Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

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Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

PG

1980

2h 7m

Sci-Fi

Adventure

Action

Fantasy

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Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

174 Reviews

97%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

The adventure continues in this "Star Wars" sequel. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) face attack by the Imperial forces and its AT-AT walkers on the ice planet Hoth. While Han and Leia escape in the Millennium Falcon, Luke travels to Dagobah in search of Yoda. Only with the Jedi master's help will Luke survive when the dark side of the Force beckons him into the ultimate duel with Darth Vader (David Prowse).

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Critics Consensus

Dark, sinister, but ultimately even more involving than A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back defies viewer expectations and takes the series to heightened emotional levels.

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David Denby

New York Magazine/Vulture

04/24/2025

A Wagnerian pop movie -- grandiose, thrilling, imperiously generous in scale, and also a bit ponderous... The throwaway wit and the recondite references to old movies have been replaced with solemn reverence.

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Jack Mathews

Detroit Free Press

04/24/2025

The Empire Strikes Back will deserve whatever it earns. Despite the inevitable loss of exhilaration moviegoers will experience from a second installment, it is an extraordinarily broad audience entertainment.

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Peter Travers

Gannett Westchester Rockland Newspapers

04/24/2025

After 10 minutes into The Empire Strikes Back, I realized that I was getting more than I bargained for. This film was not a sequel at all, but a freshly conceived movie marvel.

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Lane Mills

InSession Film

Jun 9

A+

A New Hope was first but there wouldn’t be a Star Wars as it stands today without The Empire Strikes Back.

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Robert A. Masullo

Sacramento Bee

04/24/2025

An audio-visual super-duper-spectacle, worth every penny of the $22 million it took to make. The continuation of the Star Wars saga is a cornucopia of treats that move along so briskly you're afraid you'll miss something if you blink.

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Khris

09/26/2020

watching it in a theater proves that a movie thats 40 years old is still better than the sequel trilogy

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Suzan L

07/11/2020

Nice to be back at the movies with safety measures in place. Classic films being shown, so I got to see Empire Strikes Back in the theatre for the first in years.

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Raldyr H

@Raldyr 1d

Unpopular opinion, but I never got the hype of this episode - and I watched it several times. The part of the movie after Hoth and before Cloud City are just boring and a drag for me. The start and finish of the Empire Strieks Back simply can't save it.

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Leo A

@RT08717744 1d

This is my favorite Star Wars movie, it has everyone’s favorite Star Wars characters and it has a great storyline. Lucasfilms did a great job on this movie and I hope to see another Star Wars movie just like it.

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Marlon P.

@caramelpopcorn529 5d

Honestly the second best Star Wars movie the wompa was cool and this is the where Vader says no Luke I am your father peak cinema

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Andrew B.

@RT43882506 6d

As of 2026 this is the best Star Wars movie ever made…… 9.9/10

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Irvin Kershner

Director

Mark Hamill

Luke Skywalker

Harrison Ford

Han Solo

Carrie Fisher

Princess Leia

Billy Dee Williams

Lando Calrissian

Anthony Daniels

C-3PO

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Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back: Trailer 2

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Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back: Teaser Trailer 1

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Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

The adventure continues in this "Star Wars" sequel. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) face attack by the Imperial forces and its AT-AT walkers on the ice planet Hoth. While Han and Leia escape in the Millennium Falcon, Luke travels to Dagobah in search of Yoda. Only with the Jedi master's help will Luke survive when the dark side of the Force beckons him into the ultimate duel with Darth Vader (David Prowse).

Director: Irvin Kershner
Producer: Gary Kurtz
Screenwriter: Lawrence Kasdan, Leigh Brackett
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Lucasfilm Ltd.
Rating: PG (Sci-Fi Action Violence)
Genre: Sci-Fi, Adventure, Action, Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 21, 1980, Wide
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Nov 19, 1982
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 10, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $291.9M
Runtime: 2h 7m
Sound Mix: Magnetic Stereo 6 Track, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)