The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Retrospective / Review 

Get the Star Wars series on Blu-ray here goo.gl/59j2CH Get the soundtrack to Empire Strikes Back here goo.gl/3nU29q

It's THE masterpiece of Star Wars... Timeless, adventurous and with a stunning soundtrack and a great chemistry between actors... A MUST see

Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back is how a sequel should be done!

That 4 min intro has to be the best trailer/summary I've ever seen in my life. It's perfect.

I love The Empire Strikes Back... the best out of all the films and I also sum it as one other thing... to quote Mark Hamill from "When Star Wars Ruled the World", "It just kicks you in the gut because we lose."

One often overlooked but important aspect of this, maybe even more so than the revelation that Vader is his father, is the moment when Luke hangs below the Cloud City in desperation and calls for assistance using the Force, and then Leia answers, hinting at Yoda's dying words that "there is another Skywalker." Powerful stuff, directed and scored insanely well.

The Millennium Falcon outrunning the tie fighters when the hyperdrive failed and Solo went into the Asteroid Field is outstanding cinema.

My favourite thing with yoda is how he literally advises Luke to let Han and Leia die so he can complete his training and ultimately achieve their goals. The idea of the ultimate good guy character being willing to sacrifice human lives for the greater good is so mature for a 'kids film' and is presented really nicely. It would have been easy for 'Empire' to be a cynical rehash to cash in on the surprise success of the first film, but so glad they went in a more character driven direction.

John Williams score for Empire is the best of the series. Star Wars may have won the Oscar but the music in this movie is very different from its predecessor and introduces new themes that stay with you long after the credits have stopped rolling. Should have won all awards it was nominated for IMHO.

Mark Hamill gave a brilliant performance in this Movie!

0:00 Harper's Trailer 3:40 History 14:57 Synopsis 17:26 Visual Effects 21:06 Soundtrack 23:20 Video Games 26:22 Review 36:32 Ending Trailer

Fantastic retrospective. This was my favorite and in my opinion the best of the 9 film series. It had everything you could want... new characters, fantastic locations, story and character development were on target, happiness, sadness, a cliffhanger, and most important some of the finest and best snarky Han Solo lines out of Ford. It really left you wanting to know what became of everyone, and we got that with Jedi. I think I was 8 when I first saw this movie, and it was so well written I completely understood the story even at that age. Thanks for a wonderful homage.

Only back in 1980 could you release Empire in the UK a month before the US, without people hearing the big spoiler. Nowadays forget it.

"Harrison Ford felt the characterization was not being used effectively and Kershner agreed. After several takes the director told the actor to improvise on the spot and Ford changed Solo's line to "I know"." This is what the prequels were missing -- actors not afraid of expressing their criticims on a weak script and a director allowing changes to be made on set. I feel that if Lucas had not been surrounded by a bunch of yes-men episodes I-III would have had a bit more soul to them instead of feeling so plastic and souless.

This was my favorite Star Wars as a kid because of the colors, especially the carbonite chamber

This movie will always have a special place in my heart. Star Wars was the first movie I ever saw at 5 years old and we couldnt wait for the sequel. I was blown away from the beginning until the end, and learned (for the first time) that the good guys don't always win. Looking back at this as an adult, it is a cinematic masterpiece. Each shot was beautiful, the pacing was great, the story was gripping. Even against the Matrix, Avengers Infinity War, Lord of the Rings, and all the other major franchises this film still tops my list as my number 1 of all time. Thanks for an excellent and well edited review down memory lane. I will be subscribing.

Not only my favorite Star Wars movie, but my favorite flick of all-time. I must of watched this movie at least a dozen times when it originally opened at the subsequent re releases in '81 and '82. True story - We always did a family shopping excursion on Saturday at our local mall. Mom would do her shopping thing; Dad would take my brother and I to the theater (which was inside the mall). Anyways... this particular weekend happened to be the same weekend Empire was released. I'll never forget the line of people awaiting to see it. Once my dad had seen this he gave my brother the "no way" look - it was that bad. We finally rendezvoused with mom at Kmart ( U.S. denizens remember that store.) This the part I'll never forget... there was a local DJ playing some local songs on there store intercom. Once the song finished he want on to rambling about other things. Well, the topic of this movie popped up. Wanna guess what he let slipped out???? Yep! Darth Vader was Luke's Father. I was thinking as a kid hearing this "what? Liar!" Sure enough the family went to see it that following Sunday and the revelation was true. I think if I was older I would've been more pissed. One other thing, for the peeps who do(n't) recall, this movie took a good 4, yes... 4 years to come out on home video. Talk about a punishment for a kid! I always look back and think of what a magical time in life for a kid this era was. I would NOT trade it for a thing.

The shot of the AT-AT steadying itself to shoot the speeder (35:39) is probably my most favourite. It's such a great attention to detail and it gets me every time I see it.

Still one of my favourite Star Wars movie and ranked on one of the greatest movie sequels ever made since The Godfather Part 2, Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan, Aliens, Terminator 2, Mad Max: Fury Road and Spider-Man 2!

The clips you’ve compiled in the end teared me up. I was just a teenage boy watching this movie with my brother in a wide screen theatre and now we are both reaching 60 years old.

I fret sometimes that alot of the people out there going on about Star Wars don't really get Star Wars. This guy gets Star Wars.

Loving the artwork you used for the video thumbnail, very nice.

I love your work, have you considered doing the retrospective on the Original Spider-Man Trilogy?

This movie and Indiana Jones defined my childhood. I can still remember my dad taking me to this movie when I was like 5 or 6, and the whole ride home I just endlessly peppered him with questions about Han Solo and whether he was alright. Lol, I can remember my dad just patiently saying "I'm sure Han Solo will be fine, you'll see". This movie is pure lightning in a bottle, it's easy to forget today that back then there just weren't any other movies like it and you couldn't just rent the first one unless you were kind of wealthy because tape players and movies were still pretty expensive; renting a machine and tape were a New Years treat for us.

I've seen this movie countless times, yet the first 4 minutes of this got me so pumped to watch it as if for the first time. Love your videos mate!

Yes. We had to wait three years to see Han Solo freed from carbonite. I remember leaving the theater in 1980 thinking, "we've got to wait three years before we find out what happens? Oh man!" We HAD to be patient. We had no choice. It was worth the wait though.

My classmates and I spent much time arguing over whether Darth Vader was lying to Luke. The Empire Strikes Back is my all time favorite movie. However, the middle part of the movie on Dagobah is a bit slow.

Just watching this again & my god have you nailed this review. & I got goosebumps with how you edited that trailer at end with WIlliams' score. A stellar job sir!!

Yes!!! The intro was amazing brought tears to my eyes! Thank you Oliver

Once again I have learned something about my favourite movie. Thank you Oliver Harper.

One of the best movies ever made and following the creativity of a new hope that is an amazing accomplishment, it managed to expand the characters, the lore, the story PERFECTION!!

I've been making my way thru Oliver's Retrospectives and had avoided his SW ones as I felt all that you can say about them has been said. I was wrong, as someone who specialises in retrospective reviews myself I think that this is probably the best review I've ever seen...

29:02 Apparently Luke's sister was supposed to be a new character called Nellith who would appear in episode 7 or 8

These reviews are really well structured and consistent, a real treat! I've actually gone back and watched a number of films after having seen your review - nice work.

Absolute masterpiece. Continues and adds to the original not crap on it for "subversion". Damn you KK.

I don't care what anyone says!..this IS the BEST movie sequel EVER!!!!!!!!!! It's a pure masterpiece‼️🚼

As much as I love your retrospectives on RU-vid, you should be producing trailers and marketing clips for studios, you have a great talent for doing so. Thanks for the video and have a great day.

I saw Empire first. 1980, I was about 12. About a year later, Star Wars was re-released so I got to see the original on the big screen finally. Yes, we had to wait 3 years to find out if Vader was really Luke's father and if Han would survive. In the meantime, I listened to the score, read the novelization, played with the action figures and ships, and read the Marvel Star Wars comics. Thanks for this very excellent retrospective.

Nail on the head regarding Lucas vision being the key to tying it all together. He can't do the nitty gritty as well as others, so this really played to his strengths.

The Empire Strikes Back The Dark Knight Aliens Terminator 2 Judgment Day The 4 Best Sequels OF ALL TIME

I have great flashbulb memories of seeing this movie when it was released. I went to my friend's house after school because we were going to see it together, but when his father came home after work he jokingly told us that the town movie theatre had burned down. My friend totally believed him and started bawling. I remember the hairs on my arms standing on end during the cave scene on Dagobah, I remember totally not believing Darth Vader during his big "reveal", and I remember later that night having a nightmare that Vader was in my bedroom. Good times!

Truly spectacular as always. This man deserves so much more recognition for his outstanding videos.

Man, the way you cut the intro makes 20th C. Fox's Star Wars trailers look like home movies. Effing fantastic.

Yeah, Empire was my least favorite as a kid, but became my favorite of them all as I got older. But I do think there is a lot about about the film that can be just kind of unpleasant for younger kids. The color pallet and mood is a lot darker, Luke nearly gets eaten by a scary snow monster, R2 nearly gets eaten by a swamp creature, our heroes get captured and tortured, Han Solo gets frozen in carbonite, Luke gets his arm cut off... even that scene where Yoda goes "You will be.... you WILL be..." kinda creeped me out a bit as a kid.

The best sequel ever made.

3 years waiting for Return of the Jedi must have seemed worth it in the end. Certainly compared to waiting 2 years for the disaster that was The Last Jedi

I keep returning to these video retrospectives time and again because they are so well made, and clearly there is such a deep and genuine fondness for the films in them. Highly re-watchable stuff, to say the least. This video in particular means a lot to me because I was 14 when I saw "The Empire Strikes Back" in 1980; at the time there was no awareness of any kind of plot twist, and in the theater the entire audience gasped in unison at the revelation that Darth Vader announced to Luke. And that scene was just one part of the delightful, rollicking experience that this movie is. It's funny, I almost feel like I belong to an exclusive club ... I'm part of the people who saw these three films when they made their cinematic debuts. It's hard to put into words what Star Wars did for the film audience at the time: feeding and inspiring imaginations with such wondrous ideas and imagery and sounds and music and characters and creatures. It's like nothing else.

It's amazing how they first made A New Hope, and then managed to make a sequel that was even better.

You do such amazing work with these retrospectives.

I was 6 when Empire came out, and it changed my life... I wanted to live in that world more than anything... Everyone was talking about whether what Darth Vader was saying was true or not... and wondering what Jabba looked like... it was quite a difference between 1980 and 1983

I never doubt it for a second, WONDERFUL!

This is the film to which all other movies are to be judged. Perfection. Oliver, your expert editing gave me goosebumps even for a movie I've seen a hundred times. Great stuff!

This movie has the best twist in all movie history! "No, I am your Father!"

Han Solo says, “This may smell bad, kid, but it’ll keep you warm.” Later on, Lucas adds the line “...until I get the shelter up.” Harrison Ford sounds like he’s 25 years older and on the phone when he says it.

Despecialised clips of course

Oliver - I've been watching your retrospectives for the past couple of months, and you always do a fantastic job! You hit the nail on the head with this review. From a critical perspective, this film is the best that Star Wars has to offer. What you said about how it expanded the universe and fleshed out the characterization is exactly right. To me, Star Wars has always been more about characterization and world-building than any other element.

Once again a brilliant retrospective. Your channel has easily become one of my favorites on youtube. Keep it up! :)

Battle of Hoth might just be one of my favourite battle scenes in film

I've maybe said this before but your videos are getting better and better with each release. I think your Alien review was when they started to look and feel professional. Good job. Nice of you to mention how EMP is the least talked about as a kid. It's actually one of the first thoughts I have when this movie is mentioned. My brother and our friends watched RoTJ and ANH countless times but it wasn't until I was 13, just having played the Star Wars DOOM mod, that I went back and watched the trilogy. Empire became my favorite from that point on.

You make the best trailers. Outstanding!

Personally, A New Hope is my favorite, but I agree as a film The Empire Strikes back is the best of the saga.Great review Oliver!

The openings to your retrospective series are incredible. I get that same feeling I got when seeing the film for the first time, in the theater... maybe even better.

The battle on hoth within the first 15 min is what seal's the deal as the greatest

The best Star Wars movie ! Great review Oliver ! Where did you get all this great behind the scenes footage ??? The dvd/blu-Ray releases are inexplicably missing anything like your review !!

All other star wars films live in the shadow of the Empire Strikes Back

Flawless break down of the movie. It's crazy, even after the success of the previous movie, how much push back these got from the studios.

My favorite movie of all time. Empire will most likely never be topped in my lifetime.

Your back catalogue is impressive and a wonderful work sir 🙏🏾

Amazing review man ! One of the best i've seen. Really nice

Fantastic movie. We were in a small college town, and drove over an hour to Champaign Ill. so we could see a first showing and not wait for it to Bloomington where the colly was. We were on the edges of our seats the whole time. I've seen it over 25 times. Still thrills.

Oliver, You've outdone yourself again! You totally captured why I like Star wars in this R/R. ESB is the BEST Star Wars. I am saddened that your videos have such low views. You clealry put so much thought and time into it. THE WORLD NEEDS TO SEE THESE! Have you considered reaching out to other channels? Nerdwriter1 might give you a shout out. I feel like you two would have similar tastes. It also might not be on your agenda and you might be playing these on other sites where they are finding an audience. Regardless, I really applaud your work and I look forward to each. Now, please, start doing Scorsesse. Goodfellas first. Or the Nolan Batmans.

What an amazing review. I prefer your in depth reviews filled with a lot of backstory to the mainstream boredom autopiloted reviews and always come here first. Thank you Oliver

Amazing job as always Oliver! 5 stars!

Thanks for yet another awesome video Oliver. Empire is far and away my favorite Star Wars movie, and it was agony waiting to see your video for it. But as per usual, it was well worth it

"General, there's a fleet of star destroyers coming out of hyperspace..." "I don't care! I want a Waldorf salad!"

Wow. This might be your best one yet Mr. Harper. Incredible video/sound editing and info. What a treat this was to watch. I will have to watch it again. Thank you for this and all your hard work.

To me this movie is the pinnacle of how a movie should be made good story, good acting, peril, moments of joy and sadness. It has so many great scenes few of my favorites are simple ones like when the first transport get away and the cheers. And a simple of of luke walking after the walker scene and he hears the unmistakable sound of the Millinuem Falcon roaring out of the base. The music ahh the music hard to top oven though Jedi is close this is still my favorite. Does anyone remember in early 80's when this first was introduced on television and Vader starts off "The Empire interrupts your normal transmission to bring you the hunt for Skywalker and the rebellion you will finally see the Empire Strikes back!" Something to those words i have never seen it again it was just something they put infront of the movie to pretend your seeing a Empire broadcast. Ahh fun times for a kid

I stumbled across your channel while doing research on Donner's director's cut of Superman II. I watched your Superman retro/reviews and based on them, subscribed right away. You do high quality work with an amazing sense of style and flair; I'm anxiously awaiting your next piece of work. Excellent!

They should NEVER have changed Bob's voice. I also had that Parker Bros Empire game and loved it so much.

man this was worth the wait, I remember you replying a few years ago saying you had planned to do this film, you've covered almost every one if my favorite film, so needless to say this is easily my favorite youtube channel, any cinephile would appreciate your editing and commentary, well done on the quality you've developed over the years

fantastic,,,, once again another great video. you are the best channel on youtube. thanks!!!!!!

this is so awesome, I wish you could review every movie there is. You have to tell us about your influeances, inspiration and where you learned that kind of profassionalism, so objective yet so much love through dedication. I cant imagine how much work you put into these. you voice your opinions without forcing it on the viewer. this is so refreshingly good. im in awe and really greatful! kudos

One other thing I like about the film is Yoda's embodiment of the Force as a non-physical manifestation; as he says to Luke, mastery of the Force is nothing to do with the physical, hence the diminutive Yoda being the most powerful of Jedi Masters. Yoda shows Luke that the Force is nothing to do with a Jedi's physical presence, nor their lightsabre. This is another major failing with the prequels - Yoda fighting with a lightsabre like any other Jedi completely flies in the face of his teachings to Luke and even why the character existed in the first place. There's also the Emperor's reference to lightsabres being a 'Jedi weapon' - he and Yoda were always shown as being such masters of the two sides of the Force they found even lightsabres trifling aspects of Force power. Even Obi-Wan tells Anakin in the prequels that 'this weapon is your life' when he loses his lightsabre...it's so against the grain of the point of the Force in the original trilogy it's almost painful.

It is just great not only having someone around the same age but also from across thr pond doibg these videos. There is an appreciation there from mostly 1st hand knowledge and then the added info regarding laser discs is always appreciated. Adds a layer of information I rarely get with any other reviewer.

Its a credit to the quality of 'The Empire Strikes Back' that it was the one Star Wars film that received the smallest amount of changes for the "Special Edition", (worst being the awful new Boba Fett voice), and what changes there are have little to now impact, its still a powerful and moving film! I've missed your reviews for a long time, Oliver! Highly enjoyed it! :)

I think the think I love most about Empire Strikes Back is that the movie ends on such a downer. Hans in carbonite, Luke has lost his hand and doesn't know who he can trust (Obi Wan or Darth Vader). Great film.

Excellent review as always Oliver.

Ok, I have watched a Bunch of these reviews you have done, and I am absolutely thrilled whenever I watch them! I love your little recaps you edited together at the beginning and end of your videos of the films put to the film's music are FANTASTIC! they remind me why i love these movies in the first place! I mean What is it about these movies from the 80's that are just SO GOOD? I like the detailed dive you do about the production of the movies. Well done! I love your Videos! and I love these Films!

This is how you do a sequel!! I couldn't agree more, Oliver. It is one of my favorite films of all time. Great retrospective!

Not just my favorite out of the Star Wars films but my favorite film of all time. Which is mostly down to me having it on VHS growing up and watching it to the point. That it would classify as my most rewatched film.

That really was the movie that made Vader a monstrous villain. Recommendation time: I'm wondering if your going to get round to Alien 3 soon?

I love your videos Oliver. My day went on pause as soon as I saw that you had posted this review!

Amazing Video Oliver!! Empire is my second favorite movie of all time and I'm so surprised you don't have more subs. Well, you just got one more to get to 50,000!!

Great work Oliver.I love Star wars, and it really deserves an extensive review.

here's what bugs me with the edits though. when you remove the old actors voices or images, I feel like you really do the original cast and crew a disservice. And although they make new scenes that look cool, it just does not feel right. When they edited ET and removed the shot guns and replaced them with radio handsets, people were very upset. I really couldn't care if it's canon or not. I'd just like for them to leave the films alone.

Good gravy Oliver nobody cuts a pre-review roll like you do- every time I play these it makes me want to watch the movie IMMEDIATELY

Thanks Oliver! Fantastic stuff again. I loved how you summed this up. This is indeed how you do a sequel and this is a perfect review from you. I was 10 in 1980, My mind was blown and the speculation for the next film was immense. It was torture.

I know somebody who hates A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. To me those two are the best Star Wars movies.

I like that you always include extensive footage of the movies in your videos

Oliver I think it notable know that in the special edition cuts for all 3 films, the color palette looks dreadful and inferrer to the original 35mm print. The colors often looked warped turning grey's and white's into blue. It's very noticeable by comparison and is probably the biggest annoyance of the special edition edits and has been transferred to the most recent rubbish 2011 release on blu-ray . George could've fixed the issue for the most resent update but instead chose to ignore it.