Impeccable Scenes: "The Empire Strikes Back" (1980)

On Bespin's Cloud City, in a class three chamber, carbon freezing is used primarily as a way to capture Tibanna gas for transportation off-world.

Tibanna gas is commonly used as a conducting agent in blasters and other energy weapons and people paid handsomely for Baron Administrator Lando Calrissian's expert services.

He had the market cornered and he was finally making an honest living while deflecting the Mining Guild and the eyes of the Empire.

Even though Calrissian complained about having "supply problems of every kind and labor difficulties", he was proud to be a responsible businessman, and as he said:

"It's the price you pay for being successful."

Carbon freezing was never supposed to be used on living objects...until Darth Vader "suggested" the idea to Calrissian.

Originally, the chamber's function was to capture and carbon freeze Luke Skywalker for his journey to the Emperor and presumably the Dark Side.

Darth Vader, however, decided to test it...

...on Captain Solo.



Carbon steam billows in all directions as the mighty Chewbacca, with a dismembered C-3P0 strapped to his back, anchors the procession that is led by the formidable Boba Fett.

Princess Leia Organa and a bound Captain Han Solo follow Boba Fett up a platform as they are basked in an ominous blue back light.

We see a full shot of a carbon-freezing chamber. A huge mechanical tong retracts toward the ceiling. Lando Calrissian looks directly into the pit of the chamber.

Steam is everywhere.

Stormtroopers appear at the margins of the frame as the procession nears Lando's position.

The notorious mechanically-assisted breathing of Darth Vader invades the full shot as he makes his presence known.

Han Solo asks Lando what's going on and Lando breaks the news that he is being put into carbon freeze.

A two-shot of Han and Leia looking at each other as they are separated in the background by Darth Vader and Boba Fett.

"The Empire will compensate you if he dies," Vader assures Fett.

Chewbacca lets out a wild howl and attacks the Stormtroopers approaching Han.

Boba Fett aims his weapon at Chewbacca but Darth Vader lowers it in order to avoid further mayhem.

Han calms down Chewbacca and reminds him to save his strength as Stormtrooopers bind Chewbacca's hands (which begs the question, Why didn't they do that in the first place? After all, he is a Wookie, he can pull the arm off a gundark, and last time I checked, he does have a life debt with the man you are attempting to carbon freeze!).

Leia shoots a look over to Darth Vader. She is terrified and she back pedals. Maybe she is remembering how Vader tortured her with that interrogation droid on the Death Star? Or maybe Vader is probing her mind?

Han tells Chewbacca that he has to take care of Leia as she stands by Chewbacca's side.

Han then looks at Leia and they passionately kiss.

Han is forcefully removed by Stormtroopers.

"I love you."

"I know."

The Ugnaught engineers unbound Han's hands.

He looks down into the abyss.

The hydraulic platform slowly descends.

Chewbacca howls.

Lando casts a sympathetic eye to Leia and Chewbacca.

Han continues to lock eyes with Leia.

Chewbacca's howl gets louder.

Darth Vader gives an Ugnaught the signal.

Han winces in pain as carbon freeze pours all over is body.

Steam rises in a flourish.

Appearing beyond the steam is the twisted visage of Darth Vader, the Death's Head, accompanied by his mechanically-assisted breathing.

The mechanical tong locks onto the carbonite.

Chewbacca lets out his final lament.

Lando glares at Darth Vader and then focuses his attention on the rising tong.

Chewbacca whimpers. Leia embraces him.

Two Ugnaughts approach a rectangular monolith. They tilt over the monolith, it crashes to the ground with a thud, to reveal...

...Han Solo, encased in carbonite.

Leia instinctively grabs Chewbacca's arm.

Close-up of Han Solo's frozen, ghastly face.

Leia doesn't look away.

Lando bends down. He is face to face with his old buddy.

C-3PO explains...

"...they've encased him in carbonite. He should be quite well-protected, if he survives the freezing process, that is."

Lando adjusts a readout on the carbonite side bar.

Full shot of Lando, bending over Han, his shoulders pinched with Darth Vader and Boba Fett towering over him in the background.

"Well, Calrissian, did he survive?" asks Darth Vader.

"Yes, he's alive. And in perfect hibernation," Lando reluctantly answers.

Darth Vader tells Boba Fett that Han is now his property. He tells the Ugnaughts to reset the chamber for Luke Skywalker.

An officer enters the scene and tells Darth Vader that Luke has landed.

Everything is going as planned.

Lando walks over to Leia and grabs her arm. Chewbacca pulls her back.

"Calrissian, take the princess and the Wookie to my ship," Vader orders.

"You said they'd be left in the city under my supervision," Lando replies.

"I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further," Vader warns.

Lando's hand instinctively goes to his throat as he turns to Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO.

Leia continues to look at Han.

Chewbacca whimpers.

Medium-shot of Han. His hands are palm-up in a gesture of peace.

Shot of Darth Vader leaving the chamber.

Lando looks at Lobot, his trusty cyborg.

Lobot returns Lando's stare.

Lando knows what he has to do next. His path to redemption has begun.

He has to give up the responsible life he worked so hard to achieve.

He has to return to the fringes of the Galaxy.

He has to sacrifice his neutral position in the galactic conflict and join the fight against the Empire.

He has to pick a side.

-------------------------

This is one of my favorite scenes of all-time. It just has so many layers and it is critical to the story.

The heroes have hit rock bottom, compounded with Luke's defeat and loss of his right-hand moments later, and you, the audience, just watched your favorite heroes get their butts kicked over two climactic hours.

The filmmakers gave you a hint of this in: a) the title, duh, and b) the opening sequence, when Luke Skywalker, who you knew before this as a wide-eyed-farmer who turned into a galatic hero, gets knocked unconscious by a wampa on the ice-planet, Hoth.

The carbon-freezing scene is perfect. From the lighting (the blue perimeter background, the reds, the steam, the lowlit faces and the hard shadows) to the performances of the actors (Lando's eyes, in particular) to the pacing of the editing and shot selection/blocking of the director, Irving Kershner.

The scene reaches a level of perfection that can only be described as...

...Impressive. Most impressive.