A Thousand Stars: Episode V, Part 8

[matril]

Luke is rescued, Han and Luke are in turn rescued by Rebel scouts, and Leia and Han continue to snipe and deny their feelings. But now we turn to a problem of a much larger scale -- the Empire is about to discover the Rebel base.

At the start of the last film, we were immediately confronted by a massive Star Destroyer, almost seeming endless in its size, as a symbol of the galaxy-spanning power of the evil Empire. Now hold on to your seat, because we're about to get a look at an entire fleet of them. As if that wasn't enough, we then watch one of those enormous ships fly beneath something that makes it look tiny in comparison!

There it is, the Super Star Destroyer that could eat all the other ones for breakfast. And who is the master of this mighty vessel? Darth Vader, of course. In case we have any lingering doubts about Vader's power, watch the Imperials cringing and cowering as he strides by, with a set design that puts them literally beneath his feet. All of this is punctuated by the introduction of a new piece by John Williams, the strident, relentless Imperial March that will become synonymous with Darth Vader.

Yeah, the Rebels blew up the Death Star...but the Empire is definitely prepared to strike back hard. Rough times are coming.

Next time, more big stuff...

Comments

[krpalmer]

My brother once proclaimed he found the "eclipsed Star Destroyer" more impressive a special-effects shot than any of the Star Destroyer shots in Episode IV, although if I'm remembering correctly it could have been before the Special Editions gave him a chance to see the movies in widescreen at last... Thinking that far back also reminds me of some "technical commentaries" online complaining how books kept describing Darth Vader's ship as smaller than it had to be based on what was on screen. I also recall comments there's once been plans to just distinguish Vader's ship by repainting the standard Star Destroyer model, and then it was decided they'd never be able to get the new paint off cleanly if they needed to reshoot "standard" ship scenes...