I don’t think I ever anticipated a movie as much as I did “The Empire Strikes Back.” And, thankfully, no movie ever so completely fulfilled my expectations.
The second of the “Star Wars” films (referred to as Episode V by the insufferable) opened nationally on this date 40 years ago. In the spring of 1979, I remember, I created my own countdown calendar, which hung in my bedroom for a year. I anticipated the sequel’s release by inserting a new, hand-crafted number every morning, first thing, as I hopped out of bed.
As was the case for so many young people, “Star Wars” was a watershed experience for me. Every week, as a matter of course, my parents would allow me to tag along to the movies on Friday night. In May 1977, I was still a little over a month shy of my 11th birthday, at the height of my comic book phase, and I really only knew about “Star Wars” from having flipped through the first issue of the Marvel adaptation. What I saw did not impress me. I was more into Spider-Man and Captain America (and Devil Dinosaur and Super-Villain Team-Up). So I was astonished when we arrived at the box office and found that the showing had already sold out. I don’t recall that ever having happened before.
I can’t remember what we saw in its place, but the next week, we were able to get in, and the experience changed my life. The sublime special effects, myriad creatures, swashbuckling set pieces, mystic mumbo jumbo, devil-may-care exuberance, and, most significantly, the glorious music, were more vibrant and intoxicating than any of my primary-colored comics. We purchased a souvenir booklet on the way out, and I pored over that thing again and again. I won’t even tell you how many times I saw “Star Wars” in the movies.
It was a surprisingly long time (to me) before I finally convinced my parents to buy me the soundtrack. As a 2-LP set, “Star Wars” was an investment. I think that may have been a factor, as several times they tried to appease me with cheap knock-offs. (I even had a version for Moog.) Finally, they caved, and I was able to wallow in the full splendor of the London Symphony Orchestra. I probably listened to that record more than any other. I know over the years I managed to wear out two copies. But by then I was able to replace them myself, using my own allowance.
1977 to 1984 was a great time to grow up. All the movies I loved best in those days had music by John Williams. The soundtrack to “The Empire Strikes Back,” like the film itself, managed to equal, if not top the original. Yoda’s theme, the music for Han and the Princess, the Imperial March, all so artfully developed, expanded and deepened what had come before, into what for me is still one of the most satisfying film scores I have ever heard. It’s commonplace now for note-complete scores to be issued in collectors editions. “Empire” is one of the few I can listen to from beginning to end and not feel fatigued. It’s just so successful as MUSIC.
My best friend and I got on line for the 7:00 premiere, on May 20, 1980, at the theater with the biggest screen and the best sound system we could find, as soon as we possibly could. Fortunately, my uncle is a complete science fiction freak, so he was only too willing to drive. He was as crazy with anticipation as we were. I think everyone must have been. The line wound up snaking around the block.
Those were the days when it was exciting just to be able to sit in the movies and watch the trailers. My friend and I were pumped whenever we happened to encounter the PREVIEW for “Empire.”
The film itself pushed the series in directions that paralleled my own development, as a boy on the cusp of his teens. It tapped into extremely relevant concerns and longings, in its themes of friendship, romance, and adventure. From a pop cultural standpoint, Imperial Walkers, Yoda, Boba Fett, and Lando Calrissian would all enter the lexicon. And the Darth Vader paternity revelation was nothing short of seismic.
So sad that the original versions of these films are no longer available to the general public, and that their creator spent so many years retooling them to try to keep atop an ever-cresting wave of special effects technology. The movies were beautiful and inspiring as they were. Now much of the original craftsmanship — the models, matte paintings, and sound effects, the music, in some cases even the actual performances — has been altered or replaced using digital means. George Lucas has stated repeatedly over the years that the original elements are too far gone at this point to allow for a decent restoration. In this, I have always suspected he has not been entirely forthcoming.
I was happy to learn this week, then, that in 2010, when the Library of Congress selected “The Empire Strikes Back” as worthy of inclusion in the United States Film Registry, it politely declined Lucasfilm’s offer of a pristine copy of its latest bastardized “Special Edition,” opting instead to preserve the copyright deposit print of the film’s original theatrical release, already in its holdings. Thank you, Library of Congress, for this mighty blow against the Empire. May the original trilogy someday again be made available to the audience who first fell in love with it.
End credits to “The Empire Strikes Back”
The original trailer (before everything became so self-serious):
John Williams conducts “The Imperial March”
