ROGUE ONE: REBEL ARRIVAL!

High above the tropical realms of Scarif, Admiral Raddus' newly arrived Mon Calamari cruiser, the Profundity, and his small fleet, stands defiant against the Empire and the prior Rebel council's unwillingness to help Jyn Erso's penetration of the Imperial data centre, in this great image from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

EPISODE VIII: SPACE SLAUGHTER!

The last remnants of the Resistance fleet have already taken a furious pounding from Kylo Ren's heavily-armed, speedy fighter, and his two escorts. But the worst is to come for our heroes, as they suffer further losses from ever-pursuant First Order Star Destroyers in this memorable moment from The Last Jedi.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: INTO THE STARS!

Flanked by escort fighters. the Medical Frigate and the rest of the small Rebel fleet heads off into the stars, as new destinies await our heroes for the May 1980 title announced Episode VI: Revenge of the Jedi...

The long shot of the cast looking out into space as the Frigate turns away from camera was filmed at Elstree Studios and rear projected onto a window of the ILM built model ship in post production. UK effects director Brian Johnson would do similar shots with the pilots housed in their Eagle craft for the hit TV series, Space:1999.

Joe Johnston storyboard for an ILM revised effects shot from March 1980, handled all too close to the film's release.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: BEYOND 'A NEW HOPE'...

"If you think about the focus of this part of the Star Wars saga, it's on survival, not triumph. The theme of Empire is that for some people, for some part of their lives, just surviving is enough of a triumph for that moment. And because of that, because of Luke's feeling that he was ready to challenge Vader and then his realisation that he wasn't, and was also unable to save his friend - all these things are important to the emotional state at the end of the story. This episode, the middle act, has to be slower and more sombre in a way. It spends the time to delineate the characters a little better, it explains some of the motivation and so on. It wouldn't work if you had three films that are exactly the same."

Gary Kurtz, responding to criticisms of the time concerning Empire's downbeat cliffhanger finale, to Starburst magazine Issue 23, 1980.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: TOGETHER FACING AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE...

More on set and behind the scenes of the final scene's filming on the Medical Frigate set at Elstree Studios, with Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, plus Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker, as they watch their friends depart...

Mark and Carrie have fun behind the scenes.

More fun captured from an alternate angle.

The droids are fully cleaned and repaired.

Filming the separate reaction shots of the golden Threepio and Artoo (heightened for a better camera position) on the set.

A rare moment of humour between Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker between takes.

The second unit prepare to film a shot with Kenny Baker inside the Artoo shell.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: A WINDOW TO GOODBYES...

It's a time of bittersweet reflection by Luke and Leia - in many ways the pair have now become different people to the ones we saw at the start of The Empire Strikes Back - and a short break to re-gather their strength before they begin their mission to rescue Han Solo from the clutches of both Boba Fett and Jabba the Hutt on the far-off desert world of Tatooine...

Storyboard for the reshot Medical Frigate final scenes by Joe Johnston - November 1979.

At some point, once the original filming on the set was completed (which we presume was originally July 1979?), Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker would be recalled back for some additional shooting for the film’s finale (likely some point between August and December 1979). Daniels recalled to Starburst magazine in 1983: “Oh, I hated that (ending to EMPIRE). I know I didn’t pay for the ticket but I said, “Wait a minute” as it ended in outer space…we all had to do that shot again. That very final shot (in EMPIRE) I said they couldn’t shoot it like that. They said, “Oh yes, we can!” I said, “No, we’ve all got to be standing on the set.” I’m such a know-all. About a month later I got a phone call (laughter). The film had wrapped by then. Fortunately they had saved that one set.”

The heroes gather to watch the Falcon's departure.

Adjusting to his new hand, Like joins the trio.

A specially created publicity image (presumably by Terry Chostner at ILM) with the Falcon and a red nebula art image superimposed. The nova image would be used in other Star Wars related merchandise publicity.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: FUN WITH CARRIE AND PETER!

The Empire Strikes Back may often have had its gloomy and dramatic story moments for Princess Leia Organa, but behind the scenes in bringing her character to life, Carrie Fisher was clearly having a blast, enjoying the company of the veteran British technicians, especially director of photography Peter Suschitzky and his small camera team, as seen in these great images during shooting on the Medical Frigate set at Elstree in July,1979.

What's she pointing at? Fisher with Peter Suschitzky!

Further regular clowning about with camera operator Kelvin Pike.

More: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ledVnZOf24

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: IN RECOVERY...

 

Luke's physical injuries are healed, but what about his psychological scars from the conflict with Vader?

As the 2-1B medical droid attends to Luke's injuries and applies his replacement hand, the boy and Leia communicate with Lando and Chewie at the Millennium Falcon as they prepare to part company, bound for an eventual rendezvous at Tatooine...

The scene where Luke Skywalker flips the skin lid over the interior housing of his new hand was an age old filming trick captured by the second unit on 30th August, 1979, with an extra's hand poking out from a table, underneath the fake hand housing the robot servos. Irvin Kershner insisted on demonstrating that Luke has feeling in his artificial hand: "We were starting to make him a mechanical man, and he's not; I wanted to show that in the future when he makes love to a woman he'll have some feeling there -- that's what I was thinking.” Stand-in Chris Parsons was approached (and call sheet listed) to be Luke Skywalker’s hand model. Unfortunately, his habit of nail biting at that time precluded his taking the part.

A likely moment from the additional shooting that matches a revised November 1979 ILM storyboard.

Despite having a British police bodyguard escort start the week (which stays with her until she has completed her filming - due to kidnap threats intercepted by mother Debbie Reynolds in the US), Carrie Fisher is in high spirits for the Medical Frigate scenes captured on Stage 8 at Elstree Studios during July 12th/13th, 1979. In real-life science fact news, the 11th July saw the abandoned Skylab space station fall to Earth and disintegrate. For additional humour on set, Mark Hamill would be wearing a hat announcing, 'Skylab is falling'!

The finale sequence also shows Threepio fully repaired and polished up after his prior ordeals-the camera crew having to be very careful the way they photograph him so that they won’t be mirror-esque reflected on his gold casing. 

In the later released Donald F. Glut adaptation of the film, there is no mention by Luke of his meeting Lando and Chewie at the Tatooine rendezvous point. All we know is that Lando and Chewbacca are off to find Han and Boba Fett. Presumably this was Glut working from one of the pre-filming scripts, with that new part of the plotline scheduled for Revenge of the Jedi. 

Another stunning shot of Carrie Fisher as Leia.

Fisher confers with Kershner.

Having fun with Gary Kurtz.

A previous deleted look at the filming of the scene (including re-shoots):

https://starwarsaficionado.blogspot.com/2012/01/deleted-scene-and-re-shoot-medical.html

Carrie clowns to the camera once more.

Polaroid shot (by Continuity Supervisor Pamela Mann?) of Carrie Fisher partying with the Medical Droid on set.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: IN THE SAFE HANDS OF FAMILY...

Inside the Medical Frigate, Luke has his injuries - an early script indicating a new replacement left arm comprising metal struts and electronic components - looked over by a Medical Droid, where once again, Princess Leia (back to wearing her original Star Wars hairstyle) is by his side through this difficult and painful time.

As seen in this production painting by Ralph McQuarrie, Luke was to have originally received his lightsaber injury from Vader to his left side, especially as Mark Hamill himself is left-handed - indeed, an unfinished hand cast was done of Luke's left hand at Elstree by Stuart Freeborn and his team. (Freeborn eventually auctioned it off to a private collector.) This idea was ultimately changed by Summer 1979 filming -  instead, Luke lost his right hand, and with a new casting of Hamill's right hand achieved.

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: PREPARING FOR DEPARTURE...

 

Images: StarWarsScreencaps.com.

Attached to the Medical Frigate by a technological umbilical cord, the Millennium Falcon and its crew get ready to begin an all-new mission alongside their Rebel comrades...

The 70mm version of the film on its original May 1980 release would include additional model filming shots for this sequence, so as to better establish the Falcon under the Frigate, tasked to ILM by George Lucas at the very last minute.

Read more here:

https://thedigitalbits.com/columns/history-legacy-showmanship/empire-at-40-remembering-the-early-70mm-cut

AN 'EMPIRE' AT 40: CREATING THE MEDICAL FRIGATE - PART TWO

A selection of great model shots and behind the scenes linked to the striking Medical Frigate model at ILM in 1979/80.

The Medical Frigate before its paint job at the ILM Model Shop.

Steve Gawley works on the model with George Lucas present.

Brian Johnson, Richard Edlund and Steve Gawley with Lucas at ILM.

Lucas confers with Edlund on filming angles for the model.