The Empire Strikes Back (film)
"The Empire Strikes Back," released in 1980, is the second installment of the original Star Wars trilogy created by George Lucas. Following the immense success of the first film, now known as "A New Hope," anticipation for the sequel was high among fans who were eager to continue the story of a rebellion against a tyrannical galactic empire. The film is recognized for its advancements in special effects, building on the groundbreaking techniques introduced in the first movie, and is often cited by critics as one of the strongest entries in the franchise.
The screenplay was initially penned by Leigh Brackett and later completed by Lawrence Kasdan, with music composed by John Williams, whose score won multiple awards, including a BAFTA and a Grammy. "The Empire Strikes Back" not only achieved box office success but also garnered critical acclaim, winning the Academy Award for Best Sound and the People's Choice Award for favorite movie. The film's impact extended beyond its release; it played a significant role in revitalizing the science fiction genre in cinema and influencing future productions to invest in high-quality special effects. Its legacy contributed to the ongoing popularity of the Star Wars franchise and the broader science fiction and fantasy genres in popular culture.
The Empire Strikes Back (film)
Identification Science-fiction film
Director Irvin Kershner
Authors Story by George Lucas; screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and Leigh Brackett
Date Released on May 21, 1980
The Empire Strikes Back continued the massive success of the Star Wars franchise, establishing that the first film’s popularity had not been a fluke. It reinforced Hollywood trends that were just beginning to be established in reaction to Star Wars’s success, including a drive to create expensive, effects-driven spectacles and to exploit the merchandising opportunities such spectacles could generate.
Key Figures
Irvin Kershner (1923- ), film directorGeorge Lucas (1944- ), filmmaker who conceived the storyline ofThe Empire Strikes Back Lawrence Kasdan (1949- ), screenwriterLeigh Brackett (1915-1978), screenwriter
The Empire Strikes Back (1980) was the middle film of the first Star Wars trilogy (1977-1983). The first film, initially released as Star Wars and later retitled A New Hope, had become a massive hit in 1977-1978. It had remained in American first-run theaters for almost a year, eventually earning more than $215 million domestically and more than one-half billion dollars worldwide in its initial release. Fans were well aware that Star Wars was the first film in a projected trilogy and that the trilogy itself was part of a larger saga that could encompass multiple trilogies. They awaited the next film eagerly.
The Star Wars films, conceived by filmmaker George Lucas, told of a repressive galactic empire and a group of rebels fighting to free the galaxy from tyranny and restore a democratic republic. They were shot in a style that intentionally alluded to the movie serials of the 1930’s. Each episode of this “serial,” however, was feature-length, and they were released years apart, rather than weekly. Lucas admitted to being influenced by Universal’s Flash Gordon serials, even including a floating city in The Empire Strikes Back like the one depicted in one of those cliffhangers.The Empire Strikes Back was another blockbuster, although it did not have the remarkable longevity of the first film. In addition to being a box-office success, the film won the 1981 Academy Award for Best Sound and the People’s Choice Award for favorite movie. John Williams’s score won the BAFTA Film, Golden Globe, and Grammy awards. The script won a Hugo Award at the annual World Science Fiction Convention for best dramatic presentation. As had been the case with the first Star Wars film as well, a radio drama featuring an expanded story line was heard for weeks on public radio in 1983. The screenplay was written by Leigh Brackett, who died of cancer while working on it, and modified and completed by Lawrence Kasdan. Brackett had been publishing science-fiction stories and novels since 1940, many of them being “space operas” in the mold of Lucas’s movie series.
Impact
Many critics found The Empire Strikes Back to be the strongest of all the Star Wars movies. Its predecessor in the series had set a new standard for movie special effects , and The Empire Strikes Back, released just three years later, represented another palpable advance. When the trilogy’s final film, The Return of the Jedi, was released in 1983, it too featured effects that dwarfed the achievement of the original. The three films together, then, not only transformed special effects but also gave the impression that the field was entering a phase of constant technical improvement, creating an audience expectation and demand for ever-more-impressive effects in each new major fantasy or science-fiction motion picture.
Before Star Wars, science-fiction films had not generally required large budgets, nor had they been driven by the sort of hyper-realism such budgets could achieve. One notable exception had been Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, but the Star Wars films incorporated effects that were more dazzling (if less pointedly realist) than those of Kubrick’s work. Later science-fiction films could not achieve major success unless they too spent the money required to create top-quality special effects.
The Star Wars films helped rejuvenate another science-fiction franchise. After enjoying an unexpected level of popularity in syndication, the Star Trek television series (1966-1969) had remained in limbo. The success of the Star Wars movies increased the television franchise’s popularity as well, creating the impetus for both feature films and new television series set in the Star Trek universe. Thus, even though the remaining Star Wars movies generated less enthusiasm than the first two, the success of The Empire Strikes Back as a sequel helped make science fiction a highly marketable genre, both in film and in popular culture generally.
Bibliography
Arnold, Alan. Once Upon a Galaxy: A Journal of the Making of “The Empire Strikes Back.” London: Sphere Books, 1980.
Bouzereau, Laurent, ed. Star Wars—The Annotated Screenplays: “Star Wars, a New Hope,” “The Empire Strikes Back,” “Return of the Jedi.” New York: Ballantine Books, 1997.
Clute, John, and Peter Nicholls, eds. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. London: Little, Brown, 1993.