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Return of the Jedi

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Star Wars Episode VI:
Return of the Jedi
Directed byRichard Marquand
Written byStory:
George Lucas
Screenplay:
George Lucas
Lawrence Kasdan
Produced byHoward Kazanjian
George Lucas
Rick McCallum (SE)
StarringMark Hamill
Harrison Ford
Carrie Fisher
Billy Dee Williams
CinematographyAlan Hume
Edited bySean Barton
Marcia Lucas
Duwayne Dunham
Music byJohn Williams
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
May 25, 1983 (USA)
Running time
134 min. (original)
135 min. (Special Edition)
Country United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$32,500,000

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth and final in terms of internal chronology.

The film is set about one year after Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Luke Skywalker and members of the Rebel Alliance travel to Tatooine to rescue their friend Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt. Meanwhile, the Galactic Empire is planning to crush the Rebel Alliance with a more powerful Death Star while the Rebel fleet simultaneously prepares to launch a full-scale attack on this new space station. Luke confronts his father, Darth Vader, in a climactic duel before the evil Emperor Palpatine.

The film's original theatrical release was on May 25, 1983, receiving mostly positive reviews. Several home video and theatrical releases and revisions to the film followed over the next 20 years. It was the last Star Wars film released until Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 1999.

Production

With The Empire Strikes Back, George Lucas fought and won his battle for independence from Hollywood; like Empire, Lucas funded Return of the Jedi with his personal finances.[1] He also found his independence cost him a great deal. Having quit the Directors Guild of America during post-production of Empire, it was no longer possible for Lucas to hire his long-time friend, Steven Spielberg, as director.[1][2] David Lynch, with a Best Director nomination for the 1980 film The Elephant Man, was approached by Lucas to helm Return of the Jedi, but he declined in favor of directing Dune.[3] He eventually chose Welsh director Richard Marquand. Some reports have suggested that Lucas was so heavily involved in the shooting of Return of the Jedi that he could be considered a second or a co-director. It is likely that he directed much of the second unit work personally as the shooting threatened to go over schedule — this is a function Lucas had willingly performed on previous occasions when he had only officially been producing a film (i.e. Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Empire Strikes Back, More American Graffiti).[4][5] Lucas himself has admitted to being on the set frequently due to Marquand's relative inexperience with special effects.[1] Although the working relationship between Lucas and Marquand was said to be bad, Lucas has insisted that he and Marquand had a good working relationship and praised Marquand for being a "very nice person who worked well with actors".[6] Marquand did note that Lucas kept a conspicuous presence on set, joking, "It is rather like trying to direct King Lear - with Shakespeare in the next room!"[7]

The screenplay was written by Lawrence Kasdan and Lucas (with uncredited contributions by David Peoples and Marquand), based on Lucas's story. Unusually, the screenplay itself was not created until rather late in pre-production, well after a production schedule and budget had been created by Kazanjian and Marquand had been hired. Instead, the production team relied on Lucas's story and rough draft in order to commence work with the art department. When it came time to formally write a shooting script, Lucas, Kasdan, Marquand, and Kazanjian spent two weeks in conference discussing ideas; Kasdan used tape transcripts of these meetings to then construct the script.[8] The issue of whether Harrison Ford would return for the final film arose during pre-production. Unlike the stars of the previous two films, Ford had not signed on for two sequels. Ford's idea was to have Han Solo be killed through self-sacrifice. Kasdan concurred, saying it should happen near the beginning of the film to instill doubt as to whether the others would survive, but Lucas was vehemently against it and rejected the concept.[1] Yoda was originally not going to appear in the film, but Marquand strongly felt that returning to Dagobah was essential to resolve the dilemma raised by the previous film.[8] The inclusion led Lucas to insert a scene in which Yoda confirms that Darth Vader is Luke's father because, after a discussion with a children's psychologist, he did not want younger moviegoers to dismiss Vader's claim as a lie.[6] Many ideas from the original script were left out or changed. For instance, the Ewoks were going to be Wookiees,[9] the Millennium Falcon would be used in the arrival at the Forest moon of Endor instead of the Death Star attack, and Obi-Wan Kenobi would return from his existence in the Force and become alive again.[10]

The infamous teaser poster entitled Revenge of the Jedi.

Filming began on January 11, 1982 and lasted through May 20, 1982, a schedule six weeks shorter than The Empire Strikes Back. Kazanjian's schedule pushed shooting as early as possible in order to give Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) as much time as possible to work on effects, and left some crew members dubious of their ability to be fully prepared for the shoot.[11] Working on a budget of $32,500,000,[12] Lucas was determined to keep the budget from skyrocketing the way it had done on The Empire Strikes Back. Producer Howard Kazanjian estimated that using ILM (owned wholly by Lucasfilm) for special effects saved the production approximately $18,000,000.[12] However, the fact that Lucasfilm was a non-union company made acquiring shooting locations more difficult and more expensive, even though A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back were big hits.[1] The project was given the working title Blue Harvest with a tagline of "Horror Beyond Imagination." This disguised what the production crew was really filming from fans and the prying eyes of the press and also prevented price gouging by service providers.[1] Filming began with 78 days at Elstree Studios in England,[11] where the production occupied all nine stages. The shoot commenced with a scene later deleted from the finished film where the heroes get caught in a sandstorm as they leave Tatooine.[7] (This was the only major sequence cut from the film during editing.)[8] While attempting to film Luke Skywalker's battle with the rancor beast, Lucas insisted on trying to create the scene in the same style as Toho's Godzilla films by using a stunt performer inside a suit. The production team made several attempts, but were unable to create an adequate result. Lucas eventually relented and decided to film the rancor as a high-speed puppet.[1] In April, the crew moved to the Yuma Desert in Arizona for two weeks of Tatooine exteriors.[7] Production then moved to the redwood forests of northern California near Crescent City where two weeks were spent shooting the Endor forest exteriors, and then concluded at ILM in San Rafael, California for about ten days of bluescreen shots. One of two "skeletal" post-production units shooting background matte plates spent a day in Death Valley[11]. The other was a special Steadicam unit shooting forest backgrounds from June 15-17, 1982 for the speeder chase near the middle of the film.[13] Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown personally operated these shots as he walked through a disguised path inside the forest shooting at one frame per second (fps). By walking at about 5 mph and projecting the footage at 24 fps, the motion seen in the film appears as if it were moving at around 100 mph.[1]

Meanwhile, special effects work at ILM quickly stretched the company to its operational limits. While the R&D work and experience gained from the previous two films in the trilogy allowed for increased efficiency, this was offset by the desire to have the closing film raise the bar set by each of these films.[12] A compounding factor was the intention of several departments of ILM to either take on other film work or decrease staff during slow cycles. Instead, as soon as production began, the entire company found it necessary to remain running 20 hours a day on six day weeks in order to meet their goals by April 1, 1983. Of about 900 special effects shots,[11] all VistaVision optical effects remained in-house, since ILM was the only company capable of using the format, while about 400 4-perf opticals were subcontracted to outside effects houses.[14] Progress on the opticals was severely retarded for a time due to ILM rejecting about 100,000 feet of film when the film perforations failed image registration and steadiness tests.[11]

The film was originally titled Revenge of the Jedi, and the original teaser trailer for the film carried this moniker.[15] A released teaser poster created by Bill Pate containing the dismissed title has since become a rare collector's item.[16] However, a few weeks before the film's premiere, Lucas changed the title, saying "revenge" could not be used as Jedi do not seek revenge.[1] The 2005 prequel trilogy film Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith later alluded to the dismissed title of Revenge of the Jedi.[17]

Plot

File:Return of the jedi 1.jpg
Luke, Han and Chewbacca on a transport headed for their execution.

The opening crawl reveals that the Galactic Empire has been working on the construction of a new armored space station which is to be even larger and more powerful than the first Death Star. Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, Princess Leia Organa, C-3PO, and R2-D2 return to Tatooine in an attempt to rescue Han Solo from the gangster Jabba the Hutt. Leia, disguised as a bounty hunter named Boushh, attempts to secretly free Solo, who is encased in carbonite, only to be discovered and captured by Jabba soon after. Several days later, Luke arrives to make one final plea to Jabba to release Solo. Luke is also captured and is sent with Solo and Chewbacca to the Great Pit of Carkoon to be slowly consumed by the Sarlacc. With the help of R2-D2, Luke escapes and a large battle erupts. During the battle, Leia strangles Jabba and Solo accidentally knocks Boba Fett into the Sarlacc pit. Following this, Luke blasts Jabba's sail barge with its own deck cannon, and all of the heroes manage to escape before it explodes.

Luke then returns to Dagobah to complete his Jedi training, but he finds Yoda is ill. He tells Luke that no other training is required and all that remains to be done is to confront his father, Darth Vader — Yoda then dies. The spirit form of Obi-Wan Kenobi then appears and confirms that Vader was once Anakin Skywalker, a former Jedi who was turned to the dark side of the Force. It is also revealed that Leia is Luke's twin sister, hidden from Anakin and separated at birth to protect them both from the Emperor.

Meanwhile, the entire Rebel Alliance is meeting to devise an attack strategy. As part of the attack, Luke and his companions (whom he has now rejoined after leaving Dagobah) must deactivate the shield generator on the forest moon of Endor which is projecting a protective shield up to the orbiting and incomplete Death Star. On Endor, Luke and his companions encounter a tribe of Ewoks, primitive yet intelligent indigenous forest creatures of Endor. With the help of C-3PO, they are able to forge an alliance with the forest creatures. Later, Luke decides that the time has come for him to face Vader. He confesses to Leia the truth about her and Vader, and that he has to try to save the man who was once their father. He surrenders peacefully to Vader and unsuccessfully tries to convince his father to abandon the dark side. They go to the Death Star and meet the Emperor, who reveals that the Rebel Alliance is walking into a trap. On the forest moon, the Rebels — led by Solo and Leia — enter the shield generator control facility only to be taken prisoner by waiting Imperial forces. Once they are led out of the bunker, however, the Ewoks then spring a surprise counterattack. A desperate ground battle begins with the Rebels and Ewoks fighting the Imperial forces.

File:Return of the jedi 4.jpg
Darth Vader and Luke duel aboard the second Death Star.

During the strike team's assault, the Rebel fleet emerges from hyperspace for the battle over Endor, only to discover that the shield of the Death Star is still functioning. An intense space battle takes place as the Rebel fleet battles to give the surface party more time to complete their mission of deactivating the Death Star's shield. During the battle, the Death Star is revealed to be operational; its superlaser is fired at the Rebel fleet and obliterates a Rebel star cruiser. On the Death Star, the Emperor tempts Luke to give in to his anger. A ferocious lightsaber duel erupts between Luke and his father. In the midst of combat, Vader reads Luke's feelings and learns that Luke has a twin sister. When Vader toys with the notion of turning Leia to the dark side, Luke gives in to his anger and gains the upper hand in the battle, eventually slicing off Vader's right robotic hand in a rage in one swift cut. However, despite the Emperor's goading, Luke refuses to kill his father, realizing that he is traveling down his father's path towards the dark side, and declares himself a Jedi. Upon realizing that Luke cannot be turned, the Emperor uses Force lightning against him to torture and attempt to kill him. Deeply affected by the sight of his son dying before him, Vader repents and turns on the Emperor, throwing him down a reactor shaft to his death. At the same time, however, the Emperor's Force lightning causes fatal injuries to Vader (Anakin) and short-circuits his breathing system. Knowing that there is no hope for his own survival, Anakin asks Luke to take his mask off. Luke removes the helmet, revealing the pale and scarred face of his father. Anakin says that Luke was right about him, and asks Luke to tell his sister this. With those final words, Anakin dies.

Back on Endor, the strike team finally destroys the shield generator. The Rebel fleet seizes the opportunity to launch a final assault on the Death Star in space. Lando leads Wedge Antilles and his fighter group into the bowels of the Death Star and they fire at the main reactor, causing its collapse. Luke, with the body and armor of Anakin, escapes the Death Star in an Imperial shuttle. Moments later, Wedge in his X-Wing and Lando in the Millennium Falcon emerge from the Death Star as well, just as the Death Star explodes. Back on Endor, Leia reassures Han Solo of her love and reveals to him that Luke is actually her brother. That evening, Luke cremates the remains of his father in a funeral pyre on Endor. The entire galaxy celebrates the fall of the Emperor and the Rebel victory over the Empire. On Endor, Luke, Leia, Han, Lando, and the rest of the rebellion, along with the Ewoks, celebrate the victory as well. During the celebration, Luke catches sight of the spirit figures of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and the redeemed Anakin Skywalker, who look proudly on him.

Releases

Return of the Jedi's theatrical release took place on May 25, 1983. It was originally slated to be May 27, but was subsequently changed to coincide with the 1977 release of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.[12] With a massive worldwide marketing campaign, illustrator Tim Reamer created the iconic and distinctive image for the movie poster and other advertising. At the time of its release, the film was advertised simply as Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, despite its on-screen Episode VI distinction. This was evident on release posters and merchandise. The original film was re-released to theaters in 1985; an updated theatrical version was released in 1997 as the Special Edition.

The original theatrical version of Return of the Jedi was released on VHS and Laserdisc several times between 1986 and 1995,[18] followed by releases of the Special Edition in the same formats between 1997 and 2000. Some of these releases contained featurettes; some were individual releases of just this film, while others were boxed sets of all three original films.

Special Edition

In 1997, for the 20th Anniversary of the release of A New Hope, George Lucas released The Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition. Along with the two other films in the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi was re-released on March 14, 1997 with a number of changes and additions, which included the insertion of several alien band members in Jabba's throne room and the replacement of music at the closing scene. According to Lucas, Return of the Jedi required fewer changes than the previous two films because it is more emotionally driven than the others.[6] The changes have caused controversy among the fans as some believe that they detract from the films.[19]

DVD release

On September 21, 2004, the Special Editions of all three original films were released in a boxed set on DVD (along with a bonus disc). It was digitally restored and remastered, with additional changes made by George Lucas. The DVD also featured English subtitles, Dolby Digital 5.1 EX surround sound, and commentaries by George Lucas, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren, and Carrie Fisher. The bonus disc included documentaries including Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy and several featurettes including The Legendary Creatures of Star Wars, The Birth of the Lightsaber, and The Legacy of Star Wars. Also included were teasers, trailers, TV spots, still galleries, and several video game demos.

With the release of Revenge of the Sith, which depicts how and why Anakin Skywalker turned to the dark side of the Force, George Lucas once again altered Return of the Jedi to strengthen the relationship between the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy. The original and Special Edition versions of Return of the Jedi featured British theatre actor Sebastian Shaw playing both the dying Anakin Skywalker and his ghost. In the DVD release, Shaw's portrayal of Anakin's ghost is replaced by Hayden Christensen, Anakin's portrayer in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The change drew further fan criticism directed toward George Lucas.[19] The set was re-issued in December 2005 as part of a three-disc "limited edition" boxed set that did not feature the bonus disc.

File:Spiritsjedi.jpg
Sebastian Shaw, left, as the original portrayer of the spirit of Anakin Skywalker
Hayden Christensen, left, as the spirit of Anakin Skywalker in the 2004 DVD release

All three films in the original Star Wars trilogy have since been released, individually, on DVD, each compiled with its original theatrical release cut as well as the 2004 DVD Special Edition. These versions were only available from September 12 2006 to December 31 2006. Although the 2004 versions in these sets each feature an audio commentary, no other extra special features were included to commemorate the original cuts.

Reaction

Although a critical and commercial hit, Return of the Jedi is considered by many critics and fans to be the weakest film of the original trilogy.[20][21][22] Some indication of public opinion can be gleaned by its relatively modest ranking in the Internet Movie Database's Top 250 films list; as of August 2007, it ranked #110, as compared to A New Hope at #12 and The Empire Strikes Back at #7.[23] On the other hand, this is still far higher than any of the films of the prequel trilogy; as of August 2007, The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith fail to make the list at all. And at Rotten Tomatoes, Return of the Jedi's 76 percent approval rating is only surpassed by one film of the prequel trilogy, Revenge of the Sith with 80 percent.[20]

Contemporary critics were largely complimentary. In 1983, movie critic Roger Ebert gave the film a four-star rating,[24] and James Kendrick of Q Network Film Desk described Return of the Jedi as "a magnificent experience."[25] The film was also featured on the May 23, 1983 TIME magazine cover issue (where it was labeled "Star Wars III"),[26] with the reviewer Gerald Clarke saying that while it was not as exciting as the first Star Wars film, it was "better and more satisfying" than The Empire Strikes Back, now considered by many as the best of the original trilogy.[27] The film grossed US $475 million worldwide.[28] Vincent Canby, who enjoyed the first film and despised the second felt that Return of the Jedi was the worst of all three.[29] According to Rotten Tomatoes, Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune also disliked the film, stating "Lack the humanity and richly drawn characters that brighten Star Wars."[20] However, Siskel later gave Return of the Jedi thumbs up on the television show Siskel & Ebert during the release of The Star Wars Trilogy: Special Edition, saying: "This is my least favorite of the three episodes. That doesn't make it bad, the others are just a lot better." Siskel went on to praise the opening sequence at the Sarlaac pit and the chase sequence involving speeder bikes, however he states his dislike for the closing scenes involving the Ewoks.[30] The New York Post's Rex Reed negatively reviewed the film, stating "Let's not pretend we're watching art!"[20]

At the 56th Academy Awards in 1984, Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Ken Ralston, and Phil Tippett received the "Special Achievement Award for Visual Effects." Norman Reynolds, Fred Hole, James L. Schoppe, and Michael Ford were nominated for "Best Art Direction/Set Decoration". Ben Burtt received a nomination for "Best Sound Effects Editing". John Williams received the nomination for "Best Music, Original Score". Burtt, Gary Summers, Randy Thom, and Tony Dawe all received the nominations for "Best Sound". At the 1984 BAFTA Awards, Edlund, Muren, Ralston, and Kit West won for "Best Special Visual Effects". Tippett and Stuart Freeborn were also nominated for "Best Makeup". Reynolds received a nomination for "Best Production Design/Art Direction". Burtt, Dawe, and Summers also received nominations for "Best Sound". Williams was also nominated "Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special". The film also won for "Best Dramatic Presentation" at the 1984 Hugo Awards.[31]

While the action set pieces — particularly the speeder bike chase on the Endor moon, the space battle between Rebel and Imperial pilots, and Luke Skywalker's duel against Darth Vader — are well-regarded, the ground battle between the Ewoks and Imperial stormtroopers remains a bone of contention.[32] Fans are also divided on the likelihood of Ewoks (being an extremely primitive race of small creatures) defeating an armed ground force comprised of the Empire's "best troops". Lucas has defended the scenario saying it draws a parallel to the Vietnam War in which a much more primitively armed force also proved victorious.[6]

Cast

File:Returnjedicast.JPG
From left: Han Solo (Harrison Ford), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), R2-D2 (Kenny Baker), and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew)
  • Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker. A Jedi Knight in his own belief, Luke has, in the year since his encounter with Darth Vader at Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back, been searching for his lost friend, Han Solo.
  • Harrison Ford as Han Solo. Frozen in carbonite by Darth Vader at Cloud City, Han Solo is freed by Princess Leia, only to be sentenced to death by Jabba the Hutt.
  • Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia Organa. A former princess from Alderaan, Leia has been aiding Luke in his search for Han.
  • David Prowse as Darth Vader (voice by James Earl Jones). Vader has been relentlessly continuing his search for Luke, but he is set off course when the Emperor sends him to Endor to oversee the construction of the new Death Star and to prepare for the Rebel strike.
  • Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian. After Cloud City was taken over by the Galactic Empire, Calrissian joined the Rebel Alliance, and aided Luke in his search for Han Solo.
  • Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine. Palpatine, ruler of the Galactic Empire, has been pleased by the success of the Imperial offensive, and the plight of the Rebel Alliance. He now plans to destroy the Alliance with the new Death Star and turn Luke Skywalker to the dark side of the Force.
  • Anthony Daniels as C-3PO. C-3PO is Princess Leia's protocol droid.
  • Kenny Baker as R2-D2. R2-D2 is Luke Skywalker's astromech droid.
  • Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca. Chewbacca is Han Solo's Wookiee co-pilot and close friend.
  • Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi. Struck down by Vader four years earlier, Kenobi continues to offer guidance to Luke as a Jedi spirit.
  • Frank Oz as Yoda. After 800 years of training Jedi, Yoda finally prepares to resign and become one with the Force.
  • Denis Lawson as Wedge Antilles. Wedge is now the leader of Rogue Squadron, and he prepares to aid (now General) Lando Calrissian in the fighter attack on the Death Star. This is the only film in the original trilogy in which Lawson's name is spelled correctly in the ending credits. In the other films, his name is misspelled "Dennis".
  • Kenneth Colley as Admiral Piett. Piett, one of the few officers under Vader's command to survive his wrath, commands the Imperial Fleet at Endor from H.I.M.S. Executor but meets his end when his ship is destroyed.
  • Sebastian Shaw as Anakin Skywalker. Anakin is the repressed "goodness" in Darth Vader. Shaw was partly replaced by Hayden Christensen in the 2004 DVD release of the film (although Shaw remains in the film as the unmasked Vader and in the credits as Anakin Skywalker).
  • Warwick Davis as Wicket W. Warrick. Wicket is an Ewok who leads Leia and eventually her friends to the Ewok tribe.
  • Jeremy Bulloch as Boba Fett. Fett, after capturing and delivering Han Solo to Jabba the Hutt, stays on at the crime lord's palace and engages in the battle above the Sarlacc.

Kenny Baker was originally cast as the Ewok Wicket, but got replaced by 11-year-old Warwick Davis after falling ill with food poisoning on the morning of the shoot. Davis had no previous acting experience and was cast only after his grandmother had discovered an open call for short people for the new Star Wars film.[1]

Soundtrack

Main article: Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (soundtrack)

John Williams composed and conducted the film's musical score with performances by the London Symphony Orchestra. In 1983, the RCA label released the film's original soundtrack on 8-track format in the United States.[33] Sony Classical Records acquired the rights to the classic trilogy scores in 2004 after gaining the rights to release the second trilogy soundtracks (The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones). In the same year, Sony Classical re-pressed the 1997 RCA Victor release of Return of the Jedi along with the other two films in the trilogy. The set was released with the new artwork mirroring the first DVD release of the film. Despite the Sony digital re-mastering, which minimally improved the sound heard only on high-end stereos, this 2004 release is essentially the same as the 1997 RCA Victor release.[34]

Marketing

Novelization

Main article: Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (novel)

The novelization of Return of the Jedi was written by James Kahn and was released on May 12, 1983, thirteen days before the film's release.[35] It contains many scenes that were deleted from the final cut as well as certain assertions which have since been superseded by the prequel trilogy. For example, Kahn writes that Owen Lars is the brother of Obi-Wan Kenobi, while in Attack of the Clones he is instead shown to be the step-brother of Anakin Skywalker. Also in the novel, the Force spirit of Obi-Wan reveals that he was able to hide Luke and Leia from Anakin because he did not know that his wife was pregnant when he "left," presumably when he became Vader. In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin does know about Padmé's pregnancy, but it is to be assumed that Vader will believe the baby (not twins) to be dead along with his wife given that Padmé is mocked up to look pregnant at her funeral. The novel also states that Obi-Wan took Luke's mother and baby Leia to Alderaan after the birth of the twins. It also, briefly, alludes to the duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin.

A facet of the story which was made more clear in the novel was the confusion which overtook the Imperial forces upon the death of Palpatine, who ceased to be the guiding will animating the Empire. It also further supports the events depicted in all post-Return of the Jedi fiction.

Radio drama

Main article: Star Wars (radio)

A radio drama adaptation of the film was written by Brian Daley with additional material contributed by John Whitman and was produced for and broadcast on National Public Radio in 1996. It was based on characters and situations created by George Lucas and on the screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas. The first two Star Wars films were similarly 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. Anthony Daniels returned as C-3PO, but Mark Hamill and Billy Dee Williams did not reprise their roles as they had for the first two radio dramas. John Lithgow voiced Yoda, whose voice actor in the films has always been Frank Oz. Ed Asner also guest-starred speaking only in grunts as the voice of Jabba the Hutt. The radio drama had a running time of three hours.[36]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy Star Wars Trilogy Box Set DVD documentary, [2004]
  2. ^ "George Lucas Biography". Net Glimpse. 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-29.
  3. ^ "David Lynch: Weird at Heart". Belfast Telegraph. 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-05.
  4. ^ "George Lucas". Solar Navigator. 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-24.
  5. ^ Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas by Dale Pollock; Da Capo; Updated edition [January 1, 2001]
  6. ^ a b c d Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi DVD commentary featuring George Lucas, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren and Carrie Fisher, [2004] Cite error: The named reference "DVDcom" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b c Marcus Hearn (2005). "Cliffhanging". The Cinema of George Lucas. New York City: Harry N. Abrams Inc. pp. 140–1. ISBN 0-8109-4968-7.
  8. ^ a b c "Return of the Jedi: Production and Direction, p. 3". American Cinematographer. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
  9. ^ Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith DVD commentary featuring George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Rob Coleman, John Knoll and Roger Guyett, [2005]
  10. ^ George Lucas (June 12, 1981). "Star Wars - Episode VI: "Revenge of the Jedi" Revised Rough Draft". Starkiller. Retrieved 2007-02-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ a b c d e "Return of the Jedi: Production and Direction, p. 4". American Cinematographer. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
  12. ^ a b c d "Return of the Jedi: Production and Direction, p. 1". American Cinematographer. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
  13. ^ "Return of the Jedi: Steadicam Plates, p. 3". American Cinematographer. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
  14. ^ "Return of the Jedi: Production and Direction, p. 2". American Cinematographer. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
  15. ^ Revenge of the Jedi Trailer from Star Wars Trilogy Box Set DVD Bonus Disc, [2004]
  16. ^ "Collecting: Revenge of the Jedi". TheForce.Net. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  17. ^ "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 2007-03-05.
  18. ^ "Star Wars Home Video Timeline: Return of the Jedi". davisdvd.com. Retrieved June 23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ a b "Star Wars: The Changes". dvdactive. Retrieved March 6. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ a b c d "Return of the Jedi". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
  21. ^ "User Comments". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
  22. ^ "The Star Wars Trilogy". DVD Verdict Review. Retrieved 2007-03-15.
  23. ^ "IMDb's Top 250 Movies of All Time". Retrieved 2007-05-27.
  24. ^ Ebert, Roger (May 25, 1983). "Return of the Jedi". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 2007-03-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  25. ^ James Kendrick Review of "Return"
  26. ^ "Star Wars III: Return of the Jedi". TIME Magazine. May 23, 1983. Retrieved 2007-03-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  27. ^ Clarke, Gerald (1983). "Great Galloping Galaxies". TIME magazine. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
  28. ^ "Return of the Jedi". boxofficemojo.com. 2006. Retrieved 2006-07-30.
  29. ^ [1] - Review by Vincent Canby, New York Times, May 25, 1983.
  30. ^ "Return of the Jedi". Ebert & Roeper. Retrieved 2007-08-08.
  31. ^ "Awards for Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
  32. ^ "The best -- and worst -- movie battle scenes". CNN. 2007-03-30. Retrieved 2007-04-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  33. ^ "Star Wars, Return of the Jedi, Music from John Williams' Score". Star Wars Collectors Archive. Retrieved 2007-03-07.
  34. ^ "Star Wars / The Empire Strikes Back / Return of the Jedi (Original Soundtracks – 2004 reissue)". Retrieved 2007-01-20.
  35. ^ "Star Wars, Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (Mass Market Paperback)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
  36. ^ "Return of the Jedi Produced by NPR". HighBridge Audio. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
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