Post by Heineken Skywalker on Mar 14, 2006 10:45:27 GMT -5
Director: Irvin Kershner
SPOILERS (Vader is really Luke's dad, and if you don't know that already, tear up your video rental card, and just read books from now on.)
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... actually May of 1980 on Earth. With the phenomenal worldwide success of the original STAR WARS, later subtitled EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE, it was only natural that a sequel would be made. Some of the actors had been signed for three movies, but it wasn't a foregone conclusion that there would definitely be a sequel as no one was sure that the original would be successful. In a very smart move, creator George Lucas had designed the first film so that it could have sequels, but in case it flopped and he didn't get to make any, it could be watched all by itself as a stand-alone film. Well, luckily for fans, the first one was a hit so that we weren't deprived of one of the best sequels of all time.
For three years, fans had to satisfy themselves with just rewatching the original movie over and over again, buying toys and posters and wearing T-shirts emblazoned with images of fan favorites like Chewbacca, R2-D2 and Darth Vader. For those three years though, it seemed like STAR WARS never really went away. Unlike today's blockbusters which seem to have a shelf life of a month or two, then disappear to make room for the next blockbuster, years later, this movie was still being discussed in magazines and on tv, the actors were guests on every talk show of the day and the merchandise was everywhere.
Then 1980 finally came and we got the eagerly awaited next chapter in the saga.
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK is essentially a "chase" picture. The rebels get chased from their secret base on the ice planet, Hoth, then through space and into an asteroid field, then to Cloud City, then finally through space again.
All of the major cast members (Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher) are back to reprise their roles from the original, but this time they're splintered into two groups. While Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca & C-3PO go one way, and are the main target of the pre-mentioned chases, Luke Skywalker and R2-D2, on the advice of the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi, head for Dagobah, a swamp planet, so that Luke may continue his Jedi training at the hands of Yoda, a legendary Jedi Master.
Besides all of the familiar faces that return for this chapter, several new characters are introduced. Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), old friend of Han's and space pimp, (check out that cape) is a smooth talking charmer who betrays the rebels, then later redeems himself. Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch), a bounty hunter contracted by Darth Vader and the Empire, to help capture Han & the gang, and wearer of one of the coolest looking costumes in the trilogy. The Emperor (in hologram form), Vader's even more evil boss and a pretty creepy guy, appears briefly, and finally Yoda. Frank Oz of Muppets fame performs the puppet and provides the voice for what was at the time, the most realistic puppet to ever appear in a film.
As the budget for this second entry was about three times the budget of the original, the effects and sets are an improvement over the first. Once again, every type of effect is employed to bring the story to the screen. From the aforementioned puppetry, to models, miniatures, matte paintings, opticals and even stop-motion photography, ala Ray Harryhausen, to create scenes like the classic Imperial attack on Hoth using giant, four-legged, lumbering machines called AT-AT Walkers.
John Williams is back with a new score and this time introduces "The Imperial March/Darth Vader's Theme", one of the most instantly recognizable pieces of film music, on par with the original's main theme.
Thanks to Lawrence Kasdan and the late Leigh Brackett, the dialogue is better in this entry and has more weight than in any other film in the series.
Because the script is better, the actors fare better this time around, especially Mark Hamill as Luke, who actually has to spend a lot of time sharing the screen with a droid and a muppet and makes it all pretty believable.
While the first movie was a rollicking space adventure, EMPIRE is more of a dark tragedy that feels more "adult" in every sense. A good love story develops between Han and Leia and the story takes several unnexpected twists and turns and even ends in a cliffhanger, which was unheard of in a major motion picture. By this time, there was little doubt of whether Lucas and company would make back their money in order to film a third movie in the series, but as filmgoers who had no idea where the story was going and didn't have today's advantage of just popping the next movie in the dvd player, that non-ending was quite a shock.
"We have to wait three years to see if Han is rescued?" and "Vader has to be lying, right??".
Overall, this movie is a close second to the first for me. The first will always be the first. It was the first to introduce most of these characters, that music, that world, those effects, etc. While I can sit and watch A NEW HOPE without having to watch any other movies in the series, I never feel like I can watch EMPIRE without watching RETURN OF THE JEDI soon after in order to have closure. I realize that's my hangup, but that's just how I feel about it. Where A NEW HOPE has an opening, middle and end, EMPIRE is basically half a movie, which needs another movie, JEDI, for it's conclusion.
It works great in the overall trilogy, but as stand-alone movies go, I prefer HOPE just slightly more.
9.5/10
SPOILERS (Vader is really Luke's dad, and if you don't know that already, tear up your video rental card, and just read books from now on.)
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... actually May of 1980 on Earth. With the phenomenal worldwide success of the original STAR WARS, later subtitled EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE, it was only natural that a sequel would be made. Some of the actors had been signed for three movies, but it wasn't a foregone conclusion that there would definitely be a sequel as no one was sure that the original would be successful. In a very smart move, creator George Lucas had designed the first film so that it could have sequels, but in case it flopped and he didn't get to make any, it could be watched all by itself as a stand-alone film. Well, luckily for fans, the first one was a hit so that we weren't deprived of one of the best sequels of all time.
For three years, fans had to satisfy themselves with just rewatching the original movie over and over again, buying toys and posters and wearing T-shirts emblazoned with images of fan favorites like Chewbacca, R2-D2 and Darth Vader. For those three years though, it seemed like STAR WARS never really went away. Unlike today's blockbusters which seem to have a shelf life of a month or two, then disappear to make room for the next blockbuster, years later, this movie was still being discussed in magazines and on tv, the actors were guests on every talk show of the day and the merchandise was everywhere.
Then 1980 finally came and we got the eagerly awaited next chapter in the saga.
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK is essentially a "chase" picture. The rebels get chased from their secret base on the ice planet, Hoth, then through space and into an asteroid field, then to Cloud City, then finally through space again.
All of the major cast members (Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher) are back to reprise their roles from the original, but this time they're splintered into two groups. While Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca & C-3PO go one way, and are the main target of the pre-mentioned chases, Luke Skywalker and R2-D2, on the advice of the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi, head for Dagobah, a swamp planet, so that Luke may continue his Jedi training at the hands of Yoda, a legendary Jedi Master.
Besides all of the familiar faces that return for this chapter, several new characters are introduced. Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), old friend of Han's and space pimp, (check out that cape) is a smooth talking charmer who betrays the rebels, then later redeems himself. Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch), a bounty hunter contracted by Darth Vader and the Empire, to help capture Han & the gang, and wearer of one of the coolest looking costumes in the trilogy. The Emperor (in hologram form), Vader's even more evil boss and a pretty creepy guy, appears briefly, and finally Yoda. Frank Oz of Muppets fame performs the puppet and provides the voice for what was at the time, the most realistic puppet to ever appear in a film.
As the budget for this second entry was about three times the budget of the original, the effects and sets are an improvement over the first. Once again, every type of effect is employed to bring the story to the screen. From the aforementioned puppetry, to models, miniatures, matte paintings, opticals and even stop-motion photography, ala Ray Harryhausen, to create scenes like the classic Imperial attack on Hoth using giant, four-legged, lumbering machines called AT-AT Walkers.
John Williams is back with a new score and this time introduces "The Imperial March/Darth Vader's Theme", one of the most instantly recognizable pieces of film music, on par with the original's main theme.
Thanks to Lawrence Kasdan and the late Leigh Brackett, the dialogue is better in this entry and has more weight than in any other film in the series.
Because the script is better, the actors fare better this time around, especially Mark Hamill as Luke, who actually has to spend a lot of time sharing the screen with a droid and a muppet and makes it all pretty believable.
While the first movie was a rollicking space adventure, EMPIRE is more of a dark tragedy that feels more "adult" in every sense. A good love story develops between Han and Leia and the story takes several unnexpected twists and turns and even ends in a cliffhanger, which was unheard of in a major motion picture. By this time, there was little doubt of whether Lucas and company would make back their money in order to film a third movie in the series, but as filmgoers who had no idea where the story was going and didn't have today's advantage of just popping the next movie in the dvd player, that non-ending was quite a shock.
"We have to wait three years to see if Han is rescued?" and "Vader has to be lying, right??".
Overall, this movie is a close second to the first for me. The first will always be the first. It was the first to introduce most of these characters, that music, that world, those effects, etc. While I can sit and watch A NEW HOPE without having to watch any other movies in the series, I never feel like I can watch EMPIRE without watching RETURN OF THE JEDI soon after in order to have closure. I realize that's my hangup, but that's just how I feel about it. Where A NEW HOPE has an opening, middle and end, EMPIRE is basically half a movie, which needs another movie, JEDI, for it's conclusion.
It works great in the overall trilogy, but as stand-alone movies go, I prefer HOPE just slightly more.
9.5/10
