Star Wars Episode V tops greatest movies poll
Directed by Irvin Kershner, the second installment in the Star Wars franchise beat off firm favourites such as The Lord of the Rings and Jaws to clinch the top spot.
The Empire survey asked more than 250,000 movie aficionados to rate 301 titles.
Epic mafia drama The Godfather came in second place, followed by Batman thriller The Dark Knight, while The Shawshank Redemption and cult film Pulp Fiction completed the top five.
Star Wars creator George Lucas said it was a "privilege" to see his 1980 film come out on top. He told Empire: "It's soulful, but in a different way from Episode IV. It's a little bit more adult. I'm more of a goofy director.
"Star Wars skews slightly younger than you'd expect; it was a film for 12-year-olds. Empire's like that but a bit of the goofiness has been shaved off it. Kershner was much more of a serious person. He loved the whole religious aspect of it, Luke learning the Force."
Empire's editor-in-chief, Mark Dinning, said he was "delighted, if not surprised" that Star Wars had won gold. He added that it "retains all of its power, wit and spectacle".
He said: "With Star Wars very much back in the current conversation with JJ Abrams shooting Episode VII, this is a timely reminder of the power of Star Wars to capture the imagination of film fans the world over.
"It may be set in a galaxy far far away, but this is a series of movies that will always be very close to our hearts. And, for now at least, The Empire Strikes Back is this indelible franchise at the very top of its game."
Episode VII, which is currently in production, will see the return of original cast members including Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, as well as new arrivals John Boyega, Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver.
It is scheduled for release in December 2015.
Greatest movies of all time: 11-100
Blade Runner
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Goodfellas
Fight Club
The Godfather Part II
Avengers Assemble
Back to the Future
Jurassic Park
Aliens
Apocalypse Now
Alien
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Matrix
The Big Lebowski
Schindler’s List
Casablanca
Gladiator
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
There Will Be Blood
American Beauty
Lawrence of Arabia
The Usual Suspects
Citizen Kane
Forrest Gump
Gravity
Heat
Seven
The Breakfast Club
Die Hard
It’s a Wonderful Life
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Once Upon a Time in the West
Vertigo
Taxi Driver
Skyfall
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Magnolia
Drive
Pan’s Labyrinth
12 Angry Men
Gone with the Wind
The Shining
A Clockwork Orange
The Departed
Leon
Seven Samurai
Toy Story
Memento
Trainspotting
OldBoy
Titanic
Ghostbusters
The Thing
ET the Extra-Terrestrial
The Lion King
The Silence of the Lambs
Amelie
Raging Bull
Psycho
Rear Window
The Dark Knight Rises
Lost in Translation
Stand By me
Reservoir Dogs
Saving Private Ryan
The Third Man
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
LA Confidential
Some Like it Hot
Inglorious Basterds
Spirited Away
North by Northwest
Donnie Darko
The Wolf of Wall Street
Django Unchained
The 400 Blows
City of God
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Serenity
True Romance
Withnail and I
Fargo
Kill Bill: Vol 1
Rocky
Singin’ In The Rain
Almost Famous
No Country For Old Men
The Blues Brothers
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
The Independent
