Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Actor on Why Producer Gary Kurtz is an Unsung Hero

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, or Episode V if you have a hard time remembering names, is often considered to be the best movie in this franchise, despite some of the reviews that were released at the time. It's safe to assume that the divisive The Last Jedi will face a similar type of renaissance but I digress. When The Empire Strikes Back is brought up, fans who invested in all the DVDs, Blu-Rays, and interviews will tell you that there are actually three directors; Irvin Kershner, the credited director, George Lucas, of course, and producer Gary Kurtz.

During an interview with SyFy Wire, which is weird since Star Wars is not a sci-fi movie, John Morton, who played Luke Skywalker's gunner during the Battle of Hoth, revealed that Kurtz is an unsung hero, claiming that he played a major role in how certain scenes played out. It's one of many interesting takes from this fairly long Star Wars retrospective.

"Gary was a conscientious objector, a Marine corps combat cameraman, and had a different take. Kershner would direct the close-ups and the acting scenes. George was directing me as an editor. He wanted to know what I was looking at on the blue screen. And then Gary was looking at things from the standpoint of how he experienced filming combat."

It seems like fans will just keep discovering new things about The Empire Strikes Back since LucasFilm and Disney will do what it takes to make sure that Star Wars is remembered forever and ever. Hopefully, people will realize that it isn't just a singular vision that makes a movie great but everyone working on it as well.

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is now available on Disney+ and various digital stores.

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