"Luminous beings are we. Not this crude matter." -Jedi Master Yoda The Empire Strikes Back surpasses its predecessor in every single way. Its characters, situations, themes, performances and resolutions all have a richness, a complexity never before seen. With situations that are more dangerous come strange new worlds, a plethora of odd-looking new aliens, the transformation of a hero and one of the best character revelations in all of cinema, the film has earned its adulation. When news hit the street in 1978 that Lucas was preparing a sequel to THE most successful film of all time, many scoffed and never imagined it would become not only THE best sequel, but also one of the best fantasy films ever produced.
From the outset, Lucas wanted the second chapter considerably darker. The sequel would explore the emotions and relationships he had glossed over in Star Wars. Writing duties this time would be someone else as Lucas was pressed for time. He hired Leigh Brackett, battling cancer, she was a Hollywood legend who had worked with Howard Hawks and John Ford and recently penned several well-received sci-fi novels. She had a knack for snappy dialogue that was needed for Han and Leia’s blossoming romance. Lucas was happy with her work ethic, she was fast, but her first draft was not what Lucas wanted, instead fate took over and Brackett succumbed to her illness two weeks later. Even though the script was not what Lucas envisioned, he liked Brackett and gave her a writing credit.
Having no options left, he wrote the next draft himself. Still not satisfied and with the pre-production date looming, he finally found a writer, Lawrence Kasdan. Hired to polish what Lucas had written, Kasdan would write one of the most beautiful fantasy adventures ever made. Building upon what Star Wars created, Kasdan wrote concise, snappy dialogue for the Han/Leia exchanges and Force-losophy espoused by Jedi Master Yoda. With no intention to direct again, due to health and constant production problems on Star Wars, Lucas hired Irvin Kershner to take over. Although no longer in the directors chair, it was his money bankrolling the film and made it clear he was the boss. The new director saw the film as the second movement of a three-part symphony; a contrast to the opening allegro, it has to be slower and more lyrical. Themes have to be more interior and you don’t have a grand climax. With that idea, a classic was born.
With writer and director in place, Lucas soon had his movie. As its title suggests, Empire is a classic revenge story. Having found the rebels secret base on the ice planet Hoth, the Empire sends in its menacing four-legged mechanical walkers to crush the Rebellion one last time. Offering up resistance in the form of snow-speeders, the rebels claim victory, but only briefly as the Imperials destroy their base and force them to flee. The rebels scatter to safety. Luke and R2 go off to Dagobagh to learn the ways of the Force from Jedi Master Yoda as told by Ben Kenobi now in ghost form. Meanwhile, Imperial forces relentlessly pursue The Millennium Falcon and her crew, Han, Chewie, Leia and 3-PO into an asteroid field.
All things come together at the Cloud City of Bespin, where Darth Vader has a trap waiting for Luke in order to turn him to the Darkside of the Force. Luke resists, culminating in a climatic battle of lightsabers as Vader and Luke have a knock-down-drag-out. A dark secret is revealed destroying all that Luke has known, threatening his allegiance to the rebellion.
Star Wars, all grown up. The tone of Empire is immediately felt as it takes a less bright and cheery route and makes its heroes feel the pain. Constantly on the run, the tension is felt as we wonder are they going to escape this time? More romance and more emotion, Director Irvin Kershner makes the picture his own as he coaxes fine performances from all the leads. A student of Zen Buddhism; he was taken with the philosophical implications of the force and saw Empire as a way to reach the subconscious fantasy life of children. Mark Hamill gains some much-needed maturity as he continues to learn the ways of the force. His performance is steady, self-assured with signs of recklessness and intensity. We fear for him when Vader challenges him to a duel, but after he forces Vader off the edge of a platform, those fears are dashed. Hamill is not there just to read his lines, he gets the shit kicked out of him several times and keeps coming back for more. Actor and characters physicality are equally impressive. When Luke is forced to make a decision, he leaps to what he thinks is to his death. Of course his death would have resulted in no sequel, but the powerful impact remains.
Harrison Ford is less abrasive this time around and more into the hero role. Ford, always being good at said role, gives Solo a soul. He is still a big talker, a braggart, but when the chips are down, he pulls through. Not in a predictable way as we think, we know how he is going to react to Leia’s confession of “I love you” right before being frozen in carbonite with a look of confusion and terror on his face, Solo replies churlishly, “I know.” Carrie Fisher is more relaxed, radiant, a full-fledged woman. She still likes barking orders, but she is never strident or annoying. She gives just as good as she gets when dealing with Han Solo. Their relationship is summed up best during their escape from Hoth. The Millennium Falcon is constantly breaking down, Leia tells him so. The ship struggles to start, it fails. Leia drops another snarky remark, “Would it help if I got out and pushed?” without missing a beat, Han replies, “It might.” The chemistry between Han Solo (Ford) and Princess Leia (Fisher) harkens back to those screwball comedies of the 1940’s. Whip-smart and without subtlety, they are fun to watch as they trade quips. Noel Coward it is not, but the film has fun with the budding romance. Like two grade school kids on the playground, Han and Leia spend most of the movie bickering. One of their best exchanges is early in the film when Solo feels there is something between them with so he asks her outright why she does not just admit she loves him. Leia’s reaction is classic as she says, “I’d just as soon kiss a Wookiee!” Han’s reply, “I can arrange that!”
Billy Dee Williams joins the cast as the opportunistic Lando Calrissian. A scoundrel who redeems himself, sort of, by films end. However, he does not become a true hero until “Return of the Jedi." Chewbacca is given more to do, as he becomes a well-rounded character. His two best moments in the film is when he cries over the loss of friends on Hoth and when Han is being frozen in carbonite. He lets out an agonizing wail reminiscent of a dog longing for his master.
C-3PO continues to gay things up as the sagas favorite gadfly. His best moments are when Han Solo is yelling at him. Just as Jar Jar is to the prequel trilogy, 3PO offers incredulity where the situation requires. He is the stories idiot, the non-believer, merely a passenger in an incredible journey. R2-D2, the sagas most unlikely hero continues to pull his friends asses out of the fire as he helps them escape he clutches of Darth Vader. Not just window dressing, R2 has a personality as he almost gets eaten on Dagobagh by a swamp creature. The little touches make these characters so identifiable and so endearing. Alec Guiness returns albeit briefly in ghost form to warn his protégé of the power of the darkside. Once again a dignified and noble performance is given.
The films standout performance comes from its smallest non-human character, Yoda, the Jedi Master. Voiced and operated by Frank Oz, he never once comes across as fake and obvious and has many of the films best scenes. We see he works best as the diminutive teacher, as he explains to Luke the concept of the force giving the film its quiet lyricism and mystery. With just a move of his hand, he pulls Luke’s drowned X-Wing from the swamp. Astonished the boy says, “I don’t believe it.” Yoda’s succinct reply, “That is why you fail.”
Darth Vader returns as the galaxies biggest bastard, choking and torturing his way to Luke Skywalker. Expanding on his iconic appearance in A New Hope, the three-pronged performance of Director Kershner, actor Prowse and voice Jones makes him one of cinemas most interesting villians. An antagonist in the original trilogy, he plays the hero in the prequel trilogy. ESB is his picture as he chokes his underlings and tortures Han Solo for no reason other than he can. It is a great build up to when he confronts Luke. This awesome display of writing, directing and acting culminates in the single best surprise in any movie, at least in my movie watching years. To put it in context, there was no internet, no Entertainment Tonight, other than genre magazines, movies still had an element of surprise left to them. When the film was released in the summer of 1980, that surprise was felt when Vader uttered those famous words, “No. I am your father.”
The audience literally gasped. An as eight-year-old, it was a grand time. It showed me movies were more than just a spectator sport, but an experience. That shocking moment has yet to surpassed. It is impossible for such a twist to retain its power today, however, a testament to its power, was lampooned with great affection on The Simpsons, Homer leaves the theater and while walking past a long line of eager patrons, he exclaims, “I can’t believe Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s father,” thus ruining the spectacular twist.
Not just mere movies, but events, Star Wars made movies fun again and Empire continued the tradition, upping the stakes and heaving pain on our heroes. With stunning visuals, engaging acting, strange new worlds and emotional territory not yet explored in that galaxy far far away, we get a fantastic score by John Williams. From the standout theme of the Imperial March to Yoda’s theme, Williams evokes a constant feeling of foreboding. Just as the script dictates, the score is an emotional ride as well. From the high adventure of the Hoth battle and the Asteroid Chase to the beautiful romance of Han and Leia’s theme. Williams nails every single character with their own distinctive voice. Yoda’s is dignified and understated, the Imperial March, the films most dominate theme is brutal and aggressive giving Vader and the Empire plenty of menace. They are striking back after all. Before its detractors write it off as an overrated sequel to an overrated original, I must make them believe. Contrary to some, the films are every bit as deep as they are spectacle. Myths, fairy tales, and swashbuckling serials all blended in blanket of fantasy goodness.
What could have been another retread, Empire gets into the hearts and minds of its inhabitants. We along with Luke Skywalker, get to know the ways of the force as now wanting to be a Jedi like his father before him. The films most haunting sequence comes in the Darkside cave during his lesson with Yoda. As part of his training, he enters the cave; Yoda tells him ‘only what you take with you’ is inside the cave. Luke takes his saber and plenty of fear as he encounters the vision of Darth Vader. He fights and beheads him. Vader’s mask bursts open to reveal Luke’s face underneath. It is a chilling message to the young Jedi that ambiguously links him to the evil he opposes. This was the gospel according to Lucas as parallels of the Christ story are used. Luke beheads Vader in an underground cave only to find his face behind the mask—it is the equivalent of Jesus’ temptation in the desert. In their final battle, Vader temps Luke with the darkside of the force. The final shot of Luke and his mechanical hand suggest he is becoming more like Vader-like father, like son.
The Empire Strikes Back is a film that continues to hold up as work of majesty and high adventure. A work of wonder, it surrenders to its mythic trappings and wallows with great skill in the darkness and despair its characters have created. As the universal themes of good versus evil are continued to be played out, The Empire Strikes Back and the entire saga never ceases to amaze and thrill me.
May the Force Be With You!