no wonder star wars never got any better than this

#StarWars #TheEmpireStrikesBack #videoessay

Making Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back was no simple task. The first Star Wars movie was a major success and making a Star Wars sequel was extremely daunting.

So who directed Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back? After directing the original Star Wars movie, George Lucas turned to his friend and mentor Irvin Kershner to direct the very first Star Wars sequel, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.

In this video, we'll hear some stories straight from Irvin Kershner himself regarding his approach to directing The Empire Strikes Back and filmmaking in general, as well as what the property and genre of Star Wars meant to him.

Edited by Danny Boyd

Further Viewing:
Irvin Kershner vs George Lucas ...Empire Strikes Back Shot as Written
Irvin Kershner and Gary Kurtz for The Empire Strikes Back
"The Empire Strikes Back" Wins People's Choice Awards
Mark Hamill on 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' & 'The Empire Strikes Back' | MTV News
Carrie Fisher/Billy Dee Williams - 1980 Bobbie Wygant Interview
RARE 1980 "The Empire Strikes Back" interviews and the future of Star Wars.
George Lucas 1999
George Lucas Interview
George Lucas 1995 Star Wars Trilogy Interview (Parts 1,2,3) - VHS Treasures
Mark Hamill & Harrison Ford interviews: The Empire Strikes Back
A Chat with Irvin Kershner : Part 2
Irvin Kershner Interview Part 1 of 2

Music:

Music:

[CinemaStix]

Got any Star Wars movie trivia to share? I’d love to hear it.

[UserRedZero]

“I felt I needed humor, but I couldn’t have gags…”
I cannot express how important that is, not just in Star Wars but in movies at all.

[hjewkes]

The juxtaposition of how dedicated fans are to the movies, and the director not remembering Chewbaccas name is fascinating

[sdsdfdu]

"I felt I needed humor, but I couldn't have gags"
Someone needs to tell this to every single director currently employed by Disney, in both Star Wars and the MCU

[caret_shell]

Harrison Ford passed his Diplomacy Check like a true professional at the end there.

[smacdsmaccers]

the directors knew what the story was about
the actors knew what the characters were about
the crew knew what the movie was about
a masterpeice of true artists

[MightyManotaur]

The "I love you." "I know." story is one of my all-time favorite movie stories. One of the most classic interactions in cinema history and it was improv. That's a talented actor and a talented director that trusts him. So good.

[wrlord]

I love that Kirshner doesn't know C3PO's name even after directing the movie. He didn't believe in this bullshit. There's a famous quote from him: "Yoda has a basic philosophy that's very charming. It's not deep, but it's charming. Young people think it's deep. I wish they would read more."

[gurk_the_magnificent]

25 years ago my parents told me I would come to appreciate _The Empire Strikes Back_ more and more as I got older and by god they were right

[SektorSieben]

Irvin Kershner:
"I felt I needed humor in the picture, and yet I couldn't have gags.
I felt I needed a love story, and I yet I couldn't have a lot of smooching and kissing ... it all had to be more implied" ...
- YES!!!

[erikrohs]

His line about humor is exactly what Disney didn’t understand when it came to the sequels

[johnprudent]

The problem with movies like Star Wars becoming such big successes and practically cultural icons, is that they become so much part of us that we forget what made them truly great. We forget that these films were innovative in one way or another; or just take for granted the sense of true fantasy they give.

[smaller_cathedrals]

What's not often being talked about is that Lucas literally put everything he had into this movie. After he got so fed up with how Hollywood works and how producers kept meddling in his work, he wanted to have full creative control over Empire. Funding this meant, amongst other things, mortgaging his house, his family's house! He put all the money he made from the first movie into Empire. If it hadn't been a success, he and his family would've been bankrupt and homeless. It was an insane gamble. But it speaks volumes of how confident Lucas was in his movie. And the rest is history.

[josephbrown]

I personally believe Empire is one of the best movies ever and transcends Star Wars as a whole. I think it can be enjoyed by people who aren’t even Star Wars fans because the character development is superb.

[Gusmed]

“I felt I needed humor, but I couldn’t have gags… I needed a love story, but I couldn’t have cuddling and smooching”…
If only he had directed the prequels…

[RuneD]

"Kershner's much taller." is such a Han Solo response! I love Harrison! 😂

[brakeduster]

The Solo/Leia line of "I love you" - "I know" was like something from earlier movies, like Bogart in Casablanca or Gable in Gone With The Wind. Perfect timing, great acting and masterful directing. So subtle, yet says more to the audience than they know. Showing, not telling.

[crisla]

I actually really like how he doesn't even try to pretend to know Chewbaccas name to me it shows that he doesn't care about directing *star wars* he cares about directing a *good movie* And while this attitude should not always be taken I think sometimes it's a breath of fresh air.

[janwojciechowski]

i felt so much heart for the movie during these 8 and a half minutes... it's indescribable

[erinspbrown]

This might be one of the most beautiful and poetic dissections of why a movie can work and it's all done in less than 9 minutes