Subject: Review: The Empire Strikes Back Special Edition (1997)

From: Steve Kong <[email-masked]>
Date: 29 Dec 1997 05:09:51 GMT

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK SPECIAL EDITION (1997)

A film review by Steve Kong
Copyright 1997 Steve Kong

The Empire Strikes Back is the middle child of the Star Wars Trilogy. It is
darkest of the three and, for me, the best of the Trilogy.

The Empire Strikes Back introduces us to two new characters:  Lando
Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) and the immanently smart Jedi Master Yoda
(voiced by Frank Oz).  My favourite, as all my friends know, is Yoda.  Yoda
serves as the voice of the Trilogy creator George Lucas and he has many
things to say and teach both Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and us.  Many of
the most memorable lines from the Star Wars Trilogy come from The Empire
Strikes Back and from Yoda.  (My favourite is "Try not. Do... or do not.
There is no try.")

I find ESB my favourite of the Trilogy because it has a good mix of action
and adventure.  This along with all the intelligence of Yoda makes for a
movie that I love to watch over and over again.  From the opening Hoth snow
battle to the escape through an asteroid belt and to the final lightsaber
duel, ESB is a joy to watch.

The updates for the special edition include some new views of Cloud City,
extra footage of Darth Vader, and some really pumped up sound.  The sound
is the thing that makes the biggest difference between seeing the original
version and the Special Edition version.  Star Destroyers now not only
cruise from back to front, they rumble from back to front.  The extra
allowances in the fidelity of today's audio equipment make for some pretty
exciting enhancements throughout the film.

I am glad that Lucas decided to leave in most of the original special
effects, instead of running rampant throughout the film and replacing them
with digital effects.  Lucas shows restraint and really only adds little
bits here and there to the special effects of the original.  Which I thank
him for because the original special effects are still quite impressive.

John Williams again scores this film and the score is like all of Williams'
other scores -- brilliant.  The best of the new score is "The Imperial
March" which is Darth Vader's theme, something that brings a feeling of
dread when you hear it.  Irvin Kershner does a great job taking over the
director's reign with The Empire Strikes Back.  He does not lose any of the
pacing set by George Lucas.

My favourite character of the whole Trilogy is Yoda.  Full of good advice
and intelligence, Frank Oz has created a creature that is the best addition
to the whole Trilogy.  And for The Empire Strikes Back Yoda is the best
actor of the film.  Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill have
settled in to their respective roles quite nicely.  The ever quibbling
C-3PO and R2-D2 are again in the film for some comic relief, which I loved.

ESB shows, more than Star Wars: A New Hope, how it is not the special
effects that make a movie, but the characters, story, and pure fun of the
adventure that makes the movie.  ESB pulls us into the tight circle of
characters and their adventures.  We follow Luke on his adventure to
Degobah to train with the Jedi Master Yoda while we cheer and bite our
nails as we follow Han, Leia, and C3-PO while they try to escape from the
Empire.  There is much for modern day Hollywood to learn from the Star Wars
Trilogy.

Don't Miss The Empire Strikes Back Special Edition.  I would recommend the
Special Edition of The Empire Strikes Back over the original for the sole
reason that it sounds so much better.  And be sure to see it wide screen --
if it's still running in a second run theatre catch it there, if not, get
the letterbox VHS release or the Special Edition Laserdisc collection.

---
 steve kong                                        [email-masked]
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