L'Empire contre-attaque

My five children were all pre-teens when 'The Empire Strikes Back' came to the theater. While there had been other Sci-Fi movies with a theme of conflict in outer space, the 'Star Wars' trilogy filled our imaginations like no other movies before them. The fantastic, strange worlds were presented almost like we were there too. Aliens sitting around a tavern, enjoying drinks and speaking in all sorts of languages. Nothing before had approached the sheer size of the space ships depicted here, huge cities traveling all over the galaxy. And how about the jump to hyper speed, then disappearing from the screen as the speed exceeds light speed! And the light sabres of the Jedi Knights. The Jedi Knights, a striking parallel to the Japanese Samurai.

It is fruitless trying to argue 'which is best' in a trilogy, because the first one, in this case 'Star Wars', starts it all and has to be the 'father'. However, an argument can be made that 'The Empire Strikes Back' (now on DVD called Episode V) is overall a better-made movie which has more excitement, and grabs your imagination,than the other two original installments (now called parts IV and VI). The DVDs finally came out last month, and they are near perfect, as we should expect from Lucas Films and THX. The bit rate is high, and the picture is nothing short of superb. As is the Dolby EX surround track.

My wife and I watched all three of the movies on DVD this week -- Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi -- compliments of our local public library. It was an appropriate reminder how good these movies are, and still ahead of their time. Nothing else has been made to compare to them.

So, "The Empire Strikes Back" is a sequel to the previous part. After the release of the first episode, the budget, the fans appeared, and, accordingly, the quality improved!

The fifth episode is the darkest and even the best in the original trilogy (in my personal opinion), and for many in the entire franchise.

Here we will hear the famous Imperial March for the first time, learn all the greatness of the Empire under the leadership of Vader, as well as the formation of Luke as a Jedi.

New characters have added color to the franchise, some have already become iconic and famous among many (the same Boba Fett).

This fascinating story will feature plot twists (for sure many people understood what I was talking about) and a very addictive atmosphere of horror.

As a result, this is what the fans needed - a successful sequel. And, of course, you need to look at it, it's a classic after all.

My Rating : 10/10 (one of the best films)

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) is an excellent timeless classic that it is the best sequel of all time. I love this film to death, it is my second favorite film and the best sequel in the Star Wars franchise that I love. The Empire Strikes Back is a movie that it is one of the best sequels I can think of, it is right there with Aliens (1986), it is right there with Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) it is an excellent sequel and it really does establish The Empire as a value treat. Empire Strikes Back is still and excellent film which I really believe is a timeless classic. This is my second favorite film from director Irvin Kershner. Number 1 favorite Irvin Kershner film will be RoboCop 2 (1990) which is very underrated action flick. I still have to review those movies someday.

Empire Strikes Back (1980) is the best one of the series, because it's deeper, darker, more philosophical. It's great because Darth Vader and the Empire are at their most menacing, the direction is creative, the characters feel real, the nature of the Force is explored more without losing its mysticism, and the pacing is, as George Lucas would put it, faster and more intense than any other film in the saga.

The plot is actually more a rescue mission that Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is coming to rescue his friends Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa, C-3PO and Chewbacca are captured on a planet Bespin in Cloud City from villainous Darth Vader. Han Solo's friend Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) set the up and with Darth Vader he set a trap for Luke. Also Luke studied the Force under Jedi Master Yoda to become a full Jedi Knight but in the end he must confront Darth Vader (David Prowse) by him self. The origins of Luke Skywalker are reveled.

Empire Strikes Back was released in 1980 it is directed by Irvin Kershner this time and not George Lucas. Because George Lucas decide that he want to make this sequel independent one, so he ended up coming with his own, founding for the film. Getting a loan and money he earn from the first movie and it success, so he decided he wanted, to found the film him self, and he wanted to be more an executive producer to keep an eye on the lamp, he moved to a bigger studio in Orange County, California, so he diced to be more a producer he did not want to direct Empire Strikes Back. So his first choice was Irvin Kershner, who was a professor at UC in the UC film school, that George attended too and he always liked Irvin Kershner and of course he was a former professor and it was a hard way talk him to do it and the first time Irvin Kershner didn't want to do it, so George called Irvin's agent and his agent said to Irvin take it so he did and the rest is a history. This stands the test of time, the best film he ever directed! I love John Williams score still the same, but I think John Williams changed the music score for a little bit, but that's just my opinion.

Things that I love in this film: I love the battle with Rebels fighting with the Imperial AT-AT walkers on the ice world of Hoth. That is my favorite scene on ice world in the film. The Imperial AT-AT walkers are incredible well made with classic special effects.

I love that the origins of Luke Skywalker are reveled, that Luke is the son of Darth Vader, who is actually Anakin Skywalker, before he become Darth Vader and went to the dark site.

For the first time ever, we see an Emperor in a Hologram talking to Darth Vader.

The Falcon with Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa, C-3PO and Chewbacca hiding in the rocks try's to eat a monster.

Luke faces with Darth Vader him self face to face and get his arm cut off and then he jumps off the bridge, because he didn't want to join his father in a dark force. The lightsaber duel throughout the chamber between Luke and Darth Vader was excellent and it was epic.

The training sequence with Luke and master Yoda were excellent and epic.

A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back are my favorite films in series, that are in the franchise, this film get's a perfect 10 score for been the best sci-fi adventure sequel of all time.

So much amazing action and beautiful cinematography makes for such an enlightening experience! In The Empire Strikes Back you know who everyone is which is great plus Yoda is introduced! I love this movie the music is soothing, there's romance, more of Darth Vader, and introduces Emperor Palpatine what more can you ask for? A lot to relish and get excited about; it's such a classic gem.

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.