AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: A LITTLE HAND CRAFTING!

The Freeborn workshop at Elstree not only has to come up with a variety of creatures for the first Star Wars sequel but also has to do lots of additional and rather yucky duties for the human cast, firstly doing a face cast of Harrison Ford for his carbonite visage, then a recreation of Mark Hamill's lightsaber holding hand for the moment when our hero becomes an amputee from Darth Vader's own blade.

Hamill poses for some fun shots at Stuart Freeborn's lab!

For the scene before the all-important reveal, where Luke loses his lightsaber hand, a special dummy hand was created by Stuart Freeborn. He recalled to STAR WARS INSIDER in 2008: “We made (Luke’s hand) from hardened resin holding the handle of his sword that contained a cable release. The two inner parts were painted red to give a realistic flesh colour. You always have to be prepared to make odd little things like that on film!”

A look at the finished dummy hand.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: SOLO'S NIGHTMARE FACE!

With the carbonite body frame previously sculpted from British supporting artist Alan Harris, Harrison Ford's face for the frozen visage of Han Solo would be separately moulded and attached to Harris's body by Stuart Freeborn at Elstree Studios at least a month prior to the studio filming at Elstree.

Graham and Stuart Freeborn apply some mucky business to Harrison Ford!

Back-up moulds later created by ILM.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD!

Despite the serious nature of the scene and its important revelations about the Skywalker lineage, Mark Hamill still finds time to clown around for the on set photographers during filming of 'the cave' sequence. Though Graham Freeborn's face cast of Hamill had been filmed, it was barely seen on screen for a second or two, with the production team deciding to go with a more straight forward effect of filming Hamill's own face through the mask, the actor underneath the set, for the main reveal.

Hamill happily undergoes a face mask appliance session with Graham Freeborn at Elstree.

A half body cast of Hamill was also created for filming, but seemingly unused?

The ultimately unconvincing head as seen on film. Only the barest moment of it is seen before the use of Hamill's face in the mask.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: BACTA TANK REPAIRS!

With severe frostbite and facial injuries that need urgent attention, a delirious Luke Skywalker, talking about his late mentor in Obi-Wan Kenobi, and mysterious words like 'Yoda' and 'Dagobah', is installed in a Bacta tank for physical repairs, in a scene ultimately truncated in The Empire Strikes Back.

The Medical Centre set built on Elstree Stage 1 contained a treatment room (housing a 7’6” high and 3’8” in diameter tank for Bacta tissue (filled with 400 gallons of chlorinated water) and a recovery area (a bed was originally planned for the set, as in the McQuarrie painting where Han, relaxing on it, with Leia next to him, looks towards the window where Luke is in the Bacta tank). The area also houses two UK built medical droid props-2-1B and FX-7.

Early concept sketches for 2-1B, which had limited upper body movement when created on set, suggest that the droid’s design came about from rejected masks that human surgeons would wear. Early notes described the droid as having a “human brain.”

2-1B is brought to life at the Elstree workshops via sculptor Roy Rodgers.

Prior to filming in the Bacta tank at ELSTREE, Mark Hamill wore scruba gear and tested safety equipment for the upcoming scenes apparently at a nearby girl’s school swimming pool (the only place in the time provided where it could be done). Hamill remembers all the giggly school kids present at the pool that day, watching him in his swimming briefs as he was lowered in and out of the make shift tank erected in the water for filming.

Later in the studio, with Hamill in the water (though a wet suited Colin Skeaping was lowered into the tank to check its safety before filming), a different way of lighting and photographing the scene has to be accomplished. Peter Suschitzky enhances the sequence with careful lighting, formulating a method of illuminating the important moment of Luke’s healing by making it the focal point, and brightest part, of the scene, creating the almost purity of his recovery in the tank by suspending a mirror from the studio ceiling and positioning a massive search light below the tank. The light would bounce off the mirror with the end result successfully showing Luke immersed in the eerily “glowing” Bacta fluid (the aqualung Hamill wears also incorporates a light emitting diode that pulses green, red and yellow). Skywalker’s friends, carefully silhouetted in the foreground, frame Luke in the shot and draw the audience’s focus towards him. Luke’s delirious crying out in the tank about Ben, Yoda and Dagobah were never dubbed on, the mentions of all three being used instead for a new audience plot clarification scene shot later in post production, and appearing earlier in the film, with Luke by his injured Tauntaun, being rescued by Han Solo and deliriously imparting the words.

Set reference diorama created by Elstree Production Design department.

Medical droid FX-7

Colin Skeaping tests the water tank which will be coloured red but appear blue with the set lighting of filming.

Graham Freeborn applies some make-up adjustments to Mark Hamill prior to filming.

Hamill is hoisted out of the tank after completing his scene.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: DES WEBB IS THE WAMPA!

Image: Nick Maley.

Operating the huge Wampa costume for the location filming in Norway would be British film crew member Des Webb. Assisted by Make-up artist Graham Freeborn at the cold site, Webb would walk on large stilt feet to aid in the towering size of the beast, and would often have to be hoisted up or carried along by the crew to various sites for filming. When dragging the captured, wounded Luke across the Hoth surface, a dummy was used in long shots, whilst Mark Hamill handled the close-ups (surrounded by crew for safety, in case of any tumbles backward made by Webb in the difficult to see filming conditions). Hamill, always good humoured, enjoyed the filming of the scene and the company of Des Webb as his creature opponent.

In his hoist, Webb as the Wampa helped by Graham Freeborn.

Wearing the original Wampa mask which proved too cuddly on screen.

Testing the stilt furry feet on location -presumably this is Des Webb before putting on the creature costume.

Webb as the Wampa with the dummy Luke.

Mark Hamill is carried in this scene image.

BEHIND THE SCENES: THE TRACTOR BEAM TERMINAL

Danger at the Tractor Beam terminal, in this scene from the original STAR WARS.

Having finally found his way to one of the Tractor Beam power terminals within the Death Star, a sneaking in and out Obi-Wan Kenobi deactivates the power source that has previously ensnared the Millennium Falcon, in this posed image specially taken for publicity purposes. The two Stormtrooper guards seen in the film that block one side of the Tractor Beam bridge area would be transplanted to the higher level for reasons of dramatic license for the image capturing. This famous shot would appear in many publications of the day but by the nineties would also have an animated power beam added/airbrushed to it.

The Tractor Beam terminal lights are turned on. Note the misty special effect not seen in the film.

On an upper walkway, Kenobi discovers the Tractor Beam terminal, in this deleted moment.

Filming of the scene, as shown in The Making of Star Wars.

Graham Freeborn was Sir Alec Guinness's primary make-up artist on the film.

Great high-up angle showing the filming on the set, prior to post production matte overlay.

Just a few feet off the floor, Guinness prepares for filming as Clapper-boy Jamie Harcourt lines up the shot.

Rehearsing the moment when Kenobi distracts the Stormtrooper duo.

Filmed at Elstree Studios, the set was mostly a redress of the chasm area that Luke and Leia swung across. A prior scene of Obi-Wan Kenobi on the higher bridge walkway seeing the Tractor Beam level below was filmed but didn't make the final cut. According to Script Supervisor Ann Skinner's continuity script, having deactivated the beam and avoided the Trooper's gaze, Obi-Wan moved back into the corridor and walked briskly past a grey "dustbin droid".

Deleted scene in corridor footage: Ben Kenobi in Corridor - Sendvid

With thanks to Ann Skinner and the BFI

With thanks to Chris Baker