Star Words: Episode V, Part 41
Oct. 1st, 2020 02:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
matrilThe carbon-freezing chamber scene might just be my favorite part of this film, though it would be a close contest with Yoda levitating the ship. But this one is rather sparser on lines, so I doubt I'll be spending a full month of entries on it. ;) It's the confluence of so many well-crafted elements -- closeups on emotive faces, the eerie lightning and the steam, the music rising into the sweepingly romantic theme for Han and Leia only to fall into the harsh, militant chords of the Empire.
And it was a beast to film, as any behind-the-scenes sources will plainly indicate. I'm particularly fond of a little gem I found at a used bookstore called "Once Upon a Galaxy: A Journal of the Making of the Empire Strikes Back." It was released the same year as the film and has a lot of real-time, primary source records of the filming process. It includes a full transcription of Kershner's conversations with cast and crew during the day they shot the freezing chamber scene. There were such difficulties as costuming complications, safely lowering the platform for Han, making sure that no one fell off the edge of the rather precarious set, exposition concerns and last-minute dialogue changes.
And so we come to Han's famous line. Leia has finally confessed her love, after being confronted with the reality that he might be about to die. And how does he reply?
"I know."
We tend to see this line as classic Han snark -- self-assured, even smug. What an arrogant way to respond to a confession of love, right?
But look at his face; listen to his tone. It's not arrogance. More like reassurance, calming words. All this time he's been pushing and pushing Leia to admit her feelings, but now he's willing to acknowledge that it's enough; he knows. No demands. No need for regrets. She might not have said everything she could say in words, but in other ways, she's conveyed everything important.
Am I reading too much into two simple words? Of course; that's the whole point of this series! But all I have to do is compare this exchange to its mirror in Episode VI. Leia's version is much more playful and self-assured, a fitting tone for that moment. Episode V's moment is serious but not overdone, a brief but expressive comfort at the point of crisis.
Longtime readers will also know that I delight in how this scene both compares and contrasts with the love confession scene in Episode II. Dialogue, visuals and music all contain parallels, the sort of subtle poetry that makes the saga such a joy to watch.
Next time, another iconic moment in that chamber...
And it was a beast to film, as any behind-the-scenes sources will plainly indicate. I'm particularly fond of a little gem I found at a used bookstore called "Once Upon a Galaxy: A Journal of the Making of the Empire Strikes Back." It was released the same year as the film and has a lot of real-time, primary source records of the filming process. It includes a full transcription of Kershner's conversations with cast and crew during the day they shot the freezing chamber scene. There were such difficulties as costuming complications, safely lowering the platform for Han, making sure that no one fell off the edge of the rather precarious set, exposition concerns and last-minute dialogue changes.
And so we come to Han's famous line. Leia has finally confessed her love, after being confronted with the reality that he might be about to die. And how does he reply?
"I know."
We tend to see this line as classic Han snark -- self-assured, even smug. What an arrogant way to respond to a confession of love, right?
But look at his face; listen to his tone. It's not arrogance. More like reassurance, calming words. All this time he's been pushing and pushing Leia to admit her feelings, but now he's willing to acknowledge that it's enough; he knows. No demands. No need for regrets. She might not have said everything she could say in words, but in other ways, she's conveyed everything important.
Am I reading too much into two simple words? Of course; that's the whole point of this series! But all I have to do is compare this exchange to its mirror in Episode VI. Leia's version is much more playful and self-assured, a fitting tone for that moment. Episode V's moment is serious but not overdone, a brief but expressive comfort at the point of crisis.
Longtime readers will also know that I delight in how this scene both compares and contrasts with the love confession scene in Episode II. Dialogue, visuals and music all contain parallels, the sort of subtle poetry that makes the saga such a joy to watch.
Next time, another iconic moment in that chamber...
