Comments on: The Day “The Empire Strikes Back” Changed Everything

By: Charles Garber III

Charles Garber III — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:13:14 +0000

I loved reading this because it brings back memories I had of the stories that made my youth fun and memorable. I missed the original motion picture debut of the Star Wars series (born in the wrong decade?), but was caught in the grasp of The Empire just like you. Anyways, thanks for the well thought out blog, and look forward to seeing the next one.

p.s. PLEASE, no Jar-Jar… If he must exist, he then need must fade out of the story rather quickly.

By: David Louis Edelman

David Louis Edelman — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:42:32 +0000

charles: There will be no Ewoks in book 3, but there will be plenty of Jar-Jar Binks.

By: charles

charles — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:27:03 +0000

Funny… I just read Multi-real, and put a post on my facebook page that it reminded me a lot of “The Empire Strikes Back” in a very positive way. Good to see I caught all the right influences… obvious I guess, since I was born around the same time as you. I’m going to assume your book 3 *will* have something similar to princess Leia in the bikini but *nothing* analagous to Ewoks (please)

; )

By: Brad

Brad — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:01:10 +0000

I was 7 years old, and remember vividly my brother taking me to see this the first saturday of its release in 1980. I saw star wars in 1977 but I dont remember it much since I was so young. At 7, the experience of The Empire Strikes Back was quite visceral and scary at times in that theatre but it would make me a fan of the film forever. I enjoyed the other 2 films but for me The Empire Strikes Back was the greatest of them all. Make no mistake about it; none of the films are masterpieces. They are nothing but pure fun but nevertheless they do strike a poignant chord. Theres not much else to say. if anyone hasnt seen it, then see it. It’s fantastic. However view star wars first (aka a new hope), and return of the jedi after Empire Strikes Back. Id also recommend viewing the original theatrical versions since Lucas has altered each one of them drastically since.

By: Bob Nolin

Bob Nolin — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 18:44:56 +0000

Great memoir. I’m even older that Calimac, and for me the world changed when I was 19 and watched the first Star Wars movie in 1977. The opening scene with the star destroyer roaring across the screen was a true rift in time for me. While I can appreciate your experience of Empire, I in the Calimac camp: the “Luke - I am your father” was almost funny. In fact, to my teenage kids, it’s one of their favorite campy lines from an old movie. They love making fun of it. My favorite of the SW movies was actually Return of the Jedi, though I know this is not a popular choice. It has just the right amount of special effects and story, blended in the right proportions. The more recent ones (1-3) are, to me, unwatchable. If there is a story there, it’s well hidden behind a barrage of special effects.

I once owned the first three movies on VHS (4-6, I guess they are now). This was back in the 80’s. There was a “featurette” that came with the boxed version, and in it Lucas pompously opines, “A special effect without a story is boring.” How ironic, considering how the SFX took over his second trilogy. I’m guessing that the only thing holding him back, in 4-6, was the film-based technology limitations of the day. Once digital came along, story went out the window, and eye candy took over. I agree with Lucas. It’s boring.

By: David Louis Edelman

David Louis Edelman — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 17:43:26 +0000

You're right that context is key. My love of Empire has something to do with that rosy glow of childhood. But then again, people's love of Casablanca is caught up with their feelings about World War II. I actually didn't dislike the prequels as much as some people. I liked Phantom Menace at the time, and I still think Revenge of the Sith is a great movie. (Let's not talk about Clones.) I really admire George for tackling something as audacious as the origins of evil, even if the execution left something to be desired.

By: Calimac

Calimac — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 16:27:57 +0000

I’m more than a decade older than you, and was that much more cynical.

I didn’t believe it.

Empire was a fine movie - better than the original - up until the end, when it jumped the shark. In terms of everything that had happened up to that point, Vader was lying. It was a clumsy retcon. And sure enough, all four movies that have come out of Star Wars since - everything based on the retcon notion that Vader is Luke’s father - have stunk.

You’ve read that it’s not a retcon, that Lucas intended for Vader to be Luke’s father all along.

If that’s true, it makes it even worse. For if so, than Lucas achieved a feat that only a writer truly gifted with monumental badness could achieve - to write a preplanned plot twist that LOOKS like a clumsy retcon. Jeepers.

By: Barry Levinson’s Diner (David Louis Edelman’s Blog)

Barry Levinson’s Diner (David Louis Edelman’s Blog) — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 18:06:52 +0000

[...] The Day The Empire Strikes Back Changed Everything [...]

By: Ginny Keller

Ginny Keller — Tue, 31 Oct 2006 17:24:23 +0000

Empire is probably my favorite movie of all time. I feel pretty much the same way about the movie as you do. I was just telling my boyfriend a few days ago how the Star Wars movies really screwed me up! They turned me into a sci-fi geek. I was twelve at the time and pretty much already well on the path to geekdom because of Star Wars and the host of other sci-fi that came out more-or-less around the same time (Battlestar Galactica, Space:1999, Superman: The Movie, Star Trek: The Motion Picture). Anyway - definitely not just a boy thing. Thanks for the post!

By: Daveman

Daveman — Tue, 20 Jun 2006 03:47:24 +0000

Definitely the greatest sequel of all time. I went to the theater expecting Star Wars II. ‘Yeah, the Empire strikes back, but I know at the end of this thing, Luke will be blowing up some big chunk of metal owned by the Empire’. Boy was I wrong. It was so wondrously different than what I had expected.

…Epic snow battle at the beginning of the movie…Wow…people were cheering so loud I did not hear a single word of dialogue.