1) Four minutes into the picture, our hero Luke is attacked and dragged unconscious back to the icy Wampa cave. We have real suspense to start the movie--it's not just the Empire you've got to watch out for, the natural world is out to kill you too.
2) The shot of Luke on the Tauntaun on the hill before the first close-up. It looks like a painting.
3) Leia’s first shot, looking at Han. You can already tell something’s going on between them, and that a lot more will unfold within the film.
4) Han’s hesitation before he tells the General he has to leave. And the General’s understanding of why he must leave.
5) The whole conversation between Han and Leia in the ice corridor. Very natural, lively, and full of tension.
6) The music “Han Solo and the Princess.” An unconventional but strong love theme.
7) Threepio and Artoo arguing over the thermal heater. “Oh, switch off!”
8) The delivery of “Nobody knows where he is.” “What do you mean, nobody knows?”
9) “The temperature’s dropping too rapidly.” “That’s right, and my friend’s out in it.” Han may not have as much sympathy for the Rebellion as Luke does, but he has come a long way from being a pure mercenary.
10) Luke summoning his lightsaber in the ice cave. Every time I see it, this scene still has so much suspense—real danger, pure Force ability.
11) Artoo using his scanner to try to locate Luke. Very touching that a droid feels such concern for its master.
12) The shot of Luke collapsing into the snow.
13) The simple act of a door closing is an event, one with perhaps fatal consequences for Leia’s friends. Love the zooming close-up of Leia’s face.
14) Han cutting open the Tauntaun to warm up Luke. The one who sees the lightsaber as hokey is the only non-Jedi to use it.
15) The exhausted delivery of, “And I thought they smelled bad—on the outside.”
16) Han’s expression when he says, “Who’s scruffy lookin’?” And that, of all the things Leia calls him, that insult is the one he objects to the most.
17) I only realized how difficult the dialogue is when I tried to say, “I must have hit pretty close to the mark to get her all riled up like that, huh kid?” and failed miserably. The dialogue may be unrealistic sometimes, but the cast deliver it with conviction, so I believe that they really can quickly talk like that.
18) Threepio shows us his usefulness by correctly identifying a probe droid as Imperial.
19) The reveal of the Executor, a ship so big it can pull a normal Star Destroyer into its docking bay.
20) The introduction of the “Imperial March.” If you’ve never heard it on the soundtrack, put it on—it’s got a nice bit in the middle that’s never used in the films.
21) Vader can Force choke someone just by seeing them on a screen. And he now has no one to, as Leia put it, hold his leash. As a kid, I never understood why that guy was suddenly voiceless and collapsing, and I was shocked when I finally figured it out. Also the music that plays during the scene.
22) The sideways looks that Piett gives Ozzel as he chokes to death. He knows he can’t show concern while Vader’s doing this, but it scares the s*** outta him.
23) Han telling Chewie to “Turn it off!” after the Falcon starts smoking when Han repairs it.
24) That musical cue that plays while Luke and Han say their goodbyes.
25) The delivery of “Stand by, Ion Control. Fire.”
26) The dust that falls on Artoo’s dome when the rebel calls in that they’ve spotted the walkers. They’re still so far away, but they shake the earth enough to dump dirt on the droid.
27) The AT-ATs. When I was a kid, I couldn’t be sitting on the floor when watching that part, or even have my feet dangling off the couch, because I was afraid that if I did, the walkers would come out of the TV and step on me. Even when I watch it now, I remember doing that.
28) Luke using his lightsaber and a grenade to destroy an AT-AT.
29) The back step one of the walkers makes as it shoots down a speeder.
30) “Imperial troops have entered the base. Imperial troops have—(static)” Simple, chilling way to let us know that the Rebellion is in real trouble now.
31) Serious trouble—Vader comes in himself. He means business.
32) Leia’s sarcastic query, “Would it help if I got out and pushed?” and Han’s equally sarcastic answer, “It might!”
33) The lights on the Falcon’s cockpit turn off, so Han bangs his fist against the wall and they all come back on. Familiar and organic comedy.
34) The fact that the Falcon, this futuristic ship that goes faster than light speed in a galaxy of magic users with lighsabers, keeps falling apart, and how the characters treat it and talk about it like we would treat a car. It’s exotic and familiar.
35) The two Star Destroyers being so bulky that they can’t stop themselves from hitting each other.
36) The toolbox falling on Han. Again, this is organic, believable comedy that also alerts Han to the asteroids.
37) Delivery on, “Asteroids.” “Oh no.”
38) Musical piece “The Asteroid Field.” I wish they’d used this more. Really, the whole score is a masterpiece. Should’ve won an Oscar.
39) The shot where Han says, “They’d be crazy to follow us, wouldn’t they?” When I think of Empire, this is one of the shots I think of, for some reason. Good lighting, I guess.
40) When Leia says Han doesn’t have to fly through the asteroids to impress her. Though she won’t admit it yet, he already impresses her, and this line subtly illustrates her true feelings slipping out.
41) ILM animated a TIE fighter pilot somersaulting out of its destroyed fighter. Something you miss in pan-and-scan.
42) The shot of the Falcon zooming along the asteroid surface, then falling down into the cavern while pursued by TIE fighters.
43) “I hope you know what you’re doing. “Yeah, me too.”
44) Mark Hamill’s performance. It’s struck me on recent viewings how expressive he is with his face. It’s even more impressive when you consider that for most of the film, he acts to nothing—a droid, a puppet, and scenes with no other actors. He fully deserved that award he got for this film.
45) The atmosphere/tone on Dagobah. It’s eerie, mysterious, and a bit magical. The sound is convincing, and the green-grey pallor and fog give us a new look we haven’t seen yet in these films. The remastered DVDs ruin it by giving the swamp—and the entire film, for that matter—a cyan-blue filter. It’s familiar to Luke because it’s “like a dream” and connects to an unconscious, primal state, like the Joseph Campbell world myths that the Star Wars movies (the originals, anyway) are so steeped in.
46) After Luke tells him to be more careful after falling into the swamp, Artoo makes a noise that can only be the droid equivalent of “Nana nana naaaa na.”
47) Artoo’s screams as the creature spits him out.
48) “You’re lucky you don’t taste very good.”
49) Artoo spitting up mud. It’s a little grace note to a scene where things keep getting worse.
50) Asteroids aren’t entirely stable? I’m glad Threepio’s here to tell us these things.
51) “Captain, being held by you isn’t quite enough to get me excited.”
52) The shot of Vader’s helmet sliding over his head. We now know for sure, or are reminded, that Vader is human, and our interest is piqued in this bald, pale man in the dark suit.
53) Han’s sarcastically telling Threepio that “Of course” he has to replace a part, only to humbly tell Chewie to replace it.
54) The dialogue before the kiss. It’s very natural, like the ice corridor scene, and builds and builds until they engage in a mutual kiss. I also like how it connects to their environment—Leia’s fixing something and hits her hand, so Han uses that opportunity to take her hands and massage them, getting closer to her in subtle way.
55) When Threepio interrupts, she sneaks away. As Leia’s a 22-year-old Senator steeped in the Rebellion and politics, this could very well be her first romantic experience. She could be very confused about her feelings, especially with an older, more experienced man, so she slips away before things go too far. And, although he looks sad that she left and wishes that she had stayed, Han respects her choice and does not follow.
56) An asteroid destroys the bridge of a ship; the person reporting falls back and disappears from the hologram. Vader never flinches. How callous and cold.
57) The Emperor as voiced by Clive Revill, and the original, concise dialogue. It just seems to fit for some reason, even though he doesn’t match up with Ian McDiarmid in the next film. Maybe his voice is distorted over the Holonet.
58) The line “There is a great disturbance in the Force.” So cool I used it for the title of my Honors Thesis in college.
59) Yoda. I never think for a nanosecond that Yoda is not a living, breathing creature. His expressions, voice, eyes, ears, and hands are all perfectly coordinated to produce perhaps the best puppet in movie history and a truly memorable character. Even when watching behind-the-scenes videos, I keep thinking, “What’s that guy doing hanging onto Yoda all the time?” Even cooler when you realize that Kershner would try to direct Yoda, not Frank Oz.
60) “Wars not make one great!”
61) Artoo getting up on tippy-toes to see what’s going on in Yoda’s hut.
62) “Yoda’s Theme.”
63) “This one, a long time have I watched. All his life as he looked away, to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was! Hmm? What he was doing!” The line itself, the music that plays underneath it, the lighting, and the delivery by Oz form a poignant moment that showcases Yoda’s seriousness and view of Luke. This is the quintessential Star Wars scene for me--if I had to pick one scene to demonstrate what Star Wars is, I'd pick this one or the X-wing raising scene.
64) The way that Han barely helps Leia back into the Falcon when they discover they’re in a space slug and have to leave NOW. And I thought you loved her, Han! Maybe he figured Chewie would make sure she got back in.
65) “I am not a committee!”
66) You know, for such a dark movie, there’s a lot of well-integrated humor.
67) Hamill’s and Yoda’s performances in the scene where Luke physically trains and Yoda tells him about the Force and how he should be calm.
68) How rookie Luke can sense such a huge presence of the Dark Side. The tone of the scene is very eerie.
69) “What’s in there?” “Only what you take with you.” Exactly. Concise and eloquent explanation, Yoda. And I dig the look on Luke’s face just before he asks.
70) Artoo whistling in nervousness as Luke enters the cave, and the music underneath it.
71) Wow, the scoring in this film is PERFECT.
72) The vision in the cave. A very symbolic moment of Luke facing his inner demons. It’s the only scene in the trilogy shot in slow motion, heightening the unreality.
73) The look on Luke’s face after he sees his head in the Vader helmet.
74) The way Han says, “It’s not my fault.” He looks beaten and almost helpless.
75) You know, I’ve just figured out that the Falcon spent a few days in the asteroid field, or even a week. There’s no way the Empire could have searched for the ship and then given up and summoned bounty hunters in less time. It adds a bit of realism. Add to that at least a month to get to Bespin without a hyperdrive and you’ve got Luke training hard all day on Dagobah for about five weeks at least. Okay, I feel better now that I’ve got an approximate time reference.
76) The way that Needa takes responsibility for losing the Falcon. He knows what it means to do so, but he considers it his fault and takes Vader’s wrath, protecting his entire crew from punishment.
77) “Yoda and the Force.”
78) The entire scene with Yoda raising the X-wing out of the swamp. For pure Force display and thematic resonance, this is on top. It’s so good I’m going to cheat and highlight specific moments:
79) “No! No different! Only different in your mind.” My goodness, you could apply this statement to so many things in life.
80) “Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try.”
81) Luke’s expression when the ship sinks completely. He thinks he’s stuck on Dagobah forever.
82) Yoda talking about how life creates the Force.
83) “Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter!” Beautiful line.
84) Artoo beeping as the X-wing comes back to the land. Even a little droid knows that this is an impressive moment.
85) “I don’t believe it!” “THAT is why you fail.” Very applicable words—wanting to succeed is essential to overcoming adversity.
86) Cold delivery of “Apology accepted, Captain Needa.”
87) Vader’s threat to Piett with the simple word “Admiral.” Piett is reminded of how he came into this position and how easily Vader can replace him.
88) Threepio babbling so much that Leia finally turns him off at Han’s gesture. And there was much rejoicing.
89) Han has few moments, but he does have them.
90) Luke’s vision of the future and Yoda’s response that the future is always in motion.
91) The shot of Threepio’s foot and calf blown off. All bets are off when the droid gets it!
92) Yoda telling Luke to let Han and Leia die if he honors what they fight for. A brutal but necessary thing to hear, one that Luke cannot bear.
93) “Now…matters are worse.”
94) Han offers his arm to Leia a second after Lando does—a subtle gesture to show how jealous Han is and whom Leia prefers for company.
95) Chewie’s roar as the doors open to reveal Vader.
96) Vader deflecting the laser bolts with his hands. He’s Vader—you don’t just shoot Darth Vader.
97) Even when disassembled, Threepio still finds time to insult Chewie.
98) Leia’s delivery of “Vader wants us all dead.”
99) Han’s slow delivery of “My friend” as he punches Lando, then calling him a “real hero” afterward. It highlights Han’s character arc and his pain at the betrayal.
100) “The Empire will compensate you if he dies.” I get the shivers from this—this is a major character we’re talking about and Vader doesn’t care if he lives or dies. Money and lives are nothing to him as long as he gets what he wants.
101) The shot of Vader’s helmet appearing from behind the smoke, with the music. Genuinely creepy. Have I mentioned lately how perfectly the music fits the visuals?
102) Boba Fett’s original harsh voice.
103) Vader’s altering the deal. Because he’s Darth Vader. He can alter the deal or you can die choking. I always got the impression that when he says that, he’s lightly choking Lando because Lando raises his hand to his neck.
104) The shot of Luke running down the corridor after Lando alerts Lobot, together with the music underscoring it.
105) Leia’s line, “It’s a trap!” So, Admiral Snackbar saying it turns into a meme, but not Leia? Well, Leia was legitimately warning Luke. Too bad he didn’t take the advice.
106) My favorite line in the trilogy: “The Force is with you, young Skywalker…but you are not a Jedi yet.”
107) The entire duel—the choreography is intense but just slow enough that we can tell what they’re doing. It’s also very dangerous—they do serious damage to the environments they’re in, like cutting tubes and railings, blowing smoke at each other, tearing things off walls, and telekinetically throwing things. Sparks fly constantly, and they line up their swords so that they’re pointed towards the opponent’s throat, like a real swordsman does. And the lightsabers look wonderful—I’ve always loved the look of the original trilogy sabers more than the prequel ones because the OT ones look earthier and more dangerous. They don’t have a straight, perfect glow, but instead crackle with spontaneous electric energy. That’s what hand-drawn animation gives over pristine computer animation.
108) “Impressive…most impressive.”
109) The look on Luke’s face when Vader tells him, “Only your hatred can destroy me.” He is in way over his head and already is sweaty and exhausted.
110) The lighting of the duel—intense reds and oranges light up the white smoke against blues. We are in Hell.
111) The window under the carbon chamber. I’ve always loved that location and the brief duel that takes place there. Shame it breaks in ten seconds.
112) “The Clash of Lightsabers.” In an expertly scored film, this cue demonstrates the full tapestry of music and integrates seamlessly with the action. “Star Wars” would be less without its music.
113) “After all, he’s only a Wookiee!”
114) The only advantage of having Threepio strapped to your back: “Chewie, they’re behind you!”
115) The close-up of Artoo swirling in a circle before the scene cuts back to Luke and Vader fighting in the chamber. I always imagine him thinking, “Isn’t this exciting!?!?!”
116) “I’m not supposed to know a power socket from a computer terminal!” And poor Artoo is so overloaded from power that he drunkenly hits the wall before following Chewie.
117) “Just open the door, you stupid lump!”
118) The exhilaration felt as Artoo opens the door to get to the Falcon. Finally, something has gone right!
119) The shot when Vader is backing Luke down the hallway before they get to the catwalk. He swings at Luke, and Luke bounces off the right wall, then left wall. The fear is plain in his face while trying to evade Vader. Well-composited shot. A big reason why I won’t watch the pan-and-scan versions anymore—that shot’s cut up. Really, when I finally saw this movie in widescreen in 2006, I felt like I was seeing Empire for the very first time.
120) The whole look of the film feels so…right: epic, deep, magical, mythic, dreamlike, and timeless. I’m sorry, but I can’t express it more clearly—it just looks wonderful.
121) Luke is so horribly outclassed that Vader starts swinging wildly, missing every other slash, and still beats Luke down. He could kick his butt at any time—and he does, right after Luke gets in a lucky hit to the shoulder.
122) The shot just before Luke says, “He told me you killed him.” It’s balanced with Vader standing on the platform on the left and Luke hanging on the pole on the right, with a very grey palette and a beautiful matte painting for the background. It’s a perfect, atmospheric representation of Ralph McQuarrie’s artwork. I’ve got it on a calendar. Another reason to say “yes” to letterbox.
123) The pain in Luke’s voice as he screams, “NO!” Say it’s cheesy if you want, but how else could he react? He’s broken young man reacting to an ugly truth with real pain, like his guts are being ripped out.
124) Luke’s decision to fall rather than join Vader.
125) The motif of Luke being upside-down: at the beginning in the cave, in the middle on Dagobah, and at the end under Bespin. He uses the Force each time, once as training, twice to save his life. This is the Hanged Man, representing one who puts oneself in a difficult situation to achieve enlightenment, or who develops skills from adversity.
126) Luke’s position at the end of the duel. He’s physically exhausted, lost his right hand and his lightsaber, is emotionally crippled from finding out Vader’s his father, is hanging from a weathervane above a planet of poisonous gases, Obi-Wan has abandoned him, he has failed to rescue his friends, and no one knows where he is. This may be the most beaten down a hero has ever been at the end of a story.
127) Of course, this is all for nothing if he dies—he must live to fight again. He reaches out with the Force to Leia, who returns to rescue him, incurring the wrath of the TIE fighters. The orange, gold, and purple colors look beautiful. The pacing of this suspense scene is stunning, and utterly ruined by the pointless insertion of Vader returning to his ship via stock footage from Return of the Jedi, which adds no tension (and actually subtracts from it because Vader is only returning to his ship, not pursuing Luke). The major reason why I won’t watch the special editions.
128) Okay, I love the irony—Luke leaves his training, goes to rescue friends, and achieves ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Leia and co. escape and get into hyperspace without his help—all he does is force them to rescue right-handless him and get fighters brought down on them. Yoda was right—things were made worse by Luke’s decision. Oh, I love this movie.
129) The space dawn.
130) Artoo fixing the hyperdrive. May I present the true hero of the film.
131) The shot of the cockpit as the Falcon enters hyperspace. For once, there’s no one in the pilot’s seat; as well, Luke’s huddled in blanket, and they just barely made it out of there. That visual sums up their situation. If they’d been caught, there’s no way they could have fought back. All they can do is escape, and they’re given that tiny victory at the end of a dark film.
132) Piett fully expects to get choked—and Vader is too overcome with emotion to even glance at him.
133) That guy in black who looks around at Vader as he leaves the control room. The Imperials know that something’s up, but no one dares to look at his face or ask him about it—they just glance when he’s not looking.
134) The silent ending with the leads looking out the window at the departing Falcon with the “Han and Leia” theme playing at full force. Though they had the darkest times in this film, they have hope that one day, they will rescue Han and defeat the Empire.
135) I keep noticing more things each time I see it. I remember my impressions of it as a kid, how I figured out plot details, my fear, how I feel asleep to it once when sick while they were stuck to the back of the ship and woke up when Han punched Lando. It holds such memories and is so rich that I found this many things to love in it and will continue to appreciate it. There’s also this weird vibe I get from it—when I think about it, I can’t remember what order all the scenes go in, and I get the feeling that maybe I didn’t watch it as much as a kid as the other two (though I definitely watched it a lot) because it feels familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. I think it strikes an unnamed, primordial spot in me and matches something I feel inside. That’s something I can’t quantify. Some films fall apart upon repeated viewings: The Empire Strikes Back only gets richer and shows its expertise more.
No wonder it’s my favorite film.
