Monday, November 29, 2010

Irvin Kershner - Thank you to one of the greats

 Like many people of my generation, Empire Strikes Back was the movie that taught me that in life and art, the good guys do not always win and the world can be a dark place.  That was a very profound lesson for an 8 year old, particularly after the escapist fun of the first movie.

Empire had it all, presenting spiritual philosophy from Yoda that as I got older, came to embody real wisdom wrapped up in the Force mythology.  This movie like no other, shaped my passion for storytelling that deals in the moral grays and ambiguities of the authentic human condition.

It also has one of the best plot reversals in movie history, and one of the best lines, that was improvised by Harrison Ford as he was being dipped in carbon.


The director of that movie was Irvin Kershner, who passed away today.  I, and many others, owe him an immeasurable debt for giving such a creative gift.  I cannot overstate the importance of witnessing such a dark epic at such a young age.  Star Wars taught the value of fantasy, Empire showed reality and the intersection of the two.

Irvin, the force will live on..always...


Tribute movie by Roger Nygard, from documentary The Nature of Existence.

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