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The Empire Strikes Back (also known as Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back) ' is a science fiction film from 1980. Irvin Kershner served as the director for this film. The screenplay of the film was done by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, while George Lucas served as the Executive Producer and also wrote the story for the film. It serves as the sequel to the 1977 film, Star Wars, and is the second installment in the original Star Wars trilogy, as it is of the Star Wars franchise. Gary Kurtz served as a producer of the film for Lucasfilm. Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher return from Star Wars as their respective roles as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia. Billy Dee Williams also stars in the movie as Lando Calrissian, along with many of the returning supporting actors, including Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, David Prowse as Darth Vader, Kenny Baker as R2-D2, and Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca. Frank Oz also joins the cast in this film as Yoda (The Empire Strikes Back).

The events of the film take place approximately 3 years after the Battle of Yavin. Following a daring escape from the ice planet Hoth, Luke Skywalker travels to the swamp planet Dagobah to learn the ways of the force from the self exiled Jedi Master Yoda. Meanwhile, Han Solo, Princess Leia, and the rest of the Rebel Alliance scatter across the galaxy being pursued by the evil Galactic Empire, which is being led by Sith Lord Darth Vader. While learning the ways of the force, Luke discovers his friends have been trapped by Vader and the empire, and has to make a decision to choose between completing his training and becoming a Jedi or face Vader in order to save his friends, with a potential of falling to the dark side of the force (The Empire Strikes Back).

According to many interviews, the filming of The Empire Strikes Back was not easy, as many of the Hoth scenes were actually filmed in blizzards, while the rest of it was filmed in studios. The Empire Strikes Back was released on May 21, 1980. Upon it's original release, the film received many mixed reviews from critics. Since then, Empire has grown self esteem and is now considered by many to be the best Star Wars film. In 2008, Empire ranked the film #3 on its 500 greatest movies of all time list. It became the highest-grossing film of 1980. Since then, the film has earned more than $538 million worldwide from both its original run and its later re-releases. It is the second-highest-grossing sequel of all time, adjusted for inflation, and the 13th-highest-grossing film in North America. The Trilogy was concluded by Return of the Jedi in 1983 but a prequel trilogy and a sequel trilogy would both follow in the coming decades (The Empire Strikes Back).

Plot

Three years after the Battle of Yavin, The Rebel Alliance has evacuated their base, while being searched across the galaxy by the Galactic Empire, which goes as far as into sending probe droids to find them. One probe droid lands on the ice planet Hoth, in close distance to Luke Skywalker, who believes it to be a meteor. He goes to check it out, only to be captured by a Wampa. At the nearby base, Han Solo chooses to leave to pay his debt to Jabba the Hutt, although Princess Leia encourages him to stay. After being informed of Luke's disappearance, Han chooses to head out on a tauntaun to find him. Luke uses the force to get his Lightsaber in order to free himself and escape the Wampa, only to begin freezing to death out in the snow. He briefly sees the spirit of his late mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who tells him to go to Dagobah to learn the ways of the force from Jedi Master Yoda. Han manages to find Luke, but his tauntaun dies of frost. Han then has to keep Luke stuffed in the tauntaun's body in order to keep him warm.

Luke and Han are eventually rescued and brought back to the base, but they soon discover that the probe droids that are storming around the planet are from the Empire. Darth Vader soon discovers where the Rebels are hiding and sends the Empire to Hoth, who sends down AT&T Walkers to attack the base, leading the Rogue fighters to fight against them. Imperial troops eventually break into the base, leading the Rebels to evacuate. Luke takes off and heads to Dagobah, taking R2-D2 with him while Han, Leia, Chewbacca, & C-3PO escape on the Millennium Falcon with Star Destroyers on their tail. Han tries to go into light speed but is unable to after realizing the hyperdrive has been damaged. He then manages to escape the Empire by flying the Falcon into an asteroid field and then hide in one of the larger asteroids.

Luke arrives on Dagobah, crashing into what is revealed to be a swamp. He and R2 then set up a camp, and are eventually discovered by a mysterious creature who claims to know Yoda, and agrees to take Luke to him. Back on the Falcon, Han and Leia begin to grow closer before eventually explaining how they feel for one another and eventually kiss. Meanwhile, Vader is warned by his master about Luke and decides to try and turn him to the dark side and make him an ally of their own. Luke, in the process, remains in question about Yoda to the creature, only to learn, by hearing Obi-Wan's voice, that the creature is Yoda, and is trying to test his patience. Yoda sees Luke is "reckless" like his father, believing him to be too old to train. After some persuasion from Obi-Wan, Yoda reluctantly agrees to train Luke.

After a few repairs, Han tries to jump the Falcon into lightspeed again, which doesn't work again as a Star Destroyer finds them. After vanishing off the ship's scopes, Han and the gang decide to get the Falcon repaired on Bespin, where Han's old friend, Lando Calrissian, is, unaware they are being tracked down by Boba Fett, a bounty hunter hired by the Empire to catch the Falcon as he also works for Jabba the Hutt. On Dagobah, Luke struggles with learning the ways of the force, finding it difficult to remove his X-Wing out of the swamp, while also having a vision where he starts a fight against Vader in a cave. He then has a vision of Han & Leia being tortured by Vader and decides he must go save them, much to Yoda's dismay.

Han, Leia, Chewie, & 3PO arrive at Bespin in the floating Cloud City, where they meet Lando. Meanwhile, as Luke prepares to leave, Yoda tries to talk him out of it. Even Obi-Wan tries to explain to Luke that he would be tempted by the dark side as Vader was. They do warn Luke that choosing to fight Vader would mean him doing it alone. Luke then leaves, promising Yoda to return. On Cloud City, Lando turns Han & Leia over to Vader, who is also there. Lando then explains he made a deal with the empire that if he turns them over, they won't take over the city, unaware Vader has plans to give Han to Boba Fett. Vader plans to put Luke in a carbon freeze chamber to bring to the Emperor but is warned the carbonite could kill him, so he decides to test it on Han. After an emotional goodbye to Leia, Han is put in the chamber, surviving the carbonite. Vader gives him to Boba Fett, and orders Lando to take Leia and Chewie (who has C-3PO on his back) to his ship.

Luke lands on Cloud City and manages to find the others. He attempts to follow them but is brought to Vader, and they begin a Lightsaber duel. Lando manages to get Leia, Chewie, & 3PO free of the Empire's custody and, along with meeting R2 on the way, try to save Han but Boba Fett manages to take off with his frozen body. They manage to get past various Stormtroopers to the Milennium Falcon and take off in it. Meanwhile, Luke and Vader's fight ends with Vader chopping off Luke's right hand, trying to get him to join the dark side. Luke refuses, recalling being told by Obi-Wan of Vader having killed his father. Vader denies this, revealing he is Luke's father. Shocked by this, Luke still refuses to join him and jumps into a reactor shaft, and is ejected to an antenna under the city, but is eventually rescued after Leia senses him in trouble. While trying to out run a group of TIE Fighters, chasing them out of Bespin, Vader's ship, the Executor, tries to capture the Falcon but R2 manages to fix the Hyperdrive, making the Falcon go into light speed.

At the Rebel fleet, Luke is brought to a hospital facility where he gets a new robotic hand to replace his lost one. He, Leia, C-3PO, and R2-D2 then watch as Lando and Chewbacca head off in hopes of finding Han and saving him.

Cast

  • Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, a pilot in the Rebel Alliance, who is a Jedi in training, but struggles with the dark side and light side and is the main Protagonist of the film.
  • Harrison Ford as Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon who went from smuggler to a member of the rebellion and is the Deutergonist of the film.
  • Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia, a leader in the rebel alliance who was raised on the destroyed planet Alderaan, and is the Tritagonist of the film.
  • Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian, an old friend of Han who serves as the administrator of Cloud City on Bespin.
  • Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, a protocol droid that serves in the Rebel Alliance and is very loyal to his allies.
  • David Prowse as Darth Vader, the sinister Sith lord who serves as second in command of the Galactic Empire in search of Luke Skywalker, whose father Vader was believed to have killed. He is the main Antagonist of the film. Bob Anderson served as a stunt double for Vader while the voice was provided by James Earl Jones, who was uncredited so fans would also get to know the man in the suit.
  • Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca, a 203 year old Wookiee who is a loyal friend of Han and also his co-pilot, who serves in the rebellion.
  • Kenny Baker as R2-D2, an astromech droid who is the counterpart and long time friend of C-3PO
  • Frank Oz as Yoda, the nearly 900 year old wise Jedi Master who is self exiled on the swamp planet Dagobah, who trains Luke into becoming a Jedi. Kathryn Mullen served as a personal assistant for Yoda. Other performers included David Barclay, Wendy Froud, Wendy Midener, and Deep Roy.
  • Alec Guiness as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke's late mentor who sacrificed himself to Vader in the first Star Wars, and is now one with the force
  • Jeremy Bulloch as Boba Fett, a notorious bounty hunter who works for crime boss Jabba the Hutt, and is hired by the Empire to track the wanted Han Solo, and is the secondary antagonist of the film. Jason Wingreen provided Boba Fett's voice, which was redubbed by Temuera Morrison, who played Boba's father, Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones, on DVD releases.
  • John Hollis as Lobot, Lando's personal assistant on Cloud City.
  • Jack Purvis as Chief Ugnaught, an Ugnaught who works on Cloud City. Purvis also played Chief Jawa in Star Wars.
  • Des Webb as Wampa, a snow creature who captures Luke on Hoth at the beginning of the film.
  • Clive Revill as the voice of Palpatine, the evil Emperor of the Galactic Empire and Vader's master, who appears briefly in the film via hologram. His physical form was portrayed by Majorie Eaton, who wore heavy makeup in her appearance and was given chimpanzee eyes. Ian Mcdiarmid would go on to play the full role of Palpatine in both the DVD releases of the film and in the later films.

The supporting cast consisting of Imperial forces includes Kenneth Culley as Admiral Piett, the top admiral for the Empire on Vader's ship, Julian Glover as General Veers, a general who informs Vader of their arrival on Hoth, Michael Sheard as Admiral Ozzel, the previous top admiral for the Empire who was choked by Vader for coming out of lightspeed too close to Hoth, and Michael Culver as Captain Needa, a captain who tried catching the Falcon but failed. Background officers were portrayed by John Dicks, Milton Johns, Mark Jones, Oliver Maguire, and Robin Scobey.

Supporting cast members in the Rebel forces include Bruce Boa as General Rieekan, a leader in the Rebel Alliance on Hoth and is an adviser to Leia, Christopher Malcom as Zev Senesca, a snowspeeder pilot in the rebellion who rescues Luke and Han in the beginning of the film, Dennis Lawson as Wedge Antillies, returning from the first Star Wars since he was the only X-Wing pilot, besides Luke, to survive the Battle of Yavin, Richard Oldfield as Hobbie Klivian, another rebel pilot, John Morton as Dak, Luke's gunner who is killed in the battle of Hoth, Ian Liston as Janson, Wedges gunner, and John Ratzenberger as Major Derlin, another leading rebel officer on Hoth. Other background Rebel officers were portrayed by Jack McKenzie, Jerry Harte, Norman Changer, Norwich Duff, Ray Hassett, Brigitte Kahn, and Burnell Tucker.

Production

Development

Star Wars (1977) was a huge success. It became a global phenomenon, having lived up to all of its profit expectations. The film had a revolutionary effect on the film industry. Director George Lucas choose to finance himself a sequel to his film, The Empire Strikes Back, by using $33 million from his loans as well as the previous film's earnings, in hopes of becoming independent from the Hollywood film industry, much to the dismay of many Hollywood producers who have made principles to never to invest in their own money. Afterwards, Lucas chose not to direct The Empire Strikes Back, now that he was fully in command of his Star Wars enterprise, since he had many other production roles then, such as handling of the financing and overseeing his special effects company, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). Lucas sought a former professor of his from USC School of Cinematic Arts, Irvin Kershner, offering him the role of the director.

Kershner had not directed many major films at the time, but he did direct Raid on Entebbe (1977) and Eyes of Laura Mars(1978). Kershner rejected the offer at first, because he always had a belief that a sequel would never meet the quality or originality of Star Wars. He only took the job as director after being ordered by his agent.

(Copied from The Empire Strikes Back)

Writing

When George Lucas began preparation for what he was originally going to call Star Wars II, he hired science fiction author Leigh Brackett to write Star Wars II with him. By late November 1977, George Lucas had presented his first draft of what he called The Empire Strikes Back in a conference. Unlike the final film, the original draft George Lucas planned for Brackett showed Luke learning the ways of the force from the ghost of his father.

In early 1978, Brackett had completed her first draft, which Lucas found (as he said) disappointing. Unfortunately, Brackett died of cancer before Lucas could explain his opinions of the drafts to her. Lucas then decided to write the next draft himself, now that he no longer had anyone else to write it. In this new draft, Lucas came up with the idea of using an episode number. Originally, he had labeled Empire Strikes Back as Episode II. In The Secret History of Star Wars, Michael Kaminski claimed what led Lucas into considering different directions to take his story was because of his disappointment with the first draft. While writing the new draft, he wrote his own twist where Darth Vader claims to be Luke's father. Lucas claimed he found his draft enjoyable to write, compared to his yearlong struggles with writing the first film. In April 1978, he not only wrote 2 farther drafts at a quick pace but also darkened the story more by putting Han Solo in frozen carbonite, unsure if Harrison would want to return for the later films.

The series changed drastically with the new twist. Michael Kaminski claims the storyline with the reveal was an alternate storyline compared to the first Star Wars, believing the idea never came up before 1978, as no references were made prior. After writing the 2 drafts containing the twist, Lucas revealed having created his own new backstory of Vader, who was originally Anakin Skywalker, an apprentice of Obi-Wan Kenobi's that was seduced to the dark side by Emperor Palpatine (who was sceretly Sith Lord Darth Sidious) and became Darth Vader, who helped turn the Republic into the Empire that hunted down and kill the other Jedi. Obi-Wan Kenobi later fought against his former apprentice over a volcano, leaving Vader to be mortally wounded, but then recovered into the suit he's been known for wearing. In the process, Anakin had a son named Luke, who Kenobi hid on Tatooine.

Lucas then made Empire Strikes Back Episode V instead of Episode II for his next draft since the new backstory gave him to the idea to make his series a Trilogy with the backstory in a seperate prequel trilogy. He then hired Lawrence Kasdan to write his next daft, having been impressed with his screenplay for Raiders of the Lost Ark, while also providing additional input from director Irvin Kershner. Both of them, along side producer Gary Kurtz, felt with the whole new darker storyline, it helped develop the story line from the first films previous lighter adventure roots, while also making a more serious plot to feel more of a more adult audience.

(The Empire Strikes Back)

Effects

ILM moved to Marin County, California after Star Wars was released. The company began to struggle of the new challenges being received from The Empire Strikes Back. Star Wars, on the other hand, mostly featured space sequences, The Empire Strikes Back had a whole new set of battles, including space dogfights, an ice planet battle opening sequence, and floating cities in the clouds. George Lucas originally intended to use bluescreen to composite the Imperial Walkers for the Battle of Hoth, making them still shots from a set. Michael Pangrazio was hired to paint landscapes, The process of this resulted in the Imperial walkers being shot by using stop motion animation in front of landscape paintings. Phil Tippett claimed originally building the AT&T Walkers as "big armored vehicles with wheels." There are rumors of the finished design being inspired by container cranes from the Port of Oakland container cranes, but Lucas has claimed it untrue.

Stuart Freeborn used his own face to design a model for Yoda, while also adding the wrinkles of Albert Einstein to resemble his intelligance. The Dagobah setting was built above the stage floor at about 5 feet, so puppeteers could crawl under the set and hold up Yoda. Communication became a problem for Frank Oz, who portrayed Yoda, because he spent most time under the stage and couldn't hear the people above. Hamill also expressed his opinion as being the only main actor on the set for months, finding it uncomfortable; he claimed feeling like a trivial element on a set filled with animals, machines, and moving props. Kershner commended Hamill for his performance with the puppet.

Filming

Crew started filming on March 5, 1979 in Norway, at the Hardangerjøkulen glacier near Finse. Similar to when filming Star Wars, when filming in Tunsia was during that area's first major rainstorm in nearly fifty years, weather caused some serious interference with the crew. Filming in Norway was during that area's worst winter storm in nearly fifty years. Temperatures were at least −20 °F (−29 °C), and snow was up to at least 18 feet (5.5 m). One day, there was so much snow, the crew got snowed in their hotel and couldn't leave. They managed to get the shot of Luke escaping the Wampa cave by filming Mark Hamill running out while the crew stayed warm inside, filming through the doors. Between the filming of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, Mark Hamill got into a serious motor accident which scarred his face in the process. Many believe this inncident was the reason the Wampa plotline was added, but Lucas has denied it, but he claimed the scene "helped" Hamill's situation, feeling Luke's fighting was a sufficient explanation.

8 days later on March 13, filming began in Elstree Studios in London. 60 sets were built, even twice the number of sets used in the first Star Wars. Film budget became $22 million, going up $3 million more because of a fire in January on Stage 3 (during filming of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining). Filming was completed by mid-September. 1979.

For the scene in which Princess Leia professed her love to Han Solo, (before he's put in carbonite), Han was to originally tell Leia "Its alright. I'll be back." but Harrison Ford recommended that line should be changed to fit Han's character, which Kershner agreed, who had Ford improvise and so he changed Solo's line to "I know."

The "I am your father" reveal remained hidden from most cast members and production crew members. There is a brief scene where Vader is seen with his mask off, but the face was off screen. It didn't drop hints for the original viewers of the film but it revealed Vader is not a droid.

Most of the crew, including Prowse—who played Vader in the suit—had been informed of the revelatory line being "Obi-Wan killed your father." In interviews, Hamill says he was given the real script shortly after filming the scene, and was told not tell anyone, and so he kept it hidden from everyone, including his wife. Hamill also revealed in an interview when they all originally saw the "I am your Father" scene, Ford said "Hey kid, you didn't ****ing tell me that.

Like Star Wars, Lucas had the screen credits play at the end of the film, which was not very common at the time, even though this practice became more of a success by that time, Because of this, The Writers and Directors Guilds of America (DGA) fined Lucas over $250,000 and even tried to remove it from theaters. Unlike Star Wars, back in 1977, the writer-director credit (George Lucas) matched the company name, and so Lucas did it again in Empire but it was considered a problem because Lucas had his last name on the beginning of the film (Lucasfilm), whereas the director and the writers had their names at the end. The DGA even attacked Kershner in the process. Lucas then paid all the fines to do in order to protect Kershner. He left both the DGA and the Motion Picture Association. because of the controversey

The films primary production led up to an $18 million budget, twice the amount of the original, but the budget only increased then on. The Empire Strikes Back ended up becoming one of the most expensive films ever made at the time. Lucas even had to approach 20th Century Fox after being a threatened by a bank to compensate his loan. He then made a deal with the studio that would secure the loan, which was exchanged for paying the studio more money, but also making sure it didn't cost the sequel or merchandising rights. Following the films success at the box office, Alan Ladd, Jr., longtime friend of Lucas, left Fox Studios as a response to the studios unhappiness over the deal's generosity to Lucas. As a result of this, Lucas took his next film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, over to Paramount Pictures.

Releases

The Empire Strikes Back made its world premiere on May 17, 1980 as part a special Children's World Premiere event held at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The film then had many charity benefit premieres in numerous locations on May 19 and 20, including a Royal Charity Premiere in London, held at the Odeon Cinema in Leicester Square., on what they called "Empire Day," which was a playful take on the British holiday which was renamed Commonwealth Day in 1958. At the event, there were legions of stormtroopers that were unleashed across the city. The film was officially released to general theaters in North America and the U.K. on May 21, 1980. Only 126 70 mm prints were made for the films first wave of releases. Its much wider release occurred in June 1980, which received nearly 35 mm prints. Black Angel, a short film made by Roger Christian, an art director for Star Wars, played before the film. on its initial release in Europe and Asia.

The Empire Strikes Back was the simple title in the original promotional materials of the film. The film itself still starts with the title Star Wars on-screen, as in the previous film, but the following opening crawl featured the film's subtitle as Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, which shocked many cinema goers at the time, since the original Star Wars film did not receive an episode number or subtitle for its first release in 1977. In the process, Episode IV: A New Hope was added to the opening crawl for Star Wars following its 1981 re-release onwards. The Empire Strikes Back received a PG rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, and was also certificated U in the United Kingdom.

The Empire Strikes Back was re-released on July 31, 1981 and again on November 19, 1982.

Pre-Special Edition Home Media Release

The Empire Strikes Back was originally released on VHS, Betamax, Laserdisc, CED, Videodisc, and V2000 tapes in November 1984. The film was re-released with the rest of the Star Wars trilogy on VHS and Laserdisc in 1990. A letterbox collectors edition of the trilogy was released in 1992. Empire was released on a Laserdisc set in 1993 as part of the Star Wars Trilogy: The Definitive Collection pack., being the first Laserdiscs to be presented in THX. The films final pre-special edition release was on the trilogie's THX Digitally Mastered VHS and Laserdisc "One last time" releases in August 1995, also being the first VHS releases to be in THX.

Special Edition

The Empire Strikes Back was digitally remastered in THX and re-released along with Star Wars and Return of the Jedi as part of thr Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition in 1997. Empire's official re-release date was February 21. With all the CGI special effects made in 1993's Jurassic Park, Lucas used the new technology to make a few changes to the film, most in this one being minor. Examples included showing the Wampa creature completely on screen, adding additional scenes of the Falcon arriving at Cloud City, removing various interior walls in Cloud City and adding windows showing more of the city, and changing some of the dialogue. A short scene of Vader arriving on his ship was created from alternate angles of his Death Star arrival from Return of the Jedi. Although most of the films changes were small and aesthetic, some fans felt displeased by them, claiming they detract from the film.

The film was resubmitted to the MPAA for its rating of the special edition, which remained PG, but this time, the association gave it that rating for for "sci-fi action/violence". The special edition version of the film runs 126 minutes, 2 minutes longer than it originally did.

Post-Special Edition VHS/Laserdisc Releases

The Special Edition of The Empire Strikes Back was released with the other two films on VHS and Laserdisc on August 26, 1997 in both pan and scan full screen and in letterbox widescreen formats. Empire, along with the other two films, received their final VHS release in 2000 in their special edition prints but in new packaging designed similar to the VHS cover of The Phantom Menace. This was also the last time that any Star Wars film would be released in Laserdisc.

DVD Release

The Empire Strikes Back made its first official DVD release on September 21, 2004, as part of the Star Wars Trilogy DVD set, which included a bonus disc of extra features. The films were digitally restored and remastered in THX. The films are all presented in their special edition versions, along with additional changes made by George Lucas. The films were digitally restored and remastered, with additional changes made by George Lucas. A documentary called Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy was included as a bonus feature, along with a commentary starring George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren, and Carrie Fisher. Featurettes, teasers, trailers, TV spots, still galleries, video game demos, and even a preview of Revenge of the Sith are other features included on the set.

The changes George Lucas made for the films DVD release were mostly created so The Empire Strikes Back would be of more continuity with the recently released prequel trilogy films. Major changes were filming Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor, while filming for Revenge of the Sith, in his Hologram appearance while altering some dialogue in the scene, as well as having Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett in Attack of the Clones, redub Boba Fett's voice. Lucas also supervised with creating high-definition digital prints of All 3 original trilogy films. The set was reissued in December 2005 in a three-disc "limited edition" collection containing all 3 films, without the bonus disc.

The film, along with the other Star Wars films, was reissued again, this time on a two-disc Limited Edition DVD, on a separate set from the other films, between September 12, 2006 and December 31, 2006. This set contained the films in the same prints as the 2004 version on disc 1 while the film's original, unaltered version was featured as a bonus on Disc 2. It was eventually released in a trilogy box set on November 4, 2008. However, controversy rose upon the initial DVD release, because the original unaltered prints of each film were presented on these DVD's from their 1993 LaserDisc releases in a letterbox widescreen format of the original films, due to non-anamorphic transfers having failed to enhance the original prints on widescreen televisions (as opposed to newly remastered, film-based high definition transfers), much to the disappointment of many fans, even though TV Ad's and the DVD set both confirmed the original prints to be in Letterbox format.

Blu-ray Release

The Empire Strikes Back was released on Blu-ray on September 16, 2011 as part of the Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray pack. The set contained all 6 films with many never before seen deleted scenes from all the films. The film was re-released with the rest of the original trilogy on a box set containing both a Blu-ray disc of each movie and a DVD featuring the 2011 versions of each film on October 8, 2013. Empire was then released on its own Blu-ray and DVD steelbook on November 10, 2015.

Digital Release

The Empire Strikes Back was released on digital through the iTunes Store, Amazon Video, Vudu, Google Play, and Disney Movies Anywhere by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on April 10, 2015.

Reception

Box Office

When the film was originally released, it grossed $6,415,804 on its opening weekend, which had a limited release on just 126 screens. Around June, just four weeks later, the film was expanded to 824 screens, grossing $10,840,307 in just that weekend, which ultimately set a new weekly record of $20,380,052. During the first three months of Empire's release, Lucas was able to recover the $33 million he invested. He then distributed $5 million in bonuses to all f his employees. The film ended up receiving $181,379,640 on its intital run in the United States and Canada.

The film received a $26,758,774 on its 1981 re-release. It then grossed $14,535,852 for its 1982 re-release, giving it a $222,674,266 domestic gross and an estimated $450 million worldwide gross.

For the special edition release of The Empire Strikes Back in 1997, It received a $21,975,993 release on opening weekend re-release. Since then, the film is said to have grossed an estimated $290,475,750 domestically and $538,375,067 worldwide. From June 4 to June 7, 2015, The film re-entered box office in the UK at number 9 grossing $470,000.

Critical Response

When The Empire Strikes Back was originally released in 1980, it received mixed reviews from critics, including Vincent Canby of The New York Times, who wrote a seriously negative review of the film. The film was called "a Wagnerian pop movie—grandiose, thrilling, imperiously generous in scale, and also a bit ponderous" by a review from David Denby of New York magazine. Judith Martin of The Washington Post criticized the film's "middle-of-the-story" plot. She said it didn't include a particular beginning or end. This has been considered a concept that Lucas had intended.

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, The Empire Strikes Back currently has a 95% on the Tomatometer, based on 91 reviews, with a 97% audience score and an average rating of 8.9/10. Rotten Tomatoes claims the film as "Dark, sinister, but ultimately even more involving than A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back defies viewer expectations and takes the series to heightened emotional levels."The Empire Strikes Back was described by "the greatest episode of the Star Wars Trilogy" in 1997 by Bob Stephens of The San Francisco Examiner. In 2016, The film was also ranked #3 on a list of 15 Sequels That Are Way Better Than The Originals in 2016 by James Charisma of Playboy. The film was also described by Roger Ebert as the strongest and "most thought-provoking" film of the original trilogy.

Chuck Klosterman suggested that while "movies like Easy Rider and Saturday Night Fever painted living portraits for generations they represented in the present tense, The Empire Strikes Back might be the only example of a movie that set the social aesthetic for a generation coming in the future."

Accolades

The Empire Strikes Back won the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing at the 52nd Academy Awards in 1981. Bill Varney, Steve Maslow, Greg Landaker, and Peter Sutton were given the award. The film received the Special Achievement Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, which was given to Brian Johnson, Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, and Bruce Nicholson. John Williams, the music composer, was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score. Norman Reynolds, Leslie Dilley, Harry Lange, Alan Tomkins, and Michael Ford were also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Production Design.

Williams also won the British Academy Film Award in honor of his compositions with the Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music, along with nominations for Best Sound and Best Production Design.

Williams even received a nomination for a Grammy Award as well as a Golden Globe Award for his musical score of the film.

The Empire Strikes Back also received four Saturn Awards, including the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film. Mark Hamill received the award for Best Actor, Irvin Kershner won for Best Director, and Brian Johnson and Richard Edlund won for for Best Special Effects.

The Empire Strikes Back won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. The film was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

The Empire Strikes Back was awarded the Golden Screen Award in Germany.

Awards and Nominations

Legacy

In 2003, American Film Institute's 2003 list of the 100 greatest heroes and villains ranked Darth Vader as the 3rd greatest movie villain of all time. The ending of The Empire Strikes Back was selected by Wizard magazine as the greatest cliffhanger of all time.

The lines "No, I am your father", though often being misquoted by many as "Luke, I am your father.", and Yoda's line, "Try not! Do, or do not. There is no try", were both nominated for the American Film Institute's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes, which is a list consisting of the greatest American film quotes, which has over 400 nominees.

The film was selected in 2010 to be preserved by the Library of Congress as part of its National Film Registry. It is unclear whether a copy of the 1980 theatrical version or the 1997 Special Edition has been archived by the NFR, or indeed if any copy has been provided by Lucasfilm and accepted by the Registry.

In 2014, The Empire Strikes Back was named as the greatest film ever made, thanks to the votes from Empire Magazine in their "The 301 Greatest Movies of All Time" list.

American Film Institute lists

Soundtrack

Main article: The Empire Strikes Back (soundtrack)

John Williams returned from Star Wars to compose and conduct the music for The Empire Strikes Back. The music was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, also returning from Star Wars. It costed $250,000 in the process. The film's score was published by RSO Records as both a double LP album and as an 8-track cartridge in the United States.

The first Compact disc (CD) issue of the film score was made in 1985 by the company Polydor Records. RSO Records and its music catalog were both absorbed by Polydor. This company choose use a much shorter CD edition of the music that was their master. 20th Century Fox Film Scores released the Star Wars Trilogy: The Original Soundtrack Anthology in 1993. The film scores of all three movies were included in separate CDs, although there was significant overlap between the three (including the Star Wars theme music).

In 1997, RCA Victor released a definitive two-disc CD set to accompany the publications of all three Special Edition versions of each Star Wars film. The set included a 32-page black booklet enclosed in a protective outer slip-case. The tracks presented have all been digitally restored and remastered for superior sound quality.

The sales rights to the original trilogy's music scores were purchased in 2004 by Sony Classical Records, since the company bought the sales rights of the prequel trilogy music. Sony manufactured copies of the film-score CDs from 1997 in 2004, The Empire Strikes Back is included.

Other Media

Novelization

The novelization of The Empire Strikes Back was released on April 12, 1980, just a month before the film's release. It was based on the films screenplay, written by Donald F. Glut, and published by Del Rey Books.

Book and Record Set

The film was adapted into a children's book-and-record set in 1980 in a 24 page read along book.

Citations

  1. Various (2018) The Empire Strikes Back
  2. http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars_home_video_releases
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