Author Archives: Simon Towers

Empire Quad

Revisiting . . .The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

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We live in an age of instant gratification; the 21st century world waits for nothing.

If a sequel, tie in or teaser trailer isn’t released within a year of the original then you’ve missed the boat. Moviegoers had to wait three years before another visit to a galaxy far, far away with nothing in between but a bunch of plastic figures and your own imagination to continue the saga. But when the Empire recovered to rear its ugly head, it was well worth the wait and, just as A New Hope changed the cinematic landscape, The Empire Strikes Back changed the direction of sequel making…

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A New Hope 1977

Revisiting . . . Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

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“A long time ago . . . in a galaxy far, far away . . .”

For me, and many others, that ‘long time ago’ was a childhood defined by the exploits of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and their Guardians of the Galaxy style, dysfunctional group of androids, wookies, rapscallions and royalty. That single line also exemplifies the ‘Once Upon a Time’ introduction of many a fairy tale as our young farm boy, who dreams of joining the rebellion, suddenly finds himself rescuing the princess and defeating the evil wizard . . .

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Revisiting . . . Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

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Despite a mixed critical reception for the culturally offensive ‘Temple of Doom’, audiences’ lapped up the experience of a third Indiana Jones movie.

After a brief hiatus to focus on more serious fare in the form of The Colour Purple, Empire of the Sun and Always, a third instalment was always going to be an irresistible draw for Spielberg, Lucas, Ford, and an audience hungry for more…

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Revisiting . . . Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

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The beauty of coming up with a character who was originally conceived as James Bond without the gadgets is that you can treat him like Bond.

As long as you can come up with a situation, a new location, some new characters and a new dilemma within which to place your hero, then you have the grounding for a new film. There is no need to reference a previous film in order for the formula to be effective. That is clearly what Spielberg and Lucas had in mind with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom…

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Revisiting . . . They Live (1988)

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John Carpenter enjoyed considerable success throughout the late 70s and 80s, working within low budgets and tight schedules to produce unlikely box office hits that contradict their meagre outlay.

Though he is primarily seen as a director of horror movies, his science fiction releases represent some of his strongest work, harking back to the good ol’ days of the 50s with strong political leanings…

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