Film: The Empire Strikes Back

The Empire Strikes Back

Acclaimed follow-up to Star Wars that saw things turn dark for Luke Skywalker.

Many consider this, the second of the three original films, to be the high watermark of the Star Wars series. It was directed by Irvin Kershner, who taught George Lucas at film school.

The film boasted the same mix of ersatz mysticism, pulpy characterisation and action that had made Star Wars such a hit, only on a grander scale.

Its most famous and justly celebrated sequence is the Battle of Hoth, where the rebel alliance have down Imperial AT-ATs. Visually striking and sinister (though clearly vulnerable to attack), the AT-ATs provide one of the movie's iconic images.

Also debuting is Yoda. Voiced by the Muppets' Frank Oz, Yoda tutors the young Luke Skywalker through mental challenges and sentence inversion. Impersonate him, you will. Meanwhile, Han Solo is falling for Leia and Luke makes a distressing discovery about his family.

Emotionally involving and action-packed, the Empire Strikes Back remains a pinnacle of science fiction action excellence.

Work nominated by Evilex.