Customer Reviews

The Empire Strikes Back (Classic Star Wars)

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We all know the story that unfolds in The Empire Strikes Back, and many people consider it to be the best of the films. So what does an author do to make the story seem fresh to the reader? Add details? Change the story? Closely follow the film? In the case of this book, Mr. Glut has elected to follow the film. I think he made the right decision, and he describes the action very well. I was not distracted by being familiar with the story, and I think that the unique individual who has not seen the film would obtain a good grasp of the tale by reading this book. Just as in the film, it was great fun to follow our heroes from Hoth to Bespin and Dagobah. One can only wonder what happens next.

This novelization of what many consider to be the best Star Wars movie, The Empire Strikes Back, isn't going to offer you reams of new information, but you will get small glimpses into scenes that never made the movie through bits of dialogue not seen on screen. For some, that alone may be enough to warrant a purchase.

For those looking for an in-depth Star Wars read, look elsewhere. This is casual reading material. The book's pacing is brisk and the reading light. Experienced readers will polish this off in one lazy Saturday afternoon, while younger readers will enjoy this over the course of a week. This isn't a BAD thing, of course - it just is what it is. And what it is, is a fairly run of the mill movie novelization.

While this isn't as essential as some original Star Wars books, most notably those by Timothy Zhan, hardcore Star Wars fans will probably want to check this out. It is, after all, one of the core group of stories around which the Star Wars universe was based. In addition, some non-film material (Luke training with Yoda comes to mind) is interesting enough to make you see the movie in a different light. Just don't expect classic literature. This is a novelization of a movie, and reads like it. Nice beach reading, and little more.

The second part of George Lucas' famous STAR WARS saga comes to radio, and it's well worth the wait. Mark Hamil, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams are on hand to reprise their film roles, and they are ably supported by Brock Peters, Ann Sachs, Perry King, and John Lithgow (as Yoda). The 10-part script takes the time to flesh out the characters and the setting, making the saga appear more real than ever. After hearing THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK on audio, you just might be tempted to get rid of your video copy--it's really that good! So start up the cassette player, and journey to a galaxy far, far away.

I bought this CD box (with the first Star Wars radio drama included) four years ago, thinking: 'Oh, 13 CDs, there's probably a lot of material not in the movie...' I was right. Production is awesome. Considering the new scenes only, it's a must for any Star Wars fan, but anybody can enjoy this radio drama: it's full of tension, conflict and great acting.

Being that the Empire Strikes Back is my favourite of the Star Wars movies, I just had to read this book. It won't disappoint Star Wars fans, with all of the energy of the movie. I liked how it wasn't a complete adaption of the movie, with different things taking place on Dagobah. I would recommend this book to any science-fiction or fantasy fan.

I have all three dramas, and find them entertaining on the way to work. My kids enjoy them on long trips as well.

I would have liked this to be longer, a match for the first one.

The vocal characterizations are spot-on, and the writing is perfect for the medium. Mark Hamill does his usual splendid vocal work, and hearing this makes one almost regret Lucas didn't use Brock Peters for Vader in the movies as well. Billy Dee Williams shows a range he was not really allowed in the film. Even John Lithgow as Yoda (an idea I was skeptical of at first) worked wonderfully well. Brian Dailey wrote Han (and Empire is Han's movie, make no mistake) like no one ever has since, but he is also careful with the characterization of the others, and the expository dialogue blends smoothly into the story. (as one of my slash-writing friends commented on the Hoth shelter scene, "You can hear them snuggling.")

Highly recommended, esp if you like radio drama.

c-mon! It's starwars, need I say more? I don-t need to, I know. Having star wars on the cover is worth 4 stars at the least, so... Being a good book and an exellent novelization of my favorite movie, it deserves 5000.

May the Force Be With You

I enjoyed the novelization of "The Empire Strikes Back" much more than the novelization of "A New Hope". I think it is mostly due to the writing of Donald Glut. It's unfortunate that he has not written other novels for the Star Wars Universe. While Foster's writing of "A New Hope" seemed dry and uninteresting, Glut's writing really brings "The Empire Strikes Back" to life. The characters and scenes are more vivid, and the book is simply more enjoyable to read.

This novelization also follows the film a lot more closely than the novelization for "A New Hope". There are only some minor differences, although there is more information in the book regarding Luke's training on Dagobah. It's mentioned that Yoda is a blue-skinned alien, and at the end Luke actually falls out of Cloud City and is still falling when the Millennium Falcon rescues him. There are other examples, but really they are just adjustments to scenes and nothing consequential.

I'm surprised I've been a Star Wars fan for so long and had never bothered to listen to this. It's actually a great way to relive the movie. It's quite different from the actual film script and includes expanded and deleted scenes. It's about an hour shorter than the ANH radio show.

The ESB episode wasn't quite as strong as the ANH one. Luke, Han, and Leia are all well done and sound just like they do in the movies. However, Vader comes off as corny. Obviously, there's no replacement for James Earl Jones, but there are points where the script just adds lines rather that I can't imagine the Dark Lord ever uttering. Yoda also just doesn't have the majesty he demands, although again it's hard to compare to Frank Oz. On the other hand, I think it did a better job than the movies at making Lando Calrissian a sympathetic character. It's clear even early on that he felt pressured into the deal and took steps earlier on to try to protect Leia.

One other thing that bugged me is the episode breaks. Originally, when this aired as a radio show, it was broadcast as 10 episodes, and each time there was an introductory narration and credits. Unfortunately, these remain on the audiobook version. Thus, every 15 minutes or so you hear another listing of credits, then another introduction. I hope future versions eliminate this and allow listeners to hear just one uninterrupted book.

Overall, this is a great set to listen to during commutes, even if you've watch the movie dozens of times already. Fans will appreciate deleted scenes.

"Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (The Original Radio Drama)" was created for National Public Radio and originally broadcast in 1993. It features several members of the original movie cast including Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Anthony Daniels (C3PO) and Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian). John Lithgow steps in and does a strong job with Yoda. Vader suffers with Brock Peters as the voice - not because he did anything wrong, but because he is just not James Earl Jones.

George Lucas opened up the Star Wars vault and let NPR use the original soundtrack and original special effects - and they use them well. The soundtrack punches up the story and the special effects are used to move the story along as often as they are used to add a little detail to the experience.

The story is well told and has the added bonus of being able to take a little more time to expand certain scenes. For example, what do Luke and Han talk about after Han rescues him on Hoth and they wait for morning in an emergency tent? On the other hand, I don't know if anyone can really follow the radio drama if they have not seen the movie? In my mind, images from the movie were constantly being played - Lando's flowing cape, the bounty hunters all lined up before being sent out by Vader, the "cave" on the asteroid. I don't know if the radio drama would be able to create similar scenes in the mind's eye or not.

There is one major drawback - the are only 2 CD "chapters" or tracks on each CD. This is no big deal if you are listening in the car, but if you pull that CD out, you have got to do a lot of searching to find where you were. Each track is the complete drama as aired, including about 3 minutes of introduction, theme music and a reading of the cast members. It makes for slow listening when you've hear it for all 10 episodes.