Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
100%RT Audience Score: 97%
Awards & Nominations: Won 2 Oscars
25 wins & 20 nominations total
Dark, sinister, but ultimately even more involving than A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back defies viewer expectations and takes the series to heightened emotional levels
If you thought A New Hope was lit, wait till you get a load of The Empire Strikes Back. This flick is darker than a black hole and will have you on the edge of your seat. It’s like the Star Wars crew said, “Let’s take everything that worked in the first movie and crank it up to 11.” And boy, did they deliver.
The Empire Strikes Back is like a rollercoaster ride of emotions. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll scream “NOOOOOO!” at the screen. It’s like they took all the feels and put them in a blender, then poured it out onto the big screen.
But don’t worry, it’s not all doom and gloom. There are still plenty of epic battles and lightsaber duels to keep you entertained. And let’s not forget about the iconic reveal that will leave you shooketh.
Overall, The Empire Strikes Back is a must-see for any Star Wars fan. It’s like the Force is strong with this one. So grab some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy the ride. May the Force be with you.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Hardangerjøkulen Glacier, Finse, Norway
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for sci-fi action violence
Year of Release
1980
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Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 4m
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Language(s):English
-
Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 21, 1980 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 21, 2004
Genre(s)
Adventure/Action
Keyword(s)
Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back, PG, Adventure/Action, 2h 4m, directed by Irvin Kershner, written by George Lucas, Lawrence Kasdan, Leigh Brackett, produced by Gary Kurtz, starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, reviewed by Richard Combs, Bob Thomas, Bruce McCabe, Geraldine Pascall, Rena Andrews, Joe Pollack, Brian Eggert, Cory Woodroof, Eddie Harrison, PG rating, box office gross $291.9M, adventure, fantasy, sci-fi action violence, 20th Century Fox, Magnetic Stereo 6 Track, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby Stereo, Scope (2.35:1), Star Wars Saga, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, C-3PO, Darth Vader, AT-AT walkers, ice planet Hoth, Dagobah, Yoda, ultimate duel
Worldwide gross: $920,818,947
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $3,674,968,448
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 5
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 400,759,918
US/Canada gross: $292,753,960
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,168,374,705
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 10
US/Canada opening weekend: $4,910,483
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $19,597,631
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 664
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $18,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $71,837,610
Production budget ranking: 588
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $38,684,553
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $3,564,446,285
ROI to date (est.): 3,225%
ROI ranking: 33
Harrison Ford – Han Solo
Carrie Fisher – Princess Leia
Billy Dee Williams – Lando Calrissian
Anthony Daniels – C-3PO
David Prowse – Darth Vader
Director – Irvin Kershner
Producer – Gary Kurtz
Writers – George Lucas, Lawrence Kasdan, Leigh Brackett
Director(s)
Irvin Kershner
Writer(s)
George Lucas, Lawrence Kasdan, Leigh Brackett
Producer(s)
Gary Kurtz
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 2 Oscars
25 wins & 20 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Sound Mixing Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
All Critics (106) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (100) | Rotten (6)
That story counts for less than gimmicks, and characters less than both, might be judged from the lack of resonance in the one narrative revelation, concerning Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker.
December 16, 2019
Richard Combs
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
The Empire Strikes Back Displays the same soaring imagination that made Star Wars a filmmaking classic; most other space movies seem clunky and earthbound in comparison.
July 17, 2019
Bob Thomas
Associated Press
TOP CRITIC
This is a respectable sequel to Star Wars but not as good.
April 27, 2018
Bruce McCabe
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
The Empire Strikes Back is no bland derivative. It has all the freshness and exuberance of an original. A marvellous space fantasy full of dazzling spectacle, exciting adventure, strange creatures and the mythic clash between good and evil.
December 15, 2015
Geraldine Pascall
The Australian
TOP CRITIC
The Empire Strikes Back is the ultimate in fantasies, a visual wonder and a movie that should be recommended highly if only because it makes you feel good.
December 15, 2015
Rena Andrews
Denver Post
TOP CRITIC
Despite a couple of drawbacks, the Empire Strikes Back is an immense amount of fun — big and splashy and breathtaking in its display of cinematic genius by a huge group of marvelously talented people.
December 14, 2015
Joe Pollack
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
Though it deviates from Star Wars and the subsequent films don’t quite live up to what it anticipates, The Empire Strikes Back remains the franchise’s most character-centric and emotionally involving entry.
April 23, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
The Empire Strikes Back is the best Star Wars film because it took a cultural moment and redefined what it could mean.
February 11, 2022
Cory Woodroof
615 Film
…unsatisfying by design…
August 8, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
Eddie Harrison
film-authority.com
The look of The Empire Strikes Back is so strong. The way certain scenes are framed are not only good for story telling but are incredibly beautiful.
March 24, 2021
Sarah Brinks
Battleship Pretension
A rare example, maybe the finest example, of a sequel greater than its predecessor. The Force is the strongest here.
February 16, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Tony Black
Cultural Conversation
Promotions in the Galactic Empire are instigated by execution; torture is more vivid; villains are more numerous; loss is more agonizing; and happy endings are more elusive.
September 8, 2020 | Rating: 10/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins…
Plot
Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia and Chewbacca face attack by the Imperial forces and its AT-AT walkers on the ice planet Hoth. While Han and Leia escape in the Millennium Falcon, Luke travels to Dagobah in search of Yoda. Only with the Jedi Master’s help will Luke survive when the Dark Side of the Force beckons him into the ultimate duel with Darth Vader.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Billy Dee Williams plays Lando Calrissian, the only black character in the Star Wars universe at the time.
Irvin-Kershner.jpg
100%
12 Angry Men (Twelve Angry Men) (1957)
100%RT Audience Score: 97%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 3 Oscars
17 wins & 13 nominations total
Sidney Lumet’s feature debut is a superbly written, dramatically effective courtroom thriller that rightfully stands as a modern classic.
Sidney Lumet’s first-ever movie is a total banger! This courtroom drama is so well-written and dramatic that it’s become a total classic. Seriously, it’s a must-watch.
Production Company(ies)
Orion-Nova Productions,
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., United Artists, Criterion Collection
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
New York County Courthouse – 60 Centre Street, New York City, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Approved
Year of Release
1957
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.66 : 1
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Runtime:1h 35m
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Language(s):English
-
Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Apr 20, 1957 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 4, 2008
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
Worldwide gross: $955
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $12,161
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 3,139
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,326
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted):
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted):
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted):
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.):
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.):
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Henry Fonda – Juror No. 8
Lee J. Cobb – Juror No. 3
Ed Begley – Juror No. 10
E.G. Marshall – Juror No. 4
Jack Klugman – Juror No. 5
Martin Balsam – Juror No. 1
Show all Cast & Crew
Director(s)
Sidney Lumet
Writer(s)
Reginald Rose
Producer(s)
Henry Fonda, Reginald Rose
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 3 Oscars
17 wins & 13 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (58) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (58)
This movie is a masterpiece. That term gets thrown around a lot — it’s a very easy thing to say about great films like this — but this movie is one of the best. This is one of the very few films that I will call perfect.
January 26, 2018 | Rating: A+
Chris Stuckmann
ChrisStuckmann.com
TOP CRITIC
Too few films take on the art of arguing as a subject; we could certainly use more of them, but until then, Lumet’s window into strained civic duty will continue to serve mightily.
July 3, 2013 | Rating: 5/5
Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
The film takes a confined, almost completely banal real-world location and makes it completely dynamic, using incredibly nimble camera movements to establish character motivation and theme.
June 30, 2013 | Rating: 4/4
Glenn Heath Jr.
Slant Magazine
TOP CRITIC
The film leaves a tremendous impact.
June 30, 2008
Hy Hollinger
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Mechanically written, but within its own middlebrow limitations, it delivers the goods.
June 26, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
A strangely realistic thriller.
June 24, 2006
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Within its simplicity there is a freshness and ingenuousness about Twelve Angry Men uncommon in a slickly sophisticated film industry.
December 13, 2021
Jonathan Baumbach
Film Culture
One has to imagine the dramatic imagination that went into creating this fascinating, psychologically realistic motion picture, which, from start to finish, never changes its subject or its location.
December 8, 2021
André Bazin
L’Éducation Nationale
A court drama that transcends time or place; a real masterpiece. [Full review in Spanish]
September 21, 2021
Gisela Savdie
El Heraldo
If you have never seen the film I cannot recommend it enough.
March 24, 2021
Sarah Brinks
Battleship Pretension
Reginald Rose’s script is one of deep revelation.
September 24, 2020 | Rating: 4.0/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
Thought-provoking, continually riveting, and absolutely unforgettable – and surprisingly designed around a very simple, tightly budgeted, special-effects-free premise.
August 15, 2020 | Rating: 10/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins…
Plot
The defense and the prosecution have rested, and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young man is guilty or innocent of murdering his father. What begins as an open-and-shut case of murder soon becomes a detective story that presents a succession of clues creating doubt, and a mini-drama of each of the jurors’ prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused, AND each other. Based on the play, all of the action takes place on the stage of the jury room.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
Sidney-Lumet.jpg