El imperio contraataca

The Empire Strikes Back is the best film in the original Star Wars trilogy. It has all the great qualities that the original Star Wars has: great effects (at the time of its release), appealing characters, and lots of spellbinding action. It also has eliminated some of the problems that plagued the first: the storyline is tighter, and goes much deeper into character development. The performances are terrific, especially by Harrison Ford as Han Solo, and Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian. George Lucas has also remembered to include a spellbinding battle sequence with the snowspeeder sequence near the beginning of the film. The conclusion, with a lightsaber duel between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, is truly one of the most suspenseful and dramatic scenes in the entire series. This is a truly wondrous film, and serves as a constant reminder that just because a movie is expensive and a blockbuster doesn't mean that it has to be shallow and two dimensional. This film will undoubtedly entertain viewers of all ages from start to finish.

An excellent sequel to Star Wars, this is easily the darkest and most serious out of all the Star Wars films, at least until Revenge of the Sith comes out. This movie benefits from the introduction of Yoda, a diminutive yet wise Jedi master who helps Luke prepare for his showdown with Darth Vader. It also introduces Lando Calrissian, Han's old gambling and smuggling buddy played very well by Billy Dee Williams. Empire is more character driven than the original and relies more on comic relief to help lighten the mood, but it doesn't go overboard with the humor. The story is more refined and the acting is better as well. Despite all of this I can't really say that I enjoyed Empire more than the original. The original Star Wars has a certain charm to it that none of the sequels (or prequels) have captured. I'd say that it is at least on par with the original though and is a fitting follow up in what is probably the greatest series of movies in the history of cinema.

The Rebellion has struck an important blow to the power of the Empire by destroying it's Death Star, however the power of the Dark Side of the Force remains strong and continues to hunt the rebellion. While the Rebellion base on Hoth is under treat, Luke has gone to a distant swamp planet to receive further Jedi training from Master Yoda. However the power of the dark side should not be underestimated and many dark truths are revealed as the threat of the Empire looms large.

Following Star Wars was never going to be easy but this is actually better. Empire retains the same characters and the same sense of fun that the first had – the battle on Hoth is just one of THE moments of the series. However what gets added to that is a much darker strand. The Empire is not beaten by the destruction of one ship – it's power is barely dented in fact. This sees some startling revelations (I won't spoil it in case you've been living under a rock!) but also sees significant blows to the rebellion. In fact the ending of this film could not be more different from the end of Star Wars.

Like the recent episode two this follows two strands – the more pedestrian scenes with Luke and Yoda and the more action based scenes with Han and company. The scenes with Yoda add depth to the film and hint at the truth. Meanwhile the other half is a lot more action orientated and has comedy and good new characters such as Bobba Fett. The two work well together and come together well for a great finale. The addition of a dark strand to the film makes it all the better as it can be enjoyed as a story and not just a fun sci-fi film with good effects.

The characters are better here than the first. The strong characters from the first (Han, C3P0 et al) are all still good here. However we also get a much more interesting version of Luke as he continues his journey into becoming a full Jedi. Yoda is a good addition (despite sounding like Fozzie Bear!) and Darth Vader becomes a lot more than just a good villain – we learn his past, a revelation then, but a thing of common knowledge now.

Overall this is as good as Star Wars at it's heart, but the darker nature of the film makes it much better. Where the first one was a victorious uprising this is, as the title suggests, the time in history where the Empire strikes back against the uprising. All the music, characters and things that make Star Wars Star Wars are here and it's simply one of the best of the series to date.

This film changed the game forever. The people behind the scenes took an exciting science fiction adventure film with a happy tone where the heroes have a happy tone throughout and throwing that on its side. Throughout the film the rebels are in a constant rush and panic, pushing the viewers to the edge of their seat wondering if the heroes would make it to the end okay. This is done brilliantly by splitting up the heroes putting them in a worried state for one another. As well as that the rebels are all tested as they go through their own personal trails and try to find their way through. Even though this might put you on a constant worry for the characters the movie is paced perfectly with breathers and amazing storytelling by the characters to fill in anything we need answers for. That is just the story, the film also has gorgeous cinematography, going from the AT-ATs on Hoth, to the Imperial pursuit of the Falcon through the asteroid field, all the way down to the beautiful shots of the final battle in Cloud city. Even though we as viewers are worried for the rebels, the imagery is jaw dropping. The imagery is further enhanced by the most popular score of all time, John Williams delivers his best work ever as it has stuck with people their entire lives and is recognizable by even those who haven't seen the film. The film was released in 1980 and all of the set design and special effects still hold up to this day as they are just as convincing now as it was apon first watch for everyone in the past 38 years.

Congratulations have to go to line producer Gary Kurtz and director Irvin Kershner in pushing the production to out-perform A New Hope, even though the consequence was a film that came in massively over budget, and almost cost Lucas his hard fought independence from the Hollywood system.

The plot moves quickly, from an interesting script by Leigh Bracket and Larry Kasdan, focusing on exploring two key relationships. The first is the relationship between Han Solo and Leia Organa, which is touched upon in a New Hope, but is fleshed out more in this film. The other is the more central relationship between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker. This relationship is also linked in to the main supporting character in this film, Yoda, who is fantastically well realised by the film crew and performed brilliantly by Frank Oz. There are other characters, but whereas C3P0 and R2D2 were a central part of the story in the previous film, they are more on the sidelines.

What makes this film so great though is the involving and effective way the relationships operate within the broader story. The banter between Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher is highly effective and amusing, operating through the classical love-hate relationship. One senses that Kershner, as a director of character driven films, worked very effectively with the actors and gave them the space to develop their characters which meant plenty of choices for the director in terms of their performances. The same goes for Mark Hamill's interaction with Yoda(Frank Oz). This is totally convincing and builds up the confrontation with Darth Vader very well. It was time well spent in getting these performances right. Kershner is very good at keeping the performance naturalistic, but reduces the level of broadness in the characters, making them more complex and interesting. Darth Vader benefits from this with scenes in the film that add to the mystique of the character. The confrontation with Luke Skywalker is riveting and dramatic and elevates the film above the level of its predecessor.

Technically the film is even more impressive than its predecessor. Credit has to go the Oscar nominated Art Direction team. John Barry, who had worked on the previous film, passed away during the production, but Norman Reynolds led the team superbly, with the excellent creations of Dagobah and Hoth, albeit Bespin in the original does feel a bit like a set, and the digital embellishments in the special edition were helpful in creating a bigger feel to those scenes. However, I was disappointed in the reworked scene with Palpatine in the special edition - while putting the excellent Ian McDiarmid was supporting continuity, to show him face on was, in my view an error and the reworked scene would have played much better with his face shrouded, or at the least partially obscured. The whole point of the scene was that the dialogue as strong enough without the need to ram an unsubtle visual at the audience.

Editing is excellent, led by Star Wars veteran Paul Hirsch, but it is known that both George Lucas, and his then wife Marcia were also heavily involved in putting the film together. Peter Suschitzky's photography is more conventional and low key in approach than A New Hope, but is particularly effective on the Dagobah scenes in Elstree Studios, and the location scenes in Norway.

ILM's visual effects were outstanding, and rightly won an Academy Award. The crew consisted of the following: Oscar winning A New Hope veteran Richard Edlund, working with British effects supervisor Brian Johnson (who had just won an Oscar for Alien), effects photographer Dennis Muren (who would become an award winning and digital effects pioneer for ILM for ET, Return of the Jedi, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Innerspace, The Abyss, T2 and Jurassic Park) and compositor Bruce Nicholson, who would go on to win an Oscar for his work on Raiders of the Lost Ark, and work on a wide variety of films in Hollywood. George Lucas took a strong interest and influence in the special effects and also has to take credit for some of the excellent sequences in the film, which also work because they help drive the story along.

Again, like a New Hope, sound work was first rate and Oscar winning. In most cases the sound has to be recorded in a studio and added many months after filming has been completed. Sound re-recordist Bill Varney would win another Oscar for Raiders of the Lost Ark. Steve Maslow and Gregg Landaker also worked as sound-recordists and are both prolific contributors to many high profile movies. They would also win Oscars for their work on Raiders and then some fourteen years later win again for their work on the Keanu Reeves hit movie Speed. Peter Sutton won for his on–set work and has a large body of work in film since this movie. Also credit has to go the Ben Burtt's sound design work, which creates a fabulous sound-scape for the film.

However, despite the above outstanding technical contributions, which serve to enhance and exciting and interesting story, it is composer John Williams who, yet again, takes this film to another level with another astounding musical score. Working with the director and producers, Williams develops and expands original themes. He creates a new and unforgettable theme for Darth Vader, with strong militaristic overtones, and clever themes for Leia and Han, and for Yoda. He weaves the score into the film expertly, giving moments of tension, excitement, thoughtfulness, mystery and tragedy with aplomb. The score feels more operatic than a New Hope, and helps cement this as one of the best adventure/fantasy films ever made.

Congratulations to Mr Lucas for delivering a remarkable sequel, but also to Gary Kurtz and Irvin Kershner for having the courage to push everyone out of their comfort zones so as to reach this level of excellence.