Return of the Jedi
| Return of the Jedi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Richard Marquand |
| Written by | George Lucas (story and screenplay) and Lawrence Kasdan (screenplay) |
| Produced by | Howard Kazanjian, George Lucas, Rick McCallum (special edition) |
| Starring | Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams |
| Music by | John Williams |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Running time | 134 min. (original version); 135 min. (special edition) |
| Budget | $32,500,000 |
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is the sixth and final chapter (but the third to be released) of George Lucas's Star Wars film series. It debuted in 1983, and was re-released with changes in 1997 and 2004. A 3-D release is planned for 2007.
Opening crawl
- Episode VI
- RETURN OF THE JEDI
- Luke Skywalker has returned to
- his home planet of Tatooine in
- an attempt to rescue his
- friend Han Solo from the
- clutches of the vile gangster
- Jabba the Hutt.
- Little does Luke know that the
- GALACTIC EMPIRE has secretly
- begun construction on a new
- armored space station even
- more powerful than the first
- dreaded Death Star.
- When completed, this ultimate
- weapon will spell certain doom
- for the small band of rebels
- struggling to restore freedom
- to the galaxy....
Plot summary
Please note this summary is based upon the theatrical release version, and not on the 2004 re-release.
Return of the Jedi takes place in approximately 4 ABY, one year after the events of The Empire Strikes Back. The Empire is working on the construction of a second Death Star, which is to be more powerful than the first one.
R2-D2 and C-3PO arrive on Tatooine with a holographic message from Luke pleading Jabba the Hutt to release Han Solo, who is being held prisoner in carbonite by the gangster, but the droids end up slaves. That evening, Princess Leia, disguised as a bounty hunter, arrives with "prisoner" Chewbacca to collect a bounty from Jabba. Jabba sends Chewie to the prisons. That night, Leia removes her disguise and frees Solo from the carbonite, only to be overseen by Jabba. Both Solo and Leia are captured.
The next morning, Luke arrives to make one final plea to Jabba to release Solo, but Jabba orders Luke to be thrown into the pit of the Rancor monster. Luke overpowers the Rancor, but is captured by Jabba's minions. As punishment, Jabba commands Luke and his friends to be destroyed by the Sarlacc.
Luke and his companions approach the Pit of Carkoon. With the help of R2-D2, Luke retrieves a lightsaber. A large battle ensues. Boba Fett falls into the Sarlacc Pit, and Jabba is choked to death by Leia. Luke and crew manage to escape just before Jabba’s Sail Barge explodes. Luke and R2-D2 head for Dagobah to return to Yoda. The rest of the crew departs for the rendezvous point where the Rebel Alliance is assembling.
Meanwhile, Emperor Palpatine arrives on the Death Star. As he and Darth Vader walk past the thousands of Imperial troops assembled in the hangar bay, they discuss the plot to turn Luke to the Dark Side.
Luke and R2 arrive on Dagobah to find Yoda ill. Luke has returned to complete his training, but Yoda says no further training is required. All that remains for Luke is to confront Vader. Yoda then reveals that Vader is indeed Luke's father. The Jedi Master gives one last mention of wisdom to Luke before he dies.
As Luke approaches his X-wing, the spirit form of Ben Kenobi confirms that Vader was once Anakin Skywalker, a former Jedi who turned to the Dark Side. Kenobi also reveals that Luke has a twin sister, hidden from Luke at birth as protection from the Emperor. Luke senses that his sister is Princess Leia.
At the rendezvous point, the Rebel Alliance discusses the plan to attack the Death Star. As part of the plan, Luke and his companions must penetrate the shield generator on the moon of Endor to deactivate the shield that protects the Death Star.
The crew land on Endor only to be discovered by Stormtroopers. A speeder bike chase ensues, resulting in Leia being separated from Han and Luke. Leia is awakened by an Ewok, one of Endor's forest creatures.
Luke, Han, Chewie, and the droids fall into a trap set by Ewoks, who discover C3PO and treat him as their god. The droid's friends are taken prisoner. Luke cleverly uses the Force to get the Ewoks to set them free. The Ewoks agree to join the fight against the Empire.
Luke decides the time has come for him to leave Endor and face Darth Vader. He reveals the truth to Leia: That she is his sister and Vader is their father.
Luke surrenders peacefully to the Empire, and unsuccessfully tries to convince Vader to abandon the Dark Side. They go to the Death Star and meet the Emperor, who reveals that he coordinated the Rebels finding the secret plans and locating the shield generator so that the Alliance can fall into a trap.
On Endor, the Rebels enter the shield generator, only to be taken prisoner by waiting Imperial forces. Solo and company are led out of the bunker, but the Ewoks begin their attack. A battle begins with the Rebels and Ewoks against the Empire.
The Rebel fleet emerges from hyperspace for the battle, but discovers the shield is still up. An intense space battle begins as the Imperial fleet fights a holding action to prevent the Rebels from running for deep space, while the Rebel fleet battles to give the surface party more time to complete their mission. The Death Star is revealed to be fully operational. To decrease ship casualties the rebel fleet decides to attack the Imperial fleet at point blank range, judging that the Emperor will not fire upon his own ships.
On the Death Star, Luke attacks the Emperor fueled by anger, only to be deflected by Vader. Vader senses in his son's mind that Luke has a sister. Vader intends to turn her to the Dark Side if Luke won't, but Luke responds viciously, cutting off Vader's right hand. The Emperor encourages Luke to kill his father so the young Jedi can take Vader's place at his side, but Luke controls his anger and throws aside his lightsaber. He declares himself a Jedi.
Han, Leia and Chewbacca regain access to the bunker. They plant explosives and escape the bunker before its destruction. With the shield down, the Death Star can be attacked.
Realizing that Luke cannot be turned to the Dark Side, the Emperor uses Force lightning against him to deliver the final blow. Vader is deeply affected by the sight of his son dying. Thus, the dramatic redemption of Anakin Skywalker begins as the former Dark Lord lifts the Emperor, and despite the deadly Force lightning surging through his suit, he drops his former master into a chasm, killing him.
Meanwhile, in an intense battle, Lando leads Wedge and his fighter group into the bowels of the Death Star followed by TIE Fighters. Upon having casualties, the group decides to split up and half of the fighters returns to the surface. Other Rebel starships and fighters attack at point blank range the Executor, leading to the Imperial flagship's bridge shields collapsing, before an out of control A-wing destroys the command deck and the Super Star Destroyer crashes into the surface of the battle station. The destruction of the Executor causes panic on the Death Star as Imperial personnel scramble to escape pods and shuttles, knowing that the battle is lost.
Realizing there is no hope for his survival, Anakin asks Luke to take his mask off so he can look upon his son with his own eyes. Luke removes the helmet, revealing the pale face of his father. Anakin says Luke was right about him, and asks him to tell his sister the same. With that, Anakin Skywalker, the former Lord Darth Vader, dies.
Lando and Wedge Antilles, now the only remaining Rebel fighters inside the Death Star, fire at the super weapon's main reactor, causing its collapse. Luke, with the remnants of his father Anakin, escapes the Death Star, and moments later, so do Wedge and Lando just before the Death Star explodes.
Sensing that Leia has feelings for Luke, Han tells her he will not interfere. Leia divulges that Luke is her brother. Han and Leia engage in a passionate kiss.
That evening, Luke cremates what remains of Anakin Skywalker. The entire galaxy celebrates the death of the Emperor, the downfall of the Empire and the end of the Galactic Civil War. Amidst the celebrations, Luke catches sight of the spirit figures of Ben Kenobi, Yoda, and the redeemed Anakin Skywalker.
Cast
Official cast listing
- Luke Skywalker .... Mark Hamill
- Han Solo .... Harrison Ford
- Princess Leia .... Carrie Fisher
- Lando Calrissian .... Billy Dee Williams
- C-3PO .... Anthony Daniels
- Chewbacca .... Peter Mayhew
- Anakin Skywalker .... Sebastian Shaw
- The Emperor .... Ian McDiarmid
- Performing Yoda .... Frank Oz
- Voice of Darth Vader .... James Earl Jones
- Darth Vader .... David Prowse
- Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi .... Alec Guinness
- R2-D2 .... Kenny Baker
- Moff Jerjerrod .... Michael Pennington
- Admiral Piett .... Kenneth Colley
- Bib Fortuna .... Michael Carter
- Wedge .... Denis Lawson
- Admiral Ackbar .... Tim Rose
- General Madine .... Dermot Crowley
- Mon Mothma .... Caroline Blakiston
- Wicket .... Warwick Davis
- Paploo .... Kenny Baker
- Boba Fett .... Jeremy Bulloch
- Oola .... Femi Taylor
- Sy Snootles .... Annie Arbogast
- Fat Dancer .... Claire Davenport
- Teebo .... Jack Purvis
- Logray .... Mike Edmonds
- Chief Chirpa .... Jane Busby
- Ewok Warrior .... Malcom Dixon
- Ewok Warrior .... Mike Cottrell
- Nicki .... Nicki Reade
- Stardestroyer Controller #1 .... Adam Bareham
- Stardestroyer Controller #2 .... Jonathan Oliver
- Stardestroyer Captain #1 .... Pip Miller
- Stardestroyer Captain #2 .... Tom Mannion
- Jabba Puppeteers .... Toby Philpott , David Alan Barclay , Mike Edmonds
- Puppeteers .... Michael McCormick, Simon Williamson, Swim Lee, Richard Robinson, Deep Roy, Hugh Spirit, Michael Quinn
- Ewoks .... Margo Apostocos, Ray Armstrong, Eileen Baker, Michael H. Balham, Bobbie Bell, Patty Bell, Alan Bennett, Sarah Bennett, Pamela Betts, Dan Blackner, Linda Bowley, Peter Burroughs, Debbie Carrington, Maureen Charlton, William Coppen , Sadie Corrie, Tony Cox, John Cumming, Jean D'agostino, Luis De Jesus, Debbie Dixon, Margarita Fernandez, Phil Fondacaro, Sal Fondacaro, Tony Friel, Dan Frishman, John Gavam, Michael Gilden, Paul Grant, Lydia Green, Lars Green, Pam Grizz, Andrew Herd, J.J. Jackson, Richard Jones, Trevor Jones, Glynn Jones, Karen Lay, John Lummiss, Nancy Maclean, Peter Mandell, Carole Morris, Stacy Nichols, Chris Nunn, Barbara O'laughlin, Brian Orenstein, Harrell Parker Jr., John Pedrick, April Perkins, Ronnie Phillips, Katie Purvis, Carol Read, Nicholas Read, Diana Reynolds, Daniel Rodgers, Chris Romano, Dean Shackenford, Kiran Shah, Felix Silla, Linda Spriggs, Gerald Staddon, Josephine Staddon, Kevin Thompson, Kendra Wall, Brian Wheeler, Butch Wilhelm
- Jedi Rocks dancers .... Dalyn Chew, Celia Fushille-Burke, Mercedes Ngoh, Jennifer Jaffe (special edition)
Non-credited roles
- Arvel Crynyd .... Hilton McRae
2004 DVD non-credited roles
- Anakin Skywalker (at the ending celebration as a force ghost) .... Hayden Christensen
- Voice of Gungan .... Ahmed Best
Overview
The film's direction is credited to the late Richard Marquand, but reports have suggested that George Lucas was still heavily involved in the shooting of the film, and at least directed some of the second unit work. According to the book Empire Building, Lucas was on set for filming of Return of the Jedi almost every day, sometimes directing scenes himself, or instructing Marquand how he should shoot. It also claims Lucas took over most of the post-production duties. However, some writers have noticed differences between Richard Marquand's shooting style and that of Lucas's own work. The screenplay was written by Lawrence Kasdan and Lucas (with uncredited contributions by David Webb Peoples), based on Lucas' story. Howard Kazanjian served as producer.
The film was originally named Revenge of the Jedi until it was pointed out that revenge is contrary to the Jedi code, though many speculate that the change was always planned to throw off fans (as well as producers of counterfeit merchandise). It has also been claimed that Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was originally subtitled The Vengeance of Khan, and that the title was changed because of its similarity to Revenge of the Jedi. In any event, the original title was partially reused for Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
During production, in an attempt to maintain secrecy and disguise the filming from fans and press, it was alleged it was a horror film entitled Blue Harvest and utilizing the slogan "Horror Beyond Imagination".
Reaction
In retrospect, Return of the Jedi is regarded by most critics and Star Wars fans as the weakest of the original Trilogy. Some indication of public opinion can be gained by its ranking in the IMDB Top 250 films list; as of July 2005 it was ranked 125 in the Top 250, compared with A New Hope at number 8, and The Empire Strikes Back at number 9.
While the action sequences are well-regarded, including the speeder bike chase on the Endor moon and the climactic space battles, the battle between the Ewoks and the Stormtroopers remains a longtime fan complaint about the movie. The Ewoks are regarded as a deliberately cute merchandising opportunity, and the idea that a community of creatures whose technology was essentially Stone Age could, with minimal assistance, defeat the Empire's "best troops", is thought of as stretching credibility even in a fantasy adventure story.
Contemporary critics seem to have been largely complimentary; in 1983, Roger Ebert gave the film a four-star rating at its 1983 release, and Gary Arnold at the Washington Post described it as "a triumph".
Re-release
As with the other two films of his original Trilogy, Lucas issued a Special Edition of Return of the Jedi in 1997, making a number of cosmetic changes and additions, including replacing a piece of music from the closing scene.
On September 21, 2004 the three original movies were finally released on DVD. There were a few further minor changes to the film on this release - such as sound effects and improvements to the visual quality of the film.
During the sequence when the Emperor's defeat at Endor is announced to the galaxy, an additional scene showing the celebrations on Theed, Naboo was shown. A Gungan (possibly Jar Jar Binks) can be heard yelling "We-sa free" in this scene.
Sebastian Shaw played Anakin in the hanger bay and in the final celebration scene in the original film. In the DVD release, Shaw continued to be Anakin in the hanger bay scene. However, during the final celebration, Shaw was replaced by Hayden Christensen. In this release Anakin appeared as he did in Episode III.
Star Wars Expanded Universe
In the Star Wars Expanded Universe, the Battle of Endor was not the end of the story. The destruction of the Death Star, the loss of Vader and the Emperor, and the defeat of the Imperial fleet represented a major turning point in the war. Within five years, well over half of what was Imperial space was under the control of the New Republic.
The war continued for another 15 years. The New Republic would be challenged by Imperial commanders, such as Grand Admiral Thrawn, Admiral Daala, Admiral Pellaeon, and Ysanne Isard. The New Republic would even be challenged by the Reborn Emperor - the spirit of Palpatine in a new clone body. But the New Republic would weather all these storms.
Fifteen years after the Battle of Endor Admiral Pellaeon and the other Imperial leaders realized that further military conflict with the New Republic would be fruitless. The remnants of the Imperial forces signed a peace treaty with the New Republic. The decades long Galactic Civil War was finally over.
As several of these stories were written during the period after Return of the Jedi hit theaters and before The Phantom Menace was made, numerous potential errors in the Expanded Universe continue to exist and several of the tales have been deemed apocryphal with regards to the continuity of the six films.
The character of Wicket was seen many times, along with other Ewoks, in: this movie, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi; the two Ewok TV movies, which were: Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: The Battle for Endor; and in an as-of-yet unreleased film of his own, Return of the Ewok, by the man who played him, Warwick Davis.
Trivia
- With a massive worldwide marketing campaign, Star Wars series artist Drew Struzan created the iconic and distinctive images for the movie posters and other advertising. (Ironically, in the film's release poster, Luke Skywalker is depicted holding a blue lightsaber- a lightsaber colour which does not appear in the film. His new lightsaber is green.)
- The space battle between the Rebel and Imperial fleets, and the starfighter attack on the Death Star, were well-regarded by critics.
- The first two Star Wars movies were adapted for National Public Radio in the early 1980s, but it was not until 1996 that a radio version of Return of the Jedi was heard. See Star Wars (radio) for details.
- A serious wardrobe problem was present in the film in that all Imperial characters, regardless of rank, are shown wearing identical rank insignia, being that of an Imperial Navy Commander. This was not recognized by the production staff until halfway through the film's shooting and the error remained uncorrected in the final version of the film. However, there are two extras wearing the rank of lieutenant in the scene where the Emperor arrives.
- The title had been changed from "Revenge of the Jedi" to Return of the Jedi just before release. Lucas had originally titled it Return of the Jedi, and restored it because he said that Jedi do not take revenge.
- George Lucas included the scene in which Yoda confirms that Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father because, after a discussion with a children's psychologist, he didn't want younger moviegoers to dismiss Vader's claim as a lie.
DVD release
Return of the Jedi was released on DVD in September 2004. It was bundled with A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back along with a bonus disc in a boxed set. It was digitally restored and remastered, with more changes made by George Lucas, detailed in List of changes in Star Wars re-releases.
