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Title: The Empire Strikes Back: Star Wars: Original Radio Drama/Cassettes by George Lucas, Highbridge Audio ISBN: 1-56511-000-5 Publisher: HighBridge Company Pub. Date: November, 1993 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 5 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.64 (11 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: And now, the rest of the story...
Comment: Like many Star Wars geek boys out there, I was skeptical about the radio dramatizations of 'Star Wars' and 'The Empire Strikes Back'. Could they possibly come even remotely close to capturing the magic of the films without the visual element? To my pleasant surprise, it could, and did, with flying colors. Not only do the audio presentations re-tell the stories of the movies in vivid detail, they also add a few side moments that weren't present in the visual presentations, fleshing out and adding depth to the timeless tales. To borrow Paul Harvey's catchphrase, now you know the rest of the story.
Out of the three audio presentations produced, I find 'Empire' to come in a close second to the original 'Star Wars' radio show in terms of quality and drama. It's also of lesser duration, running a mere ten half-hour episodes to 'Wars' thirteen. But even though 'Empire' comes up somewhat short when compared to its predecessor, it's still an engrossing and enjoyable waste of five hours.
'Late
Rating: 5
Summary: A wonderful radio adaptation of the film.
Comment: The second part of George Lucas' famous STAR WARS saga comes to radio, and it's well worth the wait. Mark Hamil, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams are on hand to reprise their film roles, and they are ably supported by Brock Peters, Ann Sachs, Perry King, and John Lithgow (as Yoda). The 10-part script takes the time to flesh out the characters and the setting, making the saga appear more real than ever. After hearing THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK on audio, you just might be tempted to get rid of your video copy--it's really that good! So start up the cassette player, and journey to a galaxy far, far away.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Radio Dramas Strike Back
Comment: The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama
Following the success of NPR's 13-part radio adaptation of Star Wars, writer Brian Daley reunited with director John Madden and post-production wizard Tom Voegeli to bring The Empire Strikes Back to the airwaves. Having attracted large audiences (for public radio) with the Star Wars Radio Drama, NPR and everyone involved in the ambitious project were anxious to prove that lightning could, indeed, strike twice.
After all, Star Wars films are best known for their visual effects, so many people, including fans, were surprised that Star Wars worked well as a radio serial. But visuals are only part of the movie-going experience, after all. Where would any movie be without characters? Or sound? Or music? Or, for that matter, a coherent narrative thread? (And before someone points out that movies were silent once, I will remind readers that yes, they were silent, but they had musical accompaniment.) Furthermore, expanding the two-hour-plus film into 10 episodes gave familiar characters both depth and color.
The Empire Strikes Back Radio Drama opens with action when a Rebel convoy bound for Hoth is ambushed by waves of Imperial TIE fighters and annihilated near Derra IV. We then cut directly to the opening of the movie, when an Imperial Star Destroyer launches a batch of probe droids programmed to seek out the Rebels' new hidden base. Then we are reunited with our favorite heroes on the icy planet Hoth....and, well, if you have seen the classic trilogy, you know the Empire will definitely strike back.
In addition to the original cast from the Star Wars Radio Drama (which included Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels - both reprising their film roles of Luke Skywalker and C-3PO - Perry King, Ann Sachs, Bernard Behrens, and Brock Peters), Madden was able to enlist Billy Dee Williams to be the voice of Lando Calrissian, the charming but duplicitous Baron Administrator of Cloud City. To round out the major characters from Empire, John Lithgow was cast as Yoda. (He doesn't sound much like Frank Oz, but after a while one gets used to this and gets swept away in the story.)
Although this Radio Drama also expands the story somewhat (it has 10 episodes and runs for roughly five hours), it sticks to its source material and leaves the cliffhanger ending intact. Most of the new material covers the prelude to the battle of Hoth (we get to hear Han and Luke trying to survive that horrible night in an emergency shelter on the ice plains near Echo Base, for instance), and of course Daley and Madden often have to resort to the old radio conventions of characters having to say what they see or are doing.
There were, of course, plans to make a radio adaptation of Return of the Jedi, but it got, as Han Solo says in that film to Jabba, "a little sidetracked" by budget woes at NPR. It did get made at last, but that story will have to wait a bit....
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Title: Return of the Jedi by Highbridge Audio, Brian Daley ISBN: 1565111583 Publisher: HighBridge Company Pub. Date: November, 1996 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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Title: Star Wars: The Original Radio Drama by Highbridge, George Lucas, Anthony Daniels ISBN: 0942110994 Publisher: HighBridge Company Pub. Date: May, 1993 List Price(USD): $39.95 |
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Title: Star Wars: Episode II, Attack of the Clones by R.A. Salvatore ISBN: 0345428811 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 23 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace by Terry Brooks ISBN: 0345434110 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 29 February, 2000 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: Shadow Hunter (Star Wars: Darth Maul) by Michael Reaves ISBN: 0345435419 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 27 November, 2001 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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