The Empire Strikes Back - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of The Empire Strikes Back or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to The Empire Strikes Back

[nora]

The light-saber fight scenes set in the carbon freezing chamber tend to focus on Luke. This is because during many of the shots, Bob Anderson (Vader's fight double) was not wearing the Darth Vader helmet, as it, ironically, made it difficult for him to breathe.

[ronnie]

In the medical bay where Luke is recovering, when he folds his hands behind his head and contorts his mouth after being kissed by Leia, he is imitating Chewbacca on-board the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) after Han Solo warns C-3P0 to let Chewbacca win the game.

[wesley]

Yaphet Kotto was offered the role of Lando Calrissian, but turned it down because he believed he would be killed off and it would be difficult for him to find work after that.

[bryan]

One of only two Star Wars movies without English subtitles to translate alien languages, the other being Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005).

[chad]

Darth Vader's name comes from the following: "Darth" is a variation of the word "Dark" and "Vader" is the Dutch and German word for "father".

[cameron]

Voted #3 On Empire's 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time (September 2008)

[ella]

Costume designer John Mollo based Yoda's outfit on the one worn by Ben Kenobi in the previous film. He found raw silk material from India which was perfect for the home made look and had enough of it left over to have it made into a jacket for himself.

[kim]

There seems to be many stories behind Sir Alec Guinness and his role as Obi-wan Kenobi. In George Lucas's original treatment (when it was ALL one story instead of a trilogy), Obi-wan lives throughout the whole story (a fact confirmed by Lucas in the DVD commentary). However, Obi-wan ends up getting killed off in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). There are many stories as to why Lucas changed it. There are some stories that either Guinness demanded that Obi-wan was killed off, so he wouldn't have to appear in any sequels, or Lucas did it on his own much to the bitterness of Guinness. In the Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) DVD Commentary, Lucas says that he felt it was a waste of Guinness' talents to have him stand beside Princess Leia in the control room during the Death Star battle (as it was scripted) and too outlandish to have the elderly Obi-wan join the dogfight. So he killed off Obi-wan in order to spur Luke on to going into Jedi training and defeat the Empire. In any event, when it came time to make this movie, in which Luke begins his training, Lucas drew from the "ugly creature with mystical powers" mythological archetype (as he did when creating Star Wars) and created Yoda as Luke's new Jedi Master. Kenobi still makes appearances in the sequels as a Force spirit.

[brent]

This was the first movie in which there was a double for Darth Vader. In the commentary, Peter Diamond said that this was done because of the presence of bigger fights.

[bessie]

Han Solo's use of his mount's entrails to keep Luke warm is actually an American Indian trick. According to legend, a hunter named Hugh Glass had killed a bear despite being mauled severely, in the American frontier. He was abandoned by his fellow frontiermen, and had to crawl hundreds of miles to safety. On the way he became trapped by a sudden blizzard. He cut open a horse's stomach and climbed inside and stayed warm and safe until the storm had subsided. This event was dramatized in The Revenant (2015), starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

[jessie]

When Mark Hamill was having trouble with the Dagobah scenes with Yoda, Frank Oz brought in Miss Piggy to make him laugh.

[melinda]

George Lucas initially called this the worst Star Wars movie, and apologized for its existence. He changed his mind after he found out some people believed it was the best Star Wars movie.

[scarlett]

A scene where Darth Vader's shuttle lands in his Star Destroyer's landing bay, after his light-saber fight with Luke, was added to the Special Edition. This was actually an unused scene from Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)

[camila]

Simon Pegg said that he showed this movie to his daughter while she was still three years old. Upon seeing Yoda, she was astonished by his presence and said "Daddy, he's real!" Pegg admitted that he was moved to tears by what he had just witnessed. He later shared this story with his friend J.J. Abrams, who directed Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). During a meeting with the executives of Lucasfilm and Disney, Abrams told them Pegg's story. This had a great influence on the aesthetic of "The Force Awakens" and any subsequent Star Wars movie, which would rely more on sets, practical effects and puppetry, as opposed to the extensive use of CGI in the prequel trilogy. During the production of "The Force Awakens", when Pegg visited Pinewood Studios, a puppeteer recognized him and said "Hey, you're the guy whose daughter saved Star Wars!"

[addison]

Ben Burtt recorded sounds of people in snow while visiting his family in upstate New York, which were used for the Hoth scenes.

[michele]

This movie premiered at a limited number of theaters, and those all in large metropolitan areas, because it was first released only on 70 mm film, for which only the largest and most prosperous movie theaters had projectors. It was many weeks later that the movie was released on standard 35 mm film for other theaters in North America and around the world.

[chris]

Boba Fett has only five lines.

[dustin]

In an early outtake, when Darth Vader entered the Hoth base, he tripped over a cable and fell down face-first.

[bryan]

Principal photography lasted over 180 days, the longest shoot of any of the "Star Wars" movies.