Empire Strikes Back
1980
Director: Irvin Kershner
Writer: Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan, and George Lucus
124 Minutes
“No, I am your father,” – Darth Vader
Before it was ruined, Star Wars was the greatest series known to cinema and help create the term blockbuster in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Star Wars was the hero’s journey about a boy and his droids in a galaxy far, far away.
But no one expected the ending of Empire, which is why it is considered the best by fans and critics alike.
“Empire had the better ending. I mean, Luke gets his hand cut off, finds out Vader's his father, Han gets frozen and taken away by Boba Fett. It ends on such a down note. I mean, that's what life is, a series of down endings” – Dante Hicks from Clerks, written by Fanboy Kevin Smith.
This scene was crucial, hidden from the cast and crew, and even the voice of Darth Vader, the great James Earl Jones, questioned George Lucus if he was sure he wanted to say that.
But he did. Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s father.
This quote has been over used and misquoted for decades after the original release of one of the greatest sequels to ever come to light. It floored audiences. How can this be? Did he really say that? No way, that can’t be?
And then audiences had to wait another three years before Return of the Jedi came out and explained everything.
This scene is important not only for the line, “No, I am your father, “ but for the reaction Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) gives. Surely, he denies. He screams out, but Vader explains for his son to search his feelings.
Once Skywalker realizes Vader is his father, he has a choice: live with the truth or fall to your death. He looks down, looks back to his evil father, and then let’s go.
Skywalker made the choice that it is better to die than live with the reality of his father.
In the end, Luke falls perfectly down a tube, slides to a halt, and then again, falls to his near-death outside the City of Clouds where Princess Leia, Lando Cairissian, and Chewbacca rescue him.
If you found out Darth Vader was your father, would you do the same?
I find Obi Wan Kenobe's view of Anikan Skywalker to be the most interesting twist in the trilogy. "Vader, who was a pupil of mine before he turned to evil, helped the emperor hunt down and destroy the Jedi, he betrayed and murdered your father" Ankian is Vader, so how did he betray and murder his father? Only in the sense of he betrayed his feelings and that was how he murdered his father.
ReplyDelete"Many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our point of view"-Obi Wan Kenobe
ReplyDeleteI thought you would have liked the reference, 'Before it was ruined, Star Wars was..."