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Fails the Bechdel test

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

1980. Directed by Irvin Kershner, written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

0 / 3

Fails

  1. No 1. At least two women
    Fewer than two women characters.
  2. No 2. Who talk to each other
    Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other.
  3. No 3. About something besides a man
    Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.

Second opinion

Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 0 out of 3.

Poster for Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

The film

The legendary saga continues as the Rebel Alliance faces increasing challenges from the mighty Galactic Empire. Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia Organa confront new trials that test their courage, friendships, and beliefs. The Rebel Alliance has established a hidden base on the icy planet of Hoth, where they hope to regroup and plan their next moves against the Empire. Luke Skywalker receives a message from a familiar source, prompting him to seek further guidance in understanding his connection to the Force. Han Solo and Princess Leia's journey takes them on a dangerous path as they navigate a galaxy under Imperial control. Their actions and decisions lead to unforeseen consequences that will impact the fate of the Rebellion. Meanwhile, the dark presence of Darth Vader looms as he relentlessly pursues the Rebels while dealing with inner conflicts of his own.

Released
18 Jun 1980
Genres
Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Rated
PG
IMDb
8.7 / 10
Metascore
82 / 100
Awards
Won 1 Oscar. 27 wins & 21 nominations total
Elsewhere
View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

  • Women
  • Men
  • Not in the cast list
  • Bigger name, more lines
  1. Han 180 lines, man
  2. Luke 128 lines, man
  3. Leia 114 lines, woman
  4. Threepio 92 lines, man
  5. Lando 61 lines, man
  6. Vader 56 lines, man
  7. Yoda 36 lines, man
  8. Piett 23 lines, man
  9. Creature 21 lines, man
  10. Ben 15 lines, man
Full cast, 79 people
  • Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker
  • Harrison Ford as Han Solo
  • Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia
  • Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian
  • Anthony Daniels as C-3PO
  • David Prowse as Darth Vader
  • Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca
  • Kenny Baker as R2-D2
  • Frank Oz as Yoda (Voice)
  • Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi
  • Jeremy Bulloch as Boba Fett
  • Jason Wingreen as Boba Fett (voice - uncredited)
  • John Hollis as Lando's Aide
  • Jack Purvis as Chief Ugnaught
  • Des Webb as Snow Creature
  • Kathryn Mullen as Performing Assistant for Yoda
  • Marjorie Eaton as Emperor (uncredited)
  • Clive Revill as Emperor (voice)
  • Kenneth Colley as Admiral Piett
  • Julian Glover as General Veers
  • Michael Sheard as Admiral Ozzel
  • Michael Culver as Captain Needa
  • John Dicks as Captain Lennox
  • Milton Johns as Bewil
  • Mark Jones as Commander Nemet
  • Oliver Maguire as Cabbel
  • Robin Scobey as Lieutenant Venka
  • Bruce Boa as General Carlist Rieekan
  • Christopher Malcolm as Zev Senesca
  • Denis Lawson as Wedge Antilles
  • Richard Oldfield as Derek "Hobbie" Klivian
  • John Morton as Dak Ralter
  • Ian Liston as Wes Janson
  • John Ratzenberger as Major Derlin
  • Jack McKenzie as Cal Alder
  • Jerry Harte as Rebel Force Head Controller
  • Norman Chancer as Tamizander Rey
  • Norwich Duff as Jeroen Webb
  • Ray Hassett as Tigran Jamiro
  • Brigitte Kahn as Toryn Farr
  • Burnell Tucker as Wyron Serper
  • Bob Anderson as Imperial Officer (uncredited)
  • Lightning Bear as Stormtrooper (uncredited)
  • Richard Bonehill as Stormtrooper / Snowtrooper / Rebel Soldier / ... (uncredited)
  • John Cannon as Holographic Imperial Officer (uncredited)
  • Mark Capri as Officer M'kae (Captain Needa's Communications Officer) (uncredited)
  • Martin Dew as Cloud City Guard (uncredited)
  • Peter Diamond as Snowtrooper Gunner (uncredited)
  • Stuart Fell as Snowtrooper (uncredited)
  • Doug Robinson as Snowtrooper (uncredited)
  • Tony Smart as Snowtrooper (uncredited)
  • Alan Harris as Bossk / Bespin Security Guard (uncredited)
  • James Earl Jones as Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)
  • Mac McDonald as Rebel Pilot (uncredited)
  • Ralph McQuarrie as General McQuarrie (uncredited)
  • Ralph G. Morse as Stormtrooper / Imperial Comms Officer / Rebel Soldier (uncredited)
  • Terry Richards as Wampa (uncredited)
  • Treat Williams as Echo Base Trooper (uncredited)
  • Shaun Curry as Hoth Rebel Commander (uncredited)
  • Alan Austen as Stormtrooper/Snowtrooper
  • Jim Dowdall as Stormtrooper/Snowtrooper
  • Tom Egeland as Hoth Trooper (uncredited)
  • Alan Flyng as Stormtrooper (uncredited)
  • Trevor Butterfield as Blount / Stormtrooper (uncredited)
  • Mercedes Burleigh as Female Hoth Control Room Tech (uncredited)
  • Jane Busby as Ugnaught (uncredited)
  • Maurice Bush as Dengar (uncredited)
  • Tony Clarkin as Stormtrooper (uncredited)
  • Mike Edmonds as Ugnaught (uncredited)
  • Walter Henry as Rebel Technician on Hoth (uncredited)
  • Paul Jerricho as AT-AT Driver (uncredited)
  • Joe Johnston as Hoth Rebel (uncredited)
  • Steven Meek as Stormtrooper / Chewbacca / Treva Horme / Solomahal (uncredited)
  • Peter Roy as Snowtrooper (uncredited)
  • Stephanie English as Hoth Rebel Technician (uncredited)
  • Michael Leader as Imperial Crewman (uncredited)
  • Egbert Sen as Willrow Hood (uncredited)
  • Elaine Alexander as Emperor (uncredited)
  • Colin Hunt as Snowtrooper (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 6 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 4% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 278

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers
ScenesWomen's linesMen's lines
1 to 609
7 to 121146
13 to 18023
19 to 2404
25 to 30736
31 to 36022
37 to 4233
43 to 4815
49 to 5405
55 to 6002
61 to 6605
67 to 7207
73 to 7806
79 to 8403
85 to 9026
91 to 9606
97 to 10248
103 to 10805
109 to 114210
115 to 12016
121 to 126111
127 to 132615
133 to 13839
139 to 14415
145 to 1501272
151 to 156038
157 to 1621221
163 to 168013
169 to 174317
175 to 180025
181 to 1861130
187 to 19217
193 to 198254
199 to 204918
205 to 210630
211 to 216224
217 to 222615
223 to 228016
229 to 234013
235 to 24038
241 to 24621
247 to 25256
253 to 258010
259 to 26405
265 to 27004
271 to 27608
277 to 27800

The evidence

  • Straight from the script
  • Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 14 are women's.

116 lines from women, 692 from men.

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

7 women and 66 men in the cast. 2 women and 24 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

  • Women
  • Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 22 of 838. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 49 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

  • First line by a woman
  • Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 10% of the words (782), men 90% (6,739). Women have 14% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.

Exhibit D: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Exhibit E: behind the camera

3 of the 15 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 11% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by
Irvin Kershner (man)
Written by
Leigh Brackett (woman), Lawrence Kasdan (man)
Story by
George Lucas (man)
Produced by
Gary Kurtz (man), Howard G. Kazanjian (man)
Shot by
Peter Suschitzky (man)
Edited by
Marcia Lucas (woman), Paul Hirsch (man)
Music by
John Williams (man)
Production design by
Norman Reynolds (man)
Costumes by
John Mollo (man)
Cast by
Bob Edmiston (gender not listed), Irene Lamb (woman), Terry Liebling (gender not listed)

The crew, department by department

  • Other crew

    1 women, 18 men, 4 not listed

  • Production

    2 women, 7 men, 3 not listed

  • Costume & Make-Up

    1 women, 6 men, 3 not listed

  • Directing

    1 women, 8 men, 1 not listed

  • Sound

    1 women, 6 men, 2 not listed

  • Art

    0 women, 7 men

  • Visual Effects

    0 women, 6 men

  • Camera

    0 women, 1 men, 2 not listed

  • Women
  • Men
  • Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit F: how old the stars were

Women: 23 on average. Men: 41 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Carrie Fisher 23

Men

Mark Hamill 28, Anthony Daniels 34, Frank Oz 35, Peter Mayhew 36, Harrison Ford 37, Billy Dee Williams 43, David Prowse 44, Kenny Baker 45, Alec Guinness 66

Exhibit G: the money

It made 29.9 times what it cost.

Budget
$18 million
Box office
$538 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 278 scenes and 838 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works

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