When did Empire get recognized as the best of the series? I remember in the 1990s and early 2000s, critics in retrospective reviews, documentaries, film studies, AFI lists, etc. seemed to focus more on the 1977 film instead of Empire.
shareInternet forum consensus.
Not everyone agrees that Empire is the best film. One thing I do notice, and have always noticed is that the people I'm watching with tend to get bored the moment the action ends on Hoth and the movie switches to Luke's training with Yoda on Dagobah. It's sleepy and tiring, so out comes the iPad or the iPhone and no one bothers watching until it switches to the Millennium Falcon being chased by TIE Fighters, or the Cloud City portion later in the film.
Both Star Wars and Return of the Jedi do not have this issue. The iPads and iPhones stay out of the hands of those I am watching with, and the pacing is just overall better suited for those who get bored easily.
It is criminal yes, but just something I've noticed.
Disagree. I think ANH easily loses younger audiences directly after the opening. The scene with R2 and 3P0 is crazy slow paced compared to modern movies and it doesn't get much better until Mos Eisley. Is there a drastic dip after the battle of Hoth? Yes, but it has the scenes with Han and Vader to pick up all the way until Cloud City. Empire's pace is far more in tune with modern movies and I feel that one of the reasons it's picked as the best among the majority. ANH's pace along with many movies of the 60's and 70's was not considered slow for a large range blockbuster until the mid 80's.
That along with ESB"S better SFX, script, acting, and a the biggest reveal in cinema history make it standout above the rest. When you say Star Wars most people think... Luke I Am Your Father. That's a line from ESB making it the most icon film of the series.
Nah, in order of preference, the “general public” (as in young people unfamiliar with Star Wars) prefer ROTJ first, then the first film, with Empire last.
For most people, Empire is the most “boringest” one simply because there isn’t that much action. ROTJ is the most audience friendly because of Ewoks and almost non-stop action. In short, ROTJ is a generic summer blockbuster.
"When you say Star Wars most people think... Luke I Am Your Father. That's a line from ESB making it the most icon film of the series."
Not really, that line had ZERO impact when I first heard it.
Then again, that's what happens when you watch the movies out of order.
regardless if it impacted YOU or not it's the most iconic line in saga.
shareIt's not.
share"Star Wars" is my favorite of all the movies, because it is the only one that I think is fun to watch throughout. I personally am not into all the darkness of the other films. But, I think that "Empire" is easily the best film of the series artistically. Best cinematography, best film score, for instance.
shareEmpire is great, but I hate how modern hipsters feel the need to slam “Star Wars” as being a “weak movie” compared to Empire. It’s some idiot consensus because they’ve all been raised on watching the godawful special edition instead of the original theatrical release, and the first film suffered the worst from all the additions and changes.
sharesaw it in the theater when i was 9. didnt like the ending. sort of a "to be continued".
good movie, i just didnt wanna wait 3 years for the end
I think Star Wars is the better film, but Empire is an amazing movie. It's a fractional preference for me. Don't know how Empire took over as No.1 in the Star Wars legacy, but it's got a pretty solid hold there.
shareI have always wanted to love Empire Strikes Back because as long as I can remember everyone called it the best in the series, some going so far as to saying it is the best film ever made. I still say the first Star Wars film is the best.
shareThe late 90s was the first time I heard a friend say ESB was better than SW. IMO SW is better, mainly because it is a stand-alone film.
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