Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)

After rescuing Han Solo from the palace of Jabba the Hutt, the Rebels attempt to destroy the Second Death Star, while Luke Skywalker tries to bring his father back to the Light Side of the Force.

Director:

Richard Marquand

Writers:

Lawrence Kasdan (screenplay), George Lucas (screenplay),

Stars:

Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher

Top 250 #80 | Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mark Hamill	...	Luke Skywalker
Harrison Ford	...	Han Solo
Carrie Fisher	...	Princess Leia
Billy Dee Williams	...	Lando Calrissian
Anthony Daniels	...	C-3PO
Peter Mayhew	...	Chewbacca
Sebastian Shaw	...	Anakin Skywalker
Ian McDiarmid	...	The Emperor
Frank Oz	...	Yoda (voice)
James Earl Jones	...	Voice of Darth Vader (voice)
David Prowse	...	Darth Vader
Alec Guinness	...	Ben 'Obi-Wan' Kenobi
Kenny Baker	...	R2-D2 / Paploo
Michael Pennington	...	Moff Jerjerrod
Kenneth Colley	...	Admiral Piett

Storyline

Darth Vader and the Empire are building a new, indestructible Death Star. Meanwhile, Han Solo has been imprisoned, and Luke Skywalker has sent R2-D2 and C-3PO to try and free him. Princess Leia - disguised as a bounty hunter - and Chewbacca go along as well. The final battle takes place on the moon of Endor, with its natural inhabitants, the Ewoks, lending a hand to the Rebels. Will Darth Vader and the Dark Side overcome the Rebels and take over the universe?

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Plot Keywords:

rebel | death star | empire | princess | battle | 

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Taglines:

The Saga Continues.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for sci-fi action violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 May 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Return of the Jedi

Filming Locations:

Buttercup Valley, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$32,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

ITL 1,095,587,000 (Italy) (2 May 1997)

Gross:

$309,125,409 (USA) (6 June 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lucasfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min 135 min (special edition)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the documentary "Empire of Dreams", Steven Spielberg was George Lucas's first choice to direct, but Spielberg had to decline because he is a member of the Directors' Guild (Lucas dropped his Guild membership over disagreements about Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back. As a result, Lucas hired the relatively unknown (and at the time non-union) Welsh director Richard Marquand.

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Goofs

When the shield generator explodes, a piece of shrapnel can be seen exiting the left side of the screen and then reentering because it bounces of the inside of the building the miniature was housed in.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Shuttle captain: Command station, this is ST321, code clearance blue. We're starting our approach; deactivate the security shield.

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Lost: The Candidate (2010)

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Soundtracks

"Jedi Rocks"
(1997 Special Edition) (uncredited)
Composed and Arranged by Jerry Hey
Remix Engineer Thomas Vicari
Produced by Nick Redman

User Reviews

Really should have been better.

As the concluding section of the Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi is quite disappointing. Most of the same characters from the first two films appear again, including Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Darth Vader and Chewbacca, but somehow they don't have the same impact as they did before.

The main problems with Return of the Jedi are the general tone and the uneven script. The film is at its best when at its darkest, but unfortunately the film is less dark overall than the original Star Wars, let alone The Empire Strikes Back. Most of the film's best scenes are those featuring Emperor Palpatine, who is finally seen in the flesh for the first time. He exudes a believable aura of malevolence, and many of his scenes are electrifying (no pun intended).

Return of the Jedi is hampered by an over-abundance of set pieces, which are entertaining enough while on screen but don't do enough to advance the plot, and are quickly forgotten as our heroes move on to tackle the next leg of their adventure.

Unfortunately, a large chunk of the film is spent on Endor with the Ewoks. The appearance of these small furry creatures indicates that Return of the Jedi is aiming for a younger demographic than before, but in doing so it sacrifices much of the cross-generational appeal the series used to have.

Return of the Jedi marks the point at which the Star Wars series began to lose its way. It undoubtedly has some memorable sequences, but there are also long sections where it becomes boring (yep, the Ewoks), an accusation that couldn't be levelled at the first two films. Viewed on its own terms, or compared with the more recent Star Wars films, Jedi's faults can be forgiven, but as part of the original trilogy it really should have been better.