Post by Briar Rose's Dark Knight on Jan 15, 2014 23:21:25 GMT -5
The Empire Strikes Back.
However, I need to add a caveat to that statement. As much as I love The Empire Strikes Back, I feel that one must be familiar with its overall context within the 6 Star Wars films in order to fully appreciate how incredible the film is. Because it is the middle part of the original Star Wars trilogy, the film assumes some familiarity with the overall story (including the prequels to some degree) and also ends with multiple cliffhangers that are not resolved until Return of the Jedi.
Now that said, this is where Empire shines. It gambles by having the major action piece occur in the very beginning of the film. While there are certainly many more exciting sequences to come after the major action piece, none are as big as the first 20 minutes or so of the film. Subsequent exciting sequences are influenced more by creative dialogue and tension or the devastating psychological impact of the film's most memorable spoiler.
On first viewing, Empire seems like an incredibly depressing story with a tragic ending. However, in context of the entire story, the actual ending of Empire is filled with hope conveyed so powerfully by John Williams memorable score. Indeed, of all Williams brilliant scores for all six Star Wars films, The Empire Strikes Back is easily my favorite. It contains so many incredible musical themes that run the emotional gamut.
Empire is also the film that first introduced Yoda, who ranks right up there with Mickey Mouse and Princess Aurora in my book.
However, I need to add a caveat to that statement. As much as I love The Empire Strikes Back, I feel that one must be familiar with its overall context within the 6 Star Wars films in order to fully appreciate how incredible the film is. Because it is the middle part of the original Star Wars trilogy, the film assumes some familiarity with the overall story (including the prequels to some degree) and also ends with multiple cliffhangers that are not resolved until Return of the Jedi.
Now that said, this is where Empire shines. It gambles by having the major action piece occur in the very beginning of the film. While there are certainly many more exciting sequences to come after the major action piece, none are as big as the first 20 minutes or so of the film. Subsequent exciting sequences are influenced more by creative dialogue and tension or the devastating psychological impact of the film's most memorable spoiler.
On first viewing, Empire seems like an incredibly depressing story with a tragic ending. However, in context of the entire story, the actual ending of Empire is filled with hope conveyed so powerfully by John Williams memorable score. Indeed, of all Williams brilliant scores for all six Star Wars films, The Empire Strikes Back is easily my favorite. It contains so many incredible musical themes that run the emotional gamut.
Empire is also the film that first introduced Yoda, who ranks right up there with Mickey Mouse and Princess Aurora in my book.
