The Empire Strikes Back

After the rebels have been brutally overpowered by the Empire on their newly established base, Luke Skywalker takes advanced Jedi training with Master Yoda, while his friends are pursued by Darth Vader as part of his plan to capture Luke.

Thirty years ago, the fall of the Iron Curtain was heralded in Europe as a new era of freedom and democracy. But for Russia, it marked the loss of an empire. Steve Rosenberg explores how Moscow views the tumultuous events of 1989 and how Vladimir Putin’s Russia is trying to regain its influence.

By the end of the 1970s, John Williams was already a legend among filmmakers and film-scoring buffs. But the success of Star Wars elevated him to something he probably could have scarcely imagined–bona fide pop-culture icon.