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The Empire Strikes Back (Again)
"To me, the special edition ones are the films I wanted to make. The other movie, it’s on VHS... I’m not going to spend the money and the time to refurbish that, because to me, it doesn’t really exist anymore."
George Lucas
Nearly 20 years after Empire first entered cinemas, Lucas decided that technology had finally caught up with his vision for Star Wars. In a controversial move, he decided to re-release his original trilogy with added CGI that cleaned up what he perceived as some of the trilogy’s clunkier moments. Not everybody was happy with the changes. Fans cried out that George Lucas had ‘raped their childhood’, a fact compounded by Lucas’ refusal to release his original, tamper-free Star Wars movies on DVD. It wasn’t just the fans who were disappointed with Lucas’ meddling, though. Mark Hamill also found the tinkering unnecessary.
“I haven't been reticent about saying, ‘Leave them alone,’” he nods. “Make the new ones, that's fine, but why would you go back and change film history? So much of the charm of those movies is that they're what George once called ‘the most expensive low-budget movie ever made’. “And, indeed, there's so much invention in those films: using trucks to drive by the Death Star models and set off charges when the X-Wings would crash into it, cribbing shots from old WW2 aerial battle films...“We were forced on that movie to improvise a lot, to use our imaginations, and that's something that goes away with big budgets and limitless technology.”
Lucas, though, has stood his ground on the matter. "To me, the special edition ones are the films I wanted to make," he reasons. "The other movie, it’s on VHS, if anybody wants it... I’m not going to spend the, we’re talking millions of dollars here, the money and the time to refurbish that, because to me, it doesn’t really exist anymore." And Lucas still won't budge. Even with the release of the Complete Saga box set (comprising all six films plus oodles of extras), Lucas has withheld the original, CG-free films from public consumption.
Gold star
A lot has happened in the Starverse since The Empire Strikes Back opened in 1980. After the prequels, numerous re-releases and CGI TV spin-offs, it’s hard to believe that Empire initially only received a lukewarm reception from critics. “I think the critics felt that they were going to see an extension of Star Wars. In other words, they wanted another Star Wars,” remembers Kershner. “I decided that the potential was much greater than a rerun of Star Wars. “When I finally accepted the assignment, I knew that it was going to be a dark film, with more depth to the characters than in the first film. It took a few years for the critics to catch up with the film and to see it as a fairy tale rather than a comic book.”
Now, of course, Empire has been embraced as the most beloved of the Star Wars films. With its darker, more character-driven approach and distinctive visual flare, it’s often cited as one of the greatest sci-flicks ever made. Kershner sadly died in November 2010 (“he was the sweetest guy,” Ford attested recently), but his legacy lives on in Empire. In an interview conducted years after he directed the film, he admitted “it’s been years” since he watched the film.
“I walked past a video store about three months ago and they were playing a piece of it on tape and I looked at it, and it was like someone else had done it,” he admitted. “It's so fast, there is so much happening that I can't keep up with the memories. It was like someone else did it. And I like it, I enjoy watching it. I really put my heart and soul into it. I did not withhold any energy whatsoever. I gave it everything and I like doing that. That's when life is full."
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