Just recently I posted on article on +Future Fantastique about 'The Empire Strikes Back' with the heading 'The Greatest Sequel of All Time'. I was discussing the article with a friend of mine and he said that he thought 'The Godfather Part II' was the best movie sequel that's ever been made.
As a fan of movies, part of me agrees that the continuing saga of the Corleone family is a more worthy holder of that title than 'Empire'. It's a far more realistic film, but that's not really a fair comparison. 'The Empire Strikes Back' is an action film set in a "galaxy far, far away"; 'The Godfather Part II' is set in turn of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Italy and America.
The characters in 'The Godfather Part II' are largely made up of criminals and thugs. Women are subjected to domestic violence and children are treated as if they should be seen and not heard. 'The Empire Strikes Back' is the story of a group of friends who get into trouble, sometimes get on one another's nerves, but - ultimately - watch each other's backs.
'The Godfather Part II' is the story of a father and a son where the father - Vito Corleone - becomes a criminal so he can provide for his family. Years later, the son - Michael - despite his father's desire for his son to be something more, ends up being tempted by darker forces and goes on to run the family business. 'The Empire Strikes Back' is the story of a father and a son where the father - Dart Vader - reveals his previously unknown parental status in an effort to lure his son Luke to the "Dark Side" of the 'Force". Unlike Michael Corleone, Luke Skywalker has the strength to resist when confronted with his moment of truth.
I could go on with comparisons between the two, as my friend and I did for a good half-an-hour. Ultimately, I came away from the conversation convinced that I had mounted a very strong argument as to why 'The Empire Strikes Back' is the greatest sequel of all time. It took the premise of the first +Star Wars movie and turned it on its head. It placed the story's heroes in much greater jeopardy and left the fate of Han Solo - one of the three main characters - completely unknown!
By way of tribute to the film, as mentioned at the top, I've written a substantial piece on 'The Empire Strikes Back' and posted it to the +Future Fantastique site. I've also included a section for the film's posters, photographs and lobby cards that were used for the film's marketing.
Here's the link:
http://www.futurefantastique.com/star-wars---episode-v---the-empire-strikes-back.html
Like so many +Star Wars fans, 'The Empire Strikes Back' is my favourite of the six films, but it's also one of my favourite films of all time. In the late 1970s and 1980s, fans of science fiction and fantasy films were blessed with some of the greatest genre movies ever made and I sure am glad I was there to see them!
The Empire Strikes Back movie trailer
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