1980 Hit Film Named 'Greatest Movie of All Time' Is a Sequel
What's your favorite Star Wars movie out of the bunch?
It may be hard to nail down, given that three trilogies have been released over the decades, along with spinoff and prequel films.
Or maybe it's an easy answer for lots of fans out there, going back to the original sci-fiaction movies that launched in the 1970s and into the '80s.
Die-hards may always have a soft spot for the original - AKA Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977). It was this groundbreaking space opera by George Lucas that launched the billion-dollar franchise, after all. It's no wonder that the American Film Institute, meanwhile, lists Star Wars: A New Hope at No. 15 on its list of 100 Greatest American Movies of All Time.
But what about the follow-up? There's a funny little moment in Scream 2 (1997) where Timothy Olyphant's character preaches to Jamie Kennedy's Randy that The Empire Strikes Back (1980) is superior to A New Hope due to the special effects and more.
Years later, the film-centric publication Empire Magazine ranked the "galaxy far, far away" sequel as the "greatest movie of all time" based on a 2014 fan poll, HuffPost reported at the time. Yes, The Empire Strikes Back even beat out The Godfather, which came in at No. 2 on the headline-making list.
Here's the rest of the top 10:
- The Empire Strikes Back
- The Godfather
- The Dark Knight
- The Shawshank Redemption
- Pulp Fiction
- Star Wars: A New Hope
- The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring
- Jaws
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Inception
As the movie nears 46 years since its May 21, 1980 release, The Empire Strikes Back also ranks on Rotten Tomatoes' list of 300 Best Movies of All Time. The critically acclaimed sequel brings back Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) as they face attack by the Imperial forces and its AT-AT walkers on the ice planet Hoth. While Han and Leia escape in the Millennium Falcon, Luke travels to planet Dagobah in search of Yoda's help to face Darth Vader.
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 9:40 AM.