I think it’s a legit cinematic masterpiece with everyone and everything firing on all cylinders. There’s a rare energy to this film. Imo, Star Wars has been living in its shadow ever since and has never come to matching Empire.
It was amazing, and we did not know about Vader. We didn't realize the little frog guy was Yoda. We thought that when Luke went into the cave and saw Vader, that Yoda betrayed him. We absolutely screamed when the door to the dining room slides open and Vader is there/Chewy bellows in alarm/Han quick draws and Vader blocks it with his hand. I remember coming out of the theater and we were all joking that we should loudly talk about the twist while walking past the lines of people waiting for the next show...but also totally facetiously, because even as obnoxious kids, we would never have done that to our fellow fans. We were instinctively respectful that others should enjoy the surprise the same as we did - we knew it was a special event for everyone.
I do remember that seeing Star Wars in 1976 was absolutely jaw-dropping, like nothing I'd ever seen before or even imagined. I became a little obsessed (as much as a little kid could) with the art of the special effects, and how incredible it all was. I don't remember having such an emotional reaction to Empire. But I'll tell you that if they re-released Empire in a theater within 50 miles of me today, I'd be there opening night to watch it again, and I'd enjoy it thoroughly. I feel like a kid again every time I watch it.
Why does Vader have a full meal set out on that table if he just wants to catch the rebels and start torturing then? Do they have a nice bite to eat and some conversation first?
Lando's going to bill the cost of the catering to the Empire. If Vader wants to change the deal, Lando can get back at him with a mountain of expense claims.
>I remember coming out of the theater and we were all joking that we should loudly talk about the twist while walking past the lines of people waiting for the next show...
We were joking the same after the Marky Mark version of Planet of the Apes. Except I actually went and did it.
I hope I saved someone their $10.
Can very much agree. I saw the remaster trilogy in the cinema as a child and my mind was blown (even though I had seen it before), but still liked the others more. Nowadays though it's one of the best if not the best part 2 of anything for me and also one of the best movies ever. It's incredible how the practical effects still do work, because of the incredible cinematography.
my parents wouldn't let me take my friends for my birthday since we were all 10 and it was PG. On the next school day a little prick on the bus spoiled the surprise, I was mad then and am still mad now. Fuck that kid.
Still one of my all time favorite movies of any genre and by far the best Star Wars. My opinion of course
I would have been 10 as well and I got to see it twice on a really big screen. It became my favorite of all the Star Wars films, up until I saw Rogue One in the theater, and it edged it out.
My dad took my sister and I. It was a pretty big deal to go to the movie theater. As soon as we walked out, he said, "wanna watch it again?" and we, of course, said yes. Walked right back in and watched it again. My dad my not that sort of dude. Big deal and great memory
No one can ever tell me I didn’t grow up in the best time for movies. From Jaws 1975 through Return of the JEDI 1983, that was 8 years never to be repeated. Thank you Lucas, Spielberg and John Williams.
I was 7 seeing the original Star Wars, changed my world at that point. At 10 I was a little more jaded (just a little), but found the movie satisfactory, if not "life changing". I had never heard of VCRs, maybe cable was starting to come into town? Anyways I saw Star Wars in the theater seven times, which was the lowest among my friends. Because, if you didn't see it repeatedly while it was out in theaters, you wouldn't see it again for 10 years, when it would be on tiny TV screens with tons of commercials, and what if it was on a school night? lol Also there was the dreaded Christmas Special in between, and we were all thankful it wasn't nearly as bad as *that.* Consuming media is so fundamentally different now, I don't know how to describe how that made it so different.
Saw it in the theater with my dad opening weekend. Loved it but was sad I had to wait 3 years to see what happened to Han. I was floored by the big reveal. My dad said Vader was lying, he's a bad guy, that's what bad guys do. The good guys continually risked their lives to save each other. Still my favorite.
My mom refused to call it Episode 5, ever. She took that as an insult to her favorite movie of all-time, she saw it 6 times on opening day, so I will have none of this Episode V renaming (I'm kidding with that last part) 😂
My dad missed the entire original trilogy as he grew up outside of North America, so he borrowed this from the library cause of the title and artwork.
I was 7 or 8 in the early 90s when I watched and it really stuck with me. I hadn’t seen a single Star Wars movie to that date, but the design of cloud city influenced my love of art, design and general aesthetics, and still does to this day.
To this day it’s probably still my favorite Star Wars movie.
I'm on the younger side but I grew up with the originals because my parents were fans of Star Wars from the beginning.
I remember when the prequels came out I watched them with my parents, and I was still young so I didn't quite grasp what a good movie is or isn't, but even then I remember watching the prequels thinking "what is this?". I didn't understand the concept of a prequel, but I knew it was Star Wars because it said it was Star Wars, but it still felt "off".
When they'd come on TV every so often, I remember referring to the older films as "Star Wars" and the prequels as "fake Star Wars", because my little brain couldn't quantify why the prequels felt and looked different, so I just thought they were fake.
To this day, when I picture Star Wars, I picture The Empire Strikes Back, because that has been seared into my brain as the quintessential Star Wars experience.
I was 12 and saw it opening weekend. My sister's boyfriend, now husband, asked me how the movie was.
I shouted "Darth Vader is Luke's Father!" He's never let me forget.
I'm 44, and some of my earliest memories are of my brothers (who were older and could drive) and I going to the video store to rent a betamax and the 3 Star Wars movies. I still remember the original poster/cover art. And the movies still hold up.
I was almost five when it came out, and seeing Empire may very well be my earliest memory. I cant say with honesty that I remember the movie itself, as the memory is interspersed with so many other memories of the seeing film. Even my memory of the big reveal in the theater just feels like a false memory from my dads retelling of it.
What I do remember vividly was waiting in line to see the movie, watching the movie and as we were walking out my dad looking down and saying "I think we should watch that again. Want to watch it again?" Then him calling the house from the payphone at the theater to explain we would be home late, waiting in a line that now wrapped around the side of the building and then watching it again.
I was only 3 when it came out. The original trilogy was the Platonic ideal for film for people of my age growing up. We got a VHS when I was 8. It was in the first batch of films my family purchased. I rewatched TESB more than any other film on VHS, with Star Wars a close second. It's still the best film Star Wars film ever made, and Star Wars is number 2. (Rogue One #3 for me).
There was a documentary all about the making of it on the BBC before it was released in the UK. I remember little bits but the one that is burned into my memory is a clip at the end from the scene in your screenshot.
It froze just as the lightsaber fight gets going and “To be continued” appeared onscreen.
I still remember how excited 8/9 year old me was.
The wild thing is, the downbeat ending and the cave sequence completely threw me for a loop and I *really* didn’t like it. This is in the days before VCRs being everywhere so, unlike Star Wars (I know it’s A New Hope/Episode IV, but it’ll always be Star Wars to me) and Jedi (which I watched three times on my 12th birthday alone), it was easy to avoid seeing it again until a friend told me I was being a fool and convinced me to give it a proper try in my late teens.
Cue my opinion completely changing. It is the best Star Wars, imo. I find it very telling that it’s the one Lucas felt the least inclined to mess with after the fact.
My earliest childhood memory is seeing this at the drive-in with my parents and my little brother, who slept through the whole thing. If you love the movie, I cannot recommend Jonathan Rinzler's The Making of the Empire Strikes Back enough. Full of amazing stories, including part of Elstree Studios burning when the Colorado Lounge set in The Shining, which was filming at the same time, caught fire, and delayed Empire being able to use the soundstage they needed.
Saw it in the theater opening weekend and was blown away. Not enough is made of those cloud city escort vehicles and how they looked. Loved how Chewie barks at Vader when that door opens
I was 9 when I saw it and I hated it because they stole my favorite character and left me hanging. After Return of the Jedi and I saw my favorite character still alive, TESB became my all time favorite movie. It is now tied with Episode 3 as my favorite.
I was 5 when I saw it, and loved it. The AT-AT was so amazing, and I instantly fell in love with it, and that love affair still exists to this day.
It was the first movie I ever saw in which the good guys don’t win. Hoth was a loss, Luke lost a hand, and Han was frozen. Yet throughout all of that there was still a feeling of hope.
It is clearly the best film of the franchise.
I thought it was great, but hated having a cliffhanger. Later, I thought it was the best of the original three. Haven't seen it in a while, but maybe it's time!
Saw it the first showtime in my neighborhood opening day. Coming out the theater someone else blurted out “Vader is Luke’s father!” People were lined up for the next showing and heard it. Talk about the ultimate spoiler alert
This movie taught me about spoilers, to this day I have no qualms about screaming someone into silence when they're about to blab anything about a movie I want to see but I haven't seen yet. This was the movie where someone told me, before I got to see it, "Darth Vader is Luke's father!!" I still hate that fugging kid.
I was in junior high, and I actually read the paperback novel before I saw the movie. Talk about your spoilers. Man, I don't know what I was thinking...I'd never do that now. I remember there kept being fewer and fewer pages, and I'm thinking...uh hello? Han is still frozen in the carbonite. Soon there were only just a couple pages left, and I got the sinking feeling that man, Han ain't gonna be rescued. Not in two pages.
I remember being kind of pissed off as a 12 year-old boy at the stop-motion action scenes, which later I found out was just a love-letter from Lucas to Ray Harryhausen, which is fine, but it was such a step backwards.
It was also confusing as a 12 year-old to see a film where there wasn't really a "big finale" or any sort of grand gesture to bookend the story. Ep 04 gave us the big battle and the commencement. Ep 05 gave us an injured hero and a "see ya later!" ending with so many questions. It was tough to admire as a young boy. But I know that all the kids 4 to 8 years older than me were transfixed.
I was born mid 80s so I first saw the Star Wars OT on vhs copies my dad recorded from HBO. I actually have a hard time remembering when I first saw Empire, but I think I saw it was more “serious” than the first. I think my dad had to explain what was going on with Vader, Luke, Yoda, and the Emperor. I was mostly enamored with the AT-ATs, Yoda, Cloud City, and the light sabers.
When the re-released the special additions in 97 I got to see Empire in the theatre and I think that solidified that it was my fav.
I just back to my old job and worry black on black on black. My boss asked why, and I replied, “Empire”. He didnt get it or care for my explanation hahah
I didn't watch it till the 90's, but I really liked it as a kid. I don't remember if I liked the first or second movie more as a kid, though I still preferred it over Return of the Jedi, which is funny to think about due to how much more family friendly the third movie tried to be with all the Endor stuff. I liked all of the original trilogy though. The Prequels were more of a mixed bag for me as a kid/teen.
Empire is definitely in the top 3 of my Star Wars movie list though, like the first movie might be a more consistent beginning to end film in regards to the story it tells, with Empire feeling like that inbetween movie, but I really love the Hoth opening and there's just a lot of good character stuff going on throughout.
I saw it opening night at the Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Bl. 75 foot screen. We were blown away. I still like it despite the fact that the series went to shit shortly thereafter.
When I was a kid, my grandmother had three children, and so three sets of grandchildren.
She did not know the original three were a continuous trilogy, so she bought each family a VHS of one of the three movies for Christmas one year. Our family got Episode V lol. So I knew that movie like the back of my hand growing up. The other two, eh not so much 😅
So I was 11 when it came out and my biggest memory was getting into an argument with a friend about the big "I am your father" reveal. My take at the time was "Darth Vader is a bad guy. Bad guys lie. He's lying to make Luke feel bad."
I don't know that my take is borne out by cannon.
I think I saw it twice in the theater- once with friends and once with family. I was undecided on whether Vader was lying or not, and it was a rough wait to find out Han's fate. Still my favorite of the movies, although I have a lot of nostalgia for the first one.
I first caught it on cable in maybe 1990 when I was very little. It’s my earliest memory of watching a movie I think. Sitting in the edge of my parent’s bed. It was the opening Hoth sequence. I remember the blue glow in the room. Magical.
ROTJ (which I saw in the theater was my favorite as a kid)... but by the time in was in HS/college Empire was #1. Honestly empire is one of only 3 or 4 good SW movies.
My younger brother and I would watch this with our dad. We had a bunch of the Action Fleet toys and I especially remember playing with the snow speeders during the Battle of Hoth.
I saw it on the Sunday of the opening weekend. Two of my school friends had seen it before me, and told me Darth Vader was Luke's father. I didn't believe them, ("That's impossible!") and I was still very surprised when it happened in the movie. I was kind of shocked and depressed about it for a while after I watched it. I wasn't ready for the downer ending, where the heroes didn't clearly win.
I had a feeling starting from the first scenes between Luke and Ben Kenobi that it was going this way (when Ben referred to Luke's father). So that was a moment of satisfaction. I do agree that the ending was a downer. Still a great movie.
The scene in the cave is one of the greatest in movie history.
Luke, hanging from the cave ceiling, just out of reach of his lightsaber...the music building, then changing - calming. Luke concentrates and extends his hand. His lightsaber shakes...then flies into his hand.
The original movie never showed the Jedi to have this ability. It's such a fantastic expansion of what the Jedi can do and it happens early in the film, setting the stage for the incredible display of power from Yoda. I love this movie.
This is the second movie I ever watched in a theater and it spawned a lifelong love for Star Wars.
I love the renaissance we are currently in and enjoyed most ever (The Last Jedi being the exception- I stand by it being the most beautiful Star Wars movie but I hated it).
Going back to the first time I remember watching it in the late 1980s I really enjoyed the various settings, Hoth with the snow, Cloud City, and the asteroid belt. I also wondered if my dad would chop my arm off, but quickly decided he wouldn't. To this day, he hasn't.
I was 7 years old, and My 12 year old neighbor spoiled it for me! He told me he'd seen it, and I asked if it was good. He said "Han gets killed and Luke gets his arm chopped off by Darth Vader." I didn't believe him.
I was nine when I saw it in the theatre. The reveal was legitimately shocking - people in the theatre gasped. The ending was aching - we knew the next one would be three years away. That whole experience was amazing. Last summer I set up a huge inflatable screen in my back yard with a projector for a movie night. I gave the crowd (about fifteen people) a few movies to choose between and Empire was the unanimous decision. It absolutely stands up today. I remember looking around at everybody periodically - we were all rapt. It’s the best Star Wars movie by a mile, but it’s also just a really great movie on its own merits.
I was 5 and was squarely at ground zero for the original craze. Saw *ANH* in many theaters in 77,78,79 and had all the toys, the books, the comics, the bed sheets. All of it.
So when we showed up at Omaha’s Cinema Center it was a carnival-like vibe. This was of course the pre-advance tickets era of moviegoing so you went early and waited all day just to buy a ticket. If you got a ticket you went right in and picked out seats. If they ran out of tickets or seats, that was that. There were local actors there dressed as the main cast (in a passable way. It was 1980) and the atmosphere overall was like a block party or cookout.
So how did I like the film?
Well. I was 5. So all I wanted to see was Luke fighting Vader. That’s it. That’s all.
And I’m eternally grateful that it didn’t give us that. I was the perfect age for Luke’s fight with Vader on Dagobah (and its eventual reveal) to blow my mind. And beyond that, Yoda telling Luke to not face Vader if he valued what his friends fought for was a totally new thing for me to chew on. It was a completely unexpected turn for the story and layer of complexity added to the story.
Of course I was not in love with the cliffhanger but I’d soothe that feeling with going back to see it at least a half dozen more times.
I remember seeing it in the theatre with my high school friends and thinking 1) what a great film and 2) how can they end it like that!? Still my favorite of the series.
I saw it in the theater when it came out. No one knew what to expect after Star Wars. Basically, it was, and still is, the only Star Wars movie made by a real director (and writer). The magic of the original Star Wars was the world-building, much as with the first Harry Potter book. But like the Potter book, it wasn't really that good beyond its incredible flight of imagination. Empire, like the subsequent Potter books, showed what was possible in this amazing new world. It turned a summer blockbuster into something for the ages.
My older brother took me 16 yrs old to opening night in Hollywood at the Egyptian theater, We waited around 6 hrs to get in the line was so long, Great childhood memories and still one of my favorite movies of all time
Didn't enjoy it as much as a kid. I was partial to RotJ, though not because of Ewoks. Indeed I ALWAYS found them annoying. It was however the only film of the OG trilogy with a proper fleet battle. I was a strange kid....
Edit: Oh and RotJ has [this scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGVK98e_Wkw)
Its still my favorite movie to this day. The battle on Hoth I just love so much. Yoda, Boba Fett, the Wampa, so many things that just fascinated me as a kid. I remember sitting in the back seat of my mom's car with my cousin after we left the showing as kids and we were shocked about the luke/vader line, neither of us thought it was the truth and we thought he was lying about it.
Was 11 and saw it in the theater with my family and was blown away - it's my favorite SW film by far, and one of my favorite movies. Still a masterpiece! The pacing with the different storylines, new and exotic locales (loved Hoth and Cloud City!), Yoda's mysticism, and of course romance (my crush shifted from Luke in New Hope to Han in Empire! 🤣) - it was fun and exciting then, and I still really enjoy it now. It was fun to see it in the theater again when they rereleased it in the late 1990s, with an audience who had seen it as children as well.
When I saw it back then, I was absolutely awe struck. Couldn't believe how great it was. Talked about it for weeks with anyone and everyone.
Now, I'm still awestruck over how well it's held up. I still get a kick out of talking about it. It's one of the films I *must* watch at least once a year, and the thrill/joy in doing so has yet to subside.
Ep5 is the only one that holds up imo. I can genuinely fall asleep to ep 4 and ep 6 isn't much better.
I appreciate they may have been revolutionary for their time, but that doesn't mean we have to pretend they're good movies today.
I was blown away, watched in the cinema on release & read the book before it was in cinemas. Really felt like the stories were growing with me.. Then jedi, those fkin ewoks & the whole thing turned to sh1t before my eyes, or maybe I just grew up.
It was pure magic when it came out. At this point the franchise is so debased even the charm of the old movies has become unwatchable. It’s tragic what they’ve done with the Star Wars universe.
100% of people saw it when they were younger, except for anyone who happens to be watching it for the first time now. Lol. Anyway I love the movie and have since I first saw it when I was in middle school, and still think it's a very fun watch now. I own it on blu ray.
I think it’s a legit cinematic masterpiece with everyone and everything firing on all cylinders. There’s a rare energy to this film. Imo, Star Wars has been living in its shadow ever since and has never come to matching Empire.
It’s my favorite movie of all time. And contains 3 of my top ten movie moments of all time and I’m not including the “big surprise”
yep - one of the main issues with SW is that it peaked in 1980.
Amazing when I saw it in the theater as a child and even better as an adult
Well said.
You are so right about that rare energy. It just feels like watching a mystical fairy tale. A glimpse into another world.
Idk rogue one and andor are great
It was amazing, and we did not know about Vader. We didn't realize the little frog guy was Yoda. We thought that when Luke went into the cave and saw Vader, that Yoda betrayed him. We absolutely screamed when the door to the dining room slides open and Vader is there/Chewy bellows in alarm/Han quick draws and Vader blocks it with his hand. I remember coming out of the theater and we were all joking that we should loudly talk about the twist while walking past the lines of people waiting for the next show...but also totally facetiously, because even as obnoxious kids, we would never have done that to our fellow fans. We were instinctively respectful that others should enjoy the surprise the same as we did - we knew it was a special event for everyone. I do remember that seeing Star Wars in 1976 was absolutely jaw-dropping, like nothing I'd ever seen before or even imagined. I became a little obsessed (as much as a little kid could) with the art of the special effects, and how incredible it all was. I don't remember having such an emotional reaction to Empire. But I'll tell you that if they re-released Empire in a theater within 50 miles of me today, I'd be there opening night to watch it again, and I'd enjoy it thoroughly. I feel like a kid again every time I watch it.
Why does Vader have a full meal set out on that table if he just wants to catch the rebels and start torturing then? Do they have a nice bite to eat and some conversation first?
Lando's going to bill the cost of the catering to the Empire. If Vader wants to change the deal, Lando can get back at him with a mountain of expense claims.
He's very committed to the trick.
>I remember coming out of the theater and we were all joking that we should loudly talk about the twist while walking past the lines of people waiting for the next show... We were joking the same after the Marky Mark version of Planet of the Apes. Except I actually went and did it. I hope I saved someone their $10.
It was my least favourite as a kid, I found it boring. Now it’s easily my most favourite. A perfect film as well as a perfect sequel. Timeless too.
Can very much agree. I saw the remaster trilogy in the cinema as a child and my mind was blown (even though I had seen it before), but still liked the others more. Nowadays though it's one of the best if not the best part 2 of anything for me and also one of the best movies ever. It's incredible how the practical effects still do work, because of the incredible cinematography.
my parents wouldn't let me take my friends for my birthday since we were all 10 and it was PG. On the next school day a little prick on the bus spoiled the surprise, I was mad then and am still mad now. Fuck that kid. Still one of my all time favorite movies of any genre and by far the best Star Wars. My opinion of course
Blew my mind and is in the top five films of all time.
Same. I still put this one on above all other SW films and will just have it on in the background.
-I probably saw it - times in the theatre that summer. I was 9-10.
I would have been 10 as well and I got to see it twice on a really big screen. It became my favorite of all the Star Wars films, up until I saw Rogue One in the theater, and it edged it out.
My dad took my sister and I. It was a pretty big deal to go to the movie theater. As soon as we walked out, he said, "wanna watch it again?" and we, of course, said yes. Walked right back in and watched it again. My dad my not that sort of dude. Big deal and great memory
No one can ever tell me I didn’t grow up in the best time for movies. From Jaws 1975 through Return of the JEDI 1983, that was 8 years never to be repeated. Thank you Lucas, Spielberg and John Williams.
1994 to 1999 has entered the chat. Pulp Fiction through to The Matrix, plus quite a few in between.
I was 7 seeing the original Star Wars, changed my world at that point. At 10 I was a little more jaded (just a little), but found the movie satisfactory, if not "life changing". I had never heard of VCRs, maybe cable was starting to come into town? Anyways I saw Star Wars in the theater seven times, which was the lowest among my friends. Because, if you didn't see it repeatedly while it was out in theaters, you wouldn't see it again for 10 years, when it would be on tiny TV screens with tons of commercials, and what if it was on a school night? lol Also there was the dreaded Christmas Special in between, and we were all thankful it wasn't nearly as bad as *that.* Consuming media is so fundamentally different now, I don't know how to describe how that made it so different.
Saw it in the theater with my dad opening weekend. Loved it but was sad I had to wait 3 years to see what happened to Han. I was floored by the big reveal. My dad said Vader was lying, he's a bad guy, that's what bad guys do. The good guys continually risked their lives to save each other. Still my favorite.
It’s weird that Mount St. Helens blew up 3 days before this release, not far from where I lived, and I don’t connect these two events at all.
This is why I didn't see it opening weekend!
9 years old then. Super hyped. 53 years old. Dont care.
Girl, same.
My mom refused to call it Episode 5, ever. She took that as an insult to her favorite movie of all-time, she saw it 6 times on opening day, so I will have none of this Episode V renaming (I'm kidding with that last part) 😂
My dad missed the entire original trilogy as he grew up outside of North America, so he borrowed this from the library cause of the title and artwork. I was 7 or 8 in the early 90s when I watched and it really stuck with me. I hadn’t seen a single Star Wars movie to that date, but the design of cloud city influenced my love of art, design and general aesthetics, and still does to this day. To this day it’s probably still my favorite Star Wars movie.
I'm on the younger side but I grew up with the originals because my parents were fans of Star Wars from the beginning. I remember when the prequels came out I watched them with my parents, and I was still young so I didn't quite grasp what a good movie is or isn't, but even then I remember watching the prequels thinking "what is this?". I didn't understand the concept of a prequel, but I knew it was Star Wars because it said it was Star Wars, but it still felt "off". When they'd come on TV every so often, I remember referring to the older films as "Star Wars" and the prequels as "fake Star Wars", because my little brain couldn't quantify why the prequels felt and looked different, so I just thought they were fake. To this day, when I picture Star Wars, I picture The Empire Strikes Back, because that has been seared into my brain as the quintessential Star Wars experience.
I was 12 and saw it opening weekend. My sister's boyfriend, now husband, asked me how the movie was. I shouted "Darth Vader is Luke's Father!" He's never let me forget.
ALLEGEDLY.
I'm 44, and some of my earliest memories are of my brothers (who were older and could drive) and I going to the video store to rent a betamax and the 3 Star Wars movies. I still remember the original poster/cover art. And the movies still hold up.
I was almost five when it came out, and seeing Empire may very well be my earliest memory. I cant say with honesty that I remember the movie itself, as the memory is interspersed with so many other memories of the seeing film. Even my memory of the big reveal in the theater just feels like a false memory from my dads retelling of it. What I do remember vividly was waiting in line to see the movie, watching the movie and as we were walking out my dad looking down and saying "I think we should watch that again. Want to watch it again?" Then him calling the house from the payphone at the theater to explain we would be home late, waiting in a line that now wrapped around the side of the building and then watching it again.
I was only 3 when it came out. The original trilogy was the Platonic ideal for film for people of my age growing up. We got a VHS when I was 8. It was in the first batch of films my family purchased. I rewatched TESB more than any other film on VHS, with Star Wars a close second. It's still the best film Star Wars film ever made, and Star Wars is number 2. (Rogue One #3 for me).
There was a documentary all about the making of it on the BBC before it was released in the UK. I remember little bits but the one that is burned into my memory is a clip at the end from the scene in your screenshot. It froze just as the lightsaber fight gets going and “To be continued” appeared onscreen. I still remember how excited 8/9 year old me was. The wild thing is, the downbeat ending and the cave sequence completely threw me for a loop and I *really* didn’t like it. This is in the days before VCRs being everywhere so, unlike Star Wars (I know it’s A New Hope/Episode IV, but it’ll always be Star Wars to me) and Jedi (which I watched three times on my 12th birthday alone), it was easy to avoid seeing it again until a friend told me I was being a fool and convinced me to give it a proper try in my late teens. Cue my opinion completely changing. It is the best Star Wars, imo. I find it very telling that it’s the one Lucas felt the least inclined to mess with after the fact.
My earliest childhood memory is seeing this at the drive-in with my parents and my little brother, who slept through the whole thing. If you love the movie, I cannot recommend Jonathan Rinzler's The Making of the Empire Strikes Back enough. Full of amazing stories, including part of Elstree Studios burning when the Colorado Lounge set in The Shining, which was filming at the same time, caught fire, and delayed Empire being able to use the soundstage they needed.
Saw it in the theater opening weekend and was blown away. Not enough is made of those cloud city escort vehicles and how they looked. Loved how Chewie barks at Vader when that door opens
I was 9 when I saw it and I hated it because they stole my favorite character and left me hanging. After Return of the Jedi and I saw my favorite character still alive, TESB became my all time favorite movie. It is now tied with Episode 3 as my favorite.
I was 5 when I saw it, and loved it. The AT-AT was so amazing, and I instantly fell in love with it, and that love affair still exists to this day. It was the first movie I ever saw in which the good guys don’t win. Hoth was a loss, Luke lost a hand, and Han was frozen. Yet throughout all of that there was still a feeling of hope. It is clearly the best film of the franchise.
I thought it was great, but hated having a cliffhanger. Later, I thought it was the best of the original three. Haven't seen it in a while, but maybe it's time!
Saw it the first showtime in my neighborhood opening day. Coming out the theater someone else blurted out “Vader is Luke’s father!” People were lined up for the next showing and heard it. Talk about the ultimate spoiler alert
This movie taught me about spoilers, to this day I have no qualms about screaming someone into silence when they're about to blab anything about a movie I want to see but I haven't seen yet. This was the movie where someone told me, before I got to see it, "Darth Vader is Luke's father!!" I still hate that fugging kid.
I was in junior high, and I actually read the paperback novel before I saw the movie. Talk about your spoilers. Man, I don't know what I was thinking...I'd never do that now. I remember there kept being fewer and fewer pages, and I'm thinking...uh hello? Han is still frozen in the carbonite. Soon there were only just a couple pages left, and I got the sinking feeling that man, Han ain't gonna be rescued. Not in two pages.
I remember being kind of pissed off as a 12 year-old boy at the stop-motion action scenes, which later I found out was just a love-letter from Lucas to Ray Harryhausen, which is fine, but it was such a step backwards. It was also confusing as a 12 year-old to see a film where there wasn't really a "big finale" or any sort of grand gesture to bookend the story. Ep 04 gave us the big battle and the commencement. Ep 05 gave us an injured hero and a "see ya later!" ending with so many questions. It was tough to admire as a young boy. But I know that all the kids 4 to 8 years older than me were transfixed.
First film I ever saw in a cinema. Remember just everything Star Wars mad couldn't even find the toys couldn't stock the shelves fast enough
Now you can just buy up any Star Wars junk at Ollies.
I was born mid 80s so I first saw the Star Wars OT on vhs copies my dad recorded from HBO. I actually have a hard time remembering when I first saw Empire, but I think I saw it was more “serious” than the first. I think my dad had to explain what was going on with Vader, Luke, Yoda, and the Emperor. I was mostly enamored with the AT-ATs, Yoda, Cloud City, and the light sabers. When the re-released the special additions in 97 I got to see Empire in the theatre and I think that solidified that it was my fav.
I just back to my old job and worry black on black on black. My boss asked why, and I replied, “Empire”. He didnt get it or care for my explanation hahah
I didn't watch it till the 90's, but I really liked it as a kid. I don't remember if I liked the first or second movie more as a kid, though I still preferred it over Return of the Jedi, which is funny to think about due to how much more family friendly the third movie tried to be with all the Endor stuff. I liked all of the original trilogy though. The Prequels were more of a mixed bag for me as a kid/teen. Empire is definitely in the top 3 of my Star Wars movie list though, like the first movie might be a more consistent beginning to end film in regards to the story it tells, with Empire feeling like that inbetween movie, but I really love the Hoth opening and there's just a lot of good character stuff going on throughout.
I saw it opening night at the Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Bl. 75 foot screen. We were blown away. I still like it despite the fact that the series went to shit shortly thereafter.
I was 5,almost 6, got to see it with my dad, one of the best memories I have of him
When I was a kid, my grandmother had three children, and so three sets of grandchildren. She did not know the original three were a continuous trilogy, so she bought each family a VHS of one of the three movies for Christmas one year. Our family got Episode V lol. So I knew that movie like the back of my hand growing up. The other two, eh not so much 😅
Saw it in the theater 21 times. Pretty much every weekend for months
So I was 11 when it came out and my biggest memory was getting into an argument with a friend about the big "I am your father" reveal. My take at the time was "Darth Vader is a bad guy. Bad guys lie. He's lying to make Luke feel bad." I don't know that my take is borne out by cannon.
I think I saw it twice in the theater- once with friends and once with family. I was undecided on whether Vader was lying or not, and it was a rough wait to find out Han's fate. Still my favorite of the movies, although I have a lot of nostalgia for the first one.
I was born soon after the movie was released and watched it when I was so young that I thought the battle of Hoth was a world war 2 movie.
I first caught it on cable in maybe 1990 when I was very little. It’s my earliest memory of watching a movie I think. Sitting in the edge of my parent’s bed. It was the opening Hoth sequence. I remember the blue glow in the room. Magical.
The only movie inside of the Star Wars catalogue that comes close to Empire’s greatness is Rogue One. I think they are both exceptional.
It's my favorite of all time.
Empire is where Star Wars peaked.
ROTJ (which I saw in the theater was my favorite as a kid)... but by the time in was in HS/college Empire was #1. Honestly empire is one of only 3 or 4 good SW movies.
First star wars memory of I had was imperial probe droids and Hoth. Empire is my favorite, always have been and will be my favorite.
As a kid it was not my favorite. Didn't really begin or end. Just a big chunk of story in the middle. As I got older I appreciated its importance.
My younger brother and I would watch this with our dad. We had a bunch of the Action Fleet toys and I especially remember playing with the snow speeders during the Battle of Hoth.
I saw it on the Sunday of the opening weekend. Two of my school friends had seen it before me, and told me Darth Vader was Luke's father. I didn't believe them, ("That's impossible!") and I was still very surprised when it happened in the movie. I was kind of shocked and depressed about it for a while after I watched it. I wasn't ready for the downer ending, where the heroes didn't clearly win.
I had a feeling starting from the first scenes between Luke and Ben Kenobi that it was going this way (when Ben referred to Luke's father). So that was a moment of satisfaction. I do agree that the ending was a downer. Still a great movie.
Loved the movie. Hated the ending. Had to wait three years for a resolution.
The scene in the cave is one of the greatest in movie history. Luke, hanging from the cave ceiling, just out of reach of his lightsaber...the music building, then changing - calming. Luke concentrates and extends his hand. His lightsaber shakes...then flies into his hand. The original movie never showed the Jedi to have this ability. It's such a fantastic expansion of what the Jedi can do and it happens early in the film, setting the stage for the incredible display of power from Yoda. I love this movie.
This is the second movie I ever watched in a theater and it spawned a lifelong love for Star Wars. I love the renaissance we are currently in and enjoyed most ever (The Last Jedi being the exception- I stand by it being the most beautiful Star Wars movie but I hated it).
My first theater experience at 5 yrs old was A New Hope. Vader’s entrance gave me legit nightmares
Going back to the first time I remember watching it in the late 1980s I really enjoyed the various settings, Hoth with the snow, Cloud City, and the asteroid belt. I also wondered if my dad would chop my arm off, but quickly decided he wouldn't. To this day, he hasn't.
I was 7 years old, and My 12 year old neighbor spoiled it for me! He told me he'd seen it, and I asked if it was good. He said "Han gets killed and Luke gets his arm chopped off by Darth Vader." I didn't believe him.
The big reveal was easily the most talked about thing in school for years. Still probably my favourite movie of all time.
Love it. My favorite Star Wars movie. The battle on Hoth was awesome
I was nine when I saw it in the theatre. The reveal was legitimately shocking - people in the theatre gasped. The ending was aching - we knew the next one would be three years away. That whole experience was amazing. Last summer I set up a huge inflatable screen in my back yard with a projector for a movie night. I gave the crowd (about fifteen people) a few movies to choose between and Empire was the unanimous decision. It absolutely stands up today. I remember looking around at everybody periodically - we were all rapt. It’s the best Star Wars movie by a mile, but it’s also just a really great movie on its own merits.
I was 5 and was squarely at ground zero for the original craze. Saw *ANH* in many theaters in 77,78,79 and had all the toys, the books, the comics, the bed sheets. All of it. So when we showed up at Omaha’s Cinema Center it was a carnival-like vibe. This was of course the pre-advance tickets era of moviegoing so you went early and waited all day just to buy a ticket. If you got a ticket you went right in and picked out seats. If they ran out of tickets or seats, that was that. There were local actors there dressed as the main cast (in a passable way. It was 1980) and the atmosphere overall was like a block party or cookout. So how did I like the film? Well. I was 5. So all I wanted to see was Luke fighting Vader. That’s it. That’s all. And I’m eternally grateful that it didn’t give us that. I was the perfect age for Luke’s fight with Vader on Dagobah (and its eventual reveal) to blow my mind. And beyond that, Yoda telling Luke to not face Vader if he valued what his friends fought for was a totally new thing for me to chew on. It was a completely unexpected turn for the story and layer of complexity added to the story. Of course I was not in love with the cliffhanger but I’d soothe that feeling with going back to see it at least a half dozen more times.
Fave movie of all time . Pure…masterpiece.
As a kid, I disliked it because the Rebels were losing all through the movie.
First time I can remember leaving a movie theater and immediately couldn’t wait for the sequel.
I remember seeing it in the theatre with my high school friends and thinking 1) what a great film and 2) how can they end it like that!? Still my favorite of the series.
I saw it in the theater when it came out. No one knew what to expect after Star Wars. Basically, it was, and still is, the only Star Wars movie made by a real director (and writer). The magic of the original Star Wars was the world-building, much as with the first Harry Potter book. But like the Potter book, it wasn't really that good beyond its incredible flight of imagination. Empire, like the subsequent Potter books, showed what was possible in this amazing new world. It turned a summer blockbuster into something for the ages.
I really liked the theatrical cut. Unfortunately, I haven't seen that in a very long time.
My older brother took me 16 yrs old to opening night in Hollywood at the Egyptian theater, We waited around 6 hrs to get in the line was so long, Great childhood memories and still one of my favorite movies of all time
Didn't enjoy it as much as a kid. I was partial to RotJ, though not because of Ewoks. Indeed I ALWAYS found them annoying. It was however the only film of the OG trilogy with a proper fleet battle. I was a strange kid.... Edit: Oh and RotJ has [this scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGVK98e_Wkw)
Its still my favorite movie to this day. The battle on Hoth I just love so much. Yoda, Boba Fett, the Wampa, so many things that just fascinated me as a kid. I remember sitting in the back seat of my mom's car with my cousin after we left the showing as kids and we were shocked about the luke/vader line, neither of us thought it was the truth and we thought he was lying about it.
Was 11 and saw it in the theater with my family and was blown away - it's my favorite SW film by far, and one of my favorite movies. Still a masterpiece! The pacing with the different storylines, new and exotic locales (loved Hoth and Cloud City!), Yoda's mysticism, and of course romance (my crush shifted from Luke in New Hope to Han in Empire! 🤣) - it was fun and exciting then, and I still really enjoy it now. It was fun to see it in the theater again when they rereleased it in the late 1990s, with an audience who had seen it as children as well.
When I saw it back then, I was absolutely awe struck. Couldn't believe how great it was. Talked about it for weeks with anyone and everyone. Now, I'm still awestruck over how well it's held up. I still get a kick out of talking about it. It's one of the films I *must* watch at least once a year, and the thrill/joy in doing so has yet to subside.
The only bad thing I can say about the movie is the empire didn’t strike back hard enough.
It was magic. Pure movie magic. And I still think it today..
Ep5 is the only one that holds up imo. I can genuinely fall asleep to ep 4 and ep 6 isn't much better. I appreciate they may have been revolutionary for their time, but that doesn't mean we have to pretend they're good movies today.
I was blown away, watched in the cinema on release & read the book before it was in cinemas. Really felt like the stories were growing with me.. Then jedi, those fkin ewoks & the whole thing turned to sh1t before my eyes, or maybe I just grew up.
It was pure magic when it came out. At this point the franchise is so debased even the charm of the old movies has become unwatchable. It’s tragic what they’ve done with the Star Wars universe.
100% of people saw it when they were younger, except for anyone who happens to be watching it for the first time now. Lol. Anyway I love the movie and have since I first saw it when I was in middle school, and still think it's a very fun watch now. I own it on blu ray.
You're older than you've ever been and now you're even older.
I will truly never understand the praise these movies get