Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Movie Info
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Movie Name | Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) |
| Director | Irvin Kershner |
| Screenplay Writer | Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan |
| Based on Novel by | Based on Star Wars created by George Lucas |
| Lead Actors | Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher |
| Cast | Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, James Earl Jones (voice), Frank Oz |
| Genre | Science Fiction, Adventure, Action |
| Release Date | May 21, 1980 (United States) |
| Duration | 2h 4m (124 minutes) |
| Budget | ~$18 million |
| Language | English |
| Country | United States |
| Box Office (Worldwide) | ~$538–549 million (including re-releases) |
WATCH NOW
Summary
The followup to the 1977 blockbuster, The Empire Strikes Back is darker, more epic, and smarter than the first Star Wars movie with secrets revealed and an ending that left an entire generation of nerds hanging for 3 years.
Review
The Empire Strikes Back is perfect. There, I said it. It was perfect when it came out and it’s still perfect, two and a half decades later. Everything that made the first Star Wars movie better than its component parts is improved upon with a dark feel that points out how hopeless the Rebellion’s efforts against the Galactic Empire really are despite the victory in the first movie and a screenplay that does not stop moving with Irvin Kershner’s direction keeping everything tightly held together and commanding performances that make everybody look good, even coked-up Carrie Fisher.
This is bigger than the original movie the viewer gets to see more of the galaxy that the first movie hinted at, with some beautiful sets and special effects that sell you completely on every environment from the opening battle on icy plains of Hoth to the swamps of Dagobah that the Jedi master Yoda calls home and the Cloud City on Bespin where Luke’s penultimate confrontation with Vader occurs and Han Solo is seemingly lost forever.
This is epic filmmaking that wasn’t matched until Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and it’s still a superior step by step lesson in how to make a science-fiction fantasy movie that’s never silly but still manages to have enough moments of genuine humor and slightly over the top drama to make sure that you’re completely enthralled. It’s sad that every Star Wars movie since this one has been a display of hubris on the part of Lucas, who seems to work much better as an engineer and collaborator than a filmmaker in his own regard.
Also Watch.
