I find The Empire Strikes Back a perfect movie (1 Viewer)

[stephen la]

Im a pretty big star wars fan..
I first saw this movie in 1980 as a 6 year old..
and thought it was boring.. the snow stuff was cool.. the yoda part was slow.. and the cloud city parts were snooze material... when I bought the vhs trilogy in the late 80's
this was always one I couldnt sit through..
I knw im in the minority...but it simpily didnt appeal to me..

 

[TheoGB]

My favourite bit is still "Apology accepted, Captain Needa". Well except for Captain Piet's promotion, maybe.

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[Roland Wandinger]

I didn't like ESB as a child. The dark tone and the "downer" ending spoiled it for me. Today I think it's the second best movie ever!

My favorite is still RotJ, second ESB and than ANH.
Jedi has the most memorable visuals of any movie ever, one of the best scores of all times and .... ahh... I just love it!

 

[Coressel]

I always find it interesting that people think ESB is the greatest Star Wars movie. I don't recall anyone really claiming that until ROTJ came out. Then upon the release of TPM, people pretended that ESB was like Hamlet.
I was 12 when the 1977 Star Wars movie was released and became such a big fan that I all but burned out on it by early 1980. I was not at all interested in seeing "Star Wars 2," and went to see it anyway with a skeptical eye.
My first impression, as a smartass 15 year old by that time, was that it was ok but I wondered why Lucas felt he had to try and make the story so "serious." It just wasn't as fun to sit through as the first one. I saw it once, saw ROTJ once in 1983 (then a really smartass 18 year old), then I swear I never saw either of them again until 1997!
I couldn't even begin to tell you what was added or changed in the SE, which is why I stand by my claim that none of the changes really hurt the films.
I do remember being moved by Vader's revelation to Luke, but I also remember being annoyed by a number of things. For example, I thought that if the two-legged snow camels couldn't look any more convincing than that, then why'd they bother? The big floating city was a variation on the Death Star, complete with bottomless pit. How could Han & company survive outside the ship with nothing but little masks over their faces?
Anyway, I now understand Lucas's themes and variations, and his technique of telling this story. I certainly do appreciate ESB (as well as TPM and ROTJ), but they had to grow on me. Part of my problem was having put the '77 film on such an impossibly high pedestal to begin with.
[Edited last by Coressel on October 29, 2001 at 07:18 AM]

 

[Rob Gillespie]

I love the Brit actors they got for the Imperials in Empire, great casting there. Needa is such a great secondary character. OK, I'm a captain. Shit, now I'm an admiral!

S.L. Jackson's Mace? Come on

Agreed. Winner of the "Great actor giving embarassingly bad performance" award.

 

[TheoGB]

That's not fair on Jackson. The guy has about 3 lines as a Jedi master - a role similar to nothing I've seen him give before but frankly I thought he was good. What did you expect him to do? He has to give the impression of being above petty emotions. I liked it and as I understand it he was only put in the movie late due to his repeated requests to be in them (and I assume Lucas' desire to put him in when he heard). Let's see how he does in the next one.
Coressel, I can honestly say that ESB is considered the best by any SW fan I've ever met. Like I said ROTJ was more popular because it's more of a kids one and among my contemporaries (25-29) it's the one we remember most from the cinema when we were the right age to appreciate it.
However, when re-watching it stands out a mile as the best and it has nothing to do with TPM. If just the two had been made I can see how SW's more complete story would seem better, though.
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[Edited last by TheoGB on October 29, 2001 at 12:17 PM]

 

[DonMac]

Dan Hitchman wrote:

The added "Emperor" scream to Luke's fall was the single worst thing Lucas did to TESB

Completely agree. Although "Greedo Shooting First" gets the most complaints, I think the scream added to Luke's fall is the single worst change in all of the Special Editions! It changes Luke's intended sacrifice and takes away the bravery that it shows in the character and, instead, makes him look like a scared little wimp! Of all of the SE charges, this one makes the least sense.
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[James D S]

That's not fair on Jackson. The guy has about 3 lines as a Jedi master.

Judi Dench received and Academy Award for as many lines (damn near). It's not what you have, it's what you DO with what you have.
That's not a good excuse in my book.

 

[TheoGB]

Judi Dench received and Academy Award for as many lines (damn near). It's not what you have, it's what you DO with what you have.

Hmm. Off hand I don't know what you're talking about but I would guess you mean her role in Shakespeare in Love. If so this is a totally different role - a very important one to the movie.
Moreover the Academy has a habit of ignoring an actor's best performance and then responding later by giving them an Oscar for a lesser role. Did Dame Judi get an Oscor for Mrs Brown? If not this may be a factor.
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[Brian Lawrence]

I agree. Empire Strikes Back, Is by far the best of the Star Wars movies and I do not hesitate one second to use the word MASTERPIECE. It was my #1 favorite film of alltime for many years until Accidental Tourist surpassed it. Lawrence Kasden was involved in both those films. I sure wish Lucas had brought him back to work on Episode 1.

 

[Neil Joseph]

I am one of those that was not bothreed by the ewoks in ROTJ so I like TESB and ROTJ equally really. Both are rgeat films and both have me drooling when I think of each of them as a special edition on dvd. Re: Episode 2, I can't wait to see Mace Windu's role in that film. He dispenses with the bad guys very quickly and efficiently according to the interview with Sam Jackson.
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[TheoGB]

The Ewoks aren't the reason I don't get along with Jedi - it's the loss of characters. That's why I love it up to Jabba's end. After that Han Solo is no longer a grey character and goes all good, sending the film really 'black & white' and doing the series a disservice. That and the corny dialogue that lacks the dark humour of Empire.

 

[Jeff Pounds]

Put me into the camp (25-28 year olds) that probably didn't appreciate Empire as much when it first came out.
I remember liking it because the of the Luke-Vader lightsaber battle at the end...and I remeber the agonizing 3-year wait for ROTJ.
I remember crossing my fingers and hoping that Luke really wasn't Vader's son!!!
I also rembemer absolutly loving ROTJ when if finally did come out and it being my favorite of the trilogy for years...mainly because of the amazing space/ground/lightsaber battle at the end.
ESB became my favorite upon repeat viewings through high school and college.

 

[James D S]

quote: If so this is a totally different role - a very important one to the movie.[/quote]
I thought the Jedi Counsel was pretty important to the movie. At least as important as Queen Elizibeth was in SIL. At least. Almost identical.
So again, the argument doen't do much for me.
Simply put, S. Jackson could have looked more convincing in his deliveries. Is that too much to ask from this journeyman? I don't think so.
Besides, SLJ's performance is such a small gripe in comparison to the other maladies that plague TPM. It's already taken up more time than it's deserved.
[Edited last by James D S on October 31, 2001 at 06:28 PM]

 

[Dome Vongvises]

TESB rocks. It's my second favorite movie/film ever. But does somebody care to take a guess as to what's number one on my list?

When I get the time, I'll try to write down everything great and teeny, weeny bad about TESB.
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