This movie was bigger than life when it came out. I was 9 years old when my dad took me to see it and I was blown away. The next day at school every kid was talking about it. At recess everyone played Star Wars for the entire school year hahahahaha.
ah man i remember that ... it was like this for every young boy and girl across the country. even my sister would play with me and my friends... they did right for women and girl with lea making her a strong prominant character over han... lol
I too was 9, I liked Star Wars but a little young but Empire is what did it for me! I saw it with my friends with a long line around the cinema in Beaverton, OR and a fool came out of the theatre and said Vader was Luke's father but nobody believed him. Then for Return we got out of school early and did it all again I was in 7th grade. Awesome
Yup, different times as I know realize now. The collective trance of the "thing" of the moment that was so especially important to us young and also folks of all ages. Something like that just could't happen again today with all the fractured attention spans that abound. Shame.
@1Creatureofthenight. He is an accomplished voice actor as well as being the hero of this trilogy 😀. I've always had a fondness for special effects and this is an amazing documentary ... Keep quality movies alive CHEERS . 😎
Starwars is what you get when you have theeee best of everything. It was just a miracle moment. George's vision, the best artists, best music, best sound, best fx, great actors. All came together at the right moment when nothing else like this really existed
@Spike16 totally agree. Though I think they got close with rogue one and some of the mandalorian. And that's because they are massive fans but everything else for me is just missing that original look. The original three will never be bettered. They are pretty much masterpieces and will be talked about for eternity.
@@spike1670 "Even the holiday special, not counting the main cast as bizarre as that sounds, and as terrible as it was still made a better star wars than the prequels" ?! The ability to speak does not make you intelligent. Now get out of here.
@@spike1670Rey will always be hated for being a Mary Sue. Oh and how they made her steal the skywalker name. If they make a new movie or plus show it will tank
exactly it was skill and work... now u can get any novice cgi modeler with good software work on these films... just look at the softwar poser.... i have a copy of it since poser 2 came out and used it to build charcters and do small films... but u can now save body animations and record them and load them into any character and drop them into any scene in seconds ... press render and wait for the computer to build them all frame by frame... in hours... back then it took months to get a proper scene built... using a large combination like we just saw of live action stop motion and pyrotechnics... it was amazing to pull it altogether and have something of empires quality...
He fully commits to Yoda as a living, breathing creature, and it’s thanks to this (and Frank Oz’s considerable skills as a puppeteer) that we believe it too.
@@g-manfreezer1998 yeah prequels were all George Lucas under original Lucasfilm ownership. Then when be sold out to Disney the sequels and some of the shows were a disaster. I am a fan of all the original unaltered films, the original trilogy. But, I did like the rebels cartoon series as well as enjoyed some of the prequel material.
@@captainrex4403Wrong. 1 - The entirety of Mando season 1, and what it did for Mandalorian culture in live action 2- Luke rescuing Mando and the gang in the Season 2 finale 3 - Luke teaching Grogu 4 - Boba Fett kicking serious ass instead of just standing there in Mando Season 2 5 - Ahsoka with Anakin in live action 6 - Anakin in clone wars armor 7 - Anakin having closure as a powerful Force-user in Ahsoka 8 - The entirety of the Andor series 9 - Boba crawling out of the Sarlacc, disintegrating a parkour ninja assassin, grabbing an electric baton with his bare hands, slaying bikers with a rifle and a gaffi stick and later shootting them up with Slave One, using every gadget against the Pykes, and riding a Rancor and defeating Cad Bane in combat 10 - LOTS of scenes with Stormtroopers in Obi-Wan, Andor, Mando, Rogue One and now Ahsoka with awesome undead troopers 11 - The Entirety of Rogue One 12 - Great lore-expanding moments and dialogues about the galaxy, the New Republic, the Jedi and the Force in Mando and Ahsoka shows 13 - Obi-Wan vs Vader in the Obi-Wan series finale 14 - Millennium Falcon's early look and the Kessel run in Solo: A Star Wars Story 15 - Clone Wars Season 7 16 - Star Wars Visions Season 1 17 - Tales of the Jedi 18 - Luke and Yoda talking in Last Jedi 19 - Millennium Falcon's scene in Force Awakens 20 - Han and Ben talking in Rise of Skywalker 21 - Great scenes of added lore in The Bad Batch concerning how Stormtroopers, the Empire and Death Troopers came to be, and Kamino 22 - Kanan Jarrus from Rebels 23 - Obi-Wan vs Maul in Rebels If you fail to realize these 23 awesome elements, all from Disney Star Wars, are some of the best Star Wars ever, then you're not an actual Star Wars fan.
@@thestarkknightreturns well those are highlights from the decent things that Disney did. I said some of the shows, Mando from the episodes I've seen I enjoyed. I would like to see a live action of order 66 and also would be cool to see a live action of rebels with Tem Morrison as an older captain Rex.
A friend recently found an abandoned library tape of this. Recorded from TV with commercials included. This one is clearer, but I also love those old commercials.
That's the motion control cameras, moving the cameras instead of the models and allowing moving composites to be made. It was spellbinding to see how effective it was in 1977. Lucas didn't invent it, but I think he and his team realized its full potential while making the first movie. Motion could be slow and steady, and very natural. It added to the hugeness of the bigger ships, and compositing with that technology was so real!
I remember when this was first broadcast, I missed it and I was devastated. Then some time later (a matter of weeks or months or even a year or so, I don't know), I was vacationing at my aunt & uncle's place, and we all were visiting their friends one evening, when the lady of the house was looking up her Friday night prime time soap, Dallas or Dynasty or whatever, but it was pre-empted for this special - I nearly shit myself with excitement that I got a second chance to finally see it.
@@stephenr3910 Try comparing it to a video that gets posted online, but censorship cancel culture gets it pulled/blocked before it can be seen (even too fast to be downloaded and re-uploaded by other parties). I dunno if that would work, but hopefully enough of it is in their "language" that it registers. I was originally gonna say tell them it's like before cellular/mobile phones and you had to be home if you did not want to miss a phone call, but that's probably the same thing as old time TV broadcasting ; they would "get it".
Damn, at the end he already shows his voice range for his voice acting carreer. Loved this documentary. Marvelous insight on height of the more practical era of special effects.
I am SO HAPPY that they included one of the very first films to feature the classic "Wilhelm scream" at 7:48. The scream, probably recorded by actor Sheb Wooley of "Purple People Eater" fame, first appeared as a stock sound effect in the 1951 Gary Cooper film "Distant Drums." But it got its name from the 1953 western "the Charge at Feather River," where expendable character Private Wilhelm is shot in the leg with an arrow. The scream has been a hugely popular Easter egg among sound editors and film nerds ever since, including appearing CONSTANTLY throughout the Star Wars films (most clearly in Return of the Jedi when Luke knocks a Weequay guard into the Sarlacc pit). "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms-as Hamill points out, one of the early Harryhausen films-was released in 1953, and might actually be the very first film to use the effect after Private Wilhelm gave it its name. That's a super deep cut, and I wonder if including it in this documentary was an intentional nod. Either way, what a wonderful small world that this film joins every other Star Wars film in including it, even accidentally.
It was a genuine Easter egg for this video. I just watched the Return of the Jedi "Star Wars Classic Creatures" video from this series, and they showed that same scene again from "Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" with a different scream. Well spotted, and very cool! (I used to do theatrical sound design, but I never had the guts to try to sneak it in past a director. It's pretty well known among theater people.)
The tracking shot of the Falcon leaving its Hoth cave as Luke spins to watch is one of my favorites. The composite is so perfect, along with the doppler effect of its engines (which sound a whole lot like A-10 engines to me) that it simply feels real.
0:02 Happy 40th Birthday Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back. 1980 - 2020. 40 Years Of Star Wars Movie Magic Sci Fi Family Fun Music Comedy Action Adventure And Excitement. X
I loved this documentary as a kid. Watched it every time it came on TV. It was great seeing how a movie that had left me so spellbound had been put together. I'd forgotten all the amateur/student films that got featured in it. Imagine being a kid and seeing your work being broadcast on network television! I wonder how many of these kids grew up and worked in the film industry....
When luke told yoda he's not afraid to face vader,then Yoda's ear's pointed up as he was slowly stepping towards him and said "You will be,You will be" with that look and voice that would be frightening to anyone
Out of all the special editions, ESB was the Star Wars film with the least amount of "fixes" done to it. The FX team and the rest of the production really nailed it with this one.
23:15 - Right after seeing this documentary for the 1st time back in the early 80s, I ran outside to a telephone pole down the street and immediately started making Star Wars laser sounds by banging on the guy wires. I still remember the old lady who lived in the house immediately next to the pole looking at me like I was crazy...
I actually discovered it by accident. I was just playing outside with my friends one day (back when kids did that) and happened to hit a telephone pole guy wire with a stick I was playing with. All of our faces immediately lit up because we instantly recognized the sound! 🤣
Instead of hating that his fame is tied to this role, he’s embraced it and endeared himself to millions and millions of people…and still found a way to grow and be content in his career. Guy clearly has his head on right.
@@robertbrown380 I was just saying the other day about Carrie Henn, the woman who played Newt in "Aliens" that she did that film and then went on to have a normal life as a teacher and raised a normal family. Interesting that both Ms Henn and Mark Hamill are children of military fathers.
yea it kills me how disney and kathleen tried to cancel him .... you just cant... LUke and mark hammil is the backbone to the whole world of star wars... those last 3 films are shit and need to be tossed... give the eigns and the new final trilogy to directors that loved star wars for real as children that understand the importance of the characters and stop injecting their politics and gender bullshit into it... i mean who gives a fuck and this bothered me so much... why did we have to have it written in that Lando was sexually active with his robot... i always tell others that it lied to impress hans woman... in solo.. completely rediculous... the only reason they did that to him... and made it a thing was because billy dee williams was the colt 45 guy... he was a womanizer in those feminists eyes and if they could have killed him off in some way they would have... hell im surprised they didnt make it appear that Han and chewy were doing the wild thing.... this woke crap and the shit they are doing to the MCU killing all the white superhero men... or making them gay ... it sucks and i hope it all blows up in their face... so we can look back at it all 10 yrs from now and point fingers at the sickos that tried to influence everyone about their sex lives thru a film that was intended for family... there was no sex in star wars... and certainly not alot of it went on in our marvel comic books either... sickos... all of em "woke is a joke!"
This was released on videocassette a long time before The Empire Strikes Back was. It's the closest I could get to the movie at the time so I watched it a lot. Thanks for uploading
The Empire Strikes Back came out over forty years ago, and it is still the best of the Original Trilogy. I give this movie an 11/10, while ROTS is just 10/10.
agreeing fully ... its the best special effects film of all time if u ask me... it can stand up to the best movies of today... and like u said... its 40 yrs old... if it came out tmw.... uld still love every painfully produced second of it.
@@markgraham2312 new hope better than empire? oh thats a tuff one... cause i realize u cant have V without IV and it did open the doors to spaceship model making and filming... the trench run began it all... but visually empire had way more... the scene where the star destroyer chased han into the asteroid field... the tie fighters think there were 6 of them that went after han as he outflew them to impress his princess.... then the monster inside the roid crater they hid inside? cloud city... all the painted mat backgrounds inside the city... empire just has so much more of what IV developed and brought to our eyes. after V movies were changed forever... the only other franchise that even came close was battlestar galactica... and then later buck rogers...
It blows my mind that this took place 40 years ago I'm not talking about the movie I'm talking about the special effects planning this is insane and people complain today about crunching CGI on a computer get out of my face these guys back then put in some real work
This special had me enraptured as an 11 year old kid...it was amazing to see the magic behind the scenes of one of my favorite movies. Empire was one of the first films that blew me away in the theater. The sights, sounds and music was almost too much for me back then lol...and this special was almost as good as re-watching it at home...long before home video was a thing. Amazing 😊
This is by far my favorite movie ever the timing of its release and my age it just has been timeless for me and my favorite by far thanks to everyone involved to make this for all of us and especially mark you caused me to directly be me
O.M.G. I watched this live when it was on TV in 1980. I was 12, and such a nerd I recorded the sound on my cassette tape recorder. No idea how many times I listened to the sound of this. THANK YOU for posting this. You have made me very happy!
There was something about this process that made special effects so special. One of the great things about the Mandalorian was how they revived this spirit. They didn't HAVE to build a model of the ship in addition to the CG, but they did it, or the love of the craft and the franchise. They built an advanced animatronic robot for Grogu as well, like Yoda before him. And there's something about that that really brings it to life. I think that approach, and that spirit behind it, is what makes that show the labor of love that the sequel trilogy, with all it's big budget, mechanical, committee approach to film making just wasn't.
This was the only star wars tape in the video store when I was a kid - Star wars took ages to come to home video. I think I wore that tape out. It was also the first time I realize how good a voice actor MH would make.
I remember watching this when it aired. I was in high school in Warner Robins, GA. I recorded the audio from this with my cassette player. I believe I still have the tape and actually went to the trouble of ripping it to an MP3 for posterity!
When Star Wars was literally magic, Disney Star Wars haven’t got a clue…. Truth is, they just don’t care. But we, the true fans do! The magic back then… wow! So glad I was there way before it all began!
If Disney had their way, Star Wars would be nothing but muppet babies arguing over the giant scoop of ice cream in space with guest appearances by today's hippest teenage rapping sensations shaking their booties in metal bikinis while every possible reference is made to the original films and every object that was glimpsed in the background of scenes in the original films is painstakingly explained. "Wait! Where did Han Solo buy his trousers? What's that broom-looking thing over there? We, the tedious nerds of the world, demand to know!"
Talking of special effects, the 1976 version of King Kong is out on Blu-ray in the UK in November courtesy of StudioCanel on behalf of Paramount Pictures.
One thing I really hate about social media is it gives all celebrities a very loud personal voice. If it wasn’t for social media I wouldn’t hate Mark Hamill.
Haha i loveHamill that end yoda voice and his voice over leading him 2 great voice acting career. Hope he got the big bucks for new trilogy. He deserved a much better career after star wars. Just too many ppl thought he was luke skywalker he couldnt live it down
I remember watching this on KCBS (or was it still KNXT) back in May of 1981. I recorded parts of it with my cassette player, trying to get the sound effects where Mark wasn't talking over them 😃
wow ! this reportage is awesome 😎 , first trilogy is definitely the best with great story tales, humor, anthology scenes ! i remember my brother offered empire strike back poster for christmas 1980 , love this movie, i made a fan video with some scenes of the sw !
My copy of Empire Strikes Back was recorded off TV by my Grandmother and this aired on TV before it, so in order to watch Empire I had to watch this first (Or Fast Forward) so I've seen this almost as much as I've seen Empire Strikes Back.
That single snowspeeder explosion took 8 hours to record, lasting *1 actual second* in the final film... who would do that today with TH-cam, Twitter, etc... competing for our attention.
When I was 15 I took my mum to the cinema to watch return of the jedi, after watching it she asked me if im not to old for such fairy tales, and when I asked if she liked the music at least, she told me that it is a copy of Wagner...
This TV special is the reason I became a filmmaker. Loved seeing it again!
I remember seeing this as a kid.
This movie was bigger than life when it came out. I was 9 years old when my dad took me to see it and I was blown away. The next day at school every kid was talking about it. At recess everyone played Star Wars for the entire school year hahahahaha.
Same. Saw it eight times in the cinema because I couldn't get enough of it.
ah man i remember that ... it was like this for every young boy and girl across the country. even my sister would play with me and my friends... they did right for women and girl with lea making her a strong prominant character over han... lol
Yep. I was 11 and loved this movie!!!
I too was 9, I liked Star Wars but a little young but Empire is what did it for me! I saw it with my friends with a long line around the cinema in Beaverton, OR and a fool came out of the theatre and said Vader was Luke's father but nobody believed him. Then for Return we got out of school early and did it all again I was in 7th grade. Awesome
Yup, different times as I know realize now. The collective trance of the "thing" of the moment that was so especially important to us young and also folks of all ages. Something like that just could't happen again today with all the fractured attention spans that abound. Shame.
LOVE how Mark Hammil narrates the whole thing.
The force is strong with him
@1Creatureofthenight. He is an accomplished voice actor as well as being the hero of this trilogy 😀. I've always had a fondness for special effects and this is an amazing documentary ...
Keep quality movies alive
CHEERS . 😎
yea ... his scar doesnt appear so bad ... he musta had time to heal and this was made way before the final Return of the Jedi...
No. That's Luke.
@@pvtrichter88 It's called talking.
Starwars is what you get when you have theeee best of everything. It was just a miracle moment. George's vision, the best artists, best music, best sound, best fx, great actors. All came together at the right moment when nothing else like this really existed
@Spike16 totally agree. Though I think they got close with rogue one and some of the mandalorian. And that's because they are massive fans but everything else for me is just missing that original look. The original three will never be bettered. They are pretty much masterpieces and will be talked about for eternity.
@@spike1670 "Even the holiday special, not counting the main cast as bizarre as that sounds, and as terrible as it was still made a better star wars than the prequels" ?!
The ability to speak does not make you intelligent. Now get out of here.
You are so right! In order to appreciate 1977 Star Wars you would need to alive during that time. It came out of nowhere and changed film forever.
@@spike1670Rey will always be hated for being a Mary Sue. Oh and how they made her steal the skywalker name. If they make a new movie or plus show it will tank
Nothing beats empire strikes back. By far the best.. And not directed by lucas
8 hours for a 1 second scene!!! That's dedication right there!!! In my opinion this will always be the best Star Wars film.
Cast and crew at 5:25, freezing their asses off on a glacier in Norway: "Get into filmmaking, they said. It'll be fun, they said."
It's so curious we have young Mark Hamill talking about SFX here and now 40 years later, we can have young Hamill back from the past thanks to SFX.
Cool!
Yeah, I bet they never imagined that.
It's not very curious at all.
That's terrible.
40 years later he’s talking shit about the direction they took his character
I always marvel at how people had the patience to do all of this. They were confident that it would all look good on screen.
exactly it was skill and work... now u can get any novice cgi modeler with good software work on these films... just look at the softwar poser.... i have a copy of it since poser 2 came out and used it to build charcters and do small films... but u can now save body animations and record them and load them into any character and drop them into any scene in seconds ... press render and wait for the computer to build them all frame by frame... in hours... back then it took months to get a proper scene built... using a large combination like we just saw of live action stop motion and pyrotechnics... it was amazing to pull it altogether and have something of empires quality...
I love how this is a documentary from back then, it really shows how incredible all this already was when it was released.
I remember watching this on tv back in the day. After this movie came out, documentaries like these would be shown on tv. Good stuff.
I remember the wrench on the cables and parking meter twist! Funny how it's different than how memory sees ...
Seriously, Mark Hamill is a great actor. He spends half of the movie acting with a puppet and pulls it off very convincingly.
He does the same in 'The Last Jedi.'
For most of his scenes on the island, he has to act opposite a plank of wood.
He fully commits to Yoda as a living, breathing creature, and it’s thanks to this (and Frank Oz’s considerable skills as a puppeteer) that we believe it too.
Like any actor that guest stars on The Muppets Show xD
He’s also a pretty damn good narrator. He narrates this documentary.
The puppet seemed pretty convincing as well.
I miss the old Star Wars, before the dark times, before the Disney Empire.
Me too. I also miss when movies didn't rely on CGI but rather practical effects. The movies I grew up on used practical effects and looked great!!!
@@captainrex4403 Bro’s acting like the prequels were made by Disney 💀
@@g-manfreezer1998 yeah prequels were all George Lucas under original Lucasfilm ownership. Then when be sold out to Disney the sequels and some of the shows were a disaster. I am a fan of all the original unaltered films, the original trilogy. But, I did like the rebels cartoon series as well as enjoyed some of the prequel material.
@@captainrex4403Wrong.
1 - The entirety of Mando season 1, and what it did for Mandalorian culture in live action
2- Luke rescuing Mando and the gang in the Season 2 finale
3 - Luke teaching Grogu
4 - Boba Fett kicking serious ass instead of just standing there in Mando Season 2
5 - Ahsoka with Anakin in live action
6 - Anakin in clone wars armor
7 - Anakin having closure as a powerful Force-user in Ahsoka
8 - The entirety of the Andor series
9 - Boba crawling out of the Sarlacc, disintegrating a parkour ninja assassin, grabbing an electric baton with his bare hands, slaying bikers with a rifle and a gaffi stick and later shootting them up with Slave One, using every gadget against the Pykes, and riding a Rancor and defeating Cad Bane in combat
10 - LOTS of scenes with Stormtroopers in Obi-Wan, Andor, Mando, Rogue One and now Ahsoka with awesome undead troopers
11 - The Entirety of Rogue One
12 - Great lore-expanding moments and dialogues about the galaxy, the New Republic, the Jedi and the Force in Mando and Ahsoka shows
13 - Obi-Wan vs Vader in the Obi-Wan series finale
14 - Millennium Falcon's early look and the Kessel run in Solo: A Star Wars Story
15 - Clone Wars Season 7
16 - Star Wars Visions Season 1
17 - Tales of the Jedi
18 - Luke and Yoda talking in Last Jedi
19 - Millennium Falcon's scene in Force Awakens
20 - Han and Ben talking in Rise of Skywalker
21 - Great scenes of added lore in The Bad Batch concerning how Stormtroopers, the Empire and Death Troopers came to be, and Kamino
22 - Kanan Jarrus from Rebels
23 - Obi-Wan vs Maul in Rebels
If you fail to realize these 23 awesome elements, all from Disney Star Wars, are some of the best Star Wars ever, then you're not an actual Star Wars fan.
@@thestarkknightreturns well those are highlights from the decent things that Disney did. I said some of the shows, Mando from the episodes I've seen I enjoyed. I would like to see a live action of order 66 and also would be cool to see a live action of rebels with Tem Morrison as an older captain Rex.
I've not seen this documentary in over 40 years, and I'm shocked at how well I remember it ..
A friend recently found an abandoned library tape of this. Recorded from TV with commercials included. This one is clearer, but I also love those old commercials.
The way the spaceships fly in Stars Wars is way better than all other special effects
That's the motion control cameras, moving the cameras instead of the models and allowing moving composites to be made. It was spellbinding to see how effective it was in 1977. Lucas didn't invent it, but I think he and his team realized its full potential while making the first movie. Motion could be slow and steady, and very natural. It added to the hugeness of the bigger ships, and compositing with that technology was so real!
I remember when this was first broadcast, I missed it and I was devastated.
Then some time later (a matter of weeks or months or even a year or so, I don't know), I was vacationing at my aunt & uncle's place, and we all were visiting their friends one evening, when the lady of the house was looking up her Friday night prime time soap, Dallas or Dynasty or whatever, but it was pre-empted for this special - I nearly shit myself with excitement that I got a second chance to finally see it.
We try explaining to my niece that you used to have to watch a show when it was on or you missed it. They can't relate to that.
@@stephenr3910
Try comparing it to a video that gets posted online, but censorship cancel culture gets it pulled/blocked before it can be seen (even too fast to be downloaded and re-uploaded by other parties). I dunno if that would work, but hopefully enough of it is in their "language" that it registers.
I was originally gonna say tell them it's like before cellular/mobile phones and you had to be home if you did not want to miss a phone call, but that's probably the same thing as old time TV broadcasting ; they would "get it".
Damn, at the end he already shows his voice range for his voice acting carreer.
Loved this documentary. Marvelous insight on height of the more practical era of special effects.
Yeah was that really real? Totally sounded like Frank Oz. Had me fooled.
@@soccerguy325 It is. You can also hear him do the Yoda voice in a VH1 documentary on Star wars.
@@Grim2 Who is it again? I forget, lol.
The star wars Muppet show episode also shows his range
I am SO HAPPY that they included one of the very first films to feature the classic "Wilhelm scream" at 7:48.
The scream, probably recorded by actor Sheb Wooley of "Purple People Eater" fame, first appeared as a stock sound effect in the 1951 Gary Cooper film "Distant Drums." But it got its name from the 1953 western "the Charge at Feather River," where expendable character Private Wilhelm is shot in the leg with an arrow.
The scream has been a hugely popular Easter egg among sound editors and film nerds ever since, including appearing CONSTANTLY throughout the Star Wars films (most clearly in Return of the Jedi when Luke knocks a Weequay guard into the Sarlacc pit). "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms-as Hamill points out, one of the early Harryhausen films-was released in 1953, and might actually be the very first film to use the effect after Private Wilhelm gave it its name.
That's a super deep cut, and I wonder if including it in this documentary was an intentional nod. Either way, what a wonderful small world that this film joins every other Star Wars film in including it, even accidentally.
Thanks for the information. Pretty interesting
It was a genuine Easter egg for this video. I just watched the Return of the Jedi "Star Wars Classic Creatures" video from this series, and they showed that same scene again from "Beast from 20,000 Fathoms" with a different scream. Well spotted, and very cool! (I used to do theatrical sound design, but I never had the guts to try to sneak it in past a director. It's pretty well known among theater people.)
I remember being so excited to watch this on TV as a child.
The tracking shot of the Falcon leaving its Hoth cave as Luke spins to watch is one of my favorites. The composite is so perfect, along with the doppler effect of its engines (which sound a whole lot like A-10 engines to me) that it simply feels real.
I love the old gritty look of film. Big reminder how far resolution has come, and how old I'm getting.
0:02 Happy 40th Birthday Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back.
1980 - 2020.
40 Years Of Star Wars Movie Magic Sci Fi Family Fun Music Comedy Action Adventure And Excitement. X
I loved this documentary as a kid. Watched it every time it came on TV. It was great seeing how a movie that had left me so spellbound had been put together.
I'd forgotten all the amateur/student films that got featured in it. Imagine being a kid and seeing your work being broadcast on network television! I wonder how many of these kids grew up and worked in the film industry....
When luke told yoda he's not afraid to face vader,then Yoda's ear's pointed up as he was slowly stepping towards him and said "You will be,You will be" with that look and voice that would be frightening to anyone
Mark Hamil really shows that great intellect and how articulate he can be in this.
Out of all the special editions, ESB was the Star Wars film with the least amount of "fixes" done to it. The FX team and the rest of the production really nailed it with this one.
23:15 - Right after seeing this documentary for the 1st time back in the early 80s, I ran outside to a telephone pole down the street and immediately started making Star Wars laser sounds by banging on the guy wires. I still remember the old lady who lived in the house immediately next to the pole looking at me like I was crazy...
I actually discovered it by accident. I was just playing outside with my friends one day (back when kids did that) and happened to hit a telephone pole guy wire with a stick I was playing with. All of our faces immediately lit up because we instantly recognized the sound! 🤣
I remember watching this on tv back in '80. I recorded it on scratchy Betamax and rewatched it every day for a month.
Kids, the 1st trilogy and that's it. Forget the rest.
I am 55 and saw it summer 1980.
Well, the prequels are not that bad, but for me, Star Wars is only what George Lucas did, Disney just ruined it.
Mark Hamill was and still is so much invested in Star Wars, it's really remarkable.
Instead of hating that his fame is tied to this role, he’s embraced it and endeared himself to millions and millions of people…and still found a way to grow and be content in his career. Guy clearly has his head on right.
This is pretty much his only role outside of tons of voice work.
@@dangertrebor If you're only going to have one onscreen role, then make it one of the GREATEST heroes of ALL TIME and pass into immortality.
@@robertbrown380 I was just saying the other day about Carrie Henn, the woman who played Newt in "Aliens" that she did that film and then went on to have a normal life as a teacher and raised a normal family. Interesting that both Ms Henn and Mark Hamill are children of military fathers.
yea it kills me how disney and kathleen tried to cancel him .... you just cant... LUke and mark hammil is the backbone to the whole world of star wars... those last 3 films are shit and need to be tossed... give the eigns and the new final trilogy to directors that loved star wars for real as children that understand the importance of the characters and stop injecting their politics and gender bullshit into it... i mean who gives a fuck and this bothered me so much... why did we have to have it written in that Lando was sexually active with his robot... i always tell others that it lied to impress hans woman... in solo.. completely rediculous... the only reason they did that to him... and made it a thing was because billy dee williams was the colt 45 guy... he was a womanizer in those feminists eyes and if they could have killed him off in some way they would have... hell im surprised they didnt make it appear that Han and chewy were doing the wild thing.... this woke crap and the shit they are doing to the MCU killing all the white superhero men... or making them gay ... it sucks and i hope it all blows up in their face... so we can look back at it all 10 yrs from now and point fingers at the sickos that tried to influence everyone about their sex lives thru a film that was intended for family... there was no sex in star wars... and certainly not alot of it went on in our marvel comic books either... sickos... all of em "woke is a joke!"
EMPIRE STRIKES BACK is my Star Wars favourite movie. 💓
Dennis Muren made a cameo in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), he played a 🇩🇪 Spy on the plane.
Love that he showed how perfect he is as a voice actor all the way back here. Crying tears.
Back in 1980, we thought that maybe they dubbed over his voice with Frank Oz's. Only later did we realize how good a voice actor he really is.
This was released on videocassette a long time before The Empire Strikes Back was. It's the closest I could get to the movie at the time so I watched it a lot. Thanks for uploading
The best of the three in my opinion!
The Empire Strikes Back came out over forty years ago, and it is still the best of the Original Trilogy. I give this movie an 11/10, while ROTS is just 10/10.
The Saga (1-6) is perfection incarnate. Everything else is just The Franchise.
Empire strikes back is the best star wars movie.
EDIT: Followed by ANH and ROTJ
Prequels are respectable
Sequels can go f themselves
Second best, after Episode 4.
agreeing fully ... its the best special effects film of all time if u ask me... it can stand up to the best movies of today... and like u said... its 40 yrs old... if it came out tmw.... uld still love every painfully produced second of it.
@@markgraham2312 new hope better than empire? oh thats a tuff one... cause i realize u cant have V without IV and it did open the doors to spaceship model making and filming... the trench run began it all... but visually empire had way more... the scene where the star destroyer chased han into the asteroid field... the tie fighters think there were 6 of them that went after han as he outflew them to impress his princess.... then the monster inside the roid crater they hid inside? cloud city... all the painted mat backgrounds inside the city... empire just has so much more of what IV developed and brought to our eyes. after V movies were changed forever... the only other franchise that even came close was battlestar galactica... and then later buck rogers...
I remember watching this on TV, CBS if I'm not mistaken. I loved shows like this that explained 'How did they do that?'.
I remember watching this on TV, long long ago.
It blows my mind that this took place 40 years ago I'm not talking about the movie I'm talking about the special effects planning this is insane and people complain today about crunching CGI on a computer get out of my face these guys back then put in some real work
CGI is real work. Honestly it's at its best when it a mix of both in the prequel trilogy and the Lord of the rings trilogy
Most CGI sucks, as did the CGI in the LOTR movies, it was atrocious.
@@jbol2454 “Lord of the Rings’ CGI was atrocious”?! Ahem, The Hobbit trilogy would like a word with you.
@@hunterolaughlin The Hobbit was also atrocious..
@@acebars Leave LOTR alone then.
Lukes speach at the end about special effects needing a real story to truly come to life shows the problems with the sequels
This special had me enraptured as an 11 year old kid...it was amazing to see the magic behind the scenes of one of my favorite movies. Empire was one of the first films that blew me away in the theater. The sights, sounds and music was almost too much for me back then lol...and this special was almost as good as re-watching it at home...long before home video was a thing. Amazing 😊
This is by far my favorite movie ever the timing of its release and my age it just has been timeless for me and my favorite by far thanks to everyone involved to make this for all of us and especially mark you caused me to directly be me
O.M.G. I watched this live when it was on TV in 1980. I was 12, and such a nerd I recorded the sound on my cassette tape recorder. No idea how many times I listened to the sound of this. THANK YOU for posting this. You have made me very happy!
3:52
*Freezeframe.*
It would that moment 40 years later, We'd still love Episode 5, The Empire strikes back.
There was something about this process that made special effects so special. One of the great things about the Mandalorian was how they revived this spirit. They didn't HAVE to build a model of the ship in addition to the CG, but they did it, or the love of the craft and the franchise. They built an advanced animatronic robot for Grogu as well, like Yoda before him. And there's something about that that really brings it to life. I think that approach, and that spirit behind it, is what makes that show the labor of love that the sequel trilogy, with all it's big budget, mechanical, committee approach to film making just wasn't.
saw this when it aired. my first taste of special effects and behind the scenes information.
I remember watching this documentary when it aired on TV I think it was ABC or NBC . I was 9 years old and was excited to watch it.
It was originally aired on CBS.
This was the only star wars tape in the video store when I was a kid - Star wars took ages to come to home video. I think I wore that tape out. It was also the first time I realize how good a voice actor MH would make.
Awesome my favourite of the Star Wars series ❤️
In this and the Star Wars making-of... "laser swords". Light saber still hadn't gotten into our vocabulary
The OG never before and never again!
Current filmmakers and studios need to watch this. At the end Mark Hamill, Nostradamus-like, nails what is wrong with the movie industry today.
You should see the DVD interview with the smug, smirking 'creators' of _Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow_ ...
They have become lazy.....
Back when it still had it weight and magic.
13:11 : God damn, my heart jump out for a moment, thought it was real person the wampa fell on, just smashed to nothing.
I remember watching this when it aired. I was in high school in Warner Robins, GA. I recorded the audio from this with my cassette player. I believe I still have the tape and actually went to the trouble of ripping it to an MP3 for posterity!
I recorded the audio on my Realistic Radio Shack recorder. Listened to it dozens of times.
I recorded it on cassette too! Listen it it so many times in the age before VCR's were in everyone's home!
I lived in Warner Robins until 2009. Air Force parents. Still there?
Me too! I thought I was the only person who did this! I listened to it over and over - so good to actually be able to see it again with visuals!
Absolutely AWESOME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I remember this from the early 80's ! Thank you !
me too.
My family recorded it & we practically wore down the VCR tape from watching it over & over. SO good!
People forget that the wolf man is edited out of the cantina scene in new editions of ANH. #JusticeForWolfman
His name was Lak Sivrak and he was a hero at Endor. Respect for Rebel veterans! Put him back in the movie!
Amazing! Haven't seen this since the early 90's. Thank you.
Loved these old school documentaries from back in the day - Raiders of the Lost Ark had a couple of them as well.
Raiders of the lost Ark….Now there’s a great movie that is not celebrated enough
I remember watching this as a child. Glorious memories.
John Williams doing the sounds..priceless
Ben Burtt you mean?
46:00 - current movie makers need to take this to heart.
I haven't seen Mary Poppins and the black hole. Sounds amazing 🤣
I remember watching this when it aired. STAR WARS used to be absolutely fantastic. These Disney SW fans haven't a clue.
When Star Wars was literally magic, Disney Star Wars haven’t got a clue…. Truth is, they just don’t care. But we, the true fans do! The magic back then… wow! So glad I was there way before it all began!
If Disney had their way, Star Wars would be nothing but muppet babies arguing over the giant scoop of ice cream in space with guest appearances by today's hippest teenage rapping sensations shaking their booties in metal bikinis while every possible reference is made to the original films and every object that was glimpsed in the background of scenes in the original films is painstakingly explained. "Wait! Where did Han Solo buy his trousers? What's that broom-looking thing over there? We, the tedious nerds of the world, demand to know!"
Such important words by Mr. Mark Hamill at the end of the video.
At school, the day after this aired (September 1980) , kids were saying "Hey, Mark Hamill is the voice of Yoda!"
I haven’t seen this since it was first Broadcast…. Electric!
Talking of special effects, the 1976 version of King Kong is out on Blu-ray in the UK in November courtesy of StudioCanel on behalf of Paramount Pictures.
One thing I really hate about social media is it gives all celebrities a very loud personal voice. If it wasn’t for social media I wouldn’t hate Mark Hamill.
I remember seeing this when it first aired so long ago. Gosh, I feel old.
Haha i loveHamill that end yoda voice and his voice over leading him 2 great voice acting career. Hope he got the big bucks for new trilogy. He deserved a much better career after star wars. Just too many ppl thought he was luke skywalker he couldnt live it down
I remember watching this on KCBS (or was it still KNXT) back in May of 1981. I recorded parts of it with my cassette player, trying to get the sound effects where Mark wasn't talking over them 😃
I remember watching this show when it was on TV. I was 15.
wow ! this reportage is awesome 😎 , first trilogy is definitely the best with great story tales, humor, anthology scenes ! i remember my brother offered empire strike back poster for christmas 1980 , love this movie, i made a fan video with some scenes of the sw !
My copy of Empire Strikes Back was recorded off TV by my Grandmother and this aired on TV before it, so in order to watch Empire I had to watch this first (Or Fast Forward) so I've seen this almost as much as I've seen Empire Strikes Back.
I saw this show when it aired back when ESB first came out. Loved it then, love it now.
That first line is great!
Absolutely brilliant throwback!
i liked those big snow walkers they're cleverly made!
AT-ATs.
mhm@@svenjansen2134
That single snowspeeder explosion took 8 hours to record, lasting *1 actual second* in the final film... who would do that today with TH-cam, Twitter, etc... competing for our attention.
They still shoot miniatures in films today!
Дивовижний фільм, дивовижний політ фантазії та спецефекти!
I must have watched this a thousand times over the years. I think I can recite the entire thing, lol.
The opening line blew me away as a kid. It's set in the past? Wtf??!?
..but far far away.
*A long time ago, but somehow in the future*
When I was 15 I took my mum to the cinema to watch return of the jedi, after watching it she asked me if im not to old for such fairy tales, and when I asked if she liked the music at least, she told me that it is a copy of Wagner...
I want to know... does Mark still have that vest? Sweet threads!
Mark hamill a fucking g for doing this like he didnt have to narrate the entire thing lol
What’s a fucking g
That was one drunk snow monster….
That stunt double was incredible!!!
They really don't make them like this anymore. Lucky to have experienced these all those years ago.
Originally broadcast in 1980 on CBS.
This is great and hilarious. I am shocked I have not seen it till now.
"Never tell me the odds!"
I saw this when it first aired on tv and since it was before the popularity of vcrs, i recorded it on my portable tape recorder
Very well said ,,imagination,practicality, star wars was made by hand,beautifully done.
When Star Wars was Star Wars
Really makes you appreciate the green screen on the iPhone.
prolly one of the best SW docs
yes this must be the same behind the scenes that i saw when i was a a kid i barely remember the last part of the show its to see it once again