← Apex Mountain

The Empire Strikes Back

1980 · directed by Irvin Kershner · 124 min
28,262 feet · Prominence
7th of 24,106 films scored
Not coveredThe 7th highest film on the mountain, and The Rewatchables has never done it.

How this film scores

Draw83

Lifetime worldwide gross $538m, re-releases included; about $1.44bn in 2026 money.

Rank77 of 11,051In 19801 of 84

How Draw works

Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office, on one global curve, and nothing else. It does not know whether a film was good.

Praise90

Awards claim half the headroom above the critics' score.

Critics88 baseAwards34 signal → +2 lift

Oscars2 won Sound, Special Achievement Academy Award2 nominated Production Design, Original Score
BAFTAs1 won Craft and other
How Praise works

Critics set the score; a tiered award record, Picture and Directing carrying the most weight, claims half the headroom above it. Praise is the verdict at the time; Legacy is the verdict since. This film is near critically unanimous and barely registers on awards, so there is little headroom for awards to claim. The score is the critics' verdict, nearly untouched.

Legacy95

Judged directly: Greatest twist, endlessly quoted, foundational.

Verdict95 of 100IMDb8.7 from 1.5mWikipedia63k views a monthAge46 years

On the listsNational Film Registryevidence, not an input to the score
Scored beside it · 5 of 4,039 films judged

If it does not belong in this company, the number is wrong.

How Legacy works

Legacy is a judgment, not a formula. A film can be adored by critics and culturally quiet, or lightly reviewed and permanently lodged in the culture, and no arithmetic over IMDb numbers tells the difference. Every signal behind it keeps updating.

draw 83 praise 90 legacy 95averages 89, placing it at28,262 ft
How the three become one number

Added, not multiplied, so a film transcendent on one pillar and weak on another is not zeroed out. A compression curve then squeezes the top, because the seven greatest films ever made should not be four thousand feet apart.

Whose apex this is

▲ Harrison Ford▲ Mark Hamill

In these careers — elevation for this film

Harrison Ford21,042 ftMark Hamill19,692 ftCarrie Fisher19,220 ftBilly Dee Williams18,681 ftKenny Baker17,854 ftJames Earl Jones17,677 ftTreat Williams17,675 ftFrank Oz17,671 ftAlec Guinness17,664 ftJulian Glover17,644 ftKathryn Mullen17,643 ftDenis Lawson17,638 ftMike Edmonds17,631 ft