Irvin Kershner vs George Lucas

Rating: 10/10 (16 June 2003)

For me, The Empire Strikes Back is one of the best films I have seen. It is the best of the five Star Wars films, though perhaps that is down to director Irvin Kershner who tweaked George Lucas's original vision into something darker than the original and infinitely bleaker than the follow-up Return of the Jedi. Lucas reportedly hated 'Empire' upon seeing what Kershner had done to his film and put together another cut that he later conceded was inferior, and Kershner's vision made it to screens around the world.
***SPOILERS***
The Empire Strikes Back serves as an interesting bridge between A New Hope and 'Jedi', introducing Force masters Yoda and the Emperor (the latter not yet played by the magnificent Ian McDiarmid who took on the role in Return of the Jedi three years later), while at the same time taking the original gang of characters and splitting them up in different directions, a scenario copied to the point of tedium by the Expanded Universe books.
Based upon the 'classic trilogy', Darth Vader is one of cinema's greatest villains and perhaps it will take until the release of the sixth film in 2005 to be sure what effect the prequels will have had on that image. In 'A New Hope' we are introduced to a near-merciless killer and his evil nature seems to have grown by the time of 'Empire'. One by one, incompetent underlings make their way to the Super Star Destroyer morgue as the Sith Lord searches for his prize. It isn't until 'Jedi' that we feel Vader to be human at all, despite the famous cliffhanger end to this film.

It's hard to define what this film means to me, other than alot. Hopefully the DVD is not be lightyears away. 10/10