Twin Avalanches Trapped The Crew Of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Hoth seems like a terrible planet for a rebel station. Sure, it's far enough away from anything that the Empire would have a tough time finding it (not that it ultimately stopped them), but it's cold, dangerous, and brutal.
Those conditions weren't just fictional, however. The production for "Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back" shot the exterior scenes in Finse, Norway, with the battle scenes on nearby Hardangerjøkulen Glacier, and conditions weren't exactly favorable. Sure, it's got the right look, but Finse's average temperature in March when the Hoth scenes were filmed has highs around 25 degrees Fahrenheit and lows around 12 degrees Fahrenheit. That's just average, mind you, and not the only thing they were dealing with as they shot outside.
When "Empire" was filming, the weather was "awful," according to the book "The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (Enhanced Edition)" by J.W. Rinzler. In fact, there were two avalanches that trapped the cast and crew as well as a ton of other issues related to the weather. Director Irvin Kershner mentioned a very specific and pretty major problem the cold weather gave them, and it sounds absolutely terrible.
' ... we had two avalanches occur which sealed us off'
Shooting began on "Empire" on March 5, 1979, according to the book. The first scenes they did were set on Hoth, with Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker escaping from the Wampa's cave. They had Sno Cats to take everyone to the set since the conditions weren't ideal but when the day came, it was after a terrible weekend of weather that stopped trains running to Finse for two days because the snow tunnels leading to where they were, collapsed. According to Brian Johnson, special visual effects technician, that wasn't the worst of it. He said, "Adding to the hilarity, we had two avalanches occur which sealed us off from the railway line, stranding us for a few days."
So, that's not great. Not only that, but the scenes they were there to film had to be temporarily paused because the trench they made to shoot in was now covered in snow. Art director Alan Tomkins said:
"We had a lot of expensive dressings and pipes which were now buried 10 feet down. So we called on the help of a local gentleman who not only ran the local youth hostel, but who actually went out and found people if they were buried in avalanches. He came with something like a water-divining stick and he told us where to start digging. That was the first lesson learned: From that moment on, I was unable to prepare anything more than a few hours in advance of the unit."
I mean, that's not exactly the ideal way to shoot a film, right?
'You have to take a razor blade and slice the skin to get it off'
Irvin Kershner joked about the most difficult thing about the cold was going to the bathroom. "We had on seven layers of clothes," he said, "we were dying!" Anyone who has ever worn a one-piece snowsuit knows this feeling well. Bodily functions aside, Brian Johnson said the camera and film didn't fare well in the cold either because acetate film gets brittle and sharp.
Now, I'm not always a fan of CGI, but if this were made now, Hoth definitely seems like a candidate for it. They tried solutions like putting a rotating glass plate in front of the lens, but they had to find ways to keep the camera body warm, the eyepiece from clouding over, and hands covered so they didn't get them glued to the metal of the camera. "You have to take a razor blade and slice the skin to get it off," Kershner said of what happens if they were left bare.
They were even unable to climb to the top of the glacier they were shooting on, with only ropes and poles to guide them. Tape recorders wouldn't work and the altitude made it hard to move in the snow. In the end, it's a wonder these scenes were finished at all! I bet they were all wishing for Tauntauns by the end to get back to the hotel.
If you'd like to revisit "The Empire Strikes Back" and appreciate what the cast and crew went through in a new way, all the "Star Wars" TV shows and films are currently streaming on Disney+.