Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
American collectors card by Topps Widevision, no. 78. Photo: Lucasfilm LTD. Yoda (with the voice of Frank Oz) in Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980). Caption: Ext. Dagobah - Bog. Luke is unable to raise his ship from the bog with his levitation skills. Quietly, Yoda turns towards the sunken x-wing fighter. With his eyes closed, he raises his arm and points at the ship. Soon the fighter rises above the water and moves forward as Artoo beeps in terror and scoots away.
In Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980), the adventure continues that started in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (George Lucas, 1977). It is the fifth, but second made, instalment in the Star Wars series. The screenplay was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan.
Three years have passed since Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (George Lucas, 1977). In Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) are now officially members of the Rebels, holed up on the ice planet Hoth. However, Han is wanted en masse by bounty hunters because of his debt to Jabba the Hutt. Moreover, the Galactic Empire is bent on revenge after the destruction of the Death Star and has launched a massive search for the rebels. On Hoth, Luke is attacked by a wampa. The latter takes the unconscious Luke to an ice cave, where Luke (having woken up again) cuts off the wampa's arm with his lightsaber and flees outside. At the Rebel Alliance on the same planet, Han notices that Luke is not coming back, and goes looking for him. While Han is on a quest, Luke sees the ghost of his old teacher Obi-Wan Kenobi. The latter tells him to go to the planet Dagobah to look for Yoda, the last surviving Jedi master. He can train Luke further. Then Obi-Wan's ghost disappears and Han arrives. Luke and Han are rescued by a snow speeder, which takes them back to the Rebel Alliance. The Rebels face an attack by the Imperial forces and its AT-AT walkers and they are brutally overpowered by the Empire. While Han Solo, Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) escape in the damaged Millennium Falcon. Luke Skywalker travels with R2-D2 (Kenny baker) to Dagobah in search of Yoda (voice of Frank Oz). Only with the Jedi Master's help will Luke survive when the Dark Side of the Force beckons him into the ultimate duel with Darth Vader. Luke begins Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader (David Prowse and the voice of James Earl Jones) and bounty hunter Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch).
George Lucas had originally planned to only executive produce and finance Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), leaving the directorial duties in the hands of Irvin Kershner and day-to-day producing duties to Gary Kurtz. Directing Star Wars (1977) had left Lucas exhausted and sick, and he had intended to take time off to start to focus on the expansion of the Lucasfilm company and spending more time with his then-wife Marcia Lucas so that they could start a family and finish construction on Skywalker Ranch. In order to avoid sharing creative rights, George Lucas decided to avoid using a major studio to finance Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980). Instead, he bankrolled the $18 million production himself, using a combination of his profits from Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977) and a bank loan. Although the move was risky, it would later pay off several times over. However, when production on The Empire Strikes Back (1980) ran over budget and behind schedule, Lucas had to step in and take a more hands-on role, going on location to oversee filming and even directing portions of the film. A disastrous rough cut of the film proved to be incoherent during screenings, and facing the possibility of financial ruin, Lucas then re-edited the film himself with even worse results. Extensive re-shoots and further post-production effects work put enormous strain on his health, his marriage, and his relationships with Kershner and Kurtz. To preserve the dramatic opening of the Star Wars films, George Lucas insisted on moving all the credits to the end of the film. However, although the Writers' Guild and Directors' Guild had begrudgingly allowed this on Star Wars (1977) because that film wasn't expected to be very successful, they resented the trend being continued on the sequel. First, they tried to pull the film from release but were unsuccessful. They then fined Lucas heavily and tried to fine Irvin Kershner, but Lucas paid all of the fines himself (nearly $250,000). Lucas then bitterly dropped his membership in the Writers' Guild, Directors' Guild, and the Motion Picture Association of America, a move that has hindered his hiring choices for later films.
A new character was Yoda, originally designed by British make-up artist Stuart Freeborn and voiced by Frank Oz. In the original Star Wars trilogy, he is realised as a puppet, controlled by Oz. The Dagobah set needed to be elevated to give Frank Oz and three other puppeteers room to control the Yoda puppet from below. For proper interaction, Mark Hamill was given an earpiece so he could hear Oz doing Yoda's voice. On numerous occasions, director Irvin Kershner would give a direction to Yoda by mistake, and Oz would have to remind him who to speak to. Harrison Ford wanted Han Solo to die at the end of this second film, and he did not want to play the character again. When Star Wars (1977) was made, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill were signed for a three-movie deal, but Ford refused since the character had played his part already in the second film. Instead of killing off the character, George Lucas had a different idea. He opted for Han to be frozen in carbonite, in case Ford had a change of heart and agreed to return in the third film, the character would be revived. And yes, Han Solo still had a heroic part to play in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (Richard Marquand, 1983). Lucas recovered his investment within three months of the release of Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980). After the various increases in budget, the film became one of the most expensive of its day and after the bank threatened to pull his loan, George Lucas was forced to approach Twentieth Century Fox. Lucas made a deal with the studio to secure the loan in exchange for paying the studio more money but without the loss of his sequel and merchandising rights. After the film's box-office success, unhappiness at the studio over the deal's generosity to Lucas caused studio president Alan Ladd, Jr. to quit. Lucas, however, showed gratitude far beyond the Hollywood norm by sharing the profits with his employees (nearly $5 million in bonuses). Though the film proved to be an enormous commercial and critical success, George Lucas would never work with Gary Kurtz again, and his marriage with Marcia Lucas dissolved a couple of years later.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
American collectors card by Topps Widevision, no. 78. Photo: Lucasfilm LTD. Yoda (with the voice of Frank Oz) in Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980). Caption: Ext. Dagobah - Bog. Luke is unable to raise his ship from the bog with his levitation skills. Quietly, Yoda turns towards the sunken x-wing fighter. With his eyes closed, he raises his arm and points at the ship. Soon the fighter rises above the water and moves forward as Artoo beeps in terror and scoots away.
In Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980), the adventure continues that started in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (George Lucas, 1977). It is the fifth, but second made, instalment in the Star Wars series. The screenplay was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan.
Three years have passed since Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (George Lucas, 1977). In Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) are now officially members of the Rebels, holed up on the ice planet Hoth. However, Han is wanted en masse by bounty hunters because of his debt to Jabba the Hutt. Moreover, the Galactic Empire is bent on revenge after the destruction of the Death Star and has launched a massive search for the rebels. On Hoth, Luke is attacked by a wampa. The latter takes the unconscious Luke to an ice cave, where Luke (having woken up again) cuts off the wampa's arm with his lightsaber and flees outside. At the Rebel Alliance on the same planet, Han notices that Luke is not coming back, and goes looking for him. While Han is on a quest, Luke sees the ghost of his old teacher Obi-Wan Kenobi. The latter tells him to go to the planet Dagobah to look for Yoda, the last surviving Jedi master. He can train Luke further. Then Obi-Wan's ghost disappears and Han arrives. Luke and Han are rescued by a snow speeder, which takes them back to the Rebel Alliance. The Rebels face an attack by the Imperial forces and its AT-AT walkers and they are brutally overpowered by the Empire. While Han Solo, Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) escape in the damaged Millennium Falcon. Luke Skywalker travels with R2-D2 (Kenny baker) to Dagobah in search of Yoda (voice of Frank Oz). Only with the Jedi Master's help will Luke survive when the Dark Side of the Force beckons him into the ultimate duel with Darth Vader. Luke begins Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader (David Prowse and the voice of James Earl Jones) and bounty hunter Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch).
George Lucas had originally planned to only executive produce and finance Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), leaving the directorial duties in the hands of Irvin Kershner and day-to-day producing duties to Gary Kurtz. Directing Star Wars (1977) had left Lucas exhausted and sick, and he had intended to take time off to start to focus on the expansion of the Lucasfilm company and spending more time with his then-wife Marcia Lucas so that they could start a family and finish construction on Skywalker Ranch. In order to avoid sharing creative rights, George Lucas decided to avoid using a major studio to finance Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980). Instead, he bankrolled the $18 million production himself, using a combination of his profits from Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977) and a bank loan. Although the move was risky, it would later pay off several times over. However, when production on The Empire Strikes Back (1980) ran over budget and behind schedule, Lucas had to step in and take a more hands-on role, going on location to oversee filming and even directing portions of the film. A disastrous rough cut of the film proved to be incoherent during screenings, and facing the possibility of financial ruin, Lucas then re-edited the film himself with even worse results. Extensive re-shoots and further post-production effects work put enormous strain on his health, his marriage, and his relationships with Kershner and Kurtz. To preserve the dramatic opening of the Star Wars films, George Lucas insisted on moving all the credits to the end of the film. However, although the Writers' Guild and Directors' Guild had begrudgingly allowed this on Star Wars (1977) because that film wasn't expected to be very successful, they resented the trend being continued on the sequel. First, they tried to pull the film from release but were unsuccessful. They then fined Lucas heavily and tried to fine Irvin Kershner, but Lucas paid all of the fines himself (nearly $250,000). Lucas then bitterly dropped his membership in the Writers' Guild, Directors' Guild, and the Motion Picture Association of America, a move that has hindered his hiring choices for later films.
A new character was Yoda, originally designed by British make-up artist Stuart Freeborn and voiced by Frank Oz. In the original Star Wars trilogy, he is realised as a puppet, controlled by Oz. The Dagobah set needed to be elevated to give Frank Oz and three other puppeteers room to control the Yoda puppet from below. For proper interaction, Mark Hamill was given an earpiece so he could hear Oz doing Yoda's voice. On numerous occasions, director Irvin Kershner would give a direction to Yoda by mistake, and Oz would have to remind him who to speak to. Harrison Ford wanted Han Solo to die at the end of this second film, and he did not want to play the character again. When Star Wars (1977) was made, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill were signed for a three-movie deal, but Ford refused since the character had played his part already in the second film. Instead of killing off the character, George Lucas had a different idea. He opted for Han to be frozen in carbonite, in case Ford had a change of heart and agreed to return in the third film, the character would be revived. And yes, Han Solo still had a heroic part to play in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (Richard Marquand, 1983). Lucas recovered his investment within three months of the release of Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980). After the various increases in budget, the film became one of the most expensive of its day and after the bank threatened to pull his loan, George Lucas was forced to approach Twentieth Century Fox. Lucas made a deal with the studio to secure the loan in exchange for paying the studio more money but without the loss of his sequel and merchandising rights. After the film's box-office success, unhappiness at the studio over the deal's generosity to Lucas caused studio president Alan Ladd, Jr. to quit. Lucas, however, showed gratitude far beyond the Hollywood norm by sharing the profits with his employees (nearly $5 million in bonuses). Though the film proved to be an enormous commercial and critical success, George Lucas would never work with Gary Kurtz again, and his marriage with Marcia Lucas dissolved a couple of years later.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.