Star Wars: The Emperor (Film)

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) is an American science fiction, action, and adventure film directed by Irvin Kershner and written by George Lucas, Leigh Brackett, and Lawrence Kasdan. The film, originally titled Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, is the fifth installment in the Star Wars series and is set three years after the Battle of Yavin.

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Three years after the Battle of Yavin, the Imperial Fleet deploys reconnaissance droids across various regions of the galaxy to locate the Rebel Alliance’s hidden base. One of these droids discovers the secret rebel outpost on the ice planet Hoth. While on patrol, Luke Skywalker is captured by a Wampa but manages to escape using the Force. While struggling to survive the freezing conditions outside, the spirit of his former master Obi-Wan Kenobi appears to him and instructs him to travel to the planet Dagobah to train under Jedi Master Yoda. Han Solo finds Luke during his patrol and rescues him from freezing to death.

Darth Vader leads an Imperial assault on Hoth using AT-AT walkers. Outmatched by this powerful attack, the Rebels are forced to evacuate their base. Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO escape aboard the Millennium Falcon and take refuge within an asteroid belt to evade Imperial ships.

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Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 arrive on Dagobah in an X-wing fighter. There, Luke meets Yoda and begins intensive Jedi training. However, while still in training, he experiences strong premonitions that his friends are in danger. Despite warnings from Obi-Wan and Yoda, he abandons his training to go rescue them^【1】.

Han Solo and his companions travel to Cloud City on Bespin, managed by Han’s old friend Lando Calrissian, to repair their ship. However, Darth Vader, with the help of the bounty hunter Boba Fett, has arrived ahead of them and coerced Lando into cooperating with the Empire. To lure Luke into a trap, Vader freezes Han Solo in carbonite and hands him over to Boba Fett for delivery to Jabba the Hutt.

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Arriving at Cloud City, Luke Skywalker engages Darth Vader in a lightsaber duel in the central ventilation shaft. During the fight, Vader severs Luke’s right hand and reveals that he is Luke’s father. Luke rejects Vader’s offer to join the dark side and leaps into the ventilation shaft. He is rescued by Leia and Lando, who escape aboard the Millennium Falcon.

The main characters and the actors who portray or voice them are as follows:

• Mark Hamill: Luke Skywalker
• Harrison Ford: Han Solo
• Carrie Fisher: Princess Leia Organa
• David Prowse: Darth Vader
• Billy Dee Williams: Lando Calrissian
• Alec Guinness: Obi-Wan Kenobi
• Frank Oz: Yoda (Voice)
• Julian Glover: General Veers
• Kenneth Colley: Captain/Admiral Piett

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The film was produced by George Lucas, Rick McCallum, and Gary Kurtz on behalf of Lucasfilm. Cinematography was handled by Peter Suschitzky and editing by Paul Hirsch. The original musical score was composed by John Williams.

Exterior scenes on the planet Hoth were filmed at the Hardangerjøkulen Glacier and the Finse region in Norway^【2】. Estimated production budgets for the film range between $18 million and $30 million USD. The film’s total runtime is recorded as 124 minutes (2 hours 8 minutes).

The film earned $4,910,483 USD in its opening weekend in the United States and Canada (25 May 1980). Its total box office gross in North America (United States and Canada) amounted to $292,753,960 USD. Worldwide box office revenue reached $550,016,086 USD^【3】.

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back has received numerous prestigious awards and nominations since its release.

• Won: Best Sound (Bill Varney, Steve Maslow, Gregg Landaker, Peter Sutton)
• Won: Special Achievement Award for Visual Effects (Brian Johnson, Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Bruce Nicholson)^【4】
• Nominated: Best Art Direction and Set Decoration (Norman Reynolds, Leslie Dilley, Harry Lange, Alan Tomkins, Michael Ford)
• Nominated: Best Original Film Score (John Williams)

• Won: Best Science Fiction Film
• Won: Best Actor (Mark Hamill)
• Won: Best Director (Irvin Kershner)
• Won: Best Special Effects (Brian Johnson, Richard Edlund)
• Nominations: Best Supporting Actor (Billy Dee Williams), Best Screenplay (Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan), Best Music (John Williams), Best Costume (John Mollo)^【5】

• BAFTA Awards: John Williams won the Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music. The film was also nominated for Best Production Design/Art Direction and Best Sound.
• Grammy Awards: John Williams won Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special and Best Pop Instrumental Performance.^【6】.
• Hugo Awards: The film won the award for Best Dramatic Presentation.