Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back (Limited Edition)

With the phenomenal success of Star Wars in 1977, George Lucas realized he could continue the planned trilogy he had been outlining since the early 1970s. His original outline contained the raw material for Episodes IV, V and VI as well as the nebulous backstory that would become the foundation for the current prequels. So in 1978, with Star Wars (which would be rechristened Episode IV: A New Hope) earning hundreds of millions in box office receipts, Lucas, producer Gary Kurtz and the Lucasfilm production team began work on The Empire Strikes Back, the film most Star Wars fans believe is the best in the entire saga. Lucas gave his story to Leigh Brackett, an acclaimed science fiction writer, and hired her to write the screenplay. She passed away soon after finishing the first draft, so Lucas (who would serve as executive producer) handed the project over to up-and-coming writer-director Lawrence Kasdan (Body Heat, Continental Divide, and Raiders of the Lost Ark). Furthermore, he handed the directing reins to Irvin Kershner (The Eyes of Laura Mars); the Star Wars shoot had drained Lucas emotionally and physically, so the series creator focused on the behind-the-scenes aspects of Empire's production. The Empire Strikes Back picks up the narrative some three years after the events of Episode IV: A New Hope. Despite their impressive victory at Yavin, the Rebels' destruction of the Empire's Death Star marked only the true start of the Galactic Civil War. Darth Vader (Dave Prowse, voice of James Earl Jones), last seen heading into deep space in his damaged TIE fighter, made his way to Imperial territory and was given the assignment of eradicating the main resistance cell of the Rebellion. Somewhere along the line (and the movies never explained this), Vader discovered the identity of the X-Wing pilot who destroyed the Death Star. Some time after the Battle of Yavin, the Empire forced the Rebels to flee from their hidden base and pursued them across the galaxy. Now, as the title crawl narrates, Vader, "obsessed with finding young Skywalker, dispatches thousands of remote probes into the deep reaches of space." One of these probes crashes on Hoth, an icy world in the backwaters of the galaxy and so inhospitable that even smugglers avoid it. Its fiery descent is seen by Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), now a commander of Rogue Squadron, as he rides on his trusty tauntaun. However, before he can check it out, he's attacked by a Wampa ice creature and dragged off to its cave for future consumption. Meanwhile, unaware of his friend's plight, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) returns to the Rebel base and tells the commanding officer (Bruce Boa) that he's leaving the Alliance to pay the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt the money he still owes from an incident predating his involvement with the Rebellion. When Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) reacts angrily to his decision to leave, he tells her he knows she wants him to stay not because he's "a natural leader" for the Rebel pilots but "because of the way you feel about me." But their sparring is interrupted when Luke (now hanging by his ankles on an ice cave's ceiling) is reported overdue and Han recklessly rides out into the bitter cold of a Hoth night to find him. Skywalker, aided by his untrained Jedi abilities, manages to escape from the Wampa before he becomes its dinner, and runs out into the teeth of a Hoth night storm. Before collapsing in exhaustion, the spirit of his slain mentor Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (Alec Guinness) appears before him and tells Luke he must "go to the Dagobah system. There you will learn from Yoda, the Jedi Master who instructed me." Ben disappears and Luke falls unconscious to the snow, but Han reaches him in the nick of time. Although Han's tauntaun dies and the two friends must themselves be rescued by Alliance pilots, Luke survives and everyone is briefly reunited. But the Imperial probe that Luke failed to investigate discovers the Rebel base and reports to the Imperial fleet. Soon, Vader and his hordes of Imperial forces, supported by a fleet of Star Destroyers and lumbering armored transports, descend on Hoth, and the band of Star Warriors scatters. Luke and his astromech droid R2-D2 fly off to Dagobah to find Yoda, while Han, Leia, Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) are pursued relentlessly by Imperial ships and the bounty hunter Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch). The Empire Strikes Back took very big risks, such as surprising fans with its Episode V subtitle, having its big battle take place during the first half of the movie, giving the director's chair to Kershner, and making the ending a big cliffhanger with so many story threads left dangling. Would Luke complete his training with Yoda (Frank Oz)? Could Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) be trusted? Who did Leia really love, Luke or Han? Most importantly, was Vader really Luke's father, as he claims at the end of the de rigeur lightsaber duel on Cloud City? For three years, fans theorized and conjectured many different scenarios and grumbled about the unfinished feel of the ending, but Empire was a resounding critical and popular success. The script and directing gave Episode V depth and more personality shadings to the characters, the effects were even better than the first film's, and John Williams' brilliant score built on A New Hope's established musical themes and added new and more interesting leitmotivs that gave the Star Wars saga its operatic sweep. Empire is one of those rare sequels that in some ways surpasses its predecessor film, and almost 25 years after its release it still thrills and chills its many fans.

Since Amazon has carelessly mixed all reviews of all editions of the Star Wars Trilogy (Ep. IV, V, VI), confusing many buyers and causing many to pick the wrong Editions as a result, let me start by stating which DVD's and which editions I bought - I got all three originals of the first true trilogy - Episodes IV, V, VI, all separate in their own cases and each with 2 DVDs inside. DVD Edition, Enhanced AND Theatrical Editions (2 discs per movie), Full Screen Edition (Also available in widescreen) *Just a note about the Full Screen edition: The "Enhanced" remake version of each movie is indeed in Full Screen but the Original Unaltered/Theatrical Editions on disc 2 (for all 3 movies) is in letterbox only. I had no problem with it, it did not detract or distract while watching and the letterbox aspect ratio has barely more black than the regular modern day Widescreen...So, don't worry about that if you're thinking of getting this. I was so glad to find the REAL movie versions that I would have taken any letterbox size! Disc 1 - "Enhanced" version (re-release with added scenes & changed musical scenes in Mos Eisley, Jabba's Palace, End celebration sequence on Return Of The Jedi, etc...) Disc 2 with the original unaltered "Theatrical" version, which is the original as aired in movie theaters in 1977-1983. It was so great to FINALLY find the edition of the original trilogy with the option of watching it the proper way without all the added CGI animation and re-done music scenes. I agree with another reviewer here that I, too, absolutely DESPISE the re-make of the musical band scene in Jabba's Palace (Return Of The Jedi). The female singer originally was a puppet and there were men under the floor making her "dance" by moving a steel frame and puppet strings. The CGI cheapens the entire scene and the music itself is both awful and extremely aggravating. I remembered the original song ever since I first saw the movies on VHS when I was growing up. What a throwback experience. The packaging is nice. The front and back covers of the case have the original artwork from the first VHS releases of the films from back in the late 70's/early 80's. There are bonus features included but I don't really care about that stuff; I bought this strictly to have the original unaltered films on demand. The paper inside just has artwork, a chapter/scene list, and a quick description of what commentary & features are included on the discs in addition to the films themselves. Nothing extra on the little paper itself, everything is on the discs. Lucas is a sell-out giving this franchise to Disney; what a mistake. I don't care to watch any of his commentary. There is also a demo of a ridiculous Lego Star Wars game for XBox which I will also never use on my XBox. These editions were released in September of 2006 and I believe this is the only time they released the originals on DVD so I am glad and lucky to have found them. At approximately $30 apiece, I feel it was a steal to get such a rare hard-to-find edition at such a great price-under $100 for all three films, and two versions each at that. I highly recommend this particular edition to all Star Wars fans who want the true original experience. For me personally I feel it was best as it was originally shown, with all the physical puppets, original music scenes, and no CGI.

In 1977, on a cold, rainy night in Inverness, Scotland a wee farm-girl saw a film called Star Wars. After that night everything was different. The original Star Wars literally changed my life. At that point I was living on a dirt, poor farm and my whole life consisted of that little farm. After Star Wars my interest blossomed over night and I can say with out any doubt, this film was directly responsible for me going to University and thus my success in life. I remember to this day, sitting on the sofa watching telly and the preview for Empire Strikes Back came on and I literally screamed for joy. I had no idea that there was going to be a sequel. Empire was the first film I saw more than once in the theatre. I remember sitting in the cinema being so frustrated on how they ended the film! The wait till Jedi came out was the longest three years of my life! I think Empire was a perfect sequel for Star Wars. It was with out doubt, the yin to Star Wars yang. I was still a young child when it came out it was the first type of fantasy film I ever saw that didn't have a happy ending. It had never even occurred to me that that was possible. I ended up seeing Empire at least 20 times in the cinema. Yes, yes I was a geek. So basically The Empire and Darth Vader in particular were pretty cheesed off at The Rebellion for blowing up the Empire's massive, Death Star. Can you imagine the financial and manpower loss! So Vader proceeds in chasing down The Rebellion and capturing a bunch of the good guys in an attempt to bring Luke Skywalker out of hiding. Little does Vader know, Luke has been training in the ways of the force under the tutelage of a master jedi in hiding called Yoda. Eventually Luke does come out of hiding to rescue his mates. Though he puts up a valiant fight, Vader easily overpowers Luke and tries to convince him to join the bad guys. Luke, a staunch idealist refuses to budge. However, at that point Vader reveals a deep, lost secret to Luke that almost sways Luke's allegiance. In the end Luke escapes Vader's clutches but at a great personal loss. His best friend has been kidnapped by an evil crime lord and his new discovered secret wears heavily on his psyche. The film ends with everything mostly unresolved and The Rebellion on its heels. I bought the DVD of this film with both versions. I admit I really like the new, cgi-enhanced version but my heart and soul always prefers the original theatrical release. It always brings back those days of wonder when I sat in the cool, dark cinema transported to a galaxy far, far away. And as an grown, middle aged adult, these days there are not many things more satisfying than reliving those days of wonder! Most people say this is the best of the Star Wars films but I disagree. You can't look at Star Wars with out taking them all into consideration. They are a package deal, all with strengths and weaknesses. Instead of debating which one is better, sit back and enjoy.

It's one of the early prequals. And part of the original trilogy which defined science fiction to just about everyone. The entire movie is on another level. And the writing is exceptional, a fantastic story from "long long ago." So, grab a snack and have a seat next to that someone special and settle in as Luke and Princess Leah and Dart Vader and Yoda take us on a journey into real sci-fi. I highly recommend Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

It's the Disney Plus version not the 1997 release, the plus side of this is it has the original 1980 release on the bonus disc and it's really good definitely worth buying for the original version.

This was one of my favorite movies of all time and now 4k. Cool. but not as cool as I remember. Could it be I'm older now. Way older or is it because the aspect ratio isn't right. 😐 It's too vertical. Why is that. Everything is a little long like it's not stretched enough. 🤨

I have to agree with Alex Diaz-Granados, author of the long and intense review. this film was loved by Siskel & Ebert and they really loved the character of Yoda, a puppet that was more realistic than anyone could have realized at the time. Yes, Lucas surpassed himself with this film. I saw it a week and half ago and I still can't get it out of my head. For sheer drama this was and is the very best of all of the Star wars series films, before and after this one. I can't say enough good things about it. I saw the Special Edition for the first time. unlike A New Hope and Return of the Jedi, I had never seen the Special edition for Empire Strikes Back. The scene with the Yeti monster is frightening. Although the original film still made us feel the danger by not seeing the "lurking menace" that was set to devour Luke. I liked seeing the relationship between Luke and Han develop and also a love triangle between Han, Luke and Leia form. A really great film. I liked seeing new characters added like Lando Calrissian and the Android called Lobot. It may well have been the first time in movie history of a character texting another friend and subordinate. The settings and locales were so incredible! Five Stars all around. I'm the 7574th person to review this fine film. A. Nathaniel Wallace, Jr.

My number one favorite movie

Da grande fan della saga non potevo non prendere questa fantastica versione, oltretutto, questo è il mio film preferito della saga. Come detto con gli altri 2 steelbook, ottima edizione in Blu ray, ottima scelta di inserire i poster originali nel retro della custodia! Sul film non c'è molto da dire, stesso disco presente nel Box Blu-Ray del 2011-2015, senza però i contenuti speciali. Prezzo molto conveniente e servizio perfetto, come sempre, da Amazon! Se siete collezionisti e amate la saga non lasciatevi scappare questa grande edizione, peccato contenga l'edizione speciale, tristemente famosa per le aggiunte di Lucas. Film fantastico, video ottimo e audio anche, peccato per l'assenza dei contenuti speciali.

Came in great condition. Movie is good quality. Wonderful movie itself. Digital code was there but haven't tested it out yet.

Finally managed to root out the originals! The DVD 11 Sept. 2006 Limited Edition 2 disc set has a bonus disk with the original theatrical release. (If the people with the copyright want to go on playing with it, they have every right to do so - but I do take issue with the difficulty of getting hold of the original release which is of considerable historical interest in several ways. Doing new things with it and trying to efface the reality of the original movie are totally different). So far, I have only watched the original except for one clip (Darth Vader and the Emperor talking, where I can see entirely why the addition makes sense), so all the following is comments on the theatrical release not on the modern changes. I feel the films of this era have a charm of their own despite the special effects limitations, and I felt things like the jump-into-hyperspace effect were well done and very consistent with the overall feel of the story. I hesitated over giving it four or five stars, but I think it does deserve the five. It's brilliant in many ways. The main characters are relatable - they contrast and interact well, the villain is demonstrably evil and is not an idiot or lacking in power and threat (witness the moment where someone shoots him and he just holds up his hand to stop the missiles and take the gun - it makes sense he's proved practically impossible to defeat so far), and the action and sentimental/character development sequences are well juxtaposed. The supporting robots are both wonderful fun, as is the eccentric but genuinely wise mentor. And the twist (redacted in the unlikely event that it's still a spoiler for anyone :-D) is brilliantly done in this movie and the final one in the trilogy: pulling THAT particular thing off is unbelievable, and an incredible achievement in both the writing and acting. It adds unexpected tragic and character-struggle depth which sets off the action-adventure elements extremely well and, I felt, takes the whole work from good to great. However, though most of it is very well done, there are a few things that are unclear or jar slightly in context. For instance, someone who is - I believe - supposed to be dead is carried away in camera-view in a manner that makes it clear he's really alive, people don't entirely behave around Darth Vader as one would expect if he's given to murdering his own men for mistakes, there are some inconsistencies I didn't feel were explained properly (especially Vader's, uh, precise attitude to rebellion against the emperor in this one vs. the following film. Again, redacted spoiler problems). Also, I found some of the romance a bit jarring. I do find the way a certain guy speaks to Leia towards the beginning of this one extremely uncomfortable, and I would have thought it would have put Leia off him more than it does, given she's used to power and responsibility. Being sexually suggestive to a woman who is being clear she doesn't welcome it and then being dismissive of her protests isn't ok. On the other hand, it does fit his character and he does learn better: I think the relationship does make sense overall. They feel a believable couple when they work together, and his care for her specific needs when she's duty-focused on others feels very right and touching. I felt the romance element was off in character terms enough to take note of, but it's shaky in places rather than straight-out not making sense. And, on the flip side of any sexism issue, I was pleasantly surprised to see an action girl who really is an action girl, and isn't a masquerading damsel-in-constant-distress, a substitute man, or primarily there to be objectified in the male gaze (metal-bikini incident in following film notwithstanding - she takes it off the first opportunity she has, and anyone who actually uses that as a pin-up is aligning themselves with the ilk of Jabba the Hutt). Princess Leia could be better characterised in some ways (more capacity to be diplomatic rather than snarky when appropriate seems likely, for instance, given her background) but I did love the genuineness of the action role she has. I don't mind "in media res" done well, but for those who do, this one actually starts more at the beginning of an arc than A New Hope. Though it has a semi-open ending, I felt it finished in a good place: one quest ends, the next needs to begin. There's more to do but the "breathing space moment" where it stops is real. I would note to mothers and fathers and grandparents and other people responsible for children that I am deeply surprised that this or the others in the trilogy (A New Hope and Return of the Jedi) are rated U: I would personally treat them as PGs and recommend considering the individual sensitivities of children in your care. In this one, several people are murdered in camera view (albeit in a fantastic manner), someone's hand is cut off in an on-screen fight (though in circumstances where it isn't messy and it's more symbolically and emotionally important than anything else), the villain is a menacing and murdering bully, there's a scene where a significant character has something rather horrible done to him precisely in case doing it is going to kill him (avoiding spoilers again: but he comes out LOOKING gruesome), and there's a lot of fighting, (none of which feels very realistic except the aircraft going up in flames, but I have the impression that usually goes over kids' heads). Despite it annoying me in other ways, the occasional "suggestiveness" is very discreet - it's in the way things are said not in what is said - the romance does check out as clean and child-friendly: it's only the level of threat and violence that would worry me. Not really a rating problem, but also mostly a children thing: I thought the unfortunate real-life impact scarred-face villain trope is peculiarly (and very effectively) subverted in the final film in several ways, but I found it uncomfortable in this one and in A New Hope. I don't think we should try to retcon artistic history or try to destroy what might not be politically correct - thought-police is always bad - but awareness is good. Anyway, I enjoyed it. For all the minor faults, there's a reason it's so well known and thought of.

Buen producto

Perfecta colección de las 6 películas hasta el momento. Buscaba algo parecido y he dado en el clavo. Aunque tienes que comprar una por una, no vienen en una típica caja de cartón de coleccionista. Para mi perfecto. Típica caja metálica aunque muy fina para mi gusto y recubierto de plástico por dentro. Solo viene el Blu-Ray y nada más. El dibujo de delante es un tono metalizado y tiene cierto relieve en las letras y por detrás aparece la portada original muy bien dibujada. Son totalmente excelentes, no podrían estar mejor hechos. He colgado una foto para que veáis la parte de atrás ya que viene con un cartón que representa la típica parte de atrás de un dvd o blu-ray donde sale escenas, información, créditos, etc... y al ser un SteelBox lo podemos extraer quitando dos trozo de celo y se deja ver en todo su esplendor. También he colgado otra foto para que veáis las seis cartulinas y como he decidido cortar la parte que envuelve cada película por encima para guardarlos en el estante. Lógicamente he hecho tal cosa porque es mucho más bonito ver los dibujos de la caja que ese trozo de cartón tapándolo. Ahora toca esperar a la nueva trilogía y las antologías que también tienen pensado sacar, aunque... ¿Cuantos años habrá que esperar para que saquen un edición con un dibujo tan excelente como lo son estas 6 primeras? Muchos.