The Empire Strikes Forty

The most beloved Star Wars film of all reaches middle age

(Rodin Eckenroth/Getty)

1980 was an eventful year.

• The Miracle on Ice.
• Alfred Hitchcock, John Bonham, and Jean-Paul Sartre died.
• Pac-Man debuted in arcades.
• “Who shot J.R.?”
• The Olympic boycott.
• The Iranian hostage crisis.
• The murder of John Lennon.
• Mount St. Helens erupted
• Ronald Reagan was elected president.

And in the middle of it all, moviegoers around the world heard these words:

Could it be true? Could the walking, black-bedecked nightmare really be our hero’s father? Was Darth Vader <gulp> telling the truth? For the answer the world would have to wait three years.

Its Alderaan-sized Force disturbance of a climax isn’t the only major contribution The Empire Strikes Back made to the Galaxy Far, Far Away; but 40 years later it looms largest in the popular…