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The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 American epic space opera film in the Star Wars series, directed by Irvin Kershner with a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, and based on a story by George Lucas. Featuring an ensemble cast, the film recounts the battle between the malevolent Galactic Empire led by the Emperor, and the Rebel Alliance led by Princess Leia. Luke Skywalker trains to master the Force so he can confront the powerful Sith lord, Darth Vader. The Empire Strikes Back faced production difficulties, including actor injuries, illnesses, fires, and financing issues, as costs rose to $30.5 million from an initial budget of $8 million. This highly anticipated sequel became the highest-grossing film of 1980. Its reception was mixed because of the darker and more mature tone, but it has been reassessed as the best film in the series, and has been listed among the greatest films of all time. It has had a significant impact on filmmaking and popular culture. (Full article...)

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On this day

May 4: Youth Day in China; Yom HaZikaron in Israel (2022); Literary Day in Taiwan; Star Wars Day

Parliament House, Valletta

1493 – Pope Alexander VI issued the papal bull Inter caetera, establishing a line of demarcation dividing the New World between Spain and Portugal.
1776 – American Revolution: The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations became the first of the Thirteen Colonies to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown.
1942 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Allied naval forces at the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first fleet action in which aircraft carriers engaged each other.
1982 – Falklands War: HMS Sheffield was struck by an Exocet missile, killing 20 sailors and leading to its sinking six days later—the first Royal Navy ship sunk in action since World War II.
2015 – The Parliament of Malta moved from the Grandmaster's Palace to the purpose-built Parliament House (pictured).

Herman II of Swabia (d. 1003)
Franklin Carmichael (b. 1890)
Amos Oz (b. 1939)

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Today's featured picture

The Sheldonian Theatre is a theatre in Oxford, England, designed by Christopher Wren and built from 1664 to 1669 for the University of Oxford. Used for music concerts, lectures and university ceremonies, the building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury, the chancellor of the university at the time, and the project's main financial backer. According to Wren's son, the design was inspired by Sebastiano Serlio's 16th-century engraving of the D-shaped Theatre of Marcellus erected in Rome in the 1st century BC. The ceiling, partly depicted in this photograph of the theatre's interior, consists of thirty-two oil-on-canvas panels originally painted by Robert Streater, King Charles II's court painter, and depicts an allegory of Truth descending upon the Arts and Sciences and expelling ignorance from the university.

Photograph credit: David Iliff

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