Mark Hamill was involved in a minor car accident before shooting began, and many rumours exist regarding facial injuries and script rewrites. The magazine "Starlog" (#40) contains an interview with Hamill where he attempts to dispel the rumors.
In the asteroid scene, one of the asteroids is actually a shoe. The rumor is that George Lucas asked the SFX people to redo the scene so many times that they got annoyed and one of them threw in their shoe.
Another of the asteroids is actually a potato. It appears just as the Millennium Falcon first enters the field. Two asteroids travel from the top left to the bottom right corner of the screen. Just after the second asteroid leaves the screen a third one appears in the top left corner. This is the potato.
Lighting for SFX was so strong that several models melted.
The AT-AT's were based on gantry cranes which are used in most shipping ports in the US. Walking patterns of elephants were studied to make the movements seem as realistic as possible.
Further scenes with the Wampa were shot, and later cut. R2-D2 encountered one within the Rebel base, where it was killed by troopers. Later, the beasts were lured into a prison within the complex. In the completed film, a medical droid is seen examining the wounds of a tauntaun killed by a Wampa, and Princess Leia mentions the "creatures" while discussing the Imperial probe droid. A scene filmed but cut had Han, Leia and C-3PO running through a corridor. Han went to take a short-cut through a door with a sign on it, but Leia warned him "that's where those creatures are kept". They run off, but not before C-3PO rips off the sign, hoping that the stormtroopers will enter the room. They did.
The blasters used by the stormtroopers were constructed from Sterling L2A3 Mk 4 submachine guns.
About twenty minutes into the movie there is a shot in the Hoth base control room in which we hear Han's voice over radio describing what's left of the probe droid. One of the background sound effects in this shot was taken from the Canadian shortwave time signal station CHU, which can be heard at 3330 and 7335 MHz.
Director Irvin Kershner provided the voice of Darth Vader himself in the temporary mix of the film, before James Earl Jones recorded the final version.
In both the original and 20th anniversary special edition of the film, the Emperor was created by superimposing a chimpanzee's eyes onto an old woman's face, and dubbing in Clive Revill's voice. This was intended to create an unsettling, not-quite-human effect on the viewer. This version was replaced with Ian McDiarmid in the 2004 DVD release.
The scene in the Cloud City apartment where Han Solo enters to tell Princess Leia that the repairs on the Millennium Falcon are almost complete played out differently in the finished film than it did in the original script. In the original script, Han Solo ('Harrison Ford' ) is lounging around in the apartment when Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) enters, having changed from the white combat clothes she wore on Hoth to the brown dress and having her hair done up differently. In surprised reaction to how she's dressed, Solo attempts to flatter her ("You look beautiful. You should wear girls clothes all the time.") and Leia teases him by mentioning Luke; the scene ended with them sharing a kiss. The film was originally shot this way, but director Irvin Kershner felt it wasn't coming out right, so he re-shot it to appear as it does in the finished film. Excerpts of how the scene was originally filmed can now be seen on the special edition DVD.
When Han Solo is about to be frozen, Princess Leia says, "I love you." In the original script, Han Solo was supposed to say, "Just remember that, Leia, because I'll be back," but at the time of filming, Harrison Ford wasn't entirely certain he did want to come back for a third film. He and Irvin Kershner discussed various possibilities, and finally Irvin Kershner decided to just shoot a spontaneous take (his direction was "Don't think about it! Action!"), and Harrison Ford ad-libbed "I know".
A total of 64 sets were constructed for the movie.
Irvin Kershner's involvement in the movie lasted a total of two years and nine months from start to finish.
Boba Fett's name is never mentioned. He's referred to as "Bounty Hunter" throughout the movie.
The sound of Darth Vader's shuttle door opening is reportedly a recording of a whole block of Alcatraz cell doors slamming shut.
The scene where Solo was hit by the toolbox as well as hitting the control panels were improvised on the set. At first, the crew were afraid of shooting it, but Irvin Kershner finally persuaded them to do so, saying "Come on, that's fun. Let's do it!"
The two other scenes, which are the swamps of Dagobah; and the asteroid's creature (which has the Millenium Falcon) was done on the same sound stage used for the interior backgrounds of the Echo base in Hoth
The scenes where R2-D2 is submerged in the mud pool were shot in George Lucas unfinished swimming pool. Most of the crew were hidden under the water and the entire sequence was shot by George Lucas himself.
On Hoth, General Rieekan says, "Send Rogues 10 and 11 to sector 38," a veiled reference to THX 1138 (1971).
Luke cuts off the Wampa's arm. C-3PO loses an arm when blasted by the Stormtroopers. Darth Vader cuts off Luke's hand. See also Star Wars (1977) and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).
More scenes of the AT-ST Imperial "chicken walkers" were filmed, but George Lucas decided that the larger AT-ATs were more menacing and impressive. He later realized that the AT-STs would work better in close quarters, which led to using them extensively in the forest battle in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).
Billy Dee Williams had previously auditioned for Han in Star Wars (1977).
For the Special Edition, Vader's "Bring my shuttle" line has been replaced with, "Alert my Star Destroyer to prepare for my arrival." Sound designer Ben Burtt has confirmed that this is actually a line performed by James Earl Jones that was recorded for use in Star Wars (1977), but never used.
The following characters "have a bad feeling about this": Leia. See also: Star Wars (1977) and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).
Jeremy Bulloch, who plays Boba Fett, is producer Robert Watts's half-brother.
Denis Lawson plays Wedge Antilles. Wedge was not originally scripted to appear in this film, but intense fan interest prompted George Lucas to include him. See also Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).
Leigh Brackett succumbed to cancer shortly after completing her first draft of the script of the film.
The voiceover line "The first transport is away" during the Rebel evacuation is delivered by Mark Hamill.
Mark Hamill's wife gave birth to their first son (Nathan Hamill) early one morning, and Mark went straight from the hospital to shooting. This was the day they filmed the shots of Luke hanging by the weather vane below Cloud City, on Bespin.
An extra fell sick, and Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett) was called in as a replacement. He can be seen as the Imperial Guard who pulls Princess Leia into the elevator after she screams "Luke! It's a trap!". He can also be seen as the Imperial Guard who is captured by Lando Calrissian's men.
In the original script when Lando is about to lead Han, Leia, and Chewie into the trap set by Darth Vader, Lando offers his arm to Leia, as a gesture to lead her down the hallway and she accepts it. Harrison Ford ad-libbed Han coming up behind Leia and offering his arm to her at the exact same moment to imply that Han was jealous.
Carrie Fisher stood on a box for many of her scenes with Harrison Ford in order to make up for the height difference and have her appear in the frame with him. Carrie Fisher is about a foot shorter than Harrison Ford.
George Lucas's "Force" in the Star Wars movies probably derives from the Asian religion of Taoism. Wherein, there is a life force (or Tao) present in all living things that surrounds and joins everything. As well as the belief that to obtain true balance in life, you must become one with the Tao, and allow it to guide you.
The name of the fierce cave creatures - Wampa(s) - bear curious likeness to "Wumpus" which many (computer) nerds of the late 70's and early 80's recognize as a hideous monster that lives in a cave (most notably in the seminal multi-player game - M.U.L.E. (1983) (VG)).
Luke is upside-down at the beginning (Wampa cave), in the middle (training on Dagobah), and at the end (below Cloud City). He uses the Force each time.
Having Han Solo frozen in carbonite was (at least in part) due to the fact that they were not sure that Harrison Ford would return for a third film. When the original Star Wars (1977) was made Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill were signed for a three picture deal, but Harrison Ford refused.
The shots where Luke uses his Jedi powers to retrieve his lightsaber from a distance were achieved by having Mark Hamill throw the lightsaber away and then running the film in reverse.
Darth Vader's costume was more detailed in this film, including the flashing red lights on his chest box. A new Millennium Falcon (32-inches long) was built for this film and has two additional landing gear boxes on its underside. As a result, the original Star Wars (1977) model (5-foot long) was modified and given the extra landing gear bays and was used for all FX scenes of the Falcon in a landed position.
The concept design for Cloud City was originally created for Star Wars (1977) (as a floating Imperial prison), but was never used. The design was recycled for use in this film.
The lightsaber fight scenes set in the carbon freezing chamber tend to focus on Luke. This is because during many of the shots, Bob Anderson (Vader's fight double) was not wearing the Darth Vader helmet, as it made it difficult for him to breathe.
Mark Hamill had to bang his head 16 times on the ceiling of Yoda's hut before the director was satisfied.
During the filming of the Battle of Hoth, the Echo Base troops were actually Norwegian mountain-rescue skiers. In exchange for participation in the film, Lucasfilm made a donation to the Norwegian Red Cross
George Lucas was so impressed by Frank Oz's performance as Yoda that he spent thousands of dollars on an advertising campaign to try and get him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Han Solo is the only non-Jedi in the entire trilogy to ever use the lightsaber when he cuts open the tauntaun's belly.
For the Dagobah scenes, Mark Hamill was the only one listed on the callsheets as an actor. Everyone else was listed as crew.
George Lucas decided that a battle on an ice planet was necessary because he felt that it was easy to "cheat" in space, because the background was black and you could hide errors easily. With a white background, the effects crews would have to work much harder, and the effects would be much more impressive.
The book "Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays" reveals that, when the script for this movie was first written, the idea of it being "Episode V" of a 6 (or 9) part serial had not yet been established, and it was at one point called Episode II.
When Luke and Han say their goodbyes before the Battle of Hoth, it is the last time the two are onscreen together until they meet up in Jabba the Hutt's palace in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).
The AT-AT Imperial walkers were all animated through classic stop-motion techniques, except for the scenes where they fall, for example the walker which is "tripped up" by cables and falls on its face, or the one that Luke throws a grenade into, which falls on its side. These were filmed in real-time with precision-timed mini-pyrotechnic charges.
Most of the rebel ground troops in the Hoth battle were Norwegian extras. Because they didn't speak any English, Irvin Kershner had to "act out" what he wanted them to do, by pointing in the direction of the "enemy" (which wasn't visible during shooting) and demonstrating the recoil motion he wanted for the blaster rifles.
With the exception of being sucked out of a Cloud City window, Mark Hamill did all of his own stunts.
Most of the extras in the snowy battle scenes on the ice planet Hoth (shot at Finse, Norway) were Norwegians. One of the extras - Tom Egeland - would later become the chief news editor for one of Norway's largest TV networks, as well as a critically acclaimed mystery writer, one of the others - Arve Juritzen - would become one of Norway's best known TV-personalities (hosting "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", "Big Brother", etc).
Yaphet Kotto was offered the role of Lando Calrissian, but turned it down because he believed he would be killed off and it would be difficult for him to find work after that.
Producer Gary Kurtz came up with the title for the movie.
Producer Gary Kurtz directed the scene in which Luke flees the Wampa ice cave. Kurtz took over John Barry's second unit duties after he suddenly died on the set until his replacement Harley Cokeliss arrived.
For the 2004 DVDs, the scene with Darth Vader and the Emperor were redone with replacing the previous actor with Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor. The dialogue was re-recorded with Ian McDiarmid and James Earl Jones. Some additional dialogue was added.
Temuera Morrison who played Jango Fett in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) re-dubbed Boba Fett's lines for the 2004 DVD.
As Yoda and Obi-Wan urge Luke to stay on Dagobah to finish his training, Luke pulls a snake from his spaceship. Irvin Kershner assured Mark Hamill that the snake was harmless, though it did bite him during one take.
George Lucas's campaign to have Frank Oz nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award was ultimately rejected because it was felt that a puppeteer wasn't an actor.
Clive Revill, who played Emperor Cos Palptine in this film was replaced on the 2004 DVD by Ian McDiarmid who played the character in the rest of the series. However, even with the replacement on the DVD, Clive Revill's name is still in the credits.
The only Star Wars film that does not take place on the desert planet Tatooine (although it is mentioned by name at the end of the film).
One of the first ideas for Lando Calrissian was to have him as a clone who survived the Clone Wars who leads legions of clones on a planet they settled on. Another idea had Lando as the descendant of survivors of the Clone Wars, born into a family who reproduced solely by cloning. Originally, his name was "Lando Kadar".
One of the bounty hunters that Darth Vader hires to find Han Solo, IG-88, can be seen in the Cloud City. IG-88 is a droid, and his dead body is sitting next to a furnace in the room where C-3PO is dismantled.
In the Hoth command center, Han references "That bounty hunter we ran into on Ord Mandell". "Encounter at Ord Mandell" was released on 33 1/3 LP, starring the voices of the original cast. It is an extremely rare item. >>> WARNING: Here Be Spoilers <<<
SPOILER: Security surrounding this movie was so intense that George Lucas had regular reports about "leaks" from actors. George Lucas was so determined that the ending be kept secret that he had David Prowse (Darth Vader) say "Obi-Wan killed your father", and dubbed it later to be "I am your father". In fact, only six people knew about the ending: George Lucas, director Irvin Kershner, writers Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, Mark Hamill, and James Earl Jones.
"I'm for it so we can put Nuclear power plants up there, and then beam the power back to earth on a laser beam." ~ Whidden
03-17-2005 05:25 AM
