RIP Irvin Kershner

Irvin Kershner, director of The Empire Strikes Back, has passed away at the age of 87. I'm saddened by the passing of Kershner more than I normally would be for a person I've never met, perhaps because I owe a debt of thanks to him for the path I've chosen to take.

One of the first films I can recall seeing is The Empire Strikes Back. It was definitely my first Star Wars film. It had been recorded off television, and my copy started with a Tauntaun coming over a hill and Luke Skywalker spotting a Probe droid crashing through his Macrobinoculars. Talk about thrust right into the story... I had absolutely no bearing for any of this, but does that matter to a five year old? I was transported to another galaxy, shown miraculous things, fell in love with the Millennium Falcon and believed Light Sabres were real. My love affair with Science-Fiction, Space Opera and all things Fantastic was born.



While you could attribute all of that to George Lucas, Irvin Kershner was possibly the first director whose name I learnt. His chapter in the saga will always be the best, fraught with tension and adventure, mysticism and danger, romance and darkness. As much as the rest of the series is remembered as a bombastic flight of fancy, The Empire Strikes Back is quiet and considered in its pacing. It is the moments before the storm; a Rebel Trooper in the trenches before the ground breaking and still awe-inspiring Battle of Hoth, Han & Leia in the cramped quarters of the Falcon, Vader overlooking the Falcon's escape from Besbin with palpable regret.

None of the other Star Wars films (love them as much as I do), contain these kind of nuances or delicate character moments delivered so sincerely. I've always assumed Irvin Kershner had a lot to do with that.



So colour me not surprised to learn that Kershner was one of Lucas' teachers. He also tells a good story.



Sometimes the Journeyman director, the ones that go largely unsung, are better than you think. Kershner was not a puppet of Lucas, he was instrumental in one of the most iconic Star Wars and Harrison Ford scenes (the 'I Know' reply), and his greatest contribution to pop-culture 'The Empire Strikes Back, is why I'm a filmmaker. I hope he's at one with the Force (and forgives the reference) and knows his work will always be remembered