The Empire Strikes Back, Laserdisc, CBS/Fox video UK, 1985

The Empire Strikes Back came to Laserdisc in the UK in 1985. The film is in cropped fullscreen (apart from the binocular shot of the AT-ATs which is squeezed), spread across 2 sides with an unnecessary side-break notice at the end side 2. The struggling laserdisc format met with limited success in the UK, nevertheless, both sequels were issued by CBS/Fox in collaboration with local distributor SG records & video. Although referred to as "Laservision", it is the same format as Laserdisc. The proliferation of the Laserdisc format in the UK was small and these discs rarely show up on the second hand market. Particularily the sequels are hard to come by. I've never come by a set in satisfactory physical condition, and these discs are prone to so-called "Laser rot" as well. My two copies were bought in 2003 and 2009, and still seem to be play fine as of 2025, but who knows how long that will last?

Assorted screenshots:

Copyright notice	Company logo	Title card (Squeezed)	Opening crawl (Cropped)
Binoculars (Cropped)	Binoculars (Squeezed)	On Dagobah	Side-break notice
Matte painting	Duel	Falcon dish in frame	End credits