Why I like Empre Strikes Back so much...

[enyawd72]

Like most Star Wars fans I love the Empire Strikes Back so much it's not even funny.

Yet, it's much more than just the story...it truly is the most beautiful of all the Star Wars films IMO.
It's just gorgeous to look at, and the entire thing just has a scope and surreal quality to it that's lacking in every other Star Wars film.

These comparison shots of the Millennium Falcon cockpit from all three OT films show it all...the visual difference is simply amazing.
Empire is truly a cut above the rest.

[Madcap70]

Yes ESB is the best of the OT don't even mention the PT you'll get lynched....

[YoungOnce]

I'm with you. I can't think of a movie that transports me to a better place in the way that ESB does. It just all works for me.

Maybe The first Superman...

Those kinds of movies are few and far between though.

[Nostalgiabuff]

my all time favorite movie. yes it has flaws, but it's just a masterpiece

[Hedji]

From the cold blues of Hoth to the steamy oranges of Bespin and the misty greens of Dagobah, it has the best art design and execution of atmosphere with its environments. John Williams is at the very peak of his power. It changes everything and takes the story in a direction it must go, not necessarily the direction you want it to go ( much like The Last Jedi, haters). It is one of the finest works of art ever committed to film.

But you'll not get me to knock the original Star Wars. You couldn't start the story with Empire and have it work. There could only be the first Star Wars, and we'd still be talking about it today.

[Bruce Banner]

It's an absolute masterpiece, without a doubt.

[Gorn Captain]

Even though I love ESB, Star Wars will always be top of my list. True, Empire looks a lot smoother, better lighting and FX (as demonstrated in your picture comparison), but in the first one it felt just a bit more realistic, colder, harsher. The SW cockpit reminds me of a real astronaut space capsule, without a bunch of "blinky lights" that are often there just for visual effect.
My favorite scene, the one that still gets my heart racing, is the original TIE attack on the Falcon. Just a handful of enemy craft, no frills, and the coldness of space. It just feels that tad more "real".

[enyawd72]

Even though I love ESB, Star Wars will always be top of my list. True, Empire looks a lot smoother, better lighting and FX (as demonstrated in your picture comparison), but in the first one it felt just a bit more realistic, colder, harsher. The SW cockpit reminds me of a real astronaut space capsule, without a bunch of "blinky lights" that are often there just for visual effect.
My favorite scene, the one that still gets my heart racing, is the original TIE attack on the Falcon. Just a handful of enemy craft, no frills, and the coldness of space. It just feels that tad more "real".

See, I'm just the opposite...to me, Empire's space seems colder. It seems DARK outside the Falcon cockpit...like driving a car down a spooky road at night with the only illumination coming from the dashboard lights.

[palitoy]

Even though I love ESB, Star Wars will always be top of my list.

For me, it's because SW has a "gee Whiz" factor that Empire can't top because it's a sequel. Empire is largely the superior movie but yeah, SW was all new and exciting to me. I am completely biased by being 6 years old at the time.

[drquest]

SW had the visuals and was groundbreaking and I love it!

ESB, added on to everything that SW brought to the table, and the biggest add IMO was the atmosphere and tension that was added throughout the movie.

Just check out Vader in this!

[cjefferys]

Yeah, this film hits all the right notes in every way, the story, directing, art direction, special effects, music, everything! The closest we have to a perfect SW film.

[MRP]

The first Star Wars was a great movie. I was 8 when I saw it and fell in love immediately. But it was just a movie so to speak (toys and comics notwithstanding). As huge as it was, it was just one movie, just a single story. Sequels were a rarity in those days. Empire took Star Wars to another level. It made it something more than just another movie, more even than just a great movie. It made it something full of possibilities. It was no longer just one great story, it was a universe of possible stories (and yes things like the Marvel comics and Splinter of the Mind's Eye by Alan Dean Foster were out there, but Empire made that possibility a reality). We take sequels and franchises for granted these days. They have become de rigeur. That was not the case when Empire hit. And Empire itself was phenomenal. Majestic landscapes from Hoth to Dagobah to the asteroid cave to Bespin that just blew me away. The whole is he or isn't he moment of "Luke I am your father" drove everyone I knew crazy and occupied discussions form schoolyards to parks to backyards from the moment you walked out of the theatre. The unresolved fate of Han Solo and the romance with Princess Leia, etc. All of it promised more to come as a surety, something the original Star Wars movie didn't. As great as Empire was, you knew now there would be more Star Wars to come. That was something new for this kid. It took Star wars form being this great movie I loved to this thing I loved that was going to be with me for some time to come.

-M

[Hector]

Empire is the superior film, no disagreement there...but it lacked the magical impact it had on me as a young teen as Star Wars did, that will never change...Star Wars is the film that changed and influenced most people of my generation.

[Bruce Banner]

Yeah, the original 1977 Star Wars will always be my favourite SW movie. It's my favourite movie of all time, in fact.
It had a phenomenal, life changing impact on me when I first saw it at 7 years old.

[YoungOnce]

It changes everything and takes the story in a direction it must go, not necessarily the direction you want it to go ( much like The Last Jedi, haters).

Ha. That's like comparing a high school team to the New England Patriots because they both have quarterbacks.