The Empire Strikes Back

The Empire Strikes Back (1980) , the second film in the original Star Wars trilogy, is often cited as the 'best' and most popular Star Wars movie. In her compelling study, Rebecca Harrison draws on previously unpublished archival research to reveal a variety of original and often surprising perspectives on the film, from the cast and crew who worked on its production through to the audiences who watched it in cinemas.Harrison guides readers on a journey that begins with the film's production in 1979 and ends with a discussion about its contemporary status as an object of reverence and nostalgia. She demonstrates how Empire 's meaning and significance has continually shifted over the past 40 years not only within the franchise, but also in broader conversations about film authorship, genre, and identity. Offering new insights and original analysis of Empire via its cultural context, production history, textual analysis, exhibition, reception, and post-1980 re-evaluations of the film, the book provides a timely and relevant reassessment of this enduringly popular film.

Provocative.

Vorwort
A study of The Empire Strikes Back, widely regarded as the 'best' Star Wars movie, in the BFI Film Classics series.

Autorentext
Rebecca Harrison is a UK-based Independent Scholar. She has published From Steam to Screen: Cinema, the Railways and Modernity (2018), and articles on cinema, technology, and their intersections with gender, race and class. She received the Routledge-IAMHIST Best Article by a Junior Scholar Award in 2016.

Klappentext

The Empire Strikes Back (1980), the second film in the original Star Wars trilogy, is often cited as the 'best' and most popular Star Wars movie. In her compelling study, Rebecca Harrison draws on previously unpublished archival research to reveal a variety of original and often surprising perspectives on the film, from the cast and crew who worked on its production through to the audiences who watched it in cinemas. Harrison guides readers on a journey that begins with the film's production in 1979 and ends with a discussion about its contemporary status as an object of reverence and nostalgia. She demonstrates how Empire's meaning and significance has continually shifted over the past 40 years not only within the franchise, but also in broader conversations about film authorship, genre, and identity. Offering new insights and original analysis of Empire via its cultural context, production history, textual analysis, exhibition, reception, and post-1980 re-evaluations of the film, the book provides a timely and relevant reassessment of this enduringly popular film.

Inhalt

Chapter One. Introduction
Chapter Two. Creating an Empire
Chapter Three. In Production
Chapter Four. The Film
Chapter Five. Seeing Star Wars
Chapter Six. Critics Write Back
Chapter Seven. Number Five at Number One

Appendices. Bibliography, Filmography, Film Credits