STAR
WARS
E P I S O D E V
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

1980 ***** 124 mins. (Special Edition and 2004 DVD Editions run 127 mins.)

The battle against the evil Galactic Empire rages on in this fifth episode of the Star Wars series. The special effects are fantastic, especially for its time, and the story is extremely well-developed. Maybe that is why many people say this is better than A New Hope. I'm not one of those people, but many people do say that. I do feel that this is a fantastic film, though, and that everyone involved should be proud of it.

Again, I will gladly watch either version of this film. The additions to this film mainly include added background images in the Bespin Cloud city sequence and cleaned up effects in the Hoth battle. The film, once again, has been cleaned up considerably, and this does help the film fall in line with the new prequels.

I must say the same thing I did about Episode IV. This version truly makes the film fall into place with the new ones. The main change here is that the scene where Darth Vader is talking to the holographic image of the Emperor has been re-done with Ian McDiarmid playing the Emperor. In the past, this has been the only film with some other actor playing that role. Not anymore!!

Darth Vader is Number 3 on AFI's 100 Years . . . 100 Heroes and Villains.

Rated PG for Sci-Fi Action Violence.

• Original theatrical aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (Panavision)
• Original theatrical release date: May 21, 1980
• Special Edition theatrical release date: February 21, 1997
• 2004 DVD Edition release date: September 21, 2004

• ACADEMY AWARDS: Best Sound (Bill Varney, Steve Maslow, Gregg Landaker, and Peter Sutton) and Special Achievement Award (Brian Johnson, Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, and Bruce Nicholson for the visual effects)
• ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Norman Reynolds, Leslie Dilley, Harry Lange, Alan Tomkins, and Michael Ford) and Best Music, Original Score (John Williams)
• ACADEMY OF SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY & HORROR FILMS AWARDS: Best Actor (Mark Hamill), Best Director (Irvin Kershner), Best Science Fiction Film, Best Special Effects (Brian Johnson and Richard Edlund
• ACADEMY OF SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY & HORROR FILMS AWARDS NOMINATIONS: Best Costumes (John Mollo), Best Music (John Williams), Best Supporting Actor (Billy Dee Williams), and Best Writing (Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan)
• BAFTA AWARD: Best Original Film Music (John Williams)
• BAFTA AWARDS NOMINATIONS: Best Production Design/Art Direction (Norman Reynolds), and Best Sound (Peter Sutton, Ben Burtt, and Bill Varney)
• GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS NOMINATION: Best Original Score - Motion Picture (John Williams)
• GOLDEN SCREEN AWARD, GERMANY: Golden Screen
• GRAMMY AWARD: Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special (John Williams)
• HUGO AWARD: Best Dramatic Presentation
• PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD: Favorite Motion Picture
• SATELLITE AWARDS NOMINATION: Best Classic DVD (For the Star Wars Trilogy. Also for Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)) and Best Overall DVD (For the Star Wars Trilogy. Also for Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983))
• WRITER'S GUILD OF AMERICA AWARDS NOMINATION: Best Comedy Adapted from Another Medium (Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan)

• Star Wars: The First Ten Years promo (1986 re-release)
• The film presented in full screen, modified from the original 2.35:1
• Hi-Fi Stereo
• Closed Captioned for the hearing impaired

• The film presented in full screen, modified from the original 2.35:1
• Hi-Fi Stereo
• Closed Captioned for the hearing impaired

• Star Wars Trilogy ". . . One Last Time" promo
• An Exclusive Interview with George Lucas Part 2 of 3
• The film presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio
• Digitally Mastered in THX
• Closed Captioned for the hearing impaired

• Behind-the-scenes featurette on the making of the Special Edition
• Special Edition Theatrical Trailer
• The film presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio
• Digitally Mastered in THX
• Closed Captioned for the hearing impaired

• Commentary by George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren, and Carrie Fisher
• DVD-ROM weblink to exclusive Star Wars content
• Anamorphic Widescreen (Aspect Ratio 2.35:1)
• English Dolby 5.1 Surround EX
• English Dolby 2.0 Surround
• French Dolby 2.0 Surround
• Spanish Dolby 2.0 Surround
• English Subtitles
• Digitally Mastered in THX
• Closed Captioned for the hearing impaired

• Commentary by George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren, and Carrie Fisher
• DVD-ROM weblink to exclusive Star Wars content
• Anamorphic Widescreen (Aspect Ratio 2.35:1)
• English Dolby 5.1 Surround EX
• English Dolby 2.0 Surround
• French Dolby 2.0 Surround
• Spanish Dolby 2.0 Surround
• English Subtitles
• Digitally Mastered in THX
• Closed Captioned for the hearing impaired
• Original theatrical version of The Empire Strikes Back
• LEGO Star Wars II video game Xbox demo and trailer
• 4:3 Letterbox format (Aspect ratio: 2.35:1)
• English Dolby 2.0 Surround
• French Dolby 2.0 Surround
• Spanish Dolby 2.0 Surround
• English Subtitles