No – I’m your father!
45 years ago, this one sentence changed the entire Star Wars universe. Unfortunately, it is almost always misquoted today.
But it wasn’t just this sentence that made Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back the best Star Wars film of all time – also because there is only one trilogy!
After the huge success of Episode IV, everyone was naturally eager to find out what would happen next – and above all: when. The Marvel comics were a consolation, but not a real substitute.
At the end of the 70s, long before the internet, magazines like Cinema and Bravo were the only sources for film news. Trailers were only available at the movies – and then it was a matter of luck what was shown. So you greedily soaked up every last bit of information about the new movie.
I was all the more surprised when I discovered the novel for the film in a bookshop in June – months before the movie was released in Germany. At the time, I wasn’t even aware that the film had already been released seven months earlier in the USA and the UK.
Of course, the book had a few surprises in store for me, but that didn’t dampen my anticipation. When the film was finally released in German cinemas in December 1980, I watched it four times in the first four weeks.
Of course, there were passionate discussions with friends afterwards: Was Vader really telling the truth? Who is the other hope? Will Han Solo be rescued? But the most important thing was: don’t talk about it in the school playground! Because back then, Star Wars was still something for freaks and nerds – further away from the mainstream than a star system in a galaxy far, far away.
Even though I thought The Empire Strikes Back (TESB) was great back then, it wasn’t until many years – or rather decades – later that I realized that this film was a true masterpiece and the pinnacle of the saga. For a long time I thought Return of the Jedi (ROTJ) was the best part, but I think puberty hormones played a role in that assessment.
It wasn’t until the special edition came out that I realized how brilliant Empire really is. Among other things, because the film perfectly ties the trilogy together according to the classic three-act structure – and because it is one of the few films in which evil triumphs in the end … at least temporarily. This dramaturgical risk gave the story depth, seriousness and emotional impact.
What is particularly striking is that the 1997 Special Edition actually improved Episode V. Fortunately, it was spared many of the superfluous changes that affected other parts – no „Han shot first“ debate, no „Jedi Rocks“, no „Victory Celebration“, no „Nooooooooo“ and no more update confusion like in the current 4K version.
In retrospect, The Empire Strikes Back was not only a cinematic event, but also a milestone in pop culture. It shaped a generation of fans, influenced modern blockbuster cinema and proved that sequels can be more than just a copy of the original.
TESB is not just the middle part of a saga, but the emotional centerpiece of an entire universe. The music, the dialog, the set design, the effects – all of it was way ahead of its time. And while the Star Wars franchise has reinvented itself again and again over the decades, The Empire Strikes Back remains for me the unrivaled jewel of this galaxy.
Not a single one of the new films or series even comes close to this class. Neither the prequels, with their CGI overkill and wooden dialog, nor the Disney sequels, which seem like hastily thrown-together remakes, have understood what makes the original trilogy so unique: heart, courage, myth. Instead of narrative depth, we now get fan service, generic hero’s journeys and soulless showmanship. For me, The Empire Strikes Back was and remains proof that true cinematic art is also possible in blockbuster cinema – and everything that came after it can’t hold a candle to this legacy.
With this in mind:
Cheers to the empire!
And may the Force be with you.
Cinema special issue from March 1980 with the first picture of TESB.
Cinema report on the German release in December 1980.
While looking through it, I noticed once again that Cinema had no problem spoiling the entire(!) content in its articles back then, including twists.
Bravo report from December 1980 incl. poster
McHenry's Lair 
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