [voice-over] He will learn patience.

Yoda: Much anger in him... like his father.

Obi-Wan: [voice] Was I any different when you taught me?


Darth Vader: Luke, you can destroy the Emperor. He has foreseen this. It is your destiny. Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son. Come with me. It is the only way.


Yoda: Control, control, you must learn control!


Han Solo: I feel terrible.


Darth Vader: Impressive. Most impressive. Obi-Wan has taught you well. You have controlled your fear. Now, release your anger. Only your hatred can destroy me.


Yoda: No. Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try.


Luke: I don't, I don't believe it.

Yoda: That is why you fail.


Luke: I can't. It's too big.

Yoda: Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes. Even between the land and the ship.


Luke: I won't fail you. I'm not afraid.

Yoda: You will be. You... will... be.


Luke: Is the dark side stronger?

Yoda: No, no, no. Quicker, easier, more seductive.

Luke: But how am I to know the good side from the bad?

Yoda: You will know... when you are calm, at peace, passive. A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, NEVER for attack.


Dak: I feel like I could take on the whole Empire myself.

Luke: I know what you mean.


The Stanley Rubric:

Legacy: 10

Impact/Significance: 9.75

Novelty: 9.13

Classic-ness: 10

Rewatchability: 9

Audience Score: 9.55 (94% Google, 97% RT)

Total: 57.43


Remaining Questions:

  • Where does Vader rank among cinematic villains?

  • Is this the greatest plot twist in cinema history?

  • Why does Vader follow the Millennium Falcon but not Luke's X-Wing?

  • How does Obi-Wan not know Luke has a sister since he delivered them both?

  • What are the logistics of the space asteroid worm?

  • How does Luke learn the Force in like a few days?

  • What is the total amount of time in this film? A week? A few days?

  • Was Admiral Ozell a Rebellion sympathizer?

  • What is the IQ requirement for stormtroopers?

  • What is the correct pronunciation of Han?

  • What are the recruiting campaigns for the Imperial Navy?

  • Why are they looking at a whole galaxy in the final shot?

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