Movie director Irvin Kersner recently passed away at the age of 87. Kershner was best known as the director of the fifth episode in the Star Wars saga, The Empire Strikes Back. Aside from his dabblings in the galaxy far, far, away, Kersh (as he was known to his friends) was at one time one of the finest genre directors in the industry. Through films like: Eyes of Laura Mars, James Bond flick Never Say Never Again, Robocop 2, and of course, The Empire Strikes Back, Kersh branded these typical genre efforts with a sense of class, sophistication, and smarts that most other genre films lacked; making genre adventures and thrillers that, much like the films of Alfred Hitchcock, could be taken seriously.
As cheesy as it sounds, I don't know if I'd be the same person I am if it wasn't for Irvin Kershner. I never knew the man personally, but I knew his work. The Star Wars films, in particular The Empire Strikes Back (my favorite movie of all-time, by the way), is what made me want to pursue film as a career, and as a filmmaker, I am still aspiring to Kersh's work within that film. I've argued this before, but there is no other movie in the history of the movies that is so well directed; the performances from the actors are spot on, each and every shot has meaning and looks just as remarkable as the next, and the pacing of the storytelling is picture perfect. What The Empire Strikes Back is to me, is not a movie that I envy, but a movie that I aspire to. The movie is so perfect in every way, I can only hope to someday make a movie that I can consider to be on the same level with Empire, and that is all thanks to Kersh, a movie legend who will greatly be missed. May the Force be with him...
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