Director: Richard Marquand
Producers: H. Kazanijan, G. Lucas, and R. McCallum
Editing: S. Barton, D. Dunham, and M. Lucas
Composer: John Williams
Starring:
- Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker
- Harrison Ford as Han Solo
- Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia Organa
- David Prowse as Darth Vader
- James Earl Jones as 'The Voice Of' Darth Vader
- Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian
- Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine
- Anthony Daniels as C-3PO
- Kenny Baker as R2-D2
- Anthony Daniels as C-3PO
- Kenny Baker as R2-D2
- Warwick David as Wicket
- Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca
- Jeremy Bulloch as Boba Fett
- Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi
Plot and Critical Review: Luke Skywalker, having nearly completed his Jedi training, initiates a plan to rescue the frozen Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt with the help of Princess Leia, Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2. Leia infiltrates Jabba's palace on Tatooine disguised as a bounty hunter and releases Han from his carbonite prison, but is caught and forced to serve as Jabba's slave. Luke arrives and allows himself to be captured after surviving an attempted feeding to the Rancor. Jabba sentences Luke and Han to be fed to the monstrous Sarlacc. As he is about to be put to death, Luke breaks free, receives his newly-constructed lightsaber from R2-D2, and a large battle erupts; in the ensuing chaos, Leia strangles Jabba to death with her slave chains, Han inadvertently knocks Boba Fett, the bounty hunter who captured him, into the gaping maw of the Sarlacc, and Luke, escaping with his allies, destroys Jabba's sail barge. As Han and Leia rendezvous with the other Rebels, Luke returns to Dagobah where he finds that Yoda is dying. With his last breaths, Yoda confirms that Darth Vader is Luke's father, and that Luke must confront him again to become a true Jedi Knight; he also mentions "another Skywalker". The spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi reveals that Darth Vader was once Anakin Skywalker and that the "other Skywalker" Yoda spoke of is Luke's twin sister — who Luke finally realizes is Leia.
The Rebel Alliance learns that the Empire has been constructing a new Death Star, larger and more powerful than the first. In a plan to destroy the new weapon, Han is elected to lead a strike team to destroy the battle station's shield generator on the forest moon of Endor. The destruction of the generator would allowing a squadron of starfighters to enter the incomplete superstructure and destroy it from within. Returning from Dagobah, Luke joins the strike team along with Leia and the others. The strike team uses a captured Imperial shuttle to get to Endor's surface. Darth Vader senses Luke's presence on the shuttle, but lets them through so that they will be ambushed by the Imperial forces lying in wait on the planet below.
On Endor, Luke and his companions encounter a tribe of Ewoks (who mistake C-3PO for a diety) and form a partnership with them. Later, Luke confesses to Leia that Vader is his father, that she is his sister, and that he is leaving to confront Vader one more time, believing that there is still good in him. Luke surrenders to Imperial troops so that they will bring him to Vader. He then tries to convince Vader to turn from the dark side, but Vader says it is too late for him and takes Luke to the Death Star to meet Emperor Palpatine.
Palpatine reveals to Luke that his allies are walking into a trap and that the Death Star is in fact fully operational and set to destroy the Rebellion once and for all. Back on Endor, the Rebels are captured by Imperial forces, but a surprise counterattack launched by the Ewoks allows the Rebels to fight back. During the strike team's assault, Lando leads the Rebel fleet in the Millennium Falcon to the Death Star, only to find the station's shield is still up, and the Imperial Fleet waiting for them. As fighting between the fleets ensue, Palpatine tempts Luke to give in to his anger and join the dark side of the Force. A lightsaber duel between Luke and Vader erupts, during which Vader probes Luke's mind and learns that Luke has a sister. When Vader suggests she would turn to the dark side instead, Luke snaps and attacks him with full force, cutting off Vader's hand and rendering him helpless. Palpatine goads him to kill Vader and take his place as a Sith Lord, but Luke realizes how close he is to suffering his father's fate and casts his lightsaber aside, proclaiming his allegiance to the Jedi. Enraged, Palpatine attacks Luke with Force lightning. Unable to bear the sight of his son's suffering, Vader grasps Palpatine and casts him down a reactor shaft to his death, but is mortally wounded by Palpatine's lightning in the process. The redeemed Anakin Skywalker asks Luke to remove his mask, and tells his son that there is good in him after all before dying, finally at peace.
Meanwhile, on Endor, the strike team, with the help of the Ewoks, defeats the Imperial forces and finally destroys the shield generator, allowing the Rebel fleet to launch a final assault on the Death Star. Lando leads the remaining ships deep into the station's core and fires at the main reactor, causing it to collapse, which slowly engulfs the Death Star in flames. Luke escapes on an Imperial shuttle with his father's body before the Death Star explodes. Lando escapes in the Millennium Falcon. On Endor, Han tells Leia that he knows she loves Luke and offers to step aside; but before he goes she tells him that Luke is her brother and kisses him. That evening, Luke returns to Endor and cremates his father's body and armor on a funeral pyre. The entire galaxy is shown to be celebrating the fall of the Empire. As the Rebels celebrate the end of the Empire, Luke sees the spirits of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and a redeemed Anakin Skywalker watching over them with pride.
- Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca
- Jeremy Bulloch as Boba Fett
- Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi
Plot and Critical Review: Luke Skywalker, having nearly completed his Jedi training, initiates a plan to rescue the frozen Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt with the help of Princess Leia, Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2. Leia infiltrates Jabba's palace on Tatooine disguised as a bounty hunter and releases Han from his carbonite prison, but is caught and forced to serve as Jabba's slave. Luke arrives and allows himself to be captured after surviving an attempted feeding to the Rancor. Jabba sentences Luke and Han to be fed to the monstrous Sarlacc. As he is about to be put to death, Luke breaks free, receives his newly-constructed lightsaber from R2-D2, and a large battle erupts; in the ensuing chaos, Leia strangles Jabba to death with her slave chains, Han inadvertently knocks Boba Fett, the bounty hunter who captured him, into the gaping maw of the Sarlacc, and Luke, escaping with his allies, destroys Jabba's sail barge. As Han and Leia rendezvous with the other Rebels, Luke returns to Dagobah where he finds that Yoda is dying. With his last breaths, Yoda confirms that Darth Vader is Luke's father, and that Luke must confront him again to become a true Jedi Knight; he also mentions "another Skywalker". The spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi reveals that Darth Vader was once Anakin Skywalker and that the "other Skywalker" Yoda spoke of is Luke's twin sister — who Luke finally realizes is Leia.
The Rebel Alliance learns that the Empire has been constructing a new Death Star, larger and more powerful than the first. In a plan to destroy the new weapon, Han is elected to lead a strike team to destroy the battle station's shield generator on the forest moon of Endor. The destruction of the generator would allowing a squadron of starfighters to enter the incomplete superstructure and destroy it from within. Returning from Dagobah, Luke joins the strike team along with Leia and the others. The strike team uses a captured Imperial shuttle to get to Endor's surface. Darth Vader senses Luke's presence on the shuttle, but lets them through so that they will be ambushed by the Imperial forces lying in wait on the planet below.
On Endor, Luke and his companions encounter a tribe of Ewoks (who mistake C-3PO for a diety) and form a partnership with them. Later, Luke confesses to Leia that Vader is his father, that she is his sister, and that he is leaving to confront Vader one more time, believing that there is still good in him. Luke surrenders to Imperial troops so that they will bring him to Vader. He then tries to convince Vader to turn from the dark side, but Vader says it is too late for him and takes Luke to the Death Star to meet Emperor Palpatine.
Palpatine reveals to Luke that his allies are walking into a trap and that the Death Star is in fact fully operational and set to destroy the Rebellion once and for all. Back on Endor, the Rebels are captured by Imperial forces, but a surprise counterattack launched by the Ewoks allows the Rebels to fight back. During the strike team's assault, Lando leads the Rebel fleet in the Millennium Falcon to the Death Star, only to find the station's shield is still up, and the Imperial Fleet waiting for them. As fighting between the fleets ensue, Palpatine tempts Luke to give in to his anger and join the dark side of the Force. A lightsaber duel between Luke and Vader erupts, during which Vader probes Luke's mind and learns that Luke has a sister. When Vader suggests she would turn to the dark side instead, Luke snaps and attacks him with full force, cutting off Vader's hand and rendering him helpless. Palpatine goads him to kill Vader and take his place as a Sith Lord, but Luke realizes how close he is to suffering his father's fate and casts his lightsaber aside, proclaiming his allegiance to the Jedi. Enraged, Palpatine attacks Luke with Force lightning. Unable to bear the sight of his son's suffering, Vader grasps Palpatine and casts him down a reactor shaft to his death, but is mortally wounded by Palpatine's lightning in the process. The redeemed Anakin Skywalker asks Luke to remove his mask, and tells his son that there is good in him after all before dying, finally at peace.
Meanwhile, on Endor, the strike team, with the help of the Ewoks, defeats the Imperial forces and finally destroys the shield generator, allowing the Rebel fleet to launch a final assault on the Death Star. Lando leads the remaining ships deep into the station's core and fires at the main reactor, causing it to collapse, which slowly engulfs the Death Star in flames. Luke escapes on an Imperial shuttle with his father's body before the Death Star explodes. Lando escapes in the Millennium Falcon. On Endor, Han tells Leia that he knows she loves Luke and offers to step aside; but before he goes she tells him that Luke is her brother and kisses him. That evening, Luke returns to Endor and cremates his father's body and armor on a funeral pyre. The entire galaxy is shown to be celebrating the fall of the Empire. As the Rebels celebrate the end of the Empire, Luke sees the spirits of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and a redeemed Anakin Skywalker watching over them with pride.
Here's a few more lesser-known facts:
- Approximate Budget: $32.5 million
- Approximate Income from Initial Theatrical Release: $475 million
- Kenny Baker, who played R2-D2 through the course of the first two films was cast to play the role of Wicket but became ill with food poisoning the morning of the shoot. Warwick David (who was 11 at the time) had previous auditioned for the "Star Wars" when there was a casting call for dwarf actors. At the time Davis had no acting experience whatsoever. He went on to reprise the role of Wicket in several movies based on the race of Ewoks and became internationally famous when he played Willow in the film of the same name. You're might be familiar with his recent work as Professor Flitwick (and Griphook) in the Harry Potter films.
- Lucas had hoped to hire Steven Spielberg to direct Episode VI but was unable to as Spielberg had removed himself form the Directors Guild of America, making it almost impossible for him to work for any larger film studio. It seems Spielberg managed to do alright in the long run...
- The original theatrical poster used the title "Revenge Of The Jedi". Lucas quickly had it changed as he felt that revenge wasn't in keeping with the Jedi code. The posters which bear that title are highly collectible.
- Vader is the Dutch word for "Father".
My Rating: 7.5/10 (This one is exceptionally difficult to rate. "Return..." is a true finale and provides a suitable ending to a tremendous film series, but in terms of revenue, reward, recognition, and general fan approval, "Return..." is probably ranked about 3rd of 4th out of the entire "Star Wars" series. I love this movie, but my love and affection alone cannot grant it a rating above 7.5.
Content to Caution:
V-2.5 - Woodland creatures are killed by Stormtroopers. Some people have a hard time with that...
L-.5 - No comment.
DU-0 - No comment.
RT-0 - There's a lot of talk about Luke being a "slave" to the Emperor, but it doesn't exactly quality as being "racial slander".
H/S-2 - To maintain balance while trying to convey the action of two epic battles is never an easy feat, but it's done here with style and precision.
CH-.5 - No comment.
S/N-1 - A kiss here and there. Lots of hugging toward the end.
The "Reel Revelation": "A Galaxy (Not So) Far, Far Away - Pt. 6"
In a previous review I wrote about the plot device in which a character offers his or her confession to another character at the last possible moment. Whether it's a confession of love (and it is, most of the time), a declaration of victory, or a final plea for help, Hollywood leans heavily on confessions offered in last-minute moments for the sake of heightened drama and tension. And it does. In that previous review, however, I reflected that we ought not wait until the last minute (as characters in films and books seem to do) to share what is most important. This is especially true when it comes to sharing the Gospel of Christ and expressing God's love to those around us...we simply can't wait until the last minute, especially when God is calling us to speak and act now!
Content to Caution:
V-2.5 - Woodland creatures are killed by Stormtroopers. Some people have a hard time with that...
L-.5 - No comment.
DU-0 - No comment.
RT-0 - There's a lot of talk about Luke being a "slave" to the Emperor, but it doesn't exactly quality as being "racial slander".
H/S-2 - To maintain balance while trying to convey the action of two epic battles is never an easy feat, but it's done here with style and precision.
CH-.5 - No comment.
S/N-1 - A kiss here and there. Lots of hugging toward the end.
The "Reel Revelation": "A Galaxy (Not So) Far, Far Away - Pt. 6"
In a previous review I wrote about the plot device in which a character offers his or her confession to another character at the last possible moment. Whether it's a confession of love (and it is, most of the time), a declaration of victory, or a final plea for help, Hollywood leans heavily on confessions offered in last-minute moments for the sake of heightened drama and tension. And it does. In that previous review, however, I reflected that we ought not wait until the last minute (as characters in films and books seem to do) to share what is most important. This is especially true when it comes to sharing the Gospel of Christ and expressing God's love to those around us...we simply can't wait until the last minute, especially when God is calling us to speak and act now!
But try as we might, those moments do occur when someone, at the very last possible moment, says something that changes our lives. We see it in "Return Of The Jedi" as Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader no longer, having killed Emperor Palpatine to save his son) asks Luke to take off his mask (which keeps him alive in the first place) so that he can look on his son "with (his) own eyes". It's then that Anakin tells Luke he was right all along, that he hadn't truly been lost to the Dark Side of The Force and that he truly was a good man. And then he breathes his last. A tender sentiment at the very end. While it might not happen for us on the ramp of a spaceship in the middle of an exploding space station, we too have experiences of last-minute confessions that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.
To that same end we are responsible for our own last-minute moments in which our final words will be the words by which people will remember us. We naturally think of the final words we'll speak during this life, be they spoken from our death bed, on the phone, or in a living will and testament, but let us not forget the many last-minute moments we move through on a daily basis:
- Walking out of the house on the way to work.
- The end of a phone conversation with a loved one.
- The final lines of a letter or e-mail or text message.
- The way we close conversations with friends, family members, and strangers.
- The final words we speak to a spouse or child before we fall asleep.
How we choose to end such conversations and encounters really matters! Not only because there's a chance (however slim) that they'll be the last time we speak with those we know, but because those final words will represent us from that moment until the next moment we meet with that person or group of people again. To this end St. Paul wrote to the Christians in Ephesus and urged them to: "Speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity." (Eph. 4:25b-27)
Have you ever ended a conversation with a set of poorly chosen words and, later on, realized you ought to have spoken differently? From the moment that conversation ended until the moment you reconcile with that person and seek forgiveness, who knows what will happen in their heart! Even a simple set of poorly chosen words can throw a person off-center for days, even weeks! Even a lifetime.
My sister always ends our phone conversations with "I love you". Even if I call to ask her a simple question about baking and the call doesn't last more than 60 seconds she always says "I love you, brother". There was a time in which I grew tired of it, feeling that it was starting to become somewhat contrived. Now, i'd rather end my conversations with her with those words than any others; it leaves me no room to doubt how she feels about me. What a grace from God.
I do not wish to give you the idea that I am at all fascinated or obsessed with death and the dying, but I find the stories of peoples' last words highly interesting. In closing, here's a list of some noteworthy last-minute moments from some folks you're sure to recognize.
"Please put out the light." - Theodore Roosevelt
"I'm bored with it all." - Winston Churchill
"It is very beautiful over there." - Thomas Edison
"Let me go to the house of my Father." - Pope John Paul II
"I have tried so hard to do right." - Grover Cleveland
"Either that wallpaper goes, or I do." - Oscar Wilde
"I shall hear in Heaven." - Ludwig van Beethoven (Unconfirmed)
Make your last words count my friends, be they at the end of this life or at the end of your next phone call. I'll try to set a good example in saying that I hold you all in my heart, and love you with the love of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
See you tomorrow - E.T.
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