Like when they knocked down some walls in the Cloud City.
I feel very strongly about this.
Irvin Kershner chose to make it so the sets got more and more constricted and claustrophobic as the Empire closes in on the Rebels, to give the audience that same feeling of claustrophobia. Then George Lucas comes in and adds these CGI windows that don’t even look right, and mucks it all up.
For someone who moans about original visions so much, it’s pretty ironic that he disrespects Kershner’s original vision.
The discourse around this change can get so weird, too. It’s as if people think the lack of windows was an accident or something. Someone even told me once that there wasn’t any windows because of a technological limitation making ESB. They do realize there have been windows in movies since 1895, right? Hell, the unaltered cut of ESB had windows, just less of them.
For budget or time constraints, especially VFX shots, I can see why they went with significantly fewer windows on set over the original concept designs for Cloud City. Yet I do think there is the claustrophobic element to it as well, this was meant to be a prison for life for Leia and Chewbacca to spend out their days, so I understand wanting that limited small window or windowless feeling to it.
I think Kershner briefly talked about this in one of the commentaries, maybe the laserdisc commentary for Empire? I’d have to check to be certain.
They are also meant to be ill at ease at Cloud City, something is meant to “feel off” about the place, unsettling even, which is obviously revealed later.
Edit. I had a listen to the Empire laserdisc commentary but couldn’t find Kershner talking about it. So I’ve probably mixed it up with something else, or it is a false memory.