With Star Wars: The Complete Saga arriving on Blu-ray this month, Gary Collinson completes the countdown of his most memorable Star Wars moments (along with a couple of bonus entries)…
STAR WARS: EPISODE V – THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
“Luke, you can destroy the Emperor. He has foreseen this. It is your destiny. Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son…”
And so, we come to the final entry – the most memorable moment of the entire Star Wars saga. Naturally, it is of course the Cloud City confrontation between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader from The Empire Strikes Back, which culminates with a shocking revelation from Vader as he informs the aspiring Jedi of the true fate of Anakin Skywalker: “I am your father.”
While that iconic line is certainly a highlight, it is but one of a string of memorable moments from the duel between father and son, which begins with Luke climbing the staircase of the carbon freezing chamber for a showdown with the waiting Sith Lord. From the second that Vader ignites his lightsaber (slowly, just to show he means business), the entire duel makes for gripping entertainment; every aspect of the sequence is superb, from the fabulous set design, lighting and cinematography to the wonderful dialogue from Darth Vader, who effortlessly puts the young Jedi in his place by demonstrating his superior mastery of the Force and absolute badassery with a lightsaber.
Star Wars may be George Lucas’ baby but it’s Irvin Kershner who delivers the crowning achievement of the series with the Bespin Duel, which for me, is quite simply the greatest sequence in the history of cinema.
The Bespin Duel…
Previous Entries…
2. Luke destroys the Death Star (A New Hope)
3. The Battle of Hoth (The Empire Strikes Back)
4. “I was once a Jedi Knight the same as your father” (A New Hope)
5. “You’re being put into carbon freeze” (The Empire Strikes Back)
6. “Execute Order 66” (Revenge of the Sith)
7. The Binary Sunset (A New Hope)
8. Yoda vs. Count Dooku (Attack of the Clones)
9. “Now his failure is complete” (Return of the Jedi)
10. The Opening Crawl (A New Hope)
As a special bonus, Han Solo shows us why he’s the coolest guy in the galaxy with a memorable Star Wars moment lost to the annals of the Jedi Archives…
Han shot first…
And finally, after much deliberation over Ewoks, Gungans and Jake Lloyd, we present the least memorable Star Wars moment, courtesy of Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman…
“I was twelve, his name was Palo…”
Thanks for checking out the countdown and feel free to share your favourite Star Wars moments in the comments section below…
Originally published September 11, 2011. Updated April 12, 2018.
