Not gonna apologize for spoiler for movies that are 30+ yrs old and kinda huge.
I was born in 1978… so while I’m a fan of the Star Wars movies, I never had the benefit of really NOT knowing that Vader was Luke (and Leia’s) father. By the time I was old enough to watch them, it was all pretty much out there.
But my question’s about another part of ESB… Luke crashes on Dagobah looking for Yoda. He tells weird little green guy hey I’m looking for Yoda, who’s this great warrior. Doesn’t realize that ooohsnap that little dude IS Yoda.
On first watch, did we (the audience) also say “Wow, that little green guy sure is silly, but maybe he’ll help us get to Yoda?” or did everyone walk in knowing “Luke, you dumb shit, that’s Yoda right there?”
Huh, I thought it would have been a bit of a surprise. One of the things that makes it work is how Yoda starts off loopy, but then reveals himself to be wise and serious.
Remember, this was back when Lucas still knew how to tell a story and the film was directed by someone who knew what he was doing. Film-making 101 teaches you to not waste screen-time on expensive muppets if they don’t bring something to the plot. (Lucas would totally forget this lesson in the next and subsequent movies, of course.) Add that to Luke’s know-it-all attitude and the reveal was plain as day.
When I first saw it, I was surprised it was Yoda. But I was very young. I saw it in the theater when it came out the first time and the taun-taun being cut open was the part that stood out more to me, especially because there was no blood (at least not red blood). I was also too young to “get” the whole “Luke’s head in Vader’s mask” cave scene which to me is now a big “duh, of course I know what that means.”
I was 13 and saw the film on opening night. It was as plain as day whom Yoda was from the start, and I wasn’t thinking of expensive muppets or anything like that.
I was 12 years old, or so when I saw it in its first release in cinemas in Australia. The penny didn’t drop for me until Yoda got Luke back to Yoda’s crib and started talking to himself about how unsuitable Luke was for training. I’m pretty slow (like Luke! Perhaps I’m a Jedi too? Hope against hope. But I’m probably too old for training?). And I don’t remember there being lots of spoiler activity in the media at the time (no internet, minimal movie commercials, not a lot of buzz in general).
I only realized about a half second before Luke. I was 6 when it came out. When Yoda says, “sigh I cannot teach him…” I got chills up and down my back.
“He’s small but powerful” - 6 yr old Bird
I don’t remember whether that reveal specifically was a surprise. What I do remember was that my sister had seen the movie before me, and had told me that there was an absolutely amazing surprise that would freak me out. She came with me when I went to see the movie, and every time something surprising happened, I would nudge her and say, “Is that it? Is that it?” and she would tell me “No, it’s much better than that!” When the big reveal finally happened, I new instantly that “that was it!”
Eh, it seems obvious because we know its a movie. Really, if your Luke and you crashland on a planet, what are the chances the first guy you run into happens to be the guy you came looking for, and you crashed within walking distance of his house? Its good movie logic because the director isn’t going to have Luke wander around the swamp for weeks, but its pretty unlikely IRL.
In any case, I’m pretty sure Yoda was on the cover of one of the big magazines soon after the movie came out, so I imagine a lot of people realized he was a major character from that.
My memory of it - which could be clouded; I was pretty young at the time - was that it was never meant to be anything of a surprise. I remember having merchandise, magazines and such, from the movie before I even saw it (and I saw it pretty early on) that showed who/what Yoda was.
Occasionally it’s good storytelling to have the audience a few steps ahead of the main character on minor things; it lets them feel smart and keeps them entrenched in the story. Obviously not on main plot points, but on things like this, it can be good. Lucas isn’t exactly a world-class story-teller, as he’s since proved to us, but I suspect that’s what he was doing here. I don’t think he ever meant this to be a huge reveal.
Here we go. Note it identifies him as a “sage”, and the magazine came out about two weeks after the movie hit theaters. I think he might’ve been on the cover of a big news magazine as well, identifying him as a “wizard”.
(I wasn’t born yet, but a few years ago my friends and I were playing with a website that gave “magazine covers in the week you were born”. One of them were born close to the release of Empire, hence my weirdly specific knowledge of Empire related magazine covers).
I was 19 and I was pretty sure that was going to be Yoda when he came on screen. What is interesting and funny in light of the prequels is that R2D2 knows who Yoda is and still gives him the shock when Yoda tries to grab Luke’s food/stuff.
Lucas is one of the best storytellers who ever lived. We are still talking about it three decades later. It is his directing ability that has gone to the shitter.
I don’t argue that he had some fantastic storytelling in him, at least at one point. But the prequels were every bit as shitty story-wise as they were directing-wise. That wasn’t just bad directing. It was a muddled mess with awful dialog, leaden plotting, and villians just as bland as the good guys. “One of the best storytellers who ever lived” would not have released any of that.
What crash? Luke didn’t crash, he just landed in a swampy area that collapsed under the weight of his X-Wing. And it made sense that he landed near Yoda’s home, because he was following the signal from the beacon left by the Dark Jedi Yoda tracked down and offed. Yoda had to stay near the site of the battle for his presence to be masked from the Emperor.