Last updated September 1, 1997

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

ESCAPE FROM CLOUD CITY
  As the heros enter the carbon freezing chamber, the new audio mix allows Threepios line, "Now remember, Chewbacca, you have a responsibility to me, so don't do anything foolish." can be heard clearly. In the original, this line was muffled by the sounds of hydrolics.
  During the scene where Lobot and some Bespin guards ambush the stormtroopers, the sound remix causes Chewie's growls to all but drown out the end of Leia's line, "Do you think that after what you did to Han we're going to trust you?"
  Right after Artoo spots Threepio, the outside wall of the corridor that Lando, Chewie and Leia run down has been removed giving the impression that they're running along an outside ledge. The scene has an orange tint to it from the Bespin sky.
  As Threepio tells Artoo that he's lucky to still be in one piece, the wall to the right of hallway Chewie runs down now has a series of full height windows revealing the orange and purple Bespin sky, and the Slave I on its landing platform.
  When Luke knocks Vader off of the platform, his cry of "Aaarggg" has been replaced with an "Uuuggg".
  Two new shots have been added while Lando makes his announcement to leave the city. The first is a shot in a hallway of three individuals - two women civilian Cloud-City-style outfits and a classic uniformed Bespin security guard.
  The next shot is an exterior of Cloud City showing a few buildings and a crowd on the ground looking up to hear the announcement.
  There's yet another new set of windows on the wall behind Leia as she fires at the stormtroopers.
  The colors in the shot of Luke falling down the shaft have been adjusted to make the descent look more realistic. Luke now screams as he falls.
  New shots of Vader leaving Cloud City are interspersed with the Luke rescue scene. Vader's line "Bring my shuttle!" has been replaced with "Alert my Star Destroyer to prepare for my arrival." (This new dialog may have been done by James Earl Jones, but it has a different sound than the rest of Vader's lines.)
  There is a new exterior shot where the officer and two stormtroopers follow Vader across the screen to a landing platform where a Lambda-class shuttle awaits.
  A space shot is then added showing the shuttle moving towards the camera away from a darkened Bespin with a touch of light breaking over the horizon.
  The shuttle passes the camera and the shot is reversed showing the shuttle approaching the Star Destroyer.
  In the original, as Lando ascended to the outer hatch of the Falcon, a hatch opens to reveal a very bright light implying he was outside, while the next shot was an exterior shot showing another hatch opening. This has been fixed adding an extra door creating a small light-filled antechamber which better clarifies what's happening during these shots.
  After the Falcon pulls away from Cloud City, there is a new sequence showing Vader's shuttle docking with the Star Destroyer. First there is an overhead shot showing the shuttle slowly entering the bay, with its wings folding up and then landing.
  We then see the shuttle ramp from the side and Vader coming down met by some stormtroopers and Moff Jerjerrod. (It is possible that these are unused ROTJ shots.)
CREDITS
  Unlike ANH:SE, James Earl Jones is not given a Darth Vader voice credit. This oversight is corrected in the Special Edition video release.

Like ANH:SE, the music had to be extended to include the many people who worked on the Special Edition.

  The film ends with the 1-800-PHONE-THX phone number as part of Lucasfilm's THX Theatre Alignment Program.
Prev Main Next