The 8th Best All-Time Film

(5th 1973-1998) The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Star Wars (1977)
Return of the Jedi (1983)

I am known to cheat on this list from time to time by including more than one film on an entry. (Here at #8 will not be the last time I do this!). However, it is occasionally justified, and this is a good example. If pressed to say just one film, I would say “Empire,” and not just because it is the critical darling, or the best of the three. Empire Strikes Back was my very first Star Wars film. I saw it as a seven-year-old with no context. So, it definitely stands alone alright. But it is in the context of the overarching trilogy that it is one of the best films ever.

Also, there is... the best trailer ever?