Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
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Template:Infobox Film Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 science fantasy film directed by Irvin Kershner. It was the second film to be released in the Star Wars saga, but it is the fifth film by chronology of events. Among fans, it is commonly referred to as TESB or ESB.
The film concerns the continuing struggles of the Rebel Alliance to resist and fight the Galactic Empire. The Empire learns that the Rebels have established a new base on the ice world of Hoth. Following a suggestion from Obi-Wan's spirit, Luke Skywalker begins his major Jedi training with the wise Jedi Master Yoda. In an emotional confrontation with Darth Vader, Luke must face his destiny.
Debuting on May 21, 1980, the film initially received mixed reviews, but over time, has proven to be one of the most popular films in the series among many fans and critics. The original 1980 version was released on VHS and LaserDisc multiple times during the 1980s and 90s. It was re-released with changes to theaters in 1997, and this version was later released on VHS and Laserdisc, and finally on DVD in 2004. A 3-D release is rumored for 2007. The novelization was released in April 1980, and a radio adaptation was broadcast on National Public Radio in the United States in 1983.
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Plot summary
Image:Empire strikes back 1.jpg The Empire Strikes Back picks up several years after A New Hope. The opening crawl reveals that the Galactic Empire has hounded the Rebel forces across the galaxy, forcing them to establish their base on the deserted ice planet Hoth. Darth Vader has sent probes into space in search of this hidden base and Luke Skywalker.
On Hoth, while Luke is patrolling the outer reaches of the Rebel base, he is attacked and knocked unconscious by native predator of the wastes, a Wampa. After waking up and retrieving his lightsaber, he makes his escape, only to be overcome by the cold. While lying in the snow, a vision of Obi-Wan Kenobi tells him to go to Dagobah for further training by the Jedi Master Yoda. As the vision fades, Han Solo (who went out searching for him after he didn't check in after sunset) finds Luke, and keeps him alive by making a makeshift shelter from the corpse of his riding beast (called a Tauntaun). The next day, Rebel search aircraft locate and rescue the two from the wastes.
Image:Hothtrenches.jpg As Luke recovers, Han and Chewbacca go out to investigate some anomalous readings, and blunder into an Imperial Probe Droid, giving away the position of the Rebel base. With this information in hand, Darth Vader orders an immediate attack. This attack initially stumbles, however, as Admiral Ozzel, the officer in charge of the attack, gives away the approach of the Imperial attack fleet. The Rebels prepare a makeshift defense, including rows and rows of trenches dug into the tundra and an energy shield to protect against orbital bombardment.
The Imperial attack is led by gigantic, quadrupedal tanks, called AT-ATs. While the laser fire of the ground troops is ineffective, Luke leads his squadron of agile snowspeeders against the hulking AT-ATs, trying to buy time for Rebel transports, carrying equipment and personnel, to escape. Luke's squadron is shot down, but not before crippling one AT-AT by tangling its legs with a tow cable. After barely escaping from his crashed snowspeeder, Luke manages to destroy another AT-AT, by using his cable and lightsaber to put an explosive charge into the belly of the transport, causing it to explode. Despite the heroism of Luke and his squadron, the holding action eventually fails; the Imperial forces destroy the generator powering the energy shield and storm the Rebel base.
Imperial snowtroopers storm the base, forcing Han, Leia, Chewie, and C-3P0 to flee. They reach the Millennium Falcon just in time, pursued by Imperial troopers. When he flips the switch to take them to lightspeed and it fails to work, Han realizes that the hyperdrive has been damaged. While trying to fix the hyperdrive system, they approach an asteroid field. Desperate to elude the Imperials, they enter the field, where C-3PO comments that the odds of successfully navigating it are 3,720 to one. After a dangerous chase, Solo evades his pursuers long enough to land inside one of the larger asteroids to hide, rest and find a way to fix the ship.
Image:Empire strikes back 2.jpg Meanwhile, Luke and R2 go to Dagobah in their X-wing to search for Yoda. There he discovers a strange little creature who offers to help, and invites Luke to his home. Luke becomes impatient and irritable. The creature then reveals himself to be Yoda, who was only testing Luke's patience. Luke is suddenly apologetic and insists he is willing and unafraid to undergo training as a Jedi. Yoda gravely informs Luke that fear will be a part of his training.
In his private quarters, Vader receives a message from Emperor Palpatine, who alerts him to a new enemy who could destroy the Empire: Anakin Skywalker's (Vader's) son, Luke. Vader suggests that if Luke could be corrupted to the Dark side, he would become a powerful ally. He declares that Luke will join the Empire or die. Already knowing that Luke is his lost son, Vader conceals his knowledge from the Emperor: Vader secretly plans to have Luke become his apprentice, and have Luke join him in overthrowing the Emperor, while Palpatine wishes to have Luke join him, and in the process, kill and replace Vader as his servant.
In the asteroid, repairs are put underway while Han Solo and Princess Leia continue to argue with one another, and yet, despite the fact that Leia views Han as dumb and selfish and Han views Leia as self-righteous and spoiled, they are actually falling in love with one another, and share a tender kiss before being interupted by Threepio. The Millennium Falcon then escapes what turns out to be the mouth of a space slug that resided in the asteroid the Falcon had been hiding. An Imperial commander, Captain Needa, spots the Falcon, leading to another pursuit. The Falcon escapes by attaching itself to the Star Destroyer, making it invisible to the Star Destroyer's sensors- a failure that Needa dies for at Vader's hand. When the Star Destroyer performs its regular release of waste, the Falcon detaches to float away with it. They set course for Cloud City, a colony run by Lando Calrissian, an old friend of Solo. However, they are followed by Boba Fett, a bounty hunter hired by Vader.
Image:Cloudcity1.jpg Luke undergoes rigorous training with Yoda, including lessons about the influence of the Dark Side of the Force. Yoda reminds Luke of the things the young Jedi will see in his mind; this lesson is further reinforced when Yoda leads Luke to a cave. (This cave is later retconned in Vision of the Future to have been imbued with Dark Side energy from the death of a Bpfasshi Dark Jedi.) In this cave, Luke enters and confronts Vader. He defeats the apparition of Vader, beheading it, but as the head rolls on the ground, the mask explodes, to reveal the face of Luke himself. During another rigorous exercise (balancing on one hand while levitating rocks) Luke has a vision of his friends in danger, causing him to lose his concentration. He wants to rescue them, but both Yoda and Obi-Wan warn of the dangers of leaving before completing his training. Luke decides he cannot allow his friends to die, and chooses to depart from Dagobah.
Upon arrival at Cloud City, Han's party is welcomed by Lando. However, they find themselves betrayed by Calrissian, who was approached by the Empire before the Rebels' arrival, and forced to cooperate. They become captives of Darth Vader. A carbon-freezing chamber is prepared, intending to freeze Luke once he arrives, and Vader uses the opportunity to test the device on Han Solo. Han is entombed in carbonite and handed over to Boba Fett who intends to return his quarry to Jabba the Hutt for a large bounty.
While escorting the Rebel prisoners, the Imperials are overpowered by Lando's security, who set Lando and company free. As Lando attempts to free Chewie, Chewie nearly strangles Lando in a vengeful rage, but eventually frees Lando when he tells Leia and Chewie that there is still a chance to save Han. They attempt to rescue Han, but arrive just in time to see Fett's ship take off. They then engage in a fierce battle with stormtroopers. During the gunfight, Lando orders an evacuation of Cloud City; they find the Millennium Falcon and escape.
Image:DarthVaderbeckoning.jpg Luke arrives at Cloud City and engages Darth Vader in a fierce lightsaber duel. The battle brings them to a narrow platform in the middle of a deep shaft. Vader manages to cut off Luke's right hand. With Luke defenseless, Vader reveals that he is Luke's father. Luke screams in denial. Vader attempts to persuade Luke to join him and embrace the Dark Side, overthrow the Emperor with him, and rule the galaxy as father and son. Luke refuses and jumps off the platform into the abyss of the shaft. Luke is sucked into an air vent, exits the underbelly of the city and lands on an antenna hanging beneath Cloud City.
Sensing Luke's distress through the force, Leia orders Lando to bring them back to Cloud City, as she knows where Luke is. They return to Cloud City and rescue Luke, and are again pursued by Imperial fighters. The ship's hyperdrive system again fails having been deactivated by the Imperials. R2-D2 manages to fix the ship in time, however, allowing them to escape the Empire. Vader is left uncharacteristically drained; he does not even kill Admiral Piett for his failure to recapture the Millennium Falcon. (In the DVD commentary, Lucas states that this is because Vader feels ambivalent about his son, Luke.)
Later, the Falcon arrives at the rendevous point with the Rebel fleet above the galaxy in the Outer Rim. Aboard a Rebel medical frigate, Luke goes into surgery at the hands of a medical droid, and is given a prosthetic hand as a replacement for his original one. Lando and Chewie un-dock the Falcon from the frigate, and head for Tatooine to locate and rescue Han. Luke, Leia, and the droids look on to the stars, as the Falcon departs.
Cast
| Actor | Role(s) |
|---|---|
| Mark Hamill | Luke Skywalker |
| Harrison Ford | Han Solo |
| Carrie Fisher | Princess Leia Organa |
| David Prowse James Earl Jones (voice) | Darth Vader |
| Billy Dee Williams | Lando Calrissian |
| Anthony Daniels | C-3PO |
| Kenny Baker | R2-D2 |
| Peter Mayhew | Chewbacca |
| Frank Oz | puppeteer and voice of Yoda |
| Jeremy Bulloch Jason Wingreen (original voice) Temuera Morrison (2004 SE voice) | Boba Fett |
| Kenneth Colley | Admiral Piett |
| Alec Guinness | Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi |
| Denis Lawson | Wedge Antilles |
| Unknown actress Clive Revill (voice) Ian McDiarmid (2004 SE) | Emperor Palpatine |
Filming
The Empire Strikes Back largely depended on the success of the first film, which did exceed all expectations, and thus gave George Lucas the opportunity to continue the series. After having numerous problems with studios in the first film, Lucas decided that he would finance the film himself, securing a bank loan which was reportably twice the budget of the first film.
Lucas stepped down from the role of director, as he had too many other roles to fill in the production of the film. The role of director was then given to Irvin Kershner. The success of the sequel would largely dictate whether the trilogy would be completed.
Filming lasted from March 5 until September 24, 1979. Some of the Hoth sequence was filmed in Norway, in the area from the railway station Finse to the Hardangerjøkulen glacier. The scenes on Dagobah, Cloud City and inside the Hoth base were shot at Elstree Studios in London. There was over sixty sets involved in this film, more than double of the first.
On July 29, 2003, during the production of Revenge of the Sith, Lucas returned to shoot new footage of Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine for The Empire Strikes Back. He directed this footage himself, as evidenced by the filming clapper.
Release
The Empire Strikes Back, the long-awaited sequel to what was then known as Star Wars, was released on May 21, 1980.
Reaction
The Empire Strikes Back initially only received mixed reviews. Some critics had problems with the story, but said the film was a technical achievement. For instance, Janet Maslin in The New York Times provided a largely negative review, while Charles Champlin of The Los Angeles Times described the film as "hugely accomplished and exciting." In later years, the film became considered to be the greatest in the Saga by many Star Wars fans.
The acting is arguably stronger than in any of the other Star Wars films. The direction is arguably the most operatic and confident, and has been suggested to be not over-reliant on editing in order to maintain drama, although this can be disputed by pointing at the large number of very short scenes. According to the actors, Irvin Kershner would encourage group discussions and improvisations from the actors, and would do many takes of each scene, in contrast to Lucas, who would always stick to the script and offer little direction to the actors.
The film's visual style, however, is simultaneously more expressive than the original while remaining uniform with the series and Lucas' overall oeuvre. Images are built using combinations of classical linear composition and abstract, even avant-garde techniques, keeping in the same style of epic tableau work with which each Star Wars film is constructed. These visual motifs, as well as Lucas' meticulous story-boarding of each sequence with artist Joe Johnston, and original reports of conflict between Kershner and Lucas over the latter's interference with the former's direction suggest that the film's visual aspects fall more into the authorship of Lucas than of Kershner. Although the static-camera 'documentary fantasy' influence/approach of Akira Kurosawa is less pronounced here than in any other Star Wars film, it is admittedly both absent from, and distinctly present in, the movie depending on the individual scene.
While this distribution of work is usually assumed, considering that Lucas is known widely as a visual stylist with little interest in performances and Kershner vice versa, the contributions of cinematographer Peter Suschitzky often goes overlooked by fans of the series and filmgoers in general. Empire's palette of subdued, sculptorly colors and lighting designs throughout are indebted to Suschitzky's artistic touches, and reportedly were among the motivating factors which persuaded director David Cronenberg to work with him.
It is also worth noting that Empire is a film containing sequences shot by at least five live action directors. As well as Kershner and second unit director John Barry (who was hired for the production late, having left Saturn 3 after a dispute with Kirk Douglas and who died of meningitis during production), records at Elstree show both George Lucas and producer Gary Kurtz as directing some scenes and photographs of Lucas directing scenes in Yoda's house exist. London-based American filmmaker Harley Cokeliss, who worked on The Muppet Show was hired as an additional director as the film's budget and schedule spiralled out of control. He had only visited to the set to meet with friends who were working on the production but became a credited Second Unit Director on the film as a result. There was also a roughly one month period between the film's official wrap party on August 31, 1979 and the actual completion of principal photography on September 24 during which Lucas was the only 'director' from the project still working in London.
Some have criticized the film as being a departure from what was established in the previous film, particularly the revelation of Darth Vader as the father of Luke Skywalker (whereas in A New Hope, Vader and Luke's then-unnamed father were said to be separate characters). Lucas has been accused from time to time of subjecting the Star Wars films to heavy doses of retroactive continuity beginning with Empire (and continuing with similar revelations in the later films, such as Princess Leia being Luke's sister and C-3PO having been built by Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader).
In retrospect, it is believed to be the most morally ambiguous and darkest of the original trilogy. With the release of Revenge of the Sith, however, some have compared Sith's dark themes to those of Empire, some even considering Sith superior.
Critics had various reactions to changes introduced in re-releases of this film, which were instated for the 1997 and 2004 re-releases.
Budget and box office information
- The estimated budget was $18,000,000.
- The opening weekend in the USA generated $6,415,804
- When it was re-released in 1997, its opening weekend in the USA made $21,975,993
- In the USA, as of 1997, the gross revenue is $291,158,751
- Worldwide, as of 1997, the gross revenue is $538,375,067
- In the USA, rentals generated $173,814,000
- Worldwide, rentals generated $577,200,000[1]
Awards and nominations
Academy Awards
Awards
- In 1981 it won an Oscar for "Best Sound". The recipients were Bill Varney, Steve Maslow, Greg Landaker, and Peter Sutton.
- In 1981 it won the Saturn Award. Mark Hamill received "Best Actor". Irvin Kershner received "Best Director". "Best Special Effects" went to Brian Johnson and Richard Edlund. It was called the "Best Science Fiction Film".
- In 1981 it won the BAFTA Film Award. John Williams received "Best Original Film Music".
- In 1981 it was awarded with the Golden Screen Award
- In 1981 it won a Grammy Award. John Williams received "Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special".
- In 1981 it won the Hugo Award for "Best Dramatic Presentation".
- In 1981 it won the People's Choice Award for "Favorite Motion Picture".
Nominations
- In 1981 it received an Oscar nomination. "Best Art Direction-Set Decoration" went to Norman Reynolds, Leslie Dilley, Harry Lange, Alan Tomkins, and Michael Ford. "Best Music, Original Score" went to John Williams.
- In 1981 it was nominated the Special Achievement Award for its visual effects. Brian Johnson, Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, and Bruce Nicholson were the recipients.
- In 1981 it was nominated the Saturn Award. "Best Costumes" went to John Mollo, "Best Music" went to John Williams, "Best Supporting Actor" went to Billy Dee Williams, and "Best Writing" went to Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan.
- In 1981 it was nominated a BAFTA Film Award for "Best Sound". The recipients were Peter Sutton, Ben Burtt, and Bill Varney.
- In 1981 it was nominated a Golden Globe award for "Best Original Score- Motion Picture." The recipient was John Williams.
- In 1981 it was nominated for the WGA Award (Screen) for "Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium". The recipients were Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan.
- In 2005 it was nominated a Golden Satellite Award for "Best Classic DVD" and "Best Overall DVD." Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope and Star Wars: Episode VI- Return of the Jedi were also nominated.[2]
Re-release
Image:Star-wars-the-empire-strikes-back-special-edition-1997-3700108.jpg
Special Edition
The Empire Strikes Back was re-released in 1997 as part of the "Special Edition" of the original trilogy. Lucas took this opportunity to make several minor changes to this film, including actually showing the wampa creature in full form, rather than having it implied, creating a more elaborate approach of the Falcon to Cloud City, and replacing certain lines of dialogue. A small scene was also added depicting Vader's return to his Super Star Destroyer after the Bespin affair (utilizing an outtake from Return of the Jedi). Windows looking out on Bespin were digitally inserted into the previously bland white interior walls of the city, and the film was also restored and remastered from its original print.
2004 Special Edition (DVD)
In 2004, for the DVD release, Lucas and team made even more changes, this time more drastic, and mostly in order to ensure continuity between this film and the prequel trilogy, as well as between this film and the others of the original trilogy. These changes include a new scene of Palpatine's conversation with Vader (where Palpatine is now played by Ian McDiarmid), slight improvements on lightsaber effects, as well as slight removals of dialogue. With this release, Lucas supervised the creation of a high-definition digital print of this film, as well as the other entries of the original trilogy. Although containing the least drastic of the revisions to the original trilogy, the ongoing changes to The Empire Strikes Back have caused criticism of George Lucas by fans, as well as inciting the more extreme form of reactionary criticism known as Lucas Bashing.
Errors
- In the original version of the film, during the Battle of Hoth the white terrain of the planet printed through the travelling matte shots of the rebel pilots flying in their Snowspeeders. This error was corrected in the 1997 Special Edition release.
- On the DVD, when Luke is running from the Wampa cave, his lightsaber audibly powers down, while visually it is still on. This error has been present throughout recent versions of the film (due to audio-visual sync problems as a result of new footage of the Wampa ice monster added for the 1997 Special Edition) , and is likely to be corrected for a future release.
- Near the end of the movie, while showing the rebel fleet, three X-Wings and a Y-Wing do a fly-by. On the very last frame of that scene, the third X-Wing disappears.
- In the ending credits, Denis Lawson's name is misspelled "Dennis." The same mistake is made in the credits of A New Hope.
Trivia
- According to the documentary Empire of Dreams, the movie originally had a budget of $25 million, which was considered big-budget at the time. However, certain production problems (especially while filming the Hoth scenes in snow-bound Norway) caused the budget to rise to $33 million, making it one of the most expensive movies of its day. George Lucas intended to finance the film entirely from his profits from the first picture, but the budget overruns forced him to approach 20th Century Fox with hat in hand, resulting in a favorable distribution deal for the studio.
- This is the only one of the six Star Wars films in which no major character dies.
- Many people believe that Darth Vader's famous line is "Luke, I am your father". In actuality, Vader says: "No, I am your father." However, in the NPR radio adaptation, Vader's line was, "No, Luke, I am your father."
- Great secrecy surrounded the fact that Darth Vader was Luke's father. David Prowse, who spoke all of Vader's lines during filming, was told to say, "Obi-Wan killed your father", and, until the film premiered, only George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Mark Hamill and James Earl Jones knew what would really be said. Jones later reported that his reaction to the line was, "Oh, he's lying!"
- The Imperial March was introduced in this film, first heard during the introduction of Darth Vader's fleet. The ominous, menacing musical theme soon becomes associated with Darth Vader and becomes his leitmotif.
- During the Falklands War which took place in 1982, two years after the film was released, when the British task force sailed from Britain, a number of newspapers and magazines carried the headline The Empire Strikes Back!.
- When the first TIE Fighter explodes in the asteroid chase, the pilot can be seen tumbling out after the fighter breaks apart.
- The famous '80s Swedish rock group Imperiet took its name from this movie. Imperiet means "the empire."
- Clive Revill (Voice of Emperor) is the only actor to be involved in an episode of Star Trek and a Star Wars film: he played Sir Guy of Gisbourne in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "QPid." However, in the DVD version, Revill is replaced by Ian McDiarmid.
- The platform the Millennium Falcon lands on at Cloud City is numbered 327, the same number as the bay the Falcon lands in on the Death Star in A New Hope. In The Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon Jinn identifies Queen Amidala's ship as a "J-type 327 Nubian."
- Boba Fett was the first character whose first appearance in a Star Wars film was predated by an appearance in some other medium; in this case, an appearance in the animated short included in The Star Wars Holiday Special from 1978.
- Ian McDiarmid did not play the Emperor in the original release of the film. The new version of the scene between Darth Vader and The Emperor (on the DVD) was filmed during principal photography of Revenge of the Sith.
- The Empire Strikes Back is the only Star Wars film in which the teaser trailer features conceptual artwork by Ralph McQuarrie.
- Empire was the only Star Wars film not to have at least one scene on Tatooine, although it is mentioned.
- The film includes a brief image of Vader with his mask off, facing away from the camera. For the original viewers of the film, this scene made it clear for the first time in the series (aside from Vader's ability to use the Force) that Vader is not a robot, but instead organic — and possibly human. This fact becomes significant later, when Vader makes a surprise revelation that might be confusing without the earlier scene.
- The second level of the Shadows of the Empire video game takes place very shortly after Imperial snowtroopers invade Echo Base; the Falcon can be seen departing when the player enters the second hangar area.
- The scene in which Luke gets knocked out by the Wampa was added to explain the scarring that occurred on Mark Hamill's face after a motor accident. While filming The Star Wars Holiday Special, Hamill had to wear a significant amount of makeup, as he hadn't fully healed yet. Although this was done to improve his appearance as Luke, some have felt that it distorts his appearance as the character. This same mistake was not made in filming The Empire Strikes Back.
- Irvin Kershner was a professor at the University of Southern California at the same time George Lucas was there as a film student.
Screenplay and novel tie-in
The script was co-written by Lawrence Kasdan and Leigh Brackett (a veteran science-fiction author who helped make the film more purely in the genre of space opera than any other in the series) based on an original story by Lucas. Unfortunately, she died before the film was completed. Brackett's contribution to the screenplay is controversial; see further here.
A book version of the movie was written by Donald F. Glut which added some background information beyond what is depicted onscreen.
Radio drama
A radio drama of the film was written by Brian Daley and produced for and broadcast on the National Public Radio in 1983. There were 10 episodes that were each 22 to 24 minutes long. 750,000 people tuned in to listen to the series on February 14, Valentines Day. The Los Angeles times described it as a "fun, spine-tingling, mind-bending piece of escapist entertainment that doesn't miss the visuals a bit." [3]
Main cast
- redirect Template:Not verified
- See-Threepio (C-3PO).......Anthony Daniels
- Luke Skywalker............Mark Hamill
- Han Solo..................Harrison Ford
- Yoda......................Frank Oz
- Darth Vader...............Brock Peters
- Princess Leia Organa......Carrie Fisher
- Lando Calrissian..........Billy Dee Williams
Credits
- Written by Brian Daley
- Based on Characters and Situations Created by George Lucas and on the Screenplay by Leigh Brackett and George Lucas
- Directed by John Madden
- Sound Mixing & Post Production by Tom Voegeli
- Music by John Williams
- Sound Design for Lucasfilm by Ben Burtt
Soundtrack
Template:Sample box start variation 2 Template:Multi-listen start Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen end Template:Sample box end A special edition 2-disk soundtrack was released on September 21 2004. The music is composed and conducted by John Williams and is performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. There is a little over two hours of music in this set.[4]
Track listing
Disc one
- 1. 20th Century Fox Fanfare
- 2. Main Title/The Ice Planet Hoth
- 3. The Wampa's Lair/Vision of Obi-Wan/Snowspeeders Take Flight
- 4. The Imperial Probe/Aboard the Executor
- 5. The Battle of Hoth (The Ion Cannon/Imperial Walkers/Beneath the At-At/Escape in the Millennium Falcon)
- 6. The Asteroid Field
- 7. Arrival at Dagobah
- 8. Luke's Nocturnal Visitor
- 9. Han Solo and the Princess
- 10.Jedi Master Revealed/Mynock Cave
- 11.The Training of a Jedi Knight/The Magic Tree
Disc two
- 1.The Imperial March (Darth Vader's Theme)
- 2.Yoda's Theme
- 3.Attacking a Star Destroyer
- 4.Yoda and the Force
- 5.Imperial Starfleet Deployed/City in the Clouds
- 6.Lando's Palace
- 7.Betrayal at Bespin
- 8.Deal With the Dark Lord
- 9.Carbon Freeze/Vader's Trap/Departure of Boba Fett
- 10.The Clash of Lightsabers
- 11.Rescue from Cloud City/Hyperspace
- 12.The Rebel Fleet/End Title
DVD release
Image:20040624a 2 bg.jpeg The Empire Strikes Back was released on DVD in September 2004. It was bundled with A New Hope and Return of the Jedi along with a bonus disc in a boxed set. It was digitally restored and remastered, with more changes made by George Lucas, detailed in List of changes in Star Wars re-releases. The bonus disc included, according to the official site, "all-new bonus features, including the most comprehensive feature-length documentary ever produced on the Star Wars saga, and never-before-seen footage from the making of all three films."
Features:
- Available Subtitles (USA): English
- Available Audio Tracks (USA): English (Dolby Digital 5.1 EX), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
- Commentary by George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren, and Carrie Fisher
Bonus disc features:
- Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy
- Featurettes: The Legendary Creatures of Star Wars, The Birth of the Lightsaber, The Legacy of Star Wars
- Teasers, trailers, TV spots, still galleries
- Playable Xbox demo of the new Lucasarts game Star Wars Battlefront
- The making of the Episode III videogame
- Exclusive preview of Star Wars: Episode III
The set was reissued in December 2005 as part of a three-disc "limited edition" boxed set that did not feature the bonus disc.
External links
- The official Episode V site
- {{{2|{{{title|Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back}}}}}} at The Internet Movie Database
- The Empire Strikes Back at Wookieepedia.
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