The Empire Strikes Back is regarded by many as the best Star Wars movie. The Empire Strikes Back was also the Star Wars movie in which George Lucas had the least direct input. He was stuck in Los Angeles trying to pull off all kinds of financial deals to make sure the film could be completed, while director Irvin Kershner was going drastically over budget and over schedule in the UK.

Is there a connection?

It's cruel to be churlish, as without Lucas we wouldn't have The Empire Strikes Back. And not just because of he created Star Wars. He actually poured millions of his own money into the sequel. Sure, he wasn't short of a bob or two after 1977, but if Empire had failed he would have been financially crippled.

Luckily Empire didn't fail. It was a massive success. A lot of that can be credited to some of the most audacious effect sequences committed to film. The battle in the snow on Hoth and the asteroid sequence are breathtaking by any standards. It's not just the quality of the effects: it's the bravura with which they're filmed, and the composition and choreography of the various live and visual effects elements on screen. Check out the very end of the chase through the asteroids when the Millennium Falcon performs a massive loop-the-loop before vanishing down a hole; it?s unnecessary, but a glorious crowd-pleasing flourish.

But it's more than just that. After all, Empire has one of the most arse-about-tit, climax at the beginning, downbeat, open-ended plots ever devised, so it must have something going for it. There are two somethings, in fact: the characters and the dialogue.

Lawrence Kasdan came in to polish up the script, and he obviously put some elbow grease into the task. The dialogue sparkles, never more so than in scenes developing the relationship between Han & Leia. Vader actually HAS a character this time around rather than just being the bondage-fetish henchman of Star Wars.

Kershner and the various designers bring a starker, less pristine look to the visuals; in the early stages it's almost a First World War bunker affair with grizzly troops making do in uncomfortable circumstances.

Of course, what also helps is a lack of toy-spin-off inspiring cute aliens. Lucas himself once decreed that there were not enough aliens in Empire and demanded more for Return of the Jedi. Well, maybe not enough for the licensees, but fans were happy without Ewoks.

Empire, in line with its more serious edge, introduced the decidedly non-cute and, as we much later discovered, non-alien Boba Fett.

Empire is the grown-up Star Wars movie. Star Wars may have had the simple clarity, mythic resonance and innocent charm of great fairy tale adventures, but Empire feels more true, with real characters and real danger.

Oh, and the two of the best special effects sequences. And Boba Fett. And a vicious lightsabre battle. And great music. And...