Culture news Red Cross specialists played in this cult scene from the Star Wars trilogy: the rebels had an advantage against the Empire
A look behind the scenes at some of cinema’s most iconic sequences with these secrets of making the Battle of Hoth from Star Wars Episode V.
An emblematic planet
All Star Wars fans obviously know the opening minutes of The Empire Strikes Back. The rebels have taken refuge on the cold and hostile planet Hoth, whose landscapes are covered by thick layers of snow to the horizon. An iconic location in the Star Wars universe where one of the best introductions to the saga takes place. But due to the snowstorm, the filming was not easy. For the forty years of the film celebrated in 2020, the site Fantha Tracks returned to this eventful start to filming based on the statements of Bjørn Jacobsen, then publicity manager in Norway for 20th Century Fox, who played a key role in the smooth running of this filming relocated to Finse, in his native country .
As he explained, the very particular atmosphere that we find in the film is in fact the result of chance. At the time, the scouting teams came across vast plains covered in snow, overlooked by a magnificent sun. But as soon as filming began, the crews were caught in the middle of a snowstorm, the most violent the country had experienced in nearly a century. A real difficulty, which nevertheless gives the film this unique atmosphere.
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The Red Cross strikes back
Beyond his role for Fox, Bjørn Jacobsen wore many hats during the filming of Finse. He was notably responsible for taking care of the main actors, having to ensure their travel, but also keeping them busy between two days of filming. Additionally, shortly after the main crew left, Jacobsen also had to take care of filming the additional sequences, including finding the necessary extras for those sequences.
Ultimately, the rebel soldiers we see on screen are in fact volunteers from the Norwegian Red Cross, people who knew the terrain very well and who therefore participated in the filming without too much difficulty. However, the participation of the Red Cross allowed several journalists to pose as volunteers in order to go to the scene and take photos of the sets and props. A security flaw which did not really have an impact on the smooth running of the project, but which is difficult to imagine today at a time when leaks are proliferating and major productions are doing everything to maintain control until the release of their films.
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