The Magic of Movies - Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Part Seven

We come back to Chewi’s rescue of Threepio. It’s interesting how the movie finds ways to break up the plot so it’s not all alternating between two stories like television; I struggle to do quite the same thing in my own fiction writing. He takes Threepio’s parts back to Han and Leia; there’s some discussion over letting Lando fix Threepio, which bothers Leia before Lando comes in. This has a few fascinating underlinings; we know later that Leia is Luke’s sister and also has some Force powers, and her intuition is coming in here. There’s also that, just as Vader is Luke’s Shadow, Lando is Han’s. You can see it as akin to Fraiser bringing in Niles as a less developed version of the same archetype as the lead; Lando has all of Han’s old roguish instability, showing how Han has grown as a person. You could also see it, of course, as a lack of imagination much like the second Death Star, but I think it works much better given I’ve never heard a single complaint about Lando.

There’s two things. Firstly, Billy Dee Williams brings a sincere sex appeal that was lacking in the movies up until now. Like, I realize how many people are attracted to various actors, characters, and puppets, but Lando is the first Star Wars character that feels like he fucks. Certainly, that first “Hello,” he has with Leia is sensual and charismatic. Secondly, his talk about running Cloud City. I have low expectations about the rigidity, complexity, or realism of worldbuilding in Star Wars – KOTOR works because it’s set thousands of years before the main story and Andor works because of its clarity of vision and attempt to explore the emotions behind the worldbuilding, and this works as a small glimpse into what the adults are doing behind the scenes of the action.

Also, there’s a pair of shots which unintentionally implies Lando is looking at Han when he says “Aren’t you beautiful?”

I enjoy the notion of Lando as a sell-out who is just as in it for the money as Han was. Billy Dee Williams works well as someone with a deep knowledge of and genuine enthusiasm for what he’s talking about; Lando observes that the city is just successful enough to stay under the radar of the Empire, which we’ll know in ten seconds is a complete lie, but it’s a convincing one. We actually get a shot of Lando looking at Han with a shamed expression right inbetween him opening the door and us seeing Vader stand up.

Vader blocking Han’s shots with only his hand is pure supernatural ownage; Lando gives an apology. This is a great example of this movie having an Eighties speed in its pacing; when isolating this plot thread, we pretty much have Lando introduced, Lando hitting on Leia (twice), Lando explaining the city, Lando revealing he already sold out the crew. And in contrast to the speed of this story, we get long lingering looks from everybody as they process the depths of Lando’s betrayal here; Marcia Lucas keeping her eye on the character and emotion here. 

After dropping in with Luke leaving Dagobah then Chewie and Threepio locked up together, apparently in such a way that Chewie has both time and ability to repair the droid (giving his warning too late), we stop in with Vader torturing Han. I enjoy the vivid imagination of the prop designer who came up with this, especially that weird spark. One aspect of the movies being made up as they went along was that Harrison Ford was trying to figure out how to get out of them; Lando would have filled in for him if they’d failed to persuade him to stay, and you can see him going through the same arc as Han as he realizes he’s in too deep. The dialogue goes out of its way to show that Lando had initially made a deal with a bounty hunter, unaware he was working for the Empire, to keep his betrayal a mistake he committed to and thus sympathetic enough for a redemption arc.

On the other hand, it’s almost funny how committed Ford is to the character. When he falls to the ground, he remarks “They didn’t even ask me any questions,” which is an eerie thing to throw in here; torture, famously, doesn’t actually work for interrogation, so to me this is a really effective moment of the Empire being fascist, or at least totalitarian. Lando comes in trying to undo the damage he’s done the best he can; Billy Dee Williams elevates the scene so much, simultaneously terrified, ashamed, and focused on the job at hand.

Vaader looks over the carbonite freezer thing; it’s a great move that this is actually intended for Luke, even though it’ll be used on Han. I also love the design of the room – a round room with steps upward, and those orange lights on every step. I’m not sure about the safety of this thing but it’ll be used perfectly for the fight later. I’m very amused by the little beat of Boba Fett asking about compensation; even moreso by Vader brusquely acknowledging he’ll compensate for any loss of Han. It’s a rare moment of pragmatism from Vader.

Chewie gets upset about Han’s capture; it takes Han asking him to take care of Leia to calm him down. This feels like a very kiddie moment – the big likeable furball that’s very toyetic who acts how a kid reasonably would, and the more relatable heroic cool guy acting like a cool guy. This is also a very Story moment; we’re very upset about what’s happening, and it’s good to have one character reacting how we’re wanting to. This also has the iconic “I love you.” / “I know.” moment; Harrison Ford was completely correct in this moment and improved the scene enormously. He might have hated making the movies, but he was the right actor for the scene.

As Han is lowered into the carbonite freezer doodle, we get so many shots of characters watching him go down – even Vader. This also makes Threepio’s comedy moments funnier (“I can’t see!”). Vader betrays Lando (“I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.”); this is interesting if you consider it from the perspective of fascism. For a pure pragmatic like Lando, the better option is living in a democracy where deals can be made in good faith. It also is fascinating from Vader’s perspective; as said, he’s ruled by rage and domination, and he’s just screwed over another ally who is inevitably going to turn on him for that.