STAR WARS: EPISODE V - THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

(May 1980, U.S.)

Like STAR WARS before this, I shall continue to be as personal as I can with this legendary sequel, which by this time had us knee deep in Lucas's new title format of episode numbers for his continuing space opera. But let's face it - you already know the story that follows the continuing adventures of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewie, the droids, Jedi Master-Frank Oz-controlled-puppet Yoda, Lando Calrissian and Darth Vader's obsession with capturing Luke to try and turn him to the Dark Side of the Force. Still, let's go back to the year 1980...

Try to imagine a time before social media and entertainment news websites like TMZ existed to give us the latest dirt and lowdown on movies and celebrities. There was a time when, if it wasn’t printed in the newspaper or a magazine or revealed on TV at the behest of the studio, secrets and inside information on a movie were only available through rumor and speculation, and believe me when I tell you that there was just as much of that sort of leaking going on without social media. During the immediate success of STAR WARS, fans already wanted to know more about what was next, and they’d listen to it from any source, even their own mouths. From as early as September 1977, when ABC aired THE MAKING OF STAR WAR, the late Carrie Fisher told us of her understanding that the next movie would take place (partially) on an ice planet. If you were one of the few people who actually watched CBS’s STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL in November 1978 (I missed it), then you may recall (though you would’ve been unaware of it at the time) an animated Boba Fett, a future character to come. More than just these bits of information, fans wanted to know what the next movie would be titled. The first presumption was that it would simply be called STAR WARS II; a logical enough assumption for people who didn’t know a thing about the mind of George Lucas. The next speculation was that it would be based on the 1978 sci-fi novel SPLINTER OF THE MIND'S EYE by Alan Dean Foster, the first original full-length STAR WARS follow-up novel. These early rumors were finally laid to rest in August 1979 when the re-release movie poster for the original film announced the “coming attractions for “THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK”, the continuing saga of STAR WARS.” Now we knew. We just had to sit back and wait a whole ten months before we’d be back in the theater again to visit that fantastic galaxy far, far away for the second chapter. The release of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK wasn’t just the anticipation of a world I was already head-over-heels obsessed with, but also the cinematic escape I needed more than ever now during what was a very stressful summer during my childhood. So I waited as patiently as I could for my turn at the movies to experience the new STAR WARS movie.

Released in May 1980, the secrets of EMPIRE were impossible to keep from the moment it opened. By Monday morning following its opening weekend, it seemed as if every kid in my grade had seen the movie already (some of them twice) except me. It was impossible not to walk the school corridors without hearing kids talking about it, and with that, came the unavoidable fact that these same kids couldn’t keep their damn, little mouths shut! As a result, I learned of the mind-blowing secret that Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker’s father, months before I’d see it unfold for myself. I also learned that Vader was actually a deformed human. Call me ignorant, but for three years, I’d actually labored under the presumption that he was a robot. Learning he was actually a man behind the mask felt like more of a shock than him being Luke’s father. Apparently, Luke was going to lose his hand, too. By the time the movie was in theaters for only a month, I knew all of its secrets, like it or not (definitely not!). Because of long ticket lines and repeated sell-outs, it would be months before I finally got to see the new movie for myself.

Had I bothered to read Time magazine at the age of thirteen, I might’ve seen the May 19, 1980 issue with Darth Vader on the cover. My father subscribed to Newsweek instead, so I didn’t see it until much later. Had I seen it though, I’d have learned beforehand that Lucas had introduced a new element to his beloved saga in which the second chapter was now titled EPISODE V (this was actually one piece of information school kids hadn’t blabbed about, or perhaps I just neglected to hear it)...

Wait! If this new movie was EPISODE V, then what did that make STAR WARS? There was no EPISODE IV attached to it when it was first released and subsequently re-released after that (that technicality, however, was rectified when it was re-released again in 1981, Mr. Lucas clearly covering his ass). By the time I'd inevitably seen EMPIRE twice on the big screen (again in 1981), I and others like me were left with burning questions. Was Darth Vader really Luke’s father? What would happen to Han Solo frozen in carbonite who was being delivered to Jabba the Hutt by Boba Fett? What was to become of the entire Rebel Alliance as they continued to evade the Empire? We could only wait another three years to find out.

It’s hard to believe that when EMPIRE was released back in May 1980, it received only mixed reviews from film critics. Today, ask any fan or critic and they’ll likely tell you it’s the best film of the entire saga (though I still prefer the first film), as well as one of the greatest sequels of all time. It’s certainly one of the darkest and most thought-provoking installments of the saga. With the exception of Yoda’s introduction and childish antics, there’s very little camp or fluff. The performances are stronger, more serious and taken to greater emotional levels, particularly that of Mark Hamill as his character continues to learn of his abilities and ultimate destiny. The middle part of this three-act structure, which has less of the comic book feel of the first film, is still filled with the kind of movie magic, imagery and technological proficiency that Lucas wants to treat us to. Taking over the director’s chair for this chapter, Irvin Kershner’s version of what is still Lucas’ creative brainchild, gives the film a more epic dimension and more mature aspect to an already philosophical and mythical premise. His sequel for this universe is darker, harder and more cynical than the lighter, fairy tale pace of STAR WARS, which somewhat limits how far and how fast the adventure travels. Events in EMPIRE take place all over the galaxy, all the while maintaining the imposing theme that Darth Vader is determined to find Luke Skywalker, though we don’t fully understand why until that climactic moment during their lightsaber duel. Even while Lucas is deliberately keeping information from us, he also knows exactly when to supply some, when necessary. Whether you find this irritating or enthralling is completely up to you.

Speaking for a moment on the job done to the film for the 1997 Special Edition, I can only ask this question: did Lucas really feel he needed to go back and mess with it? I can almost condone his actions for the first film because there were specific deleted scenes that had to be omitted from the final print, including Han Solo’s meeting with Jabba the Hutt and the character of Biggs Darklighter and his friendship with Luke Skywalker. For the second film, however, I can only define Lucas’s actions as that of a spoiled child who refuses to let go of his favorite toy without a fight. His cuts, edits and changes for the Special Edition are, in my opinion, not only deplorable decisions, but also an act of rape to a product that need never have been violated. Again, thank goodness for the working VCR in my life and the untouched 1995 digitally remastered videotape version of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK!

Favorite line or dialogue:

Darth Vader: "The Force is with you, young Skywalker...but you are not a Jedi yet!"

(and thus, begins the long-awaited and greatest lightsaber duel in the entire STAR WARS saga!)