The Empire Strikes Back

Hi All,

I said before that 'Star Wars' was my favorite film of all time. But in viewing this classic again, I come back to that old dilemma: Which Star Wars film is really the best? I can never decide. I generally just lump them all together, and tell people that 'The Trilogy' is my favorite film of all time. Because truly, who can decide among these?

I watched 'Empire' in all of its Original glory, sans voice-overs that replace Jeremy Bullock's voice with Temura Morrison's, (the actor who played Jango Fett, Boba's father), seeing Ian McDiarmid instead of Clive Revill as The Emperor, and more Wampa (which is always a great thing!). I liked the changes and updates made to 'Empire,' mainly because the changes were slight and didn't alter the plot. Han meeting Jabba in 'New Hope' alters the plot, in that it introduces a character we shouldn't have yet seen. But it's nice to have the Original version, for purist's sake.

Of all of the Star Wars worlds, Hoth is my favorite. Why? Well, it was all snowy, which is something I've loved since I was a child. Who doesn't love snow? Its animals were the coolest (Tauntauns! Wampas!), its ships the niftiest (Snowspeeders!), and its troops were the most interesting (Snowtroopers! AT-AT Drivers! General Veers! Han in Hoth outfit!). But the moment I remember best from seeing this in the theater circa 1980 was the triumvirate of AT-ATs that converged on Echo Base. I always thought the AT-AT was the most awesome vehicle/assault weapon ever, and little pictures from Kenner's product catalogs that showed a bunch of Snowtroopers gathered around the AT-AT always made me want that toy, and as many Snowtroopers as I could get. Needless to say, I've rectified that situation these days, and can set up the entire Hoth diorama (I did, and I filmed it. Dang! I AM a nerd).



I have a confession to make, though. As a child, I always thought the Dagobah scenes were a bit...boring. Ahhhh! Don't disown me as a SW fan! I think I was spoiled a smidge by the action aspect of the SW films, and maybe didn't grasp all of the Force-talk. But as I watched last night, I was struck by the importance of what Yoda says (I think ALL of his lines were crucial, especially for Luke), and the importance of the symbolism and continuation of the myth in this film.

I also thought about Episodes 1-3, which have been severely underrated by a lot of modern-day fans. 'The Phantom Menace' did a great job of setting the pace for the type of action Lucas loves to show us (something very fast-moving, big dramatic battles), and introduced us to the Jedi in their glory days, when they were plentiful. 'Attack of the Clones' gave us The Clone Wars and the beginnings of The Empire, and 'Revenge of the Sith' was on the same level as the Original Trilogy, I believe. The Jedi plot developments, Jedi philosophy, the beginnings of it all, the much-improved lightsaber battles, and the development of my favorite character, Darth Vader, was worth the wait. I thought about him as Anakin as I watched, which was a first. He's always been Vader to me, never Anakin. I never knew who Anakin was. But now that I know, I saw that the pieces were placed nicely.

Part of the Hero's Journey is that the hero must leave his friends and fight the monster alone. Luke does this in Cloud City, and again later on the second Death Star in 'Jedi.' I love that Luke and Leia both become much stronger characters in this film. Leia especially, needed to become a stronger presence, and she did. And who blames her for falling for Han? What girl didn't love Han? It's amazing that 26 years later, he's still such an attractive character.

The ending to this film left us all flabbergasted. Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father?? Holy Smokes! Han is encased in carbonite and being sent off to the mysterious Jabba the Hutt? Oh my. The Empire won this round, clearly. It was the best cliffhanger ever, and the classic "I am your father" moment is timeless. And Vader himself was pure Fear in this film: Mistakes aren't tolerated, as Needa and Ozzel learned the hard way. When Vader walked into Echo Base on Hoth, I was scared to death, I remember. Not understanding his motivations, I remember thinking, "He's there! In the base! He'll kill Han and Leia!" His powers seem much stronger in this film, as he deflects bullets, moves objects at will, and shows improved lightsaber skilles (though still nowhere near what we saw in the prequels).

And did I mention Boba Fett? Fanboys the world over worship at the altar of Fett. I exaggerate a tad, I know. But the boys love Fett, and who blames them? He's one of the coolest-looking and most ominous characters in the SW universe.

Great lines? There were too many!

Luke: I'm looking for a great warrior.
Yoda: Wars do not make one great.

Yoda: Luminous beings are we; not this crude matter.

Yoda: You must unlearn, what you have learned.

Luke: I can't believe it!
Yoda: That is why you fail.

And let's not forget:

Leia: You stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder!
Han: Who's scruffy-looking?

Han: We don't have time to discuss this in a committee!
Leia: I am NOT a committee!

Ah, memories. There were one or two scenes (on Hoth, with the white snow background) where the picture was grainy, in this laserdisc transfer. But otherwise it was a great viewing experience. I put in the Special Edition Wampa scene to compare the differences, and was amazed at the crystal-clear picture quality and the blasting surround. But as I don't think Lucas plans to do anything else with the Original version, I'm glad to have it in DVD format at least. It beats VHS by a mile.

Grade? Not surprisingly, off the charts. :)

In other news, today is my 6 year anniversary with CC. I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry. haha JK CC overall has been a decent place to work, but it's certainly got its flaws. Any job will, I suppose. Well, except being a writer/screenwriter/anything in film. Those people had better never complain about their perfect lives. Here's hoping I make it up in the ranks to Copywriter for CC someday. In the meantime, I really need to get back to that third novel.

Have a great day!