1. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
The darkest episode in the Star Wars franchise is also the greatest. It's the most emotionally thought-provoking with a sinister edge that goes against cinematic conventions. The bleakness of the ending towers the movie over its original trilogy and blockbuster counterparts, defying the viewer an immediate resolution to the perilous state of Han Solo and a toppling of the Empire. A New Hope had become the most successful movie of all time three years earlier and pressure was on George Lucas and his director, Irvin Kershner to deliver a commercially and critically successful movie. For The Empire Strikes Back, no expense was spared as it had almost three times the budget that A New Hope got. The film was a challenge in production as the sheer scale and ambition of the movie was causing problems. Treacherous conditions in Norway for the filming of the Hoth sequences were opposing the crew and there were challenges in creating new settings for Bespin and Dagobah which were far more complex than the sets and stagings designed for the first instalment. Upon viewing the film, you can certainly see where the money went as it is an extravaganza of sight and sound. Lucas' visionary ambition exploded onto the screen as the At-At's trampled over Hoth, Boba Fett escaped into Bespin's fiery skies and Yoda taught Luke the ways of the Force with as much subtle emotion as a human being. The Empire Strikes Back is a tour de force in production design, in every inch of the screen is something riveting and new to examine. There's so much your eyes don't know where to look. The whole Star Wars universe has been devised in intrinsic detail, it looks and feels real as we don't doubt any of the effects, we're simply mesmerised by their brilliance. George Lucas' imagination and innovation is at its very best in The Empire Strikes Back and the production quality remains up there with the very best. Science-fiction is all about wonder and The Empire Strikes Back gives us plenty of that. Harrison Ford continued to create an icon in his charismatic portrayal of Han Solo, Frank Oz works miracles as the puppeteer of Yoda, making him feel as real as the humans and the climatic showdown between Luke and Vader is a masterclass in building emotion and intensity before it explodes with one of the greatest twists in movie history. Watching The Empire Strikes Back will always give me a sense of amazement and you can't ask for more than that. It's the triumphant and supreme entry in the Star Wars story.
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