If you were a Star Wars fan back in the day, chances are you watched The Making of Star Wars and From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga on television whenever they aired, or even owned the VHS tapes. But for unknown reasons, Michael Parbot’s The Making of the Empire Strikes Back barely ever aired, and ultimately felt like it was lost forever. But now, as we learned via Jedi News, the YouTube channel Adywan revisited has uploaded the documentary after buying a rare DVD at an auction, rendering The Making of the Empire Strikes Back available to watch for the first time in nearly 40 years.
The movie makes for a very interesting watch today. Much of the interviews with Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford deal a lot with the “love triangle” between Luke, Leia, and Han—far more than Empire itself did. Also, if this documentary aired anywhere near the movie’s actual release date, I kind of hope not too many folks watched it, because it is filled to the brim with spoilers.
Another interesting thing to note is that George Lucas is only briefly glimpsed in this documentary, which is great. This is not at all a slam on Lucas, but over the past forty years we’ve heard his thoughts about his baby many, many times, and instead it’s nice to hear what director Irvin Kershner and producer Gary Kurtz had to say about the film when it was being made, as well as the incredible amount of people who helped bring this movie to life who were rarely interviewed back then.
The Empire Strikes Back is maybe the most important sequel ever made, and its structure has been the go-to template for how to make a successful second chapter to a popular movie ever since. Without it, there would be no T2, no The Dark Knight, and probably no Avengers: Infinity War either. So this documentary is fascinating to watch even if you’re not that big of a Star Wars fan, because you’re seeing the making of the single film that forever changed how franchise films are designed.
What do you make of this look into one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time? Let us know your thoughts down below in the comments.
Images: Lucasfilm
