Here’s a look at some memorable quotes from my favorite STAR WARS movie, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980), screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan.

But first a word about the screenwriters.

One of the more impressive things about THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK was that George Lucas, who wrote and directed the first STAR WARS movie in 1977, made the creative decision to hand over both the directing and writing reigns to other people. This was both a bold and wise decision by Lucas, and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK is a better movie for it. By delegating these main duties to other artists, Lucas ensured a fresh take on the material.

While Irvin Kershner took over the directing duties, Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan wrote the screenplay, while George Lucas received story credit. Brackett died of cancer shortly after writing the first draft of the screenplay, and rumor has it that few of her ideas survived the heavy rewrites by Kasdan and George Lucas.

Brackett was a noted science fiction author who also worked on the screenplays for such classic movies as THE BIG SLEEP (1946) and RIO BRAVO (1959). Lawrence Kasdan would go on to write the screenplay for RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981) and THE BIG CHILL (1983), among others.

Okay, so let’s have a listen to some of those quotes from arguably the best STAR WARS movie of them all:

The liveliest quotes come from the liveliest character in the entire series, and that would be Han Solo (Harrison Ford). EMPIRE is the movie where the romance between Han and Princess Leia began to blossom, and a lot of their best scenes include banter like this:

HAN SOLO: Well Princess, it looks like you managed to keep me here a while longer.

LEIA: I had nothing to do with it. General Rieekan thinks it’s dangerous for anyone to leave the system until they’ve activated the energy shield.

HAN SOLO: That’s a good story. I think you just can’t bear to let a gorgeous guy like me out of your sight.

LEIA: I don’t know where you get your delusions, laser brain.

CHEWBACCA laughs.

HAN SOLO: Laugh it up, fuzzball.

 

Then there’s this exchange with C-3PO (Anthony Daniels):

C-3PO:  Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1.

HAN SOLO: Never tell me the odds.

 

Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Yoda also have some memorable exchanges.

LUKE: All right, I’ll give it a try.

YODA: No. Try not. Do… or do not. There is no try.

 

LUKE: I don’t, I don’t believe it.

YODA: That is why you fail.

 

LUKE: I won’t fail you. I’m not afraid.

YODA: You will be. You… will… be.

As you can see here, it’s Yoda who gets the best lines in these exchanges, which is no surprise, because Luke Skywalker— and for me, this has always been a fundamental flaw in the STAR WARS series— is— well there’s no other way to say it— he’s boring. In fact, all of the Jedi are boring. It’s why the series struggles so often, because at its core, it’s about main characters who are about as exciting and interesting as that mannequin in a store front window. Don’t get me wrong. I love STAR WARS. But their heroes put me to sleep, except for Han Solo.

It’s also why Darth Vader became so insanely popular. He’s the most interesting character in the series, which is why the prequel trilogy is all the more tragic: they were about the series’ most interesting character, and they still failed to be compelling, except for the third film. REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005).

Anyway, here in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, Darth Vader (David Prowse) gets a lot of memorable lines, like after he chokes one of his captains to death:

DARTH VADER: Apology accepted, Captain Needa.

And in this exchange with Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams):

DARTH VADER: Take the princess and the Wookie to my ship.

LANDO: You said they’d be left at the city under my supervision!

DARTH VADER: I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.

But the two most famous quotes come from two of the movie’s most famous scenes. The first is when Han Solo has been captured by Darth Vader and is about to be frozen in Carbonite. Before succumbing to his fate, Han has this exchange with Princess Leia:

HAN SOLO: (To Chewbacca) No! Stop, Chewie, stop! Chewie! Chewie this won’t help me! Hey! Save your strength. There’ll be another time. The Princess. You have to take care of her. You hear me? Huh?

(Han and Leia kiss.)

LEIA: I love you.

HAN SOLO: I know.

I saw THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK at the movies upon its initial release in 1980 in a packed theater, and that line brought down the house, a combination of the emotion of the moment and Han’s cockiness on full display, even as he was about to be frozen alive. That line, “I know,” was evidently suggested by Harrison Ford.

But the most famous scene in the film is of course the film’s climactic reveal, which is a spoiler, I guess, if you’re one of the few people on the planet who has never seen THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. So, if you haven’t seen it, I guess skip the next sequence of dialogue:

DARTH VADER:  There is no escape. Don’t make me destroy you. Luke, you do not yet realize your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me, and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy.

LUKE: I’ll never join you!

DARTH VADER: If you only knew the power of the Dark Side. Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.

LUKE:  He told me enough! He told me you killed him!

DARTH VADER: No. I am your father.

LUKE: No. No. That’s not true. That’s impossible!

DARTH VADER: Search your feelings, you know it to be true!

LUKE: No! No!

Yep, and there you have Darth Vader uttering the most famous line in the entire series, I am your father, and what does Luke get to say in response?  “No, no!”

Poor Luke.

Anyway, STAR WARS is an epic series, a fun series, and it does have its share of memorable quotes, a lot of them coming in the second film in the series, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, which remains, for my money, the best of the lot.

I hope you enjoyed this edition of MEMORABLE MOVIE QUOTES and that you’ll join me again next time when we look at quotes from another classic movie.

Thanks for reading!

Michael