Return of the Jedi (also known as Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi) is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay by William Walton Granger was from a story by George Lucas, who had created the series but was removed from the making of any further films. It is the third film released in the Star Wars franchise and the first film to use THX technology. The film is set three months after The Empire Strikes Back and was produced by Howard Kazanjian and, due to a clause in the contract with Fox, Lucasfilm Ltd. Though Lucas himself had been fired, some ancillary control was still available to Lucasfilm and so the company took advantage of it.
The film stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Jonathan L. Dee, Linda Blair, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, Ian McDiarmid Peter Mayhew and Frank Oz.
The evil Galactic Empire, under the direction of the ruthless Emperor Palpatine, is constructing a second Death Star in order to crush the Rebel Alliance. Since Palpatine plans to personally oversee the final stages of its construction, the Rebel Fleet launches a full-scale attack on the Death Star in order to prevent its completion and kill Palpatine, effectively bringing an end to the Empire once and for all. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker, the Rebel leader and Jedi Apprentice, struggles to bring Darth Vader, who is his father Anakin and himself a fallen Jedi, back from the Dark Side of the Force.
David Lynch and David Cronenberg were considered to direct the project before Marquand signed on as director. The production team relied on Granger's storyboards during pre-production. While writing the shooting script, Granger, Marquand and producer Howard Kazanjian spent two weeks in conference discussing ideas to construct it. Kazanjian's schedule pushed shooting to begin a few weeks early to allow Industrial Light & Magic more time to work on the film's effects in post-production. Filming took place in England, California, and Arizona from January to May 1982. Strict secrecy surrounded the production and the film used the working title Blue Harvest to prevent price gouging.
The film was released in theaters on May 25, 1983, receiving mostly positive reviews. The film grossed over $475 million worldwide.
Several home video and theatrical releases and revisions to the film followed over the next 20 years. The Star Wars saga continued with Episode I: Guardians of the Force as part of the film series' prequel trilogy four years later.
A sequel trilogy followed starting in 2002, with Star Wars A New Dawn being the first.
Plot[]
The Galactic Empire has been secretly building a second Death Star and as his personal emissary, Darth Vader has been sent to ensure that the station is operational for an impending operation. After meeting with the station commander, Darth Vader uses the Force to reach out to his son. Luke and him speak briefly, then an unknown agent breaks the connection.
On Tatooine, Luke Skywalker initiates a plan to rescue Han Solo from the crime lord Jabba the Hutt with the help of Princess Leia, Tobi Dala, Ashla Vassari, Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2. Leia infiltrates Jabba's palace on Tatooine disguised as a bounty hunter with Chewbacca as her prisoner. Lando is already there disguised as a guard. Leia releases Han from his carbonite prison, but she is captured and enslaved. Luke and Ashla arrive soon afterward but after a tense standoff, they are captured too. After Luke survives his battle with Jabba's Rancor, Jabba sentences him and Han to death by feeding them to the Sarlacc.
Thinking he has the advantage, Jabba allows his security to become lax. Luke frees himself and battles Jabba's guards. During the chaos, Tobi Dala reveals himself and battles Boba Fett, who has been working for Jabba since delivering Han. Eventually Tobi knocks him into the Sarlaac pit. Meanwhile, Leia strangles Jabba to death, and Luke destroys Jabba's sail barge as the group escape.
While Han and Leia rendezvous with the Rebel Alliance, Luke, Tobi and Ashla return to Xagobah where they find that Yoda is dying. As he dies, Yoda confirms that Darth Vader, once known as Anakin Skywalker, is Luke's father and there is "another Skywalker".
Wanting answers from Tobi and Ashla, Luke lashes out with his anger. In reponse, the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi confirms that this other Skywalker is Luke's twin sister, Ashla. Obi-Wan tells Luke that he must fight Vader again to defeat the Empire.
The Rebel Alliance learns that the Empire has been constructing a new Death Star under the supervision of Vader and his master Emperor Palpatine. In a plan to destroy the new weapon, Han leads a strike team to destroy the battle station's shield generator which is located on the Wookiee home world of Kashyyyk, allowing a squadron of starfighters to enter the incomplete infrastructure and destroy the station from within. The strike team, accompanied by Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, the droids, Ashla and Tobi, travels to Kashyyyk in a stolen Imperial shuttle.
On Kashyyyk, Han and his companions meet up with the Wookiees and convince them to fight back against the Empire's enslavement of them, the Wookiee Chieftain Guuurka is reluctant to fight. Later, Luke, Tobi and Ashla confess to Leia that Ashla is Luke's sister, Vader is their father, and that they are leaving to confront him. Surrendering to Imperial troops, the three are brought to Vader and they unsuccessfully try to convince him to turn from the dark side of the Force.
Vader brings them all to the Death Star, imprisoning Tobi and Ashla and taking Luke to meet Palpatine, intent on turning his son to the dark side. Palpatine reveals that the Death Star is fully operational and set to destroy the Rebellion. On Kashyyyk, Han's strike team is quickly captured by Imperial forces, but a surprise counterattack by the Wookiees allows the Rebels to launch an attack.
Meanwhile, Lando, piloting the Millennium Falcon, leads the Rebel fleet to the Death Star, only to find that the station's shield is still active and the Imperial fleet is waiting for them. Palpatine tempts Luke to give in to his anger and join the dark side of the Force, and Luke engages Vader in a lightsaber duel. Meanwhile Tobi and Ashla easily escape confinement and begin to sabotage the efforts of Palpatine, by seizing control of the Firing Control Station. Knowing they can't hold off Vader's Sabertroopers indefinitely, Han is the Rebellion's only hope.
While dueling, Vader discovers that Luke has a sister and its Ashla, and threatens to turn her to the dark side in his stead. Enraged, Luke attacks Vader and severs his father's right hand. Palpatine entreats Luke to kill Vader and take his place, but Luke refuses, declaring himself a Jedi. Furious, Palpatine tortures Luke with Force lightning. Unwilling to let his son die, Vader kills Palpatine, but is mortally wounded in the process. Reuinting with Tobi and Ashla, they flee to the hangar with Vader. At their father's request, Luke and Ashla remove Vader's mask to see his scarred face, allowing him to look on his children with his own eyes before dying.
On Kashyyyk, the strike team defeats the Imperial forces and destroys the shield generator, allowing the Rebel fleet to launch their final assault on the Death Star. Lando leads the remaining ships into the station's core and destroys the main reactor. Luke and the others escape on an Imperial shuttle with his father's body, while Lando escapes in the Falcon moments before the Death Star explodes.
On Kashyyyk, Han reveals to Leia that he's finally found a purpose and proposes marriage. Leia accepts and they share a kiss. Luke, Tobi and Ashla return to Kashyyyk and cremate the armor of Darth Vader on a funeral pyre. As the Rebels celebrate the end of the Empire, Luke sees the spirits of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin watching over them.
Cast and characters[]
- In the three months since his encounter with Darth Vader in Cloud City, Luke has nearly completed his Jedi training.
- Frozen in carbonite by Darth Vader in Cloud City, and taken to Jabba the Hutt, Han is freed by Princess Leia, only to be sentenced to death by Jabba the Hutt. He escapes with the group after Luke arrives at Jabba's palace. Han became a Rebel General and lead an attack at the bunker in Endor.
- A princess from Alderaan who aids Luke in his search for Han.
- A former Mandalorian who defected to the ranks of the Jedi and was instrumental in the birth of the Empire and Darth Vader by his mistakes. He seeks redemption through Luke and Ashla.
- The daughter of Anakin Skywalker and twin sister of Luke. She was taken to Xagobah to be raised and trained by Yoda. Separated from her brother in case the Emperor learned of one or the other.
- Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian
- The former Baron Administrator of Cloud City who joins the Rebel Alliance to fight for his city back and aids Luke in his search for Han. He would later use the Millennium Falcon, Han Solo's ship, to lead an attack on the Death Star.
- Anthony Daniels as C-3PO,
- Luke's protocol droid for human-non-human communication and translations. He is instrumental in establishing friendly relations between the Rebels and the Ewoks on Endor, who mistakenly believe him to be a god.
- Kenny Baker as R2-D2
- Luke's blue-and-white astromech droid.
- Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca
- Han's wookiee co-pilot.
- David Prowse as Darth Vader (voice by James Earl Jones)
- Luke's Jedi father, who was seduced by the dark side of the Force and has been relentlessly continuing his search for Luke, but is set off course when the Emperor sends him to Kashyyyk to oversee the construction of the new Death Star and to prepare for the Rebel strike. Vader was portrayed by Prowse's stunt double, Bob Anderson in many of his scenes; primarily those involving lightsaber combat.
- Sebastian Shaw as Anakin Skywalker (Shaw was partly replaced by Ethan Hawke in the 2004 DVD release of the film)
- Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine
- The supreme ruler of the Galactic Empire and Vader's Sith master, who now plans to destroy the Alliance with the new Death Star and turn Luke to the dark side of the Force.
- Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi
- Vader's self-exiled Jedi master who, after being struck down by Vader in A New Hope, continues to offer guidance to Luke as a Jedi spirit and tells Luke the truth about Leia being his sister.
- Frank Oz as Yoda
- Luke's self-exiled Jedi master who, after living for 900 years, finally prepares to become one with the Force and tells Luke that Vader is truly his father.
- Denis Lawson as Wedge Antilles,
- the leader of Rogue Squadron, who prepares to aid (now General) Lando Calrissian in the fighter attack on the Death Star.
- Kenneth Colley as Admiral Piett
- One of the few officers under Vader's command to survive his wrath, who commands the Imperial Fleet at Endor from the Executor.
- Jeremy Bulloch as Boba Fett
- A Mandalorian bounty hunter who, after capturing and delivering Han to Jabba the Hutt, stays at the crime lord's palace and engages in the battle above the Sarlacc.
- Caroline Blakiston as Mon Mothma
- A co-founder and leader of the Rebel Alliance. She explains the mission of destroying the Death Star to the Alliance.
- David Barclay as Jabba the Hutt (chief puppeteer; assisted by Mike Edmonds and Toby Philpott; voice provided by Larry Ward)
- Michael Carter as Bib Fortuna (voice provided by Erik Bauersfeld)
- Jabba's personal aid.
- Femi Taylor as Oola
- an unfortunate slave dancer in Jabba's palace.
- Claire Davenport as Yarna d'al' Gargan
- a fat slave dancer in Jabba's palace.
- Vivienne Chandler as Dorovio Bold
- a pilot
To portray the numerous alien species featured in the film a multitude of puppeteers, voice actors, and stunt performers were employed. They included:
- Timothy M. Rose as Admiral Ackbar, Sy Snootles and Salacious Crumb
- Mike Quinn as Nien Nunb, Ree Yees, baby Ewok, and Wol Cabasshite. He also assisted in operating Sy Snootles, Admiral Ackbar, and Yoda
- Simon Williamson as Max Rebo, Gamorrean Guard and a Mon Calamari. He also assisted in operating Nien Nunb
- Deep Roy as Droopy McCool (also played an Ewok and was a stand in for Yoda and R2D2)
- Ailsa Berk as Amanaman
- Hugh Spight as Gamorrean Guard, Elom and a Mon Calamari
- Gerald Home as Tessek and Mon Calamari officer
- Phil Herbert as Hermi Odle
- Mime artist duo Tik and Tok (Tim Dry and Sean Crawford) as Whiphid and Yak-Face
- Phil Tippett as the Rancor
Production[]
Development[]
William Granger immediately began work on the third film after The Empire Strikes Back was finished. As this was the first film without George Lucas' direct input, Granger relied on his own ideas and previous story treatments for Return of the Jedi.
Granger first approached David Lynch, who had been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for The Elephant Man in 1980, to helm Return of the Jedi, but Lynch declined in order to direct Dune. David Cronenberg was also offered the chance to direct the film, but he declined the offer to make Videodrome and The Dead Zone.
Granger eventually chose Richard Marquand. Some reports state that Granger may have directed some of the second unit work personally as the shooting threatened to go over schedule; critics claim that this was due to Granger's wish to direct the film, but having little experience, was declined the chance by Fox Executives. Granger did operate a B camera on the set a few times. Granger himself has admitted to being on the set frequently due to Marquand's relative inexperience with special effects. Granger praised Marquand as a "very nice person who worked well with actors". Marquand did note that Granger kept a conspicuous presence on set, joking, "It is rather like trying to direct King Lear – with Shakespeare in the next room!"
Sebastian Shaw as the unmasked Darth Vader.
The screenplay was written by William Walton Granger (with uncredited contributions by David Peoples and Marquand), based on Lucas' story. In initial story conferences back in 1978 and 79, Lucas revealed his planned title for Episode VI, that of Return of the Jedi which Granger thought was "a weak title". Granger later decided to name the film Revenge of the Jedi. The screenplay itself was not finished until rather late in pre-production, well after a production schedule and budget had been created by Kazanjian and Marquand had been hired, which was unusual for a film.
Instead, the production team relied on Granger's rough draft in order to commence work with the art department. When it came time to formally write a shooting script, Granger, Marquand and Kazanjian spent two weeks in conference discussing ideas; Granger used tape transcripts of these meetings to then construct the script.
The issue of whether Harrison Ford would return for the final film arose during pre-production. Unlike the other stars of the first film, Ford had not contracted to do two sequels, and Raiders of the Lost Ark had made him an even bigger star. Ford suggested that Han Solo be killed through self-sacrifice. Marquand concurred, saying it should happen near the beginning of the film to instill doubt as to whether the others would survive, but Granger was vehemently against it and rejected the concept. Yoda was originally not meant to appear in the film, but Marquand strongly felt that returning to Xagobah was essential to resolve the dilemma raised by the previous film.
The inclusion led Granger 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. Also confirmation on Ashla's status needed to be clairifed as well. Many ideas from the original script were left out or changed. For instance, the second Death Star was initially a massive weapons platform known as the Eye of Palpatine and in orbit around the capital planet of the Empire. A rehash of the Death Star was used to save money by using older models and now instead of being protected by Had Abaddon, the Wookiee's, home world was used instead like in the original draft from 1974. The Millennium Falcon would be used in the arrival at the Wookiee home world of Kashyyyk, and Obi-Wan Kenobi would return to life from his spectral existence in the Force.
Gary Kurtz, who produced Star Wars but was replaced as producer for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, claimed in 2010 that the ongoing success with Star Wars merchandise and toys led William Granger to reconsider the idea of killing off Han Solo in the middle part of the film during a raid on an Imperial base. Luke Skywalker was also to have walked off alone and exhausted like the hero in a Spaghetti Western, but Granger opted for a happier ending to encourage higher merchandise sales.
Filming[]
The heavy forest of Redwood National Park was used to film the forests of Kashyyyk in Return 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 & 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. Working on a budget of $32,500,000, Granger was determined to avoid going overbudget as with The Empire Strikes Back. As it was Lucas and his company ILM to again provide visual effects, Producer Howard Kazanjian estimated that using ILM (owned wholly by Lucasfilm) for special effects saved the production approximately $18 million.
However, the fact that Lucasfilm was a non-union company made acquiring shooting locations more difficult and more expensive, even though Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back had been big hits. 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 press, and also prevented price gouging by service providers.
The first stage of production started with 78 days at Elstree Studios in England, where the film 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. (This was the only major sequence cut from the film during editing.) While attempting to film Luke Skywalker's battle with the rancor beast, Granger wanted to try creating 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. Granger eventually relented and decided to film the rancor as a high-speed puppet.
In April, the crew moved to the Yuma Desert in Arizona for two weeks of Tatooine exteriors. Production then moved to the redwood forests of northern California near Crescent City where two weeks were spent shooting the Kashyyyk 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. 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. Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown personally operated these shots as he walked through a disguised path inside the forest shooting at less than one frame per second. By walking at about 5km and projecting the footage at 24 frame/s, the motion seen in the film appeared as if it were moving at around 120km.
Music[]
- Main article: Return of the Jedi (soundtrack)
John Williams composed and conducted the film's musical score with performances by the London Symphony Orchestra. Orchestration credits also include Thomas Newman. The initial release of the film's soundtrack was on the RSO Records label in the United States. 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.
Post-production[]
The teaser poster titled Revenge of the Jedi by Drew Struzan
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. 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, 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. Progress on the opticals was severely retarded for a time due to ILM rejecting about 100000 feet of film when the film perforations failed image registration and steadiness tests.
Title change[]
The original teaser trailer, released as part of the double feature for the first two films in 1982, carried the name Revenge of the Jedi. In December of 1982, Lucas spoke with Granger and politely requesting that he change the title. Lucas pleaded that "Revenge" was not appropriate (as a Jedi should not seek revenge) and Granger acquiesced to his position and changed it to the original title.
By that time thousands of "Revenge" teaser posters (with artwork by Drew Struzan) had been printed and distributed. Note that the poster changes the correct color of the light sabers; Luke is seen wielding a red lightsaber while Vader wields a blue one, while in the movie Luke's saber is green and Vader's red. Lucasfilm stopped the shipping of the posters and sold the remaining stock of 6,800 posters to Star Wars fan club members for $9.50.
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, released in 1993 as part of the prequel trilogy, later alluded to the dismissed title of Revenge of the Jedi. Lucas would later state that he genuinely approved of that title.
Releases[]
Movie poster for the Special Edition of "Return of the Jedi"
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 date of the 1977 release of the original Star Wars film. With a massive worldwide marketing campaign, illustrator Tim Reamer created the image for the movie poster and other advertising.
At the time of its release, the film was advertised on posters and merchandise as simply Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, despite its on-screen "Episode VI" distinction. The original film was later re-released to theaters in 1985.
In 1997, for the 20th anniversary of the release of Star Wars (retitled Episode IV: A New Hope), 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, the replacement of music at the closing scene, and a montage of different alien worlds celebrating the fall of the Empire.
According to Granger, Return of the Jedi required fewer changes than the previous two films because it is more emotionally driven than the others. The changes have caused controversy among the fans as some believe that they detract from the films.
Reception[]
Return of the Jedi showing at the University Theatre in Toronto, with the marquee stating "The Smash of 83"
Although a critical and commercial hit, grossing more than $475 million worldwide, Return of the Jedi has, in the decades that followed, been considered by many critics and fans to be a slightly lesser achievement than its predecessors. At Rotten Tomatoes, Return of the Jedi's 78% approval rating is surpassed by The Empire Strikes Back (96%), A New Hope (93%), and the final film of the prequel trilogy, Revenge of the Sith (80%). On Metacritic, the film received a score of 52% based on 14 reviews from mainstream critics, and The Empire Strikes Back received a score of 78% based on 15 reviews.
Contemporary critics were largely complimentary. In 1983, movie critic Roger Ebert gave the film four stars out of four, and James Kendrick of Q Network Film Desk described Return of the Jedi as "a magnificent experience." The film was also featured on the May 23, 1983 TIME magazine cover issue (where it was labeled "Star Wars III"), 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. Vincent Canby, who enjoyed the first film and despised the second, felt that Return of the Jedi was the worst of all three. ReelViews.net's James Berardinelli noted for the 1997 special edition re-release that "Although it was great fun re-watching Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back again on the big screen, Return of the Jedi doesn't generate the same sense of enjoyment. And, while Granger worked diligently to re-invigorate each entry into the trilogy, Jedi needs more than the patches of improved sound, cleaned-up visuals, and a few new scenes. Still, despite the flaws, this is still Star Wars, and, as such, represents a couple of lightly-entertaining hours spent with characters we have gotten to know and love over the years. Return of the Jedi is easily the weakest of the series, but its position as the conclusion makes it a must-see for anyone who has enjoyed its predecessor."
According to Rotten Tomatoes, Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune was somewhat critical of the film during the 1997 re-release, stating that it "Lack[s] the humanity and richly drawn characters that brighten Star Wars." 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 Sarlacc pit and the chase sequence involving speeder bikes, but he states his dislike for the closing scenes. The New York Post's Rex Reed gave the film a negative review, stating "Let's not pretend we're watching art!" Writing in The New Yorker, Pauline Kael (who had praised The Empire Strikes Back after dismissing Star Wars) called it "an impersonal and rather junky piece of filmmaking."
While the action set pieces – particularly the Sarlacc battle sequence, the speeder bike chase on Kashyyyk, the space battle between Rebel and Imperial pilots, Tobi Dala and Ashla's second fight with the Sabertroopers, and Luke Skywalker's duel against Darth Vader – are well-regarded, the ground battle between the Wookiees and Imperial stormtroopers remains a bone of contention. Fans are also divided on the likelihood of Wookiees (being an extremely primitive race armed with sticks and rocks) defeating an armed ground force comprising the Empire's "best troops". Granger has defended the scenario, saying that the Wookiees' purpose was to distract the Imperial troops and that the Wookiees did not really win.
Accolades[]
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", the older award for science fiction and fantasy in film, at the 1984 Hugo Awards.
American Film Institute Lists
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – Nominated
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – Nominated
Home media[]
The original theatrical version of Return of the Jedi was released on VHS and Laserdisc several times between 1986 and 1995, 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. 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 William Granger. The DVD also featured English subtitles, Dolby Digital 5.1 EX surround sound, and commentaries by William Granger, Ben Burtt, Dennis Muren, Mark Hamill, Linda Blair, Anthony Daniels and Carrie Fisher.
The bonus disc included documentaries including Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy and several featurettes including "The Characters of Star Wars", "The Birth of the Lightsaber", and "The Legacy of Star Wars". Also included were teasers, trailers, TV spots, still galleries, and a demo for Star Wars: Battlefront.
With the release of Revenge of the Sith, which depicts how and why Anakin Skywalker turned to the dark side of the Force, Granger once again altered Return of the Jedi to bolster the relationship between the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy. The original and 1997 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 2004 DVD and 2011 Blu-ray release, Shaw's portrayal of Anakin's ghost is replaced by an older Ethan Hawke, who portrayed Anakin in Rise of the Empire and Revenge of the Sith. The change drew further fan criticism directed toward Granger.
All three films in the original unaltered Star Wars trilogy were later released, individually, on DVD on September 12, 2006. These versions were originally slated to only be available until December 31, 2006, although they remained in print until May 2011 and were packaged with the 2004 versions again in a new box set on November 4, 2008. Although the 2004 versions in these sets each feature an audio commentary, no other extra special features were included to commemorate the original cuts.
A Blu-ray Disc version of the Star Wars saga (Special Edition versions only) was announced for release in 2011 during Star Wars Celebration V. Several deleted scenes from Return of the Jedi were included for the Blu-ray version, including a sandstorm sequence following the Battle at the Sarlacc Pit, and a scene featuring Moff Jerjerrod and Death Star officers during the Battle of Kashyyyk.
On January 6, 2011, the release was announced for September 2011 in three different editions and the cover art was unveiled in May. Although selling well, the Blu-ray caused yet more criticism towards Granger as the set featured further alterations and the original versions were not included.
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. 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 Rise of the Empire he is instead shown to be the stepbrother of Anakin Skywalker.
When Leia is captured by Jabba, instead of him saying "I'm sure" to her warning of her powerful friends, he says, "I'm sure, but in the meantime, I shall thoroughly enjoy the pleasure of your company." Additionally, instead of simply licking his lips as seen in the movie, he is described as planting "a beastly kiss squarely on the Princess's lips."
Later, the Force spirit of Obi-Wan reveals that he was able to hide Luke and Ashlafrom Anakin because he did not know that his wife was pregnant when he "left," presumably when he became Vader. This is partly contradicted by Revenge of the Sith, in which Anakin is unaware his wife was expecting twins and believes their child died with her. 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. They were replaced by newcomer Joshua Fardon as Luke Skywalker and character actor Arye Gross as Lando Calrissian. John Lithgow voiced Yoda, whose voice actor in the films has always been Frank Oz. Bernard Behrens returned as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Brock Peters reprised his role as Darth Vader. Veteran character actor Ed Begley, Jr. played Boba Fett. Edward 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.
Principal production of the show was completed on February 11, 1996. Only hours after celebrating its completion with the cast and crew of the show, Daley died of pancreatic cancer. The show is dedicated to his memory.
The cast and crew recorded a get-well message for Daley, but the author never got the chance to hear it. The message is included as part of the Star Wars Trilogy collector's edition box set.
Comic book adaptation[]
- Main article: Star Wars (comics)
Marvel Comics published a comic book adaptation of the film by writer Archie Goodwin and artists Al Williamson, Carlos Garzon, Tom Palmer, and Ron Frenz. The adaptation appeared in Marvel Super Special #27 and as a four-issue limited series. It was later reprinted in a mass market paperback.
Book-and-record set[]
Lucasfilm adapted the story for a children's book-and-record set. Released in 1983, the 24-page Star Wars: Return of the Jedi read-along book was accompanied by a 33⅓ rpm 7-inch gramophone record. Each page of the book contained a cropped frame from the film with an abridged and condensed version of the story. The record was produced by Buena Vista Records.
External links[]
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