It's Christmas-time, which means it's time to break out a Star Wars movie. This year it's the turn of the best of the lot, in The Empire Strikes Back.
Is still the best as it's darker, both visually...check out that lush, noirish photography, and story-wise...as the good guys are hiding and on the run the entire movie. As a kid, I used to prefer the action orientated Han Solo stuff over the talky Dagobah training sequences with Yoda. However, as an adult you realise the Jedi training forms the meat of the Star Wars Saga, while the asteroid chase is its sugar coated (nah, make that cocaine coated) icing-on-the-cake.
The story structure is daring, with the huge, memorable sequences occurring in the movie's first half. Thankfully, the second half is where the dramatic centre is situated with Lando's betrayal of Han... "I love You"..."I know.".... "No, There is another"...."Luke, I am your father!"...all bound together by Irvin Kershners assured direction and John Williams career best score (along with Raiders, nothing touches this).
The design of the Star Wars universe is richer in this sequel while the art direction on the special effects is some of the best committed to film. In terms of quality, we've had Jurassic Park, Lord of the Rings and Avatar since...but the composition and lighting of the Hoth Battle, the asteroid chase and the sunset visas of Cloud City take some beating...30 years later.
A minor quibble is the 1997 special edition version of this movie. While the clean-up of the print is welcome, along with the seamlessly integrated new digital effects, the re-edit at the film's climax is disruptive and poorly done. In the original version The Falcon rushes back to Cloud City to save a dangling Luke. In the new version, Lucas inter cuts this with 3/4 shots of Vader boarding a shuttle to return to his Star Destroyer. It's a real pain! Just as the tensions building, the movie stops to show a bloke catching a plane. Who cares about Greedo shooting first. This is a worse crime!
Still, it still can't stop this from being one of my top 5 movies of all time. Legendary.
1 comment:
Simply one of the greatest movies ever made and will always stay in my top three films of all time. Empire is dark, smart, urgent and dramatic in a way that none of the other Star Wars films ever managed. It is iconic in a way that redefines the term iconic. Never before or since have four simple words had such an important impact on an entire generation as: "I am your father."
HOLY SHIT!!
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