'Empire' strikes again
Superb 'Special Edition' hits theaters
By John Ghose
For~the Daily
Like teen-age sex, kind marijuana and the MCATs, "The
Emipire Strikes Back" was surprisingly better the second time
around. Although disappointed to see George Lucas's
Industrial Light and Magic hadn't super-imposed a Colt 45
into the immortal hands of Billy Dee Williams, I was utterly
the Rebel base nestled inside the belly of Hoth's arctic moun-
tains, and a digitally enhanced battle scene ensues, with
souped-up Imperial Walkers and bowel-loosening THX
sound.
The rebels lose the fight, and are bird-dogged across the
galaxy for the remainder of the movie where our worst
fears are realized
pleased with ILM's restoration of the best
ana1 most underrated episode of the "Star
Wars Trilogy."
Underrated - and underexposed. It'd
been so long since I'd seen it, watching
"Empire" at Showcase over the weekend
almost felt like seeing a new release.
Although I fancy myself a "Star Wars"
REVIEW
The Empire Strikes
Back: Special Edition
At Showcase and Briarwood
through a string of severe Rebel misfor-
tune: Lando Calrissian (played by the
aforementioned Billy Dee Williams)
betrays his Rebel buddies, Darth Vader
freezes Han Solo in carbonite and
amputates Luke's hand, and unruly
gnomes in Lando's gorgeously
enhanced City of the Clouds dismem-
disciple, I could not recite Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, or
Mark Hamill's lines with the accuracy I had possessed at
"Star Wars" and, like many of my friends, even found seg-
ments of "Empire's" plot slightly unfamiliar.
The second installment of the special-edition series opens
with Luke Skywalker exploring the remote ice planet Hoth on
his Taun-taun, a creature that remained undigitized but still
very convincing, even by today's computer-generated stan-
dards. Darth Vader's uncorked search probes quickly pinpoint
ber C-3PO (although I found myself
cheering here). And to put icing on the Imperial cake, Vader
reveals his true identity to be Anakin Skywalker-Luke's
father.
Considering the demoralizing nature of "Empire"'s plot, it
is almost understandable that the TV execs at USA and TBS
are unenthusiastic about airing this bleak installment of the
trilogy too frequently. Nobody likes a bummer flick, espe-
cially during the holidays when the trilogy is most often
played. So "Star Wars" and "Return of the Jedi" get the glory,
while the transitional brilliance of "Empire" remains merely
overlooked, underexposed and underrated (despite being a
cult favorite).
Thanks to the astronomical success of "Star Wars,"
writer/director/producer George Lucas was freed of the
money and time constraints that bottlenecked his first trilogy
creation and was allowed to "control the means of produc-
tion" during the 1980 shooting of "Empire." Lucas, who is
notorious for his poor rapport with actors (Mark Hamill once'
said, "I have a sneaking suspicion that if there were a way to
make movies without actors, George would do it,") was freed
of his lax directing duties.
Also, Lucas shared "Empire"s screenplay duties with
Lawrence Kasdan, who helped with the filmmaker's atrocious
spelling and grammar. More importantly, Kasdan, who also
Luke and dad play a friendly game of light saber In "The Empire Strikes Back: Special Edition."
adapted the "Indiana Jones" scripts, improved Lucas's gee-
whiz dialogue that stuck out in the "Star Wars" re-release.
Not only is "Empire's" acting and script better, ILM's dig-
ital enhancements are more subtle and well-blended than the
awkward additions to "Star Wars" that actually emphasize
that film's visual shortcomings.
In "Empire," the focus falls not on the novelty of the new
scenes or the insertion of ILM's Jurassic-esque beasts, but on
the existing quality of the plot, the character conflict and the
skillfully enhanced worlds of Hoth and Lando's cloud city,
Bespin.
In the original theater release, "Empire" disappointed
many. However, all are sure to enjoy the re-release more
knowing that everything will turn out OK: Luke will get a
mechanical hand, Han will thaw, and Vader will turn out good
after all. I sympathize with the original audiences who suf-
fered through three years of torturous trilogy limbo between
"Empire"'s woebegone ending and the triumphant "Return of
the Jedi.:
Yet, the true poignancy of "The Empire Strikes Back:
Special Edition," like the re-release of "Star Wars" three
weeks earlier, does not lie in the THX sound or the digitized
Imperial Walkers, but in the way these films transport us into
another time and place.
The release of "Star Wars" in 1977, the year I was bori*
marked a new era of movie-making - an era of escapist.
But for most, the trilogy doesn't carry us into a galaxy fare ar
away, but into the deep expanse of our own memories. For
me, "Empire" whisks me into my childhood: Taking bats
with my Millennium Falcons and At-Ats; 15 different strains
of Luke Skywalker figures (gained through cagey traditg);
and my brother pulling out my Boba Fett's arms when I didk.
n't help him mow the lawn.
For years "The Empire Strikes Back" has been the ugly
duckling of the Star Wars trilogy. It's time "Empire" fulfille
its true destiny.
Luke Skywalker looks mean flying his
X-Wing Fighter.
Roots rockers Wilco return to Detroit
By Anders Smith-Undall
Daily Arts Writer
Wilco went into Detroit's Majestic
Theatre on Friday night in front of a
sold-out crowd and, as David Letterman
night say, blew the roof off the dump.
sThanks to heavy radio play of
"onday" and
"Outtasite (OuttaR
Mind)" (both from R
the band's critically
.acclaimed 1996
release, "Being M
There") and MTV
rotation of the
-"Outtasite (Outta Mind)" video, Wilco is
.a band poised on the brink of stardom.
On Friday night, a packed house turned
out to see these rising stars and were
rewarded with a performance that ranged
from soft and tender to roof-rattling.
Wilco proved not only that they want to
be rock stars, but that they deserve to be.
Frontman Jeff Tweedy has made no
secret of his desire to sell a million
records. To fans and followers of his for-
mer band, the critic and cult favorite
Uncle Tupelo, that desire is often criti-
cized as "selling out,'as is Wilco's move
away from Uncle Tupelo's country
sound toward a greater emphasis on
straight-ahead rock. If the size of
Friday's crowd is any indication, Tweedy
-has certainly succeeded in selling, but
anyone who witnessed the show knows
that he has not betrayed his music nor
swapped his soul for that success.
Guitarist and lead vocalist Tweedy
took the stage not long before midnight,
accompanied by his bandmates Jay
Bennett on lead guitar and keyboards,
EVIE.W
Wilco
ajestic Theatre
Feb. 21, 1997
John Stirratt on
bass, Ken Coomer
on drums and Bob
Egan on 12-string
and steel guitars.
Armed with an
acoustic guitar,
Tweedy started
slow and showed his country roots on a
quiet version of "Misunderstood," the
opening track to "Being There." The
mood remained hushed with the second
and third songs, the yearning "Far, Far
Away" and "Forget the Flowers." Still
emphasizing their country side, the band
offered a glimpse of its past with "That's
Not the Issue," from its 1995 debut
release, "A.M.," and "New Madrid,"
recorded for Uncle Tupelo's 1993 classic
"Anodyne."
Wilco came back to the present, how-
ever, with the subdued and reflective
"Red-Eyed and Blue." Perhaps by then,
the crowd was wondering whether this
really was the "new" Wilco, the rockers
they have supposedly become. Tweedy
and Co. answered this question imme-
diately, jumping directly into "I Got You
(At the End of the Century)." Gathering
momentum, they reeled off charged
versions of "Hotel Arizona" and
"Monday."
Other highlights of the rock set
included reworked versions of two
songs, "Passenger Side" and "Someone
Else's Song," which on CD are ballads,
but on this night sounded more like The
Clash. Seared with feedback and
Tweedy's screams, they provided a jar-
ring counterpoint to the tranquil early
songs. The crowd was somewhat taken
aback, and at first responded uncom-
fortably. But the band's energy was con-
tagious, and it did not take long for this
skepticism to be abandoned. Tweedy
encouraged the crowd during the
extended, funky jam of "Kingpin," say-
ing "Those of you who think this is stu-
pid or that you're too cool for this, go
home. That's what we're here for, to be
stupid and have a good time. And the
stupider you are, the stupider we will
be." Tweedy led by example, going so
far as to dive headfirst off the stage for
some impromptu crowdsurfing. He also
asked the crowd if anyone had a beach
ball; no one did, but an enterprising soul
inflated a condom which was batted
around and onto the stage.
The set ended with "Outtasite (Outta
Mind)." After a few minutes of the
crowd's roars for an encore, Wilco
returned, emerging with deli trays from
their backstage spread. The band began
throwing meat and vegetables at the
crowd, urging them to respond in kind
during the next song, a rocked-up ren-
dition of "A.M."'s hit single, "Box Full
of Letters." This was followed by a
sprawling "Casino Queen" that
devolved into, of all things, "Yankee
Doodle," before reforming to an explo-
sive end and launching directly into
Uncle Tupelo's "We've Been Had."
They then left the stage for a second
time to the crowd's thunderous acclaim.
Returning once more, Tweedy dedi-
cated the next encore to "all the Johnny-
come latelies," referring to the obvious-
ly large number of fans who have
jumped on the bandwagon since the
days of Uncle Tupelo. To the longtime
fans' delight, the song he sent out was
"Gun,' a Tupelo favorite from their
1991 release, "Still Feel Gone:'
Wilco followed this with what has
become their signature signoff on this
tour, a tongue-in-cheek cover of Carole
King's "Will You Still Love Me
Tomorrow?" During the song, Tweedy
again departed the stage, this time not to
crowdsurf but to walk among the throng,
delivering the song to several couples
down front. He then handed the micro-
phone to a man next to the stage. As the
11
Wilco rocked Detroit's Majestic on Friday.
w,
band played on, Tweedy exited and the
audience member brought the show to a
close with a halting, off-key final chorus.
In all, the show was excellent and far-
ranging. Tweedy proved that he is not
only a remarkable songwriter but a
hard-charging rocker; both an endear-
ing crooner and a passionate screamer.
His bandmates displayed their abiliie
particularly Jay Bennett on lead guita
and Egan's steel. If they are indeed des-
tined for stardom, Wilco made a strong
case on Friday night that they are more.
than deserving. All those in attendance;
went home knowing that rock 'n' roll is'
alive and well.
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