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| SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back | |
|---|---|
 Japanese LaserDisc cover | |
| Genre | TV Special/Documentary |
| Written by | Richard Schickel |
| Directed by | Robert Guenette |
| Starring | Mark Hamill (host) |
| Composer | John Williams |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producers | Robert Guenette Richard Schickel |
| Editor | Peter Wood |
| Running time | 48 min |
| Production company | Lucasfilm |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | September 22, 1980 (1980-09-22) |
SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back is a televisiondocumentary special which originally aired onCBS on September 22,1980.[1] Hosted by actorMark Hamill, it is a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of thespecial effects (SP FX) in the secondStar Wars film,The Empire Strikes Back, which was released that year. The special was written byRichard Schickel and directed byRobert Guenette, who had both previously worked on the 1977 specialThe Making of Star Wars.
The special was hosted byMark Hamill, who playsLuke Skywalker in the originalStar Wars trilogy. It features behind-the-scenes footage fromStar Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, and shows the making of various special effects sequences including the Imperial probe droid, theTauntaun andWampa ice creatures of the planetHoth, the battle between the ImperialAT-AT Walkers and the RebelSnowspeeders, the asteroid field sequence, the lightsaber duel between Luke andDarth Vader, and theDagobah scenes and creation of the characterYoda which was voiced and performed byFrank Oz. It includes brief interviews with actorPeter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and sound designerBen Burtt, and footage of various key crewmembers at work including directorIrvin Kershner, composerJohn Williams, assistant director Bill Westley, special effects personnelRichard Edlund,Dennis Muren, andBrian Johnson, matte artistHarrison Ellenshaw, and creature designerStuart Freeborn.
As well as showing how effects fromEmpire were made, the documentary reflects on the history of special effects in movies and includes clips from landmark effects films such asThe Lost World,King Kong,Flash Gordon,Things to Come,The Thief of Baghdad,The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms,Them!,Mary Poppins,2001: A Space Odyssey,The Hindenburg, the firstStar Wars film, andClose Encounters of the Third Kind. In the wake of the then-new revolution in special effects pioneered by2001 andStar Wars, it also shows clips from several amateur special effects films including theStar Wars parodyHardware Wars, in which kitchen items such as whisks, toasters and irons engaged in a space battle in lieu of spaceships. A section devoted to several grade school children making their own rudimentary special effects was also shown.
The special was the secondStar Wars material to be released to the home video market (in 1981). It was reissued to video in 1982 by 20th Century Fox onVHS,Betamax,CED, andLaserdisc as part of a double feature with the 1977 specialThe Making of Star Wars. It was reissued separately inJapan onLaserdisc in 1992, and was also reissued as a triple feature withThe Making of Star Wars and the 1983 specialClassic Creatures: Return of the Jedi.
The special was also included inPAL formatVHS as part of the limited edition "ISSD Executor" metal box set in 1995.
The special is included as an additional feature on theStar WarsBlu-ray box set, released in September 2011.[2]
Colin Greenland reviewedSPFX forImagine magazine, and stated that "this CBS/Fox video is full of interesting glimpses behind the scenes where puppet-masters and model-makers can toil for eight weeks to produce a shot that lasts one second."[3]
