The Empire Strikes Back

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Movie
German title The Empire Strikes Back
(Alternative title:
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back)
Original title The Empire Strikes Back
(Alternative title:
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back)
Imperium german logo.svg
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1980
length Theatrical Version
124 minutes,
Special Edition
127 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
JMK 10
Rod
Director Irvin Kershner
script Leigh Brackett ,
Lawrence Kasdan
production Gary Kurtz
music John Williams
camera Peter Suschitzky
cut Paul Hirsch
occupation
synchronization
chronology

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Star Wars

Successor  →
Return of the Jedi

The Star Wars franchise logo

The Empire Strikes Back (Original title: The Empire Strikes Back ) is an American space opera film from the year 1980 and the second feature film as well as the fifth episode of the Star Wars saga , which the sequel to Star Wars is. Nowadays the film is also known as Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back . The cinema premiere in Germany took place on December 11, 1980.

action

After the destruction of the Death Star three years ago, the Rebel Alliance set up a new secret base on the ice planet Hoth . The Imperial forces, especially Darth Vader , for whom tracking down the rebels is a top priority, send out search droids to find the rebel base. A search droid is sighted and destroyed by Captain Han Solo and Chewbacca on Hoth. But he could already send information. Darth Vader recognizes the base's shield generator and orders several star cruisers to Hoth.

Meanwhile, Commander Luke Skywalker is knocked unconscious by a local snow monster (a wampa) and kidnapped in its cave, he only escapes with the help of the Force . However, he does not manage to return to the echo base (rebel base) on his own, as his tauntaun mount was killed by the wampa and he himself is too weak for the walk. While he is about to freeze to death, Obi-Wan Kenobi instructs him in a vision to go to the Dagobah system , where he finds Master Yoda , who will train Luke to be a Jedi Knight. Shortly thereafter, Luke is saved by Han Solo.

The rebels find out that the Imperial Starfleet has discovered the base, whereupon they begin the evacuation (this was only possible due to the mistake of a Star Destroyer commander, who is then strangled by Vader). After a defensive battle was lost, but most of the rebels had successfully evacuated, the base was captured and the remaining rebels had to flee. Darth Vader lands personally on the planet and invades the echo base with his troops.

Princess Leia Organa flees with Captain Solo and protocol droid C-3PO in Solo's Millennium Falcons . Luke and R2-D2 escape in an X-wing . Luke sets course for the Dagobah system, as Obi-Wan told him to. The Millennium Falcon also escapes the blockade, but the ship's hyperspace drive is damaged. The Imperial Star Destroyers hunt the falcon , their hunters pursue it in a nearby asteroid field, in which the crew of the Millennium Falcon manages to hide for a while. Meanwhile, Darth Vader is contacted by the Emperor , who expresses his concern about the growing threat from Luke. However, Vader convinces him to drag Luke to the dark side instead of destroying him. Vader later hires bounty hunters, including Boba Fett , to track down the Millennium Falcon and offers a large bounty.

Meanwhile, Luke has arrived on the swamp planet Dagobah. He meets Yoda, but does not recognize him at first. As with Anakin Skywalker , Yoda is initially skeptical of Luke, but finally agrees to train him.

The falcon , which in the meantime had to give up its hiding place in an asteroid (it was the jaws of a giant space animal), escapes the imperial spaceships by docking on the rear side of the bridge of a star destroyer, where its sensors cannot detect it. Before it flies on, the falcon drifts into space with the garbage it has dropped.

But Boba Fett is not fooled by this and follows Han to Bespin , a gas mine cloud city. Han wants to have his ship repaired by an old friend, Lando Calrissian , the owner of the gas mine. However, Lando has no choice but to deliver his guests to the Empire if he does not want to feel the power of the Empire - Darth Vader and his troops have reached the mine before the falcon.

Meanwhile, Luke learns how to use power from Master Yoda. He repeatedly experiences visions, including the future. Luke sees that Han and Leia will suffer. Yoda fears Luke could take the quick, easy route of the dark side like Anakin Skywalker once did and therefore wants Luke to complete his training before he takes on Darth Vader. Against Yoda's will, however, Luke sets out to Bespin to save the two. Yoda stays behind and talks to Obi-Wan about the Force and mentions that Luke is not the galaxy's only hope, there is another one. The torture of Han is a trap used by Darth Vader to capture Luke and hand him over to Emperor Palpatine . Vader wants to freeze Luke in carbonite for this.

C-3PO gets lost in the cloud city and is broken down into its components (probably by imperial stormtroopers) with a laser shot. Chewbacca saves the individual parts from scrapping just in time. Darth Vader freezes Han in carbonite to test the freezer that he ultimately uses to freeze Luke. This has now landed in the cloud city and is lured to Darth Vader. Lando realizes that Darth Vader's promises cannot be relied on, as Vader now wants to take the rest of the Millennium Falcon's crew with him as a prisoner. He sides with the rebels and frees Leia and Chewbacca. R2-D2, unable to follow Luke, meets Leia, Chewbacca, and Lando. But they can not prevent Boba Fett takes away the frozen in carbonite Han - on Tatooine has Jabba the Hutt placed a bounty on Han. Leia, Chewbacca, Lando and the two androids return to the falcon . R2-D2 learns from the central computer that the ship's hyperspace drive has been repaired but deactivated.

Meanwhile, Luke fights the mighty Darth Vader, he loses his right hand and his lightsaber in this fight. Vader reveals a dark secret to him: he is Luke's father. Luke doesn't want to believe that and flees. With the help of power he calls Leia, who senses his closeness; he is saved at the last moment. R2-D2 reactivates the Falcon's hyperspace drive in time to escape the star destroyers in orbit. Arrived at the rebel assembly point, Luke receives a new cybernetic hand, like his father once did. Lando and Chewbacca make their way to Tatooine to free Han Solo.

Classification in the Star Wars universe

chronology

The Empire Strikes Back is the fifth episode of the Star Wars saga and forms the middle part of the classic trilogy. Compared to the predecessor Star Wars , the action begins after a time jump of about three years.

Timeline of films and series in the Star Wars universe
films and series fictitious calendar (in years)
VSY NSY
33 32 31 30-24 23 22nd 21st 20th 19th 18th 17-15 14th 13 12 11 10 9 8-7 6th 5 4th 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4th 5 6-7 8th 9 10 11-31 32 33 34 35 36
The Phantom Menace
Attack of the Clones.
Revenge of the Sith 		I. II III
Star Wars
The Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi 		IV V VI
The Force Awakens
The Last Jedi
The Rise of Skywalker 		VII VIII IX
Rogue One
Solo 		a R1
a S.
The Clone Wars (+ movie )
Rebels
Resistance
The Mandalorian 		TCW
Rebels b
R.
M.
33 32 31 30-24 23 22nd 21st 20th 19th 18th 17-15 14th 13 12 11 10 9 8-7 6th 5 4th 3 2 1 0 1 2 3 4th 5 6-7 8th 9 10 11-31 32 33 34 35 36
Prequel Trilogy (Episodes I-III)
Original trilogy (Episodes IV – VI)
Sequel Trilogy (Episodes VII-IX)
A Star Wars Story Films
Series

The consequences of the series The Powers of Fate take place at different times, so that a list in the table is not meaningful. Also not listed miniseries, short stories, comics, books and other ancillary works of the official Star Wars - canon and the theme park Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge (between VIII and IX). The fictitious calendar of the Star Wars universe is used for the schematic classification of the actions . This differentiates between the years before the Battle of Yavin (VSY) and after the Battle of Yavin (NSY). The Battle of Yavin IV marks the end of Star Wars (1977), in which Luke Skywalker and the Rebel Alliance destroy the first Death Star .

characters

main characters

  • Han Solo ( Harrison Ford ) is a smuggler and the captain of the Mad Hawk . A large bounty was placed on him because of his debt to Jabba. He has strong feelings for Leia.
  • Leia Organa ( Carrie Fisher ) is a princess of Alderaan and an adopted daughter of Bail Organa, a co-founder of the Rebel Alliance. After the destruction of the Death Star, she fled with the rebels to Hoth. She also has strong feelings for Han.
  • Darth Vader ( David Prowse ), born Anakin Skywalker , is a Sith Lord and the father of Luke Skywalker. One of his goals is to pull his son to the dark side of power.
  • C-3PO ( Anthony Daniels ), a humanoid protocol droid who has seen most of the adventures since Anakin Skywalker's training as a Jedi, mostly with his friend and companion R2-D2 at his side, is still in the service of Leia Organa.
  • R2-D2 ( Kenny Baker ), an astromech droid also owned by Luke Skywalker. "R2" travels to Dagobah with Luke.
  • Chewbacca ( Peter Mayhew ) is a Wookiee. He is the loyal companion of Han Solo and co-pilot of the Rabid Hawk.
  • Yoda ( Frank Oz ) is about 900 years old, small, green creature. He was the Jedi Grand Master who now lives on Dagobah after the Clone Wars ended.

Minor characters

  • Obi-Wan Kenobi ( Alec Guinness ) was a Jedi knight. He is the former mentor and friend of Anakin Skywalker, and later Luke. After his death, he appears as a power spirit and gives Luke the order to find Yoda.
  • Boba Fett ( Jeremy Bulloch ), a bounty hunter and clone of Jango Fett . He was hired by Darth Vader to capture Han Solo.
  • Carlist Rieekan , a general in the Rebel Alliance and head of Echo Base on Hoth.

places

  • Hoth , an ice planet and the sixth planet in the system of the same name. It is a remote, barren, icy world that circles a bluish-white sun. It is also a constant target for meteorites from a neighboring asteroid field. A third of Hoth consists of open ocean, the rest of either ice-covered continents or sea under thick ice. The planet's mighty glaciers are criss-crossed with caves and crystalline geysers break through the cold surface. The planet serves as the new secret base of the Rebel Alliance, the Echo Base, under the command of General Rieekan and Princess Leia.
  • Bespin , a gas planet in the Anoat Sector. There are cities in the upper atmosphere of the planet that capture and store the Tibanna gas. As it is in the cloud city . Bespin is the place of residence of Lando Calrissian , who had taken one of the gas mines through a sabacc win.
  • Dagobah , a remote planet, the surface of which is largely made up of swamps. The Force is very strong on this planet so there is also a strong natural presence of the dark side of the Force. The planet is Yoda's self-determined exile.

backgrounds

  • Mark Hamill , who played Luke Skywalker, had a serious car accident after filming the first part, which resulted in an operation on his face. Fans claim that George Lucas only included the fight with the wampa ice monster (a kind of yeti ) at the beginning of the fifth episode to explain this. This interpretation is officially denied.
  • The lightsaber used in The Empire Strikes Back is not the same Graflex lightning wand that was used in 1977. The original prop disappeared under previously unexplained circumstances.
  • In this film, Emperor Palpatine is portrayed by Marjorie Eaton, whose eyes have been replaced by chimpanzee eyes . He was spoken by Clive Revill (or by Edgar Ott in the original German theatrical version). This scene was changed for the 2004 DVD edition; So in the new version Imperator Palpatine is portrayed and spoken by Ian McDiarmid , who also played this role in episodes I to III and VI. The scene, as it finally appeared on DVD, was also shot with an extended dialogue, for which James Earl Jones had to be brought into the studio again and the part of Darth Vader had to be re-recorded. In the German version, Reiner Schöne took over the role for the new version, as Vader's old voice actor Heinz Petruo had already died at this point.
  • Darth Vader's armor is not the same as in the first part.
  • The original Darth Vader armor from The Empire Strikes Back was in the Berlin Film Museum until 2008.
  • Older video cassettes and laser discs are cut in Germany in favor of an FSK-6 approval at the point where Han Solo is tortured by the imperial troops. The scene is completely contained on the new DVD box and the film received FSK-12 approval.
  • The scene in which Darth Vader reveals his identity as Luke's father was originally filmed with a different dialogue. Darth Vader said here that Obi-Wan killed Luke's father. The scene was later dubbed with James Earl Jones and the previously kept secret text was added stating that Darth Vader was Luke's father. Mark Hamill wasn't informed of the true dialogue until shortly before filming, so he could play the scene convincingly. The other actors themselves were surprised when they saw the scene in the cinema.
  • Since George Lucas did not name the director of Episode V at the beginning of the film, as is common in the film industry, but only in the credits, which he had been allowed to pass as an exception in Episode IV, he was supposed to be at the behest of the Directors Guild (DGA) pay a fine. He paid the fine and then quit the union.
  • James Earl Jones first thought, while reading the text, that Darth Vader was lying when he said he was Luke's father.
  • In the scene in which Han Solo and Chewbacca repair the Millennium Falcon on the ice planet Hoth in the hangar, Chewbacca can be seen sitting in the cockpit; there doesn't seem to be enough space for two people next to each other, while in other flight scenes the cockpit is much larger and offers space for at least three people.
  • Darth Vader's announcement that he is the father of Luke Skywalker has become one of the most famous Star Wars quotes ever and has been reused countless times in various contexts in other films. Very often the sentence is used as Luke ... I am your father! reproduced, although in the film No ... I am your father! it is said.
  • During the filming of the television series Moon Base Alpha 1 , the special effects artist Brian Johnson got a visit from George Lucas . He was very impressed with Johnson's work and wanted to recruit him for Star Wars . Due to his contractual obligations with Gerry Anderson , it was only with The Empire Strikes Back to work with George Lucas.
  • In the theatrical version of the film, the subtitle "Episode V" is faded in at the beginning.

Titles and versions

The film was re-released in theaters in 1997 under the name Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back - Special Edition . This version was extended with the technical possibilities of this time (more special effects; replacement of model-based effects with computer-generated ones) and is a few minutes longer.

Logo in the style of the prequel trilogy (1999)

In 2004, the addition Special Edition was dropped for a further revised home video republication in DVD format . Since then, the film has been known as Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back . For this publication, scenes were again added, changed and effects edited. In the German version of the German title of was Star Wars in Star Wars adjusted. The version from 2004 appeared bundled with the digitally unchanged version from the 1980s in 2006 as a limited edition on DVD. This is the last time that George Lucas published the non-digitally revised version on a current home video format, although no digital processing or adaptation of the film material to the conditions of the DVD data carrier was carried out for this either. Instead, the footage from earlier Laserdisc releases was simply transferred to DVD.

For the release of the Blu-Ray Saga Box in 2011, the film was digitally revised again in several places and thus represents the fourth version of The Empire Strikes Back .

For the video-on-demand publication, the 20th Century Fox clip was removed for the first time since the Disney takeover .

synchronization

The synchronization was done by Berliner Synchron GmbH . Based on a dialogue book and dialogue direction by Arne Elsholtz .

role actor German voice actor
Luke Skywalker Mark Hamill Hans-Georg Panczak
Han Solo Harrison Ford Wolfgang Pampel
Leia Organa Carrie Fisher Susanna Bonaséwicz
Darth Vader David Prowse
( James Earl Jones , voice) 		Heinz Petruo
Jan Spitzer (one scene 1997, replaced by Reiner Schöne 2011)
Reiner Schöne (two scenes since 2004 and 2011)
Obi Wan Kenobi Alec Guinness Ernst Wilhelm Borchert
C-3PO Anthony Daniels Joachim Tennstedt
Yoda Frank Oz Hugo Schrader
Lando Calrissian Billy Dee Williams Frank Glaubrecht
Boba Fett Jeremy Bulloch Karl Schulz
Wedge Antilles Denis Lawson Hans-Jürgen Dittberner
Admiral Piett Kenneth Colley Norbert Gescher
Emperor Palpatine Marjorie Eaton
( Clive Revill , voice) 		Edgar Ott (theatrical version from 1980, until 2003)
Ian McDiarmid Friedhelm Ptok (since 2004)

reception

Reviews

source rating
Rotten tomatoes
critic
audience
Metacritic
critic
audience
IMDb

The film was voted best film of all time by the film magazine Empire in 2006 . In 2010 the British film magazine Total Film included it in their list of the best 100 films of all time. For Cinefantastique , “Empire” is “ the best (in fact the last good) Star Wars film.” The improved script and the directorial work of Kershner were particularly praised, who “did his job better than Lucas could have done. "

For Cinema , too , The Empire Strikes Back in 2006 was “the best film in the series to date.” The “Oscar-winning effects” and “a multi-layered story and cult characters such as Yoda, bounty hunter Boba Fett and gambler Lando Calrissian” were praised . The lexicon of international films saw a film that was "technically perfect and professionally produced " , which "has less charm and playful ease than its predecessor staged by George Lucas" , but "above all from the temporal distance as the most mature part of the trilogy" can be viewed.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, a total of 83 of 88 examined film reviews from English-speaking countries were positive.

The time saw The Empire Strikes Back in the year of its publication in 1980, however, very critically. So it was criticized that, like in the predecessor, "in Kershner's 'The Empire strikes back', elaborate show values ​​and special effects are always more important than the characters and their arid passions" . "Even more consistently than Lucas, Kershner reduces the staff to an assemblage of comic strip characters without hearts and minds."

Awards (selection)

Academy Awards 1981

Golden Globe Awards 1981

Saturn Award 1981

British Academy Film Awards 1981

  • Award for Best Score for John Williams
  • Nomination for Best Production Design for Norman Reynolds, Leslie Dilley, Harry Lange, Alan Tomkins and Michael D. Ford
  • Nominated for Best Sound for Bill Varney, Steve Maslow, Gregg Landaker and Peter Sutton

Grammy Awards 1981

  • Award in the Best Instrumental Composition category for John Williams
  • Award for Best Album of Original Music Written for a Film or TV Special for John Williams
  • Nomination in the category Best Instrumental Composition for John Williams (Imperial March)
  • Nomination in the category Best Instrumental Composition for John Williams (Yoda's Theme)
  • Nomination in the category Best Instrumental Performance - Pop for John Williams (Yoda's Theme)

Golden canvas

  • 3 million moviegoers in 18 months

National Film Registry

  • In 2010, The Empire Strikes Back was included in the National Film Registry as an American film that is particularly worth preserving.

The German Film and Media Assessment (FBW) in Wiesbaden awarded the film the rating “valuable”.

Sequels

The film represents the middle part of the Star Wars trilogy, which ended in 1983 with The Return of the Jedi .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Certificate of Approval for The Empire Strikes Back . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , July 2005 (PDF; test number: 51 760 V / DVD).
  2. ^ The Complete Del Rey Books Timeline. In: Random House Books. Retrieved May 26, 2018 (English).
  3. ^ Emil Fortune: Star Wars: Galactic Atlas . Ravensburger, 2017, ISBN 978-3-473-49038-7 (Original title: Star Wars: Galactic Atlas . Translated by Wolfgang Hensel).
  4. ↑ Jamie Lovett: Lucasfilm Reveals Official Timeline of the Star Wars Saga. In: comicbook.com. August 24, 2019, accessed on August 29, 2019 .
  5. ↑ The data material of the DVD release of the pre-1997 version comes from the earlier Laserdisc release ( Memento of February 24, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) (English); Accessed: June 28, 2012.
  6. ↑ The Empire Strikes Back. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on March 2, 2017 .
  7. ↑ a b Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved June 28, 2016 .
  8. ↑ a b Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back. Metacritic , accessed June 28, 2016 .
  9. ↑ The Empire Strikes Back (1980). IMDb , accessed June 28, 2016 .
  10. ↑ http://www.totalfilm.com/features/100-greatest-movies-of-all-time
  11. ↑ Steve Biodrowski: Star Wars: The Original Trilogy - Science Fiction Film Review. Retrieved May 30, 2015 .
  12. ↑ The Empire Strikes Back. Cinema , accessed May 30, 2015 .
  13. ↑ The Empire Strikes Back. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed October 3, 2016 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  14. ↑ The Empire Strikes Back at Rotten Tomatoes , accessed June 28, 2016
  15. ↑ Hans C. Blumenberg: Film Tips The Empire Strikes Back. Retrieved May 30, 2015 .
Films and series from the Star Wars universe
cinemamovies
Prequel trilogy

The Phantom Menace  (1999) | Attack of the Clones  (2002) | Revenge of the Sith  (2005)

Original trilogy

Star Wars  (1977) | The Empire Strikes Back  (1980) | Return of the Jedi  (1983)

Sequel trilogy

The Force Awakens  (2015) | The Last Jedi  (2017) | The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

A Star Wars Story

Rogue One  (2016) | Solo  (2018)

Further

The Clone Wars  (2008)

Canonical
TV Shows

The Clone Wars ( episode list ) (2008-2014, 2020) | Rebels ( episode list ) (2014-2018) | The forces of fate  (2017-2018) | Resistance  (2018-2020) | The Mandalorian  (since 2019)

Uncanonical
Television films

The Star Wars Holiday Special  (1978) | Ewoks - The Caravan of the Brave  (1984) | Ewoks - Battle for Endor  (1985)

TV Shows

Friends in Space  (1985–1986) | The Ewoks (1985–1986) | Clone Wars  (2003-2005)