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Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 23, 2018 3:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lucas' original idea was that Darth Vader revealed to Luke that Obi Wan Kenobi had killed his Father rather than Vader or the fact that he was going to be Annakin Skywalker! Mark Hamill definitely looked very different from his earlier appearance in Star Wars (not a New Hope, it was Star Wars in 77 and still is) Luke loses faith in Ben's spirit and this would have led to other hidden facts in the third film! I also thought the Emperor sounded like Alec Guiness when I first saw the film and I was suspecting that Ben Kenobi was either not really dead or had always been the fountainhead of the evil Empire! A bit like how they write Star Wars films these days. No one really knows what the hell is going on from one minute to the next!
JB
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Krel
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 23, 2018 11:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

orzel-w wrote:
Bud Brewster wrote:
Some folks doubt that Lucas had that in mind originally, but Lucas has claimed he did. Still, one wonders . . .

I've long suspected that Lucas made up a lot of his plot specifics on the fly. He may have had an overall story arc in mind from the beginning, but too many elements come across as spontaneous.

I think that the popularity of Han Solo took Lucas by surprise, forcing him to alter the story line to give Han a larger part in the story. Han turned out to be the breakout character, and the audiences demanded more of the character.

David.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2018 11:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Here's another good Starlog article from issue #36 about The Empire Strikes Back.

Click on each page here to see a large, easy-to-read version you can zoom in on. Click on the large version again, and then zoom in as close as you want!

Below each image you'll see this:

Click here to see the original page above, before I enhanced it.

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~ Click here to see the original page above, before I enhanced it.




~ Click here to see the original page above, before I enhanced it.




~ Click here to see the original page above, before I enhanced it.




~ Click here to see the original page above, before I enhanced it.

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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2018 12:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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The article above was written before Empire was released, and one interesting thing it reveals is that the original title of the first Star Wars movie in 1977 was supposed to be Star Wars, Episode 4 — A New Hope. But the title was shortened to just Star Wars because the produces felt that the longer title might be “too confusing”.

So, even though we all remember the title of the first movie as just Star Wars, the addition of “A New Hope” was not something added to the title after the first trilogy came out. It was in fact the original title.

The article also contains a wealth of interesting facts about the production of the movie and a few items about the plot. It's worth reading.

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Maurice
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 16, 2018 4:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Leigh Brackett only worked on Empire, not Star Wars.

Lucas apparently hit on the idea of making Leia and Luke siblings while writing Jedi, because he needed something that would cause Luke to flip out and attack Vader and almost give in to the dark side.

I don't believe that the first film was ever planned to be called A New Hope until they were planning Empire. A lot of Lucas's notes for the script appear in the book The Making of Star Wars and that episode title is nowhere to be seen.

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Last edited by Maurice on Mon Jan 06, 2020 2:39 am; edited 1 time in total
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 16, 2018 9:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maurice wrote:
Leigh Brackett only worked on Empire, not Star Wars.

The author of the Starlog article doesn't actually say that Leigh Brackett claimed the original title was Star Wars, Episode VI - A New Hope. He just includes the statement as info the author offered on his own. He follows his statement with a quote from Brackett which pertains to the addition of the episode number and title later on.

"[Star Wars] was to have been our tribute to the old movie serials. Now we're going back to the episode titles."

The author of the info below in IMDB's Frequently Asked Questions section also states that the title was changed from Star Wars, Episode IV, A New Hope to just Star Wars before the film's release, at the insistence of the Fox studio heads.

Perhaps this is wrong as well, but it's consistent with the Starlog article's statement.
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Why has the title been changed?

When the film was originally released in 1977, it was simply referred to as "Star Wars"; though supposedly, George Lucas had intended to include "Episode IV" and "A New Hope" in the opening crawl, but Twentieth Century Fox did not want Lucas to do so because they thought it would confuse audiences, since there were never any other episodes released before it.

After the commercial success of the original Star Wars, Lucas was able to continue with the multi-film epic he originally envisioned. The first sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, was released in 1980 and bore the full title of "Star Wars, Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back" in the title crawl, although it was referred to only as "The Empire Strikes Back" as the title of its commercial release.

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A Wikipedia article supports this claim as well in their article entitled Star Wars (film) (which has one of those URLs you can't copy and paste, for some damn reason. Rolling Eyes)

Just Google Star Wars (film) - Wikipedia and it will be the top item on the list. Then scroll down to the section called Title and you'll find this.
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The film was originally released in 1977 with the title "Star Wars". The subtitles Episode IV and A New Hope were only added to the opening crawl in subsequent re-releases

Accounts differ as to when this designation was first added; some date the change at the theatrical re-release of April 10, 1981, while others place it much earlier at the re-release in July 1978.

The retroactive addition of these subtitles was intended to bring the film into line with the introduction to its sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, which was released in 1980 bearing the designation "Episode V". It is uncertain if the introduction of an episodic naming convention was an indicator of Lucas's original intent, or if this was simply a later redraft of the narrative.

According to some accounts, Lucas has claimed that he was discouraged by Twentieth Century Fox from using an episode number on a new film because it would confuse audiences.

Gary Kurtz has stated that he and Lucas had originally considered using an episode number for Star Wars to emulate the chapter numbering used in the 1936 Flash Gordon installments, but they were uncertain whether they should designate it Episode III, IV or V. However, some of Lucas's early script drafts bear titles such as "The Adventures of the Starkiller (Episode One): The Star Wars" (1975) or "The Adventures of Luke Starkiller as Taken from the Journal of the Whills: Saga One: Star Wars" (1976).

The Revised Fourth Draft of the script dated January 1975 acquired the subtitle "Episode IV – A New Hope – from the Journal of the Whills" when published in the 1979 book The Art of Star Wars.

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Maurice
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 1:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
...The author of the info below in IMDB's Frequently Asked Questions section also states that the title was changed from Star Wars, Episode IV, A New Hope to just Star Wars before the film's release, at the insistence of the Fox studio heads.

Perhaps this is wrong as well, but it's consistent with the Starlog article's statement.

The Wikipedia article cited points out the discrepancies in the various accounts regarding the use of an episode number and title, so it doesn't confirm anything much except that there's no clear answer.

Quote:
A Wikipedia article supports this claim as well in their article entitled Star Wars (film) (which has one of those URLs you can't copy and paste, for some damn reason. Rolling Eyes)

I can help you fix that. The issue isn't with the copy and paste but that many sites like this board can't parse certain characters in a web address. In these examples it is the parentheses at fault, so you just have to replace those characters with their percent encoded values, so you replace ( with %28 and ) with %29 and the url works like so...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_%28film%29

You can also link directly to a section of the article by adding a hashtag to the end of the URL followed by the section name, like so...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_%28film%29#Title

Finally, here'a a link that shows the percent encoded values for these and other characters.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:URL#Fixing_links_with_unsupported_characters

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Bogmeister
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 20, 2019 5:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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_Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back - Trailer


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The 1st sequel to the original Star Wars (77) and the 5th chapter in a 6-part movie series (though a 7th chapter is due in 2015).

This takes place about 3 years after Star Wars, which concluded with the rebels blowing up the Empire's ultimate weapon, the Death Star (Luke Skywalker did the honors). Things have not been going very well for the rebellion after this triumph. The Empire's forces have chased them off their hidden base and they were forced to relocate to the icy planet of Hoth.

Luke (Mark Hamill) has become something of a leader, according to the opening scrawl, and he has continued to learn a bit about the use of "The Force" — such as levitating objects, but he has no teacher. That's where Yoda comes in — this was the first appearance of the small, green Jedi Master (though chronologically his earlier appearances were in the 3 prequels).

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What happens is this.

Luke gets bushwhacked by a Yeti-like snow monster. After escaping, he's rescued from the cold by Han Solo (Harrison Ford). Meanwhile, Leia (Carrie Fisher) is confused over her feelings for Luke & Han — seems like a triangle has formed.

Then the Empire finds their base and attacks. The rebels have to relocate once more, but Luke, seeing a ghostly image of Ben Kenobi (Alec Guinness in cameo), instead goes to the planet Dagobah with R2D2, a swamp world where Yoda hides in exile.

At the same time, Han, Leia, Chewbacca, and C3PO — flitting about in the suddenly unreliable Millennium Falcon — do their best to avoid the Imperial fleet, headed by Darth Vader and a number of officers whom Vader swiftly disposes of when they fail him.

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Han's group, after some adventure in an asteroid belt, end up in a cloud city which is run by an old buddy of his named Lando (Billy Dee Williams).

Unfortunately, Vader's forces have somehow preceded them there and Lando turns them over to save his city. I'm not sure how the Imperial troops were so quick, except that it has to do with one of the bounty hunters hired by Vader, Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch).

As established in the 1st film, Han owes money to a slug-like gangster named Jabba the Hut, so Fett will earn a nice bounty by delivering Han. To facilitate this, Vader has Han frozen in Carbonite. Vader's primary goal, however, is to capture Luke. He had consulted with a hologram of the Emperor and determined how important Luke is.

Luke has been undergoing training with Yoda (FX puppetry & voice by Frank Oz), but senses that his friends are in trouble. Against Yoda's advice, he goes to the rescue.

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As many viewers would suspect, all this was simply a prelude for the main show — Luke's confrontation with Vader. And, this epic sequence does not disappoint, also containing one of the most startling, dramatic revelations in film history.

But when I first watched this film in theaters in 1980, I was disappointed in the lead up. It all seemed so frivolous and inconsequential — all the chasing and running about — and I was surprised by how little the story actually advances in this one. The structure of the script is simply less elegant than the flawless pace of the first one.

It also came across as 'smaller' than the 1st Star Wars (77); it was all confined to the main characters, besides the 1st act on Hoth and then that cloud city on Bespin. The central act just seems like filler for the most part. I also wasn't as impressed by Yoda as were many fans. His profundities were not all that extraordinary, even if the mystical leanings and overall tone were aimed at a slightly older crowd.

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On top of all this, I was not enamored of the characters as much as I was in the first film.

The weakest one is the new one, Lando, as played by Williams. He always seems to be holding back, stiff and even clenching his teeth. I think he was miscast as the supposedly roguish gambler. The main characters from the first film are also all more awkward, less natural. The humor seems forced at times, though Ford gets better by the middle of the film.

The one who shines is Anthony Daniels as C3PO — his comic timing is always on the mark. And, of course, Vader — voiced by James Earl Jones again and costumed by Dave Prowse — is commanding as ever. His scenes are the ones everyone waits for.

In all, this was still an entertaining sci-fi epic, with no real conclusion because it continued in Return of the Jedi (83).

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Empire of Trivia: This was the highest-grossing film of 1980, much like the first Star Wars (77), but it only sold about two-thirds of the tickets of the first one. In the upgraded 1997 version, the scene with the holographic Emperor was changed to include actor Ian McDiarmid, so that it matched his appearance in Return of the Jedi (83).

BoG's Score: 8 out of 10




BoG
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Last edited by Bogmeister on Sun May 19, 2019 12:39 pm; edited 1 time in total
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johnnybear
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PostPosted: Sat May 04, 2019 8:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes I remember they changed the Emperor from Clive Revill to Ian McDiarmid for the 1997 release and a smooth transition! Sadly people today will never know the difference and it's odd that they haven't inserted the Emperor into Star Wars itself as well! Surprised
JB
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat May 04, 2019 2:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

johnnybear wrote:
Sadly people today will never know the difference and it's odd that they haven't inserted the Emperor into Star Wars itself as well! Surprised
JB

I'm curious about how the Emperor could be added to the original Star Wars story. What ideas do you have about that, JB?
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 14, 2019 5:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I'm still waiting for somebody to tell me that poor Mark Hammil's face was changed dramatically by his accident, despite all the articles quoted above which claim the injuries weren't all that extensive. Shocked

In a word . . . bullshit. Rolling Eyes



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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


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Maurice
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 5:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
I was not aware until I read this article that the scripts for Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back were written by Leigh Brackett, who passed away shortly after finishing the script for Empire.

Brackett did not work on Star Wars. She was hired on Empire, but passed away after delivering the first draft. That's why they hired Lawrence Kasdan.
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ralfy
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PostPosted: Mon May 04, 2020 2:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Check out this controversial article:

"Why The Empire Strikes Back is Overrated"


Quote:
The general consensus is that the second in the original Star Wars trilogy - released 40 years ago - is the best. In fact, it’s to blame for the franchise’s problems, writes Nicholas Barber.
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Eadie
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 12, 2020 1:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A 40th anniversary poster has been released today:


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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 12, 2020 4:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Good Lord, that is a gorgeous poster! Cool

Hey . . . wait a minute! Confused

This mean the movie I saw when I was 32 years old . . . is now forty years old? Shocked

That's insane! How can a movie I first saw when I was half the age I am now be eight years older than I was when I first saw it! Crying or Very sad

If this isn't a legitimate reason for a man to drink beer, I don't know what is!




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~ The Space Children (1958)
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