ILM CLASSIC IMAGE: UNSTOPPABLE WALKER

An All-Terrain Armoured Transport vehicle certainly makes its tremendous presence felt as it begins its attack on the ground level forces of the Rebel Alliance, in a classic stop motion effects scene from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.

CLASSIC IMAGE: HELP FROM AN OLD FRIEND...

Here's some great EMPIRE 1978/79 storyboards from artist unknown (possibly the UK's Ivor Beddoes?) showing Luke's capture by the Wampa and his first attempt to retrieve his fallen lightsaber. Click the pic to see a larger version. Note that, in the original sequence as stated on the board, Luke was to have heard Obi-Wan Kenobi's voice telling him to concentrate and use the Force.

With thanks to Ian Trussler for the image.

CLASSIC IMAGE: REBEL ESCAPE- STAGE ONE

As the Imperial Death Fleet begins to blockade their Rebel hideaway on the planet Hoth, Princess Leia Organa and General Rieekan, working quickly within their command centre: Echo Base, initiate a daring escape plan for their forces.

CLASSIC IMAGE: A SMUGGLER'S SEARCH

From his vantage point astride a Tauntaun, things don't look too good for Han Solo in the search for his missing friend Luke Skywalker, somewhere trapped in the deadly snowy wastelands of the ice planet of Hoth, in this classic scene from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.

CLASSIC ART: DARTH VADER STRIKES BACK!

Here's a revised commercial art version of Lawrence Noble's great work for THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, of which a prior version had been originally considered as a theatrical release poster for the 1980 cinema engagements, and then finally put out as an official poster for EMPIRE's Tenth Anniversary in 1990. This new art version has substantially changed imagery at the bottom of it, including Rebel Snowspeeders and Imperial Walkers.

If you're in the UK, celebrate Darth Vader's epic return to fight the Rebels by catching the HD screening of the much beloved film this Saturday afternoon on ITV1.

WAMPA: SAVAGE BEASTS OF HOTH!

Our penultimate feature celebrating the Thirtieth Anniversary of EMPIRE can now be found on the main site, this time linked to the filming of the Wampa ice creature sequences.

Check out the rare photo feature here:

http://www.starwarsaficionado.com/the_wampa_beasts_of_hoth.html

And don't forget, for all other things behind the scenes related to the film, our two EMPIRE special issues (from 2005 and our current BEHIND THE SCENES COMPANION) are still available as PDFs from the main site's BACK ISSUES area.

With thanks to Chris Baker for the above image.

ILM CLASSIC IMAGE: WALK LIKE AN AT-AT!

Two Imperial Walkers prepare to penetrate the Rebel ground defenses and destroy the enemy shield generator in this great stop motion image from 1979/1980-the Walker battle is still one of the greatest scenes in any film, let alone a STAR WARS one.

Check out this early EMPIRE trailer, too, to see the Walkers when, in early footage, they fired blue lasers instead of red: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH9z8se3Aho

CLASSIC IMAGE: NICE VIEW UP THERE!!

A maskless Des Webb, wearing the entire Wampa body suit created for filming by Stuart Freeborn and his team, has a look about on a filming day outside the 1222 hotel and a Winter environment that is not yet encompassed by blizzards and dangerous white-outs. In the end, much of the outdoor footage linked to the beast was never used, either re-shot at the end of EMPIRE's studio shooting (at the ELSTREE backlot) or with additional material (like a new facial close-up from ILM near the end of 1979). Note the sled next to him that would often be used by the crew to transport him around whilst he was in the costume.

Look out on our main site for an upcoming photo feature on the Wampa and its missing EMPIRE scenes, accompanied by rare images not seen in the new MAKING OF book.

CLASSIC IMAGE: SNOW RAGE!

Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) braves the outside sub-zero temperatures of the icy planet Hoth and barks out his dissent to the nearby Imperial Probe Droid, for a scene filmed by Irvin Kershner and his EMPIRE first unit crew on location at Finse, Norway in March 1979.

CLASSIC IMAGE: A PRINCESS AND A SCOUNDREL!

An early version of Roger Kastel's 1979/80 art for the homage GONE WITH THE WIND style poster of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. Its a wonderful, timeless piece, and works beautifully in summing up the more sophisticated nature of the first STAR WARS sequel within its black and white reproduction.

POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE (OF HOTH)

On the Hoth set at ELSTREE, Carrie Fisher plays with a more normal type of white powder!

Classic Carrie Fisher talks about being "out there" on the 1979 set of EMPIRE:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/3175018/Carrie-Fisher-I-did-cocaine-on-The-Empire-Strikes-Back.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1319676/Carrie-Fishers-drug-shame-I-did-cocaine-set-Empire-Strikes-Back.html

CLASSIC POSTER ART: LUKE AND TAUNTAUN ON HOTH

I'm a big fan of this great artwork for EMPIRE that was used back in the early eighties for a National Philharmonic Orchestra recording of John Williams timeless score (currently available on CD from Varese Sarabande music). As far as I'm aware, it's appeared on several sci-fi related magazine covers over the years but has never been commercially available as a poster or other piece of memorabilia in the UK. If anyone's got any more information on this art-who its by (I don't have this CD or the magazines its graced the covers of), or, even better, if they have a higher res scan that shows the full image so that I could use it on the site, please get in touch - thank you.

OOPS!! CLASSIC SCENE: REBEL RETREAT!

Here's a great shot-a classic moment- of the Rebels retreating from the Hoth battlefield whilst General Veers lead AT-AT Walker is about to destroy the power generators. This is a clever image but it also shows a mistake. The mistake is that the Rebels look like they are running away from the battle, and the Walker, but they are not running away. Look carefully, and, despite the rear explosion near a troopers leg, you'll see that they are running forward into battle- you can see the gun emplacements and some still dug in Rebels pointing their weapons the other way. Obviously, Lucas, Editor Paul Hirsch and ILM got hold of a live action plate and added the Walker behind it, extending the action sequence itself and creating a whole new scene of tension and excitement from it- making the most out of one of the then unused angles from the battle that had been filmed-but never completed in its entirety (due to bad weather)- by the Second Unit at Norway in early 1979.

Amazingly, thirty years on, it was only whilst watching EMPIRE recently that I noticed this.

Very ingenious, eh?

CLASSIC IMAGE: "THE STAR WARS STAGE"

Built for filming in the Summer of 1979, THE STAR WARS STAGE at ELSTREE would then be the biggest studio soundstage in the UK, and, bar some inconvenient shooting linked to Stanley Kubrick's THE SHINING (due to an unfortunate fire which had previously raged on another stage and burnt it down), was primarily first built for use by George Lucas and his teams on THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and, three years later, RETURN OF THE JEDI. Supervised by Production Designer Norman Reynolds and his skilled team of craftsmen, the completed stage would first house the enormous Rebel base ice hanger, comprising a full size X-wing fighter prop, numerous prop snowspeeders and the biggest and best creation, the Millennium Falcon, previously built in Wales and sent to ELSTREE in sections for full re-construction. This great establishing shot, seen near the beginning of EMPIRE, shows not just the scale of the set and the incredible props, droids, costumed extras and backgrounds for the film but also evokes the feeling of awe and wonder of spirit in watching a STAR WARS adventure-the likes of which you won't see anywhere else, that there's nothing else out there capable of matching its emotional grandeur. Not in the whole wide world of cinematic entertainment!

CLASSIC IMAGE: "AN IMPERIAL PROBE DROID!"

In the Rebel Command Centre, Princess Leia and General Rieekan (the late Bruce Boa) receive the bad news from Han Solo, out on the Hoth wilderness with the remains of his unwanted discovery.

A classic scene in an atmsopherically composed B/W image.

CLASSIC IMAGE: HAN ON HOTH

Hell be damned, as Han Solo, having successfully rescued Luke Skywalker from an icy death on the freezing plains of Hoth, poses for a quick posed image before taking on a pesky Imperial Probe Droid alongside his friend Chewbacca. Both Solo and the actor who brought him to life, Harrison Ford, would endure many cold weather challenges during the ultimate realisation of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.