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"I am a Jedi, like my father before me."
Luke Skywalker — (audio) Listen (file info)[4]

Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, marketed as simply Return of the Jedi, is a 1983 film directed by Richard Marquand and written by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas. It is the third and final part of the Star Wars original trilogy.

Luke Skywalker and friends travel to Tatooine to rescue their companion Han Solo from the vile Jabba the Hutt. The Empire prepares to crush the Rebellion with a more powerful Death Star, while the Rebel fleet mounts a massive attack on the space station. Luke confronts his father, Darth Vader, in a final climactic duel before the evil Emperor.

The film debuted on May 25, 1983, and was released on VHS and LaserDisc in this form multiple times during the 80s and 90s. The film was re-released with changes in 1997, and this version was later released on VHS and LaserDisc as well. The special edition arrived on DVD in 2004, but with further updates and changes to the 1997 versions. The original, unaltered version of the film was released as part of a DVD set in September 2006. The film was re-released in the Blu-ray format in September of 2011. Then in 2023, Return of the Jedi saw a limited theatrical rerelease to commemorate its 40th anniversary.

Opening crawl[]

Episode VI
RETURN OF THE JEDI
Luke Skywalker has returned to
his home planet of Tatooine in
an attempt to rescue his
friend Han Solo from the
clutches of the vile gangster
Jabba the Hutt.

Little does Luke know that the
GALACTIC EMPIRE has secretly
begun construction on a new
armored space station even
more powerful than the first
dreaded Death Star.

When completed, this ultimate
weapon will spell certain doom
for the small band of rebels
struggling to restore freedom
to the galaxy...

Plot summary[]

Vader's arrival to the Death Star[]

"The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am."
―Darth Vader[4]
MoffJerjerrodGreetsVader

Moff Jerjerrod greets Darth Vader aboard the newly built Death Star.

Almost a full year after the events of The Empire Strikes Back,[5] Darth Vader lands in the docking bay of the incomplete second Death Star, which the Empire designed to be more powerful than the first. He is greeted by Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod, but demands construction be put back on schedule in order to complete the Death Star on time. Jerjerrod argues that they need more men, but quickly agrees to double their efforts when he learns that the Emperor is coming.

Arriving at Jabba's Palace[]

"If I told you half the things I've heard about this Jabba the Hutt… you'd probably short-circuit."
―C-3PO to R2-D2[4]

Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker and company have arrived on Tatooine in an attempt to rescue their friend Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt's desert palace.

JabbasDais-BtM

Jabba the Hutt reclines with his slave girl Oola.

First, the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO arrive with a holographic message from Skywalker asking Jabba to release Solo. In exchange, the two droids are presented as gifts to the crime lord; Luke promises that both are hardworking and that they will serve him well, which Jabba agrees to silently. However, when the message finishes, he states that there will be no bargain and that he won't give up his "favorite decoration". The two droids are then sent to their quarters, where EV-9D9 harshly barks at the two when they explain what they can do. 3PO is ordered to be Jabba's interpreter, while R2 is tasked with working on the Khetanna.

That evening, the Max Rebo Band (led by Sy Snootles) entertains the Hutt's guests. Jabba, engaged by the graceful gyrations of his collared slave girl Oola, starts tugging on her chain and commanding her to come to him on his throne. Oola fearfully resists him, and in annoyance, Jabba pushes a button on his throne, and Oola is dropped through a hidden trapdoor at the foot of his throne, into the hole of the rancor monster, which immediately devours her.

Saving Han Solo[]

""Who—who're you?"
"
Someone who loves you."
"
Leia…."
―Leia Organa and Han Solo[4]

Later, Princess Leia Organa (in the guise of bounty hunter Boushh) arrives with Chewbacca as her "prisoner" to collect part of the bounty Jabba sought years earlier when he put a price on Solo's head. After much bargaining (including Leia threatening Jabba with a thermal detonator), Jabba settles on a deal, and has Chewbacca imprisoned.

That night, Leia releases Han Solo from his carbonite coffin, and after revealing her identity to him, she kisses him. As they prepare to escape, they are caught by Jabba and his thugs. Ignoring Han's pleas, Jabba has the captain thrown in prison with Chewbacca. Although Lando Calrissian (disguised as one of Jabba's prison guards) tries to sneak off with Leia, Jabba stops them and orders a Gamorrean guard to bring Leia to him. Leia warns the Hutt that he will regret capturing the Rebels, but Jabba ignores the threat and licks her face. Leia is forced to become Jabba's newest slave girl, being made to wear a dancing costume and chained to the throne as a trophy.

Luke Skywalker arrives at the palace[]

Luke the hutt

Luke Skywalker meets with Jabba the Hutt, who flaunts his power by exploiting Princess Leia as his slave.

Later, Luke arrives at the palace. Jabba and most of his court are asleep, but are awoken by Bib Fortuna (who, in trying to impede the Jedi's entrance, is Force-tricked into welcoming him). Leia remains silent beside the Hutt, despite her rising hope at seeing Luke. Luke demands that Jabba release Han and his other friends, but Jabba refuses the young Jedi's offer. Luke uses the Force to pull a nearby blaster and attempts to shoot Jabba, but the Hutt activates the trapdoor to protect himself, dropping the Jedi and an unfortunate guard into the rancor pit.

After a battle with the rancor (which devours the fallen guard), Luke ultimately kills the monster by crushing it under the gate of its compound, piercing its neck with the spikes at the bottom of the gate. He is then captured and brought up by Jabba's thugs. Jabba, furious, chokes Leia until she falls back on his stomach, and orders the prisoners to be brought before him. Luke, Han, and Chewbacca are brought before Jabba, exchanging relief at each other's safety as Leia struggles with Jabba to sit upright before him.

Using C-3PO as a translator, Jabba sentences Luke and his friends to be taken to the Dune Sea for termination (over a course of a thousand years) by the man-eating sarlacc at the Great Pit of Carkoon. Leia is spared from execution since she is Jabba's favorite slave. As Jabba orders the prisoners to be taken away, Luke warns him that he's made his last mistake, at which the Hutt laughs in amusement.

Skirmish at the Great Pit of Carkoon[]

"Jabba, This is your last chance. Free us, or die."
―Luke Skywalker, to Jabba Desilijic Tiure[4]

Jabba, accompanied by Leia and several of his thugs, travels to the Pit of Carkoon via his sail barge, while the prisoners are taken on a smaller skiff. En route, R2-D2 is tasked with serving drinks to Jabba's guests, and the Max Rebo Band plays music in the background. Jabba allows Leia to climb off his throne and watch her friends from a window. After a while, he gives a tug on her chain, playfully commanding her to come to him. Leia glares back at him and returns to watching, and Jabba chuckles. He later pulls her chain again, this time forcing her to run to him on his throne. Jabba then informs Leia that she will soon learn to appreciate him and makes her drink from his goblet.

Outside, Luke and his companions (with Lando, still in disguise) discuss their situation. Han, still half-blinded from the side-effects of carbonization, is sure that they are all going to die, and Luke tries to reassure him of their ultimate safety, but Han is not easily convinced. Elsewhere in the sail barge, C-3PO literally runs into R2-D2 and knocks over the shorter droid's drink tray. C-3PO laments their friends' imminent deaths, but R2-D2 shows a kind of confidence, which C-3PO doesn't see any reason for.

LukeSkywalkerPromo-ROTJ

Luke attacks Jabba's guards with his new lightsaber

When the vehicles ultimately reach the pit, Jabba has C-3PO announce the group's deaths, but that he is willing to now listen to their pleas. Han calls Jabba names and tells him that he'll not get any pleasure from their pleading, much to the Hutt's amusement, and Luke offers a final chance for Jabba to free him and his friends or die. Jabba and his guests laugh off this last threat and order the execution to commence. Luke gets ushered off of a plank and into the sarlacc, only to Force-flip up through the air and onto the skiff. Meanwhile, R2-D2 launches Luke's new built lightsaber from a hidden panel in his housing, and Luke catches it and begins to kill his captors. As Jabba furiously orders his thugs to intervene, C-3PO gets knocked over. Leia looks around, ready to use her false submission to the Hutt to her advantage.

Boba Fett uses his jetpack to fly off of the barge and land on the skiff as Luke is in the act of freeing Han and Chewbacca. Luke uses his lightsaber to cut Fett's blaster in half, and Chewbacca pushes the bounty hunter onto the deck. Luke then jumps onto another of the accompanying skiffs to fight off the guards and thugs there.

While fighting the skiff pilot, Lando accidentally falls off the side of the skiff, and although he manages to hold onto a wire, one of the sarlacc's tentacles begins to pull him to his death, and Han and Chewbacca have to carefully rescue him. Han accidentally activates Fett's backpack when he turns around and smashes the butt of an axe against it. Fett subsequently flies out of control from the skiff, crashing against the hull of the barge before falling into the sarlacc's open mouth, making it belch.

Jabbachoke

Leia prepares to strangle Jabba with the very chain he'd used to enslave her.

Aboard the sail barge, Leia smashes the controls for the sail barge's interior lights, throwing it into darkness, and proceeds to strangle Jabba with her chain, killing him, Leia jumps off of the throne and has R2-D2 help break her chain, then heads for the stairs to the top surface of the sail barge. Meanwhile, Salacious B. Crumb attacks the fallen C-3PO, and R2-D2 uses the same device he'd freed Leia with to chase the lizard-monkey away. Reaching the surface, the droids jump off the edge of the sail barge and land in the Tatooinian sand.

Luke and Leia defeat the remaining guards on the Sail Barge, then Luke has Leia point the guns toward the heart of the vehicle. They prepare to swing from a loose cable on the Barge's sails, and Luke discharges the guns, beginning to destroy the barge. They swing to their rescue on the land skiff with Han, Lando, and Chewbacca, then use magnets to pick up the two droids from the sand. They all drive off just as the sail barge explodes.

Later, all of the crew (except for Luke and R2-D2) depart Tatooine for the rendezvous point near Sullust (mentioned in The Empire Strikes Back) where the Rebel Alliance is assembling, while Luke and R2-D2 (in their X-wing) head for Dagobah to fulfill a promise to Yoda made some time earlier.

The Emperor arrives[]

"Patience, my friend. In time, he will seek you out. And when he does, you must bring him before me. He has grown strong. Only together can we turn him to the dark side of the Force."
"As you wish."
"Everything is proceeding as I have foreseen."
―Darth Sidious and Darth Vader[4]

On the second Death Star, Darth Sidious arrives and praises Darth Vader on his efforts in the construction of the Death Star. He also senses that Vader craves the continuation of his search for his son, Luke. The old Sith Lord assures his apprentice that Luke will seek Vader out, that only together would the Sith be able to turn Luke to the dark side of the Force, and that everything was proceeding as the Emperor has foreseen.

Returning to Dagobah[]

"But I need your help. I've come back to complete the training."
―Luke Skywalker, to Yoda[4]
YodasDeath-ROTJ

Yoda dies and becomes one with the Force.

Luke and R2-D2 arrive on Dagobah to find a terminally ill Yoda. Luke has returned to complete his Jedi training, but Yoda declares no further training is required. All that remains for Luke is to confront Vader. Yoda then reveals that Vader is indeed his father. The 900-year-old Jedi Master gives one last mention of wisdom to the young Jedi before he dies, disappearing in the way Obi-Wan Kenobi did in A New Hope, thereby becoming one with the Force.

As Luke approaches his X-wing, the ghost form of Obi-Wan confirms that Vader was once Anakin Skywalker, a former Jedi Knight who turned to the dark side of the Force. Kenobi also reveals that Luke has a twin sister, hidden from Luke at birth as protection from the Emperor. Luke senses that his sister is Leia. Kenobi warns Luke to bury his feelings, for they could in time "serve the Emperor."

The mission begins[]

"The Emperor has made a critical error, and the time for our attack has come."
―Mon Mothma[4]
Home One Endor

The Alliance Fleet amazing near Sullust

At the rendezvous point near Sullust, the Rebel Alliance gathers to reveal plans to attack the Death Star. As part of the plans, Luke, Leia, Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, and a strike team must penetrate the deflector shield generator on the forest moon of Endor in order to deactivate the shield if the Rebel fleet is to attack the Death Star. However, Vader knows this because he could sense that his son was with them and allows them to land on the planet. Luke senses his father as well and begins to believe that he would endanger the mission by coming.

The strike team lands on Endor only to be discovered by Imperial scout troopers. A speeder bike chase ensues, only for Leia to be thrown off her speeder and knocked unconscious. Luke and Han discover Leia's helmet, then they, with Chewbacca and the droids, try to find her. Leia is awakened by one of Endor's forest creatures, an Ewok named Wicket W. Warrick. Suddenly, another scout trooper discovers Leia, but Wicket does away with the trooper before rescuing Leia.

Luke, Han, Chewbacca, and the droids, meanwhile, fall into a booby trap set by the Ewoks. R2-D2 cuts open the net setting them free, but the Ewok tribe discovers C-3PO and proclaims him to be their god. The droid's Human and Wookiee friends are taken prisoner, and the Ewoks proclaim Han to be the main course in a banquet in C-3PO's honor. Discovered by Leia, Luke then uses the Force to levitate C-3PO to show off his "great magic." Convinced of the Rebels' good intentions, the Ewoks set them free and later that evening make them "part of the tribe," thereby agreeing to join the fight against the Empire. But Luke decides the time has come to leave Endor and face Darth Vader. Leia follows Luke out of the tribal gathering, whereupon he tells her that Vader is his father and she is his sister. Leia is rendered utterly shocked, but accepts the truth. She is comforted by Han Solo.

Meeting the Emperor[]

"Oh, no, my young Jedi. You will find that it is you who are mistaken... about a great many things."
―Darth Sidious to Luke Skywalker[4]

Vader arrives in his shuttle on a docking bay, and Luke, having already surrendered to the Empire, talks with Vader in an attempt to bring the Sith Lord out of the dark side of the Force, but to no avail. The Empire takes Luke into custody for transportation to the Death Star. The next day, the Rebels attempt to locate the shield generator, and the Rebel fleet enters hyperspace from Sullust to prepare for the final attack. Luke and Vader finally enter the Death Star and confront the Emperor, who looks forward to completing Luke's training and believes that while Vader would never turn from the dark side, neither would Luke. He also reveals that it was he who coordinated the Rebels finding the secret plans and locating the shield generator so that the Alliance can fall into a trap of Sidious' devising.

The Battle of Endor begins[]

BattleofEndor

The battle of Endor starts.

The Rebels enter the heart of the shield generator, only to be taken prisoner by the Imperial forces. The fleet emerges from hyperspace for the battle, but discovers the shield is still up. As they contemplate their options, the Imperial fleet, which they were led to believe was away, appears and an intense battle begins. Han and the strike team are led out of the bunker by the stormtroopers, but the droids and the Ewoks have already orchestrated the attack on the Empire, and another intense battle commences with the Rebels and Ewoks on one side, the Empire on another. The Emperor shows Luke the full power of the Death Star as the station, now fully operational, destroys one of the Alliance's ships. Meanwhile, on Endor, the battle continues, with casualties (Rebel, stormtrooper, and Ewok) already mounting. Eventually, Han, Leia, and Chewbacca gain access to the bunker.

Duel between father and son[]

Return of the jedi 4

Vader and Luke battle each other on the 2nd Death Star.

Back on the Death Star, Luke, with the encouragement of Darth Sidious, lashes out at him with his lightsaber, only to be deflected by Vader, and the final duel between father and son begins. As Luke climbs onto a balcony, Vader throws his lightsaber at his son. It misses Luke and knocks the balcony down, taking Luke with it. Vader stalks for a hidden Luke to let down his guard, while quietly sensing within his son's mind that Luke has a sister. Vader threatens to turn her to the dark side if Luke will not, prompting Luke to respond viciously in intense saber fighting, up to the point where Luke strikes off Vader's right mechanical hand. Sidious betrays Vader by encouraging Luke to take his father's place at his side, but Luke controls his anger and throws his lightsaber aside. He declares himself to be a Jedi Knight like his father Anakin had been before he turned over to the dark side into Darth Vader.

Anakin's choice[]

Han, Leia, and Chewbacca escape from the bunker just in time for its destruction, thus bringing down the shield. The Alliance is now free to attack the half-completed Death Star. On the Death Star, the enraged Emperor declares that if Luke will not turn to the dark side, he will be destroyed, and uses Force lightning against the young Jedi. He revels in torturing Luke by slowly increasing the intensity of the lightning. Luke then cries out to his father to help him. As the Emperor prepares to deliver the killing bolts, Vader prepares to make a choice; he looks at Luke and then the Emperor, conflicted whether to save his son or to continue serving his master.

Moved by his son's cries for help and unwilling to see him die, Vader turns back into the light side as Anakin and lifts the Emperor into the air, carries him over and throws him into the Death Star's reactor shaft, killing him. However, in the process, Vader is struck by the Emperor's force lightning, which enters his organic remains, striking his life support system and his respirator, mortally wounding him. The Millennium Falcon and its remaining Rebel fighters enter the bowels of the Death Star, and some fighters engage in a point-blank attack on the Super Star Destroyer, causing the Imperial flagship's destruction.

Anakin Skywalker's Death[]

"No, you're coming with me. I'll not leave you here. I've got to save you."
"
You already have, Luke. You were right. You were right about me. Tell your sister you were right."
Luke and Anakin, in the moments before Anakin's death[4]
Anakinredeemed

Anakin Skywalker's last moments

On the Death Star, in the middle of the evacuation, Luke carries his father's ravaged body to the foot of an Imperial shuttle's ramp. Anakin stops Luke and asks him to remove his mask so that he can look upon the face of his son, just for once, with his "own eyes".

Luke removes the mask and sees the face of his father for the first time. Anakin's face is revealed to have turned pale white and scaly, and his head retains some vicious scars after 23 years from his duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

Anakin tells Luke that his son was right—he did have good left in him, and asks him to tell his sister the same. With that, Anakin Skywalker, the redeemed Jedi Knight, smiles at his son and dies peacefully. Luke bows his head in sadness.

Knocking out the main reactor[]

The Millennium Falcon and its strike force (in the last Rebel fighter inside) reach the Death Star's main reactor and fire concussion missiles and proton torpedoes at it, causing it to collapse. Luke escapes the Death Star with his father's body and flies out through the flames, as do Wedge Antilles and the Millennium Falcon before the Death Star explodes.

Seeing the destruction from above, Han senses Leia's love for Luke. He offers to step aside when Luke arrives, but she tells Han that Luke is her brother. After a moment of speechless surprise, Han and Leia engage in a passionate kiss.

The big galaxy victory celebration[]

"Wesa free!"
―An unidentified Gungan[4]
Anakinfuneral

Anakin Skywalker's cremation

That evening in Endor, Luke sets a funeral pyre ablaze to cremate the body of his father, still encased in Darth Vader's outfit, as per the Jedi funeral rite. His father's organic body becomes one with the Force. Through the midst of the rising flames and fireworks, Rebel fighters streak across the sky in celebration of one of the greatest Rebel victories in the Galactic Civil War.

MosEisley-celebration

Tatooine celebrates

The planets Bespin, Tatooine, Naboo, and Coruscant also celebrate. Luke is reunited with his companions Han, Lando, the droids, Chewbacca, the surviving Rebel fleet, the Ewoks, and his sister Leia. Luke then catches sight of the Force ghosts of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Anakin Skywalker. Luke is pleased: not only is he now a Jedi, but his father is once again on the light side of the Force. Leia takes Luke by the hand, and they rejoin their friends and colleagues as the Force ghosts of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin look on with pride.

Development[]

Blue Harvest
"When shooting Jedi in the United States we called the film Blue Harvest. Camera slates, invoices, hotel reservations, call sheets, production reports, and crew hats and T-shirts all read Blue Harvest. So when a visitor would ask, 'what are you shooting' and we said Blue Harvest, they went on their way. Can you imagine what would have happened if we had said, 'We're shooting the next film in the Star Wars trilogy'?""
Howard G. Kazanjian[6]

For several reasons, the working title of the project was Blue Harvest and dubbed "Horror Beyond Imagination" to engender no interest whatsoever in order to disguise what the production crew was really filming from fans and the prying eyes of the press. George Lucas had severed all his remaining ties to the Hollywood system out of a feeling of persecution after the success of The Empire Strikes Back and had become a truly independent filmmaker. Lucasfilm is a non-union company, and despite George Lucas's stature and clout, that, says Howard Kazanjian in Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy, made acquiring shooting locations more difficult and more expensive, even though A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back were mammoth hits.

The title was used in all areas where it seemed necessary. The Blue Harvest ruse, credited to producer Howard Kazanjian, was very thorough, emblazoning the fictitious film's logo on a wide range of film production items including shirts, caps, coats, buttons, signs, invoices and stationery. The Blue Harvest facade did give a bit of a wink and nod to its true purpose, however, as the supposed film's logo (intentionally or unintentionally) utilized the distinctive Star Wars logo lettering style. In particular the ruse was employed during location filming in Yuma, Arizona. The filming took place in the dunes over the Thanksgiving holiday, where there was a reported crowd of 35,000 dune-buggy enthusiasts. After erecting a chain-link fence, employing a huge security force, and dodging a myriad of press inquiries, in the end approximately sixty fans saw through the ruse and refused to leave until they obtained a few autographs and photos.[source?]

The film's director was the late Richard Marquand, who passed away in 1987 of a heart ailment, but reports have suggested that George Lucas was still heavily involved in the shooting of Return of the Jedi and likely directed some of the second-unit work personally when shooting threatened to go over schedule. Lucas admits in the documentary Empire of Dreams that he had to often be on the set due to Marquand's relative inexperience with special effects, but comments by The Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner on that film's DVD audio commentary track suggest that Lucas, who acted more as an advisor on The Empire Strikes Back, had a similar role on the production of Return of the Jedi. Moreover, George Lucas, according to Kershner, called The Empire Strikes Back Kershner's movie, not his.

Some have noted the differences between Richard Marquand's direction style and Lucas's direction style and say that they're dissimilar. The screenplay was written by Lawrence Kasdan and Lucas (with uncredited contributions by David Webb Peoples), based on Lucas's story. Howard G. Kazanjian served as producer.

RotjOrig

Original movie poster

The documentary Empire of Dreams states that George Lucas initially intended to call the film Return of the Jedi, but then changed it to Revenge of the Jedi when Lawrence Kasdan told him that "Return" was a weak title. On January 27, a few months before the movie released, Lucas announced that the film would be titled Return of the Jedi.[7] In interviews, Lucas said that the reason for the change is that a Jedi would not seek revenge. There are many, though, who speculate that George Lucas had planned to call the film Return of the Jedi all along, and only used "Revenge" as a means to throw off merchandise counterfeiters. It has also been claimed that the reason for the change was because the working title of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was The Vengeance of Khan, and that the title was changed because of its similarity to Revenge of the Jedi. In William Shatner's autobiography Star Trek Movie Memories, director Nicholas Meyer confirmed that he didn't believe that 20th Century Fox would allow Paramount to change his film's title from The Undiscovered Country to The Vengeance of Khan because of the making of Revenge of the Jedi. Nevertheless, all of this potential controversy was erased when Star Trek II was retitled The Wrath of Khan and Revenge of the Jedi finally became Return of the Jedi. In any event, the working title was partially reused for Episode III Revenge of the Sith.

Filming took place from January 11 to May 20, 1982, in Redwood National Park forests in California, the Yuma desert in Arizona, and at the Elstree Studios, United Kingdom. A shot from the speeder bike scene was the last to be completed.[8] During breaks in filming, First Assistant Director David Tomblin worked with Warwick Davis on Return of the Ewok, a short film intended to be a promotional piece. However, the project was never completed and is presumed lost, with the only known copy being a VHS in Davis' possession (which has since been digitally archived by Lucasfilm).[9]

With a massive worldwide marketing campaign, Star Wars series artist Drew Struzan created the iconic and distinctive images for the movie posters and other advertising. In the film's release poster, Luke Skywalker is depicted holding a blue lightsaber—a lightsaber color that does not appear in the film. His new lightsaber is green—although it is blue in one trailer, suggesting the decision to make it green was made late in production. In fact, the decision was made to make Luke's blade contrast with the blue sky of Tatooine and make it more visible during the skirmish at Carkoon.[10]

A wardrobe problem was present in the film in that all Imperial characters, regardless of rank, are shown wearing identical rank insignia, that of an Imperial Navy Commander. The production staff only recognized this halfway through the film's shooting, and the error remained uncorrected in the final version of the film.

Prior to production of the film, Mark Hamill speculated that Luke would end up turning to the dark side midway through the film, with the main conflict being whether Luke could return to the light side. A similar conflict would emerge in the comic serial Star Wars: Dark Empire.

Release[]

Revenge of the jedi poster

Revenge of the Jedi poster

The film was released on May 25, 1983—six years to the day after the original film.

Merchandise[]

The novelization of Return of the Jedi was written by James Kahn. While it contains many scenes that were deleted from the final cut, with the release of Revenge of the Sith, Kahn's assertion that Anakin Skywalker's memories of "lava crawling up his back" have proved to be in error. In the novelization of Return of the Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi recounts to Luke Skywalker that he and Anakin Skywalker had battled and that his father "fell into a molten pit." The novelization also erroneously refers to Owen Lars as Obi-Wan Kenobi's brother. Owen Lars is, in fact, Anakin Skywalker's stepbrother. Incidentally, Joel and Nash Edgerton, Owen's portrayer and Ewan McGregor's stunt double, respectively, in the prequel trilogy, are brothers in real life. At the beginning of the confrontation in Darth Sidious's throne room, the Emperor reads Luke's mind and discovers that Yoda completed Luke's Jedi training, and that Yoda is now dead. However, he gives no sign of recognition on hearing Yoda's name.

The film was adapted into comics form by Marvel Comics. Unlike the earlier film adaptations, it was not released as part of the ongoing Star Wars series, but as a four-part (1 2 3 4) mini-series of its own. The adaptation was scripted by Archie Goodwin and illustrated by Al Williamson. (A manga adaptation, illustrated by Shin-Ichi Hiromoto, was later released in Japan in 1998 and in the United States in 1999.)

While the first two Star Wars movies were adapted for radio in the early 1980s, it was not until 1996 that a radio version of Return of the Jedi was produced. The adaptation was written by Brian Daley and was produced for and broadcast on National Public Radio.

In November 1983, CBS aired the official making-of documentary, Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi. The popularity of the Ewoks also led to two made-for-TV movies in 1984 (The Ewok Adventure and 1985 (Ewoks: The Battle for Endor) and an an animated TV series that aired on ABC in 1985 and 1986.

Special Edition and home video[]

As with the other two films of his original trilogy, Lucas issued a Special Edition of Return of the Jedi, released on theaters on March 14, 1997.[2] It makes a number of cosmetic changes and additions, including replacing a piece of music from the closing scene. In Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, Anakin Skywalker is played by Hayden Christensen. However, in the original and Special Edition version of Return of the Jedi, a much older actor named Sebastian Shaw played both the dying Anakin Skywalker and his Force spirit. In the DVD release, Anakin's ghost has become a young man, played by Christensen, and this is considered the canon version of the ghost. Lucas explains in the DVD commentary that Anakin has learned to control his life force beyond death, just as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda had before him. (This is briefly explained in Revenge of the Sith.) So rather than appear as the older man who was Darth Vader, Anakin is able to return to the young man he once was before turning to the dark side.

The basic controversy arises from critics of Lucas's ongoing changes to all of the Star Wars films. On one hand, the redemption of Luke's father as an older man suggests that this is the image that should represent him after death. On the other, the older man was arguably never Anakin Skywalker until his final moments, and the vision of Hayden Christensen brings the story full circle: Darth Vader defeated, Anakin Skywalker at rest. Still, many fans argue that the insertion of Christensen is disrespectful toward Shaw.

On September 21, 2004 the three original movies were released on DVD. There were a few further changes with this release, such as sound effects and improvements to the visual quality of the film.

During the sequence when the Emperor's defeat at Endor is announced to the galaxy, an additional scene showing the celebrations on Theed, Naboo was shown. A Gungan can be heard yelling "Wesa free" in this scene. In the scene showing the people of Coruscant celebrating, the Senate Building and the Jedi Temple have been added in the background.

With the release of the third episode that 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. Sebastian Shaw played Anakin in the hangar bay and in the final celebration scene in the original film. In the DVD release, Shaw portrayed Anakin in the hangar bay scene, though his eyebrows had been digitally removed so that his appearance more closely resembled Anakin's injured appearance at the end of Revenge of the Sith. However, he was replaced by Hayden Christensen during the final celebration, appearing as he did in Revenge of the Sith prior to his injuries on Mustafar. Instead of simply reshooting the Force ghost of Anakin with Hayden, test footage of Hayden's head was digitally grafted to the body of Sebastian Shaw playing the role.

On September 12, 2006, Lucasfilm Ltd. released a two-DVD set consisting of the 2004 Special Edition and the unaltered original theatrical version. This release was limited, lasting through December 31 of that year.[11]

The film was re-released in the Blu-ray format on September 16, 2011. Among its bonus features, this released included previously unreleased deleted scenes from the film.[12] This release included a third round of changes to the film, mostly minor visual alterations.

On April 7, 2015, the Walt Disney Studios, 20th Century Fox, and Lucasfilm jointly announced the digital releases of the six released Star Wars films. As Lucasfilm had retained digital distribution rights to Episodes I through III and V through VI, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released Return of the Jedi for digital download on April 10, 2015.[13] On the official promo poster for Return of the Jedi, Luke's lightsaber appeared blue; however, it is green in the movie.

Despite the Walt Disney Company's 2012 purchase of Lucasfilm Ltd. and the release rights to all future Star Wars films, Fox was to retain original distribution rights to Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, which they co-produced and co-financed, in perpetuity in all media worldwide. Fox was also to retain theatrical, nontheatrical, and home-video rights worldwide for the franchise's five subsequent films, which Lucasfilm produced and financed independently, through May 2020, at which time ownership was to transfer to Disney. This complex relationship between Fox and Disney, particularly in regards to Fox's perpetual rights to Episode IV, was to create an obstacle for any future boxed set comprising all nine films.[14] On December 14, 2017, The Walt Disney Company announced that it was acquiring most of Fox's parent company, 21st Century Fox, including the film studio and all distribution rights to A New Hope.[15] On March 20, 2019, the deal was officially completed.[16] On April 12, 2019, a Blu-ray box set containing the nine main installments of the Star Wars saga remastered in 4K was reportedly announced to be in development for a 2020 release.[17]

40th Anniversary re-release[]

To commemorate its 40th anniversary, Return of the Jedi was given a limited theatrical rerelease in 2023, running from April 28 to May 1 in the United Kingdom, and from April 28 to May 4 in the United States. [18]

Reception[]

While critical reception of the film was generally positive, Return of the Jedi is considered by some critics and many fans as the weakest film of the original trilogy. Some indication of public opinion can be gleaned by its relatively modest 72nd-place ranking in the Internet Movie Database's Top 250 films list. As a comparison, A New Hope is ranked at #20, and The Empire Strikes Back is ranked #12, as of April 24, 2016. In 1983, the late Roger Ebert gave the film a four-star rating, and Gary Arnold of the Washington Post described Return of the Jedi as "a triumph." Some contemporary fans and critics have found the film to be just as weak as the prequel films or just in comparison to the first two episodes.[19]

While the Jabba the Hutt sequence and many of 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 the stormtroopers remains a bone of contention. A large number of fans believe George Lucas pushed the "cutesy" factor with the Ewoks, especially with the belief that he did it to make it more marketable to children; and some of the production staff, such as Harrison Ford, felt awkward throughout the filming process about the Ewoks. However, other reasons were cited, such as the Wookiees, which were planned for that instance, being vetoed by Lucas due to the prior films showing that they were quite capable with technology via Chewbacca. In addition, fans seem to be rather divided on the premise that an extremely primitive race of small creatures could, albeit with aid, defeat an armed ground force comprising the Empire's best troops. Some fans call it ludicrous, while others credit the Ewoks' bravery, ingenuity, and determination, and draw comparisons between modern warfare in which familiarity with the terrain and guerrilla tactics can result in the defeat of a numerically and technologically superior force.

In the commentary for the 2004 DVD release, Lucas explained that the Ewoks were an allegory for a technologically primitive force overcoming a powerful Empire, and compared it to examples like the Vietnam War, Attila the Hun and the Roman Empire, and the American Revolutionary War. The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film reveals that the idea emerged and evolved from Lucas's interest in the Vietnam War in making Apocalypse Now, in which specifically the less technologically advanced Vietcong overcame the United States.[20] This has been criticized by some, such as conservative commentator Bill Whittle, in the webseries Afterburner episode "Han Shot First," for its perceived offensive connotations and morally ambiguous implications.[21] However, in the contemporary documentary From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga, Lucas states that the Vietnam War was merely the inspiration from which the subplot evolved, rather than a political thesis. However, a note in the 1973 draft for A New Hope (then simply called Star Wars) did make clear that the events of the film were inspired by "a large technological empire going after a group of freedom fighters" in a clear allusion to the events of Vietnam.[20]

In 2021, the U.S. Library of Congress selected Return of the Jedi for preservation in the National Film Registry, considering it, "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[22]

Release gallery[]

Credits[]

By type
Cast Uncredited cast Crew Uncredited crew Special thanks

Cast

Starring
Co-Starring
Supporting Cast

Uncredited cast

United Kingdom, Elstree Studios Shoot
United States, Location, & ILM Shoots
  • Stunt Ewoks: Jimmy Briscoe, Bobby Porter[31]
  • Doubles: Gary Monical, Bob Johnson[31]
  • Stand-Ins: Thomas Darby, Marlene Goffnett, Richard Jurgens[31]
  • Stunts: Mark Yerkes[31]
  • Additional Puppeteer: Julie Tippett[31]
  • Additional Rebel Forest Troopers (on the Crescent City location): Anthony (no backpack), L. Burner, Brad, Drew Davis, Harold, Duke Lee, Steve Lockett, G. Stevens, Terry, and Russ Young[31]

Crew

Miniature and Optical Effects UnitIndustrial Light and Magic:

  • Art Director-Visual Effects — Joe Johnston
  • Optical Photography Supervisor — Bruce Nicholson
  • General Manager, ILM — Tom Smith
  • Production Supervisor — Patricia Rose Duignan
  • Matte Painting Supervisor — Michael Pangrazio
  • Modelshop Supervisors — Lorne Peterson, Steve Gawley
  • Animation Supervisor — James Keefer
  • Supervising Visual Effects Editor — Arthur Repola
  • Effects Cameramen — Don Dow, Michael J. McAlister, Bill Neil, Scott Farrar, Selwyn Eddy III, Michael Owens, Robert Elswit, Rick Fichter, Stewart Barbee, Mark Gredell, David Hardburger
  • Assistant Cameramen — Pat Sweeney, Kim Marks, Robert Hill, Ray Gilberti, Randy Johnson, Patrick McArdle, Peter Daulton, Bessie Wiley, Maryan Evans, Toby Heindel, David Fincher, Peter Romano
  • Production Coordinators — Warren Franklin, Laurie Vermont
  • Optical Printer Operators — John Ellis, David Berry, Kenneth Smith, Donald Clark, Mark Vargo, James Lim
  • Optical Line-Up — Tom Rosseter, Ed L. Jones, Ralph Gordon, Philip Barberio
  • Lab Technicians — Tim Geideman, Duncan Myers, Michael Moore
  • Production Illustrator — George Jenson
  • Matte Painting Artists — Chris Evans, Frank Ordaz
  • Matte Photography — Neil Krepela, Craig Barron
  • Stop Motion Animator — Tom St. Amand
  • Chief Model Makers — Paul Huston, Charles Bailey, Michael Glenn Fulmer, Ease Owyeung
  • Model Makers — William George, Marc Thorpe, Scott Marshall, Sean Casey, Larry Tan, Barbara Gallucci, Jeff Mann, Ira Keeler, Bill Beck, Mike Cochrane, Barbara Affonso, Bill Buttfield, Marghi McMahon, Randy Ottenberg
  • Head Effects Animators — Garry Waller, Kimberly Knowlton
  • Effects Animators — Terry Windell, Renee Holt, Mike Lessa, Samuel Comstock, Rob La Duca, Annick Therrien, Suki Stern, Margot Pipkin
  • Visual Effects Editors — Howard Stein, Peter Amundson, Bill Kimberlin
  • Assistant Visual Effects Editors — Robert Chrisoulis, Michael Gleason, Jay Ignaszewski, Joe Class
  • Supervising Stage Technician — Ted Moehnke
  • Stage Technicians — Patrick Fitzsimmons, Bob Finley III, Ed Hirsh, John McLeod, Peter Stolz, Dave Childers, Harold Cole, Merlin Ohm, Joe Fulmer, Lance Brackett
  • Pyrotechnicians — Thaine Morris, Dave Pier
  • Supervisor - Still Photography — Terry Chostner
  • Still Photographers — Roberto McGrath, Kerry Nordquist
  • Electronic System Designers — Jerry Jeffress, Kris Brown
  • Electronic Engineers — Mike Mackenzie, Marty Brenneis
  • Computer Graphics — William Reeves, Tom Duff
  • Equipment Engineering Supervisor — Gene Whiteman
  • Machinists — Udo Pampel, Conrad Bonderson
  • Apprentice Machinists — David Hanks, Chris Rand
  • Design Engineer — Mike Bolles
  • Equipment Support Staff — Wade Childress, Michael J. Smith, Cristi McCarthy, Ed Tennler
  • Administrative Staff — Chrissie England, Laura Kaysen, Paula Karsh, Karen Ayers, Sonja Paulsen, Karen Dube
  • Production Assistants — Susan Fritz-Monahan, Kathy Shine
  • Steadicam® Plate Photography — Garrett Brown
  • Ultra High Speed Photography — Bruce Hill Productions
  • Color Timers — Jim Schurmann, Bob Hagans
  • Negative Cutter — Sunrise Film, Inc.
  • Additional Optical Effects — Lookout Mountain Films, Pacific Title, Monaco Film Labs, California Film, Visual Concepts Engineering, Movie Magic, and Van der Veer Photo Effects
Special Edition

Industrial Light and Magic:

  • Visual Effects Supervisors — Dave Carson, John Knoll
  • Visual Effects Producer — Tom Kennedy
  • Ending Celebration Associate Supervisor — Yusei Uesegi
  • Computer Graphics Supervisors — Tom Hutchinson, James Tooley
  • Visual Effects Art Director — George Hull
  • Visual Effects Editor — Michael McGovern
  • Color Timing Supervisor — Bruce Vecchitto
  • Visual Effects Coordinator — Lisa Todd
  • Digital Effects Artists — Sxott Bonnenfant, John Campanaro, Lou Dellarosa, David Deuber, James Doherty, Tom Fejes, Howard Gersh, Jeremy Goldman, Andrew Hardaway, Ken King, Marshall Krasser, Stewart Lew, Michael Ludlam, Tia Marshall, Tom Martinek, Terrence Masson, Neil Michka, Julie Neary, David Parrish, Eddie Pasquarello, Ricardo Ramos, Tom Rosseter, Hans Uhlig, Li-Hsien Wei, Colie Wertz, Ken Wesley, Ron Woodall
  • Digital Matte Artists — Ronn Brown, Eric Chauvin, Brian Flora, William Mather
  • 3D Matchmove Artist — Keith Johnson
  • Digital Paint and Roto Artists — Lisa Drostova, Matt Wallin
  • Visual Effects Cameraman — Patrick Turner
  • Visual Effects Gaffer — Robert Finley III
  • Visual Effects Project Manager — Edward T. Hirsh
  • Visual Effects Video Assistant — Clark Higgins
  • Visual Effects Camera Assistant — Vance Piper
  • Stage Technicians — Carl Assmus, Dick Dova-Spah, Richard Demolski, Ronald Diggory, Robert Doherty, Robert Johnson, Brad Jerrell, Nicholas Meeks
  • Props and Costumes — Barbara Affonso, Anne Polland
  • Sabre Artists — Rita Zimmerman, Chad Taylor, Caitlin Content, Grant Guenin, Mary McCulloch
  • Software Research and Development — Eric Enderton, John Horn, Cary Phillips, Christian Rouet
  • Visual Effects Layout and Storyboard Artists — Alex Jaeger, Derek Thompson
  • Digital Scanning Operators — George Gambetta, Todd Mitchell, John Whisnant
  • Negative Supervisor — Doug Jones
  • Assistant Visual Effects Editors — John Bartle, Scott Balcerek
  • Video Editor — Angela Leaper
  • Digital Effects Technical Assistants — Noel Brevick, Carole Johnson
  • Visual Effects Production Staff — Julie Creighton, Megan Carlson
  • Production Engineering — Darn Large, Arnold Yee

Uncredited crew

United Kingdom, Elstree Studios Shoot
  • Assistant Set Decorator: Sharon Cartwright[31]
  • Modelers: Keith Short, Patti Rodgers, Jan Stevens, S. Simmonds[31]
  • Supervising Model Maker: Brian Archer[31]
  • Draftsmen: Gavin Bocquet, George Kjurkovic, Kevin Phipps[31]
  • Assistant Scenic Artist: Steven Sallybanks, David Nicoll[31]
  • Décor and Lettering Artist: Brian Smith[31]
  • Art Department Junior: Neil Lamont[31]
  • Art Department Secretary: Carol Regan[31]
  • Electronics Graphics Consultant: Rob Dickinson[31]
  • Production Buyer: Ian Giladjian[31]
  • Sign Writer: Brian Smith[31]
  • Additional Camera: Frank Elliott, Malcolm Vinson, Kenneth Withers, Neil Binney, Trevor Coop, M. Thomas[31]
  • Additional Focus: Maurice Arnold, Denis Fitzgibbons, Mike Tomlin, Derek Burtenshaw, Martin Hume[31]
  • Additional Loader: Eamonn O'Keefe, Simon Haveland, Nigel Seal, Stephen Drury, Tony Jackson, H. Baker[31]
  • Additional Grip: Joe Garrett, D. Lee, P. Wood, D. Fraser[31]
  • Camera Department Trainee: Steve Hardie[31]
  • JDC Video Engineer: Tony Crampton[31]
  • Playback Operator: Peter Glossop[31]
  • Documentary Team: Mick Mason[31]
  • Sound: Don Wortham[31]
  • Mixer: Cyril Collick[31]
  • Sound (Second Unit): Rowland Fowles, C. Taylor[31]
  • Boom Man: Patrick Heigham, S. Bishop
  • Makeup Artists: Alan Brownie, Susan Bide, Jane Royle, John Webber, S. Morris, E. Jones, R. Ahston[31]
  • Makeup Assistants: Bob Keen, Christine Allsopp[31]
  • Hairdressers: Cathy Kevany, H. Hayes, P. Smith, B. Sutton[31]
  • Makeup Lab Assistants: Jeremy Harris, Sue Oakes[31]
  • Trainee Makeup Assistant: Daniel Parker[31]
  • Trainee Prosthetics Lab Assistant: Terri Anderson[31]
  • Makeup Department Runner: Suzanne Reynolds[31]
  • Latex Foam Lab Runner: Sue Higgins[31]
  • Mold and Model Designer: Michael Osborn[31]
  • Makeup Effects Engineer: Bob Bromley[31]
  • Mechanical Modeler: Christine Overs[31]
  • Eye Designer and Maker: Richard Padbury[31]
  • Creature Costumers: Eileen Sullivan, Barbara Gillett, Derek Hyde, Maggie Lewin[31]
  • ILM Creature Department Technical Assistant: Ray Hanson[31]
  • Wardrobe: Patrick Wheatley, Edward (Keith) Morton, John Birkinshaw, Diane Murphy, Colin Wilson, Janet Wakely, Norman Dickens, Keith Denny, Sue Wain, Ken Lewington, Pauline Lewington, Michael Jeffrey, Rita Wakely, T. Smith, R. Leonard, C. Bishop, B. Rogers[31]
  • Senior SFX Technicians: Rodney Fuller, Trevor Neighbour, Neil Swann, Dave Watson[31]
  • SFX Technicians: Ken Gittens, Barry Whitrod, Joe Fitt, Geoff Clifford, David Beavis, Digby Milner, Roy Whybrow[31]
  • SFX Electrical Engineer: John Hatt[31]
  • SFX Engineers: Terry Glass, Yves De Bono, Roger Nichols, Steve Lloyd, Paul Knowles, Terry Cox[31]
  • SFX Department Coordinator: John Baker[31]
  • SFX Trainees: Michael Dawson, Terry Adlam[31]
  • SFX Wire Assistant: Steve Crawley, S. Miles[31]
  • SFX Department Driver: Joe Gates[31]
  • SFX Department Runner: Steve Lawrence
  • SFX Department Secretary: Rebecca West
  • Chargehand Propmen: Joe Dipple, Tommy Ibbetson, David Midson[31]
  • Chargehand Standby Propman: Philip McDonald[31]
  • Propmen: Robert Hill, Steve McDonald, Steve Short, Peter Spencer, Tony Robinson, Barry Arnold, Michael Bacon, Gordon Billings, Gerry Bourke, Ron Higgins, Wally Hockings, Kieron McNamara, Charles Page, John Palmer, Doug Purdy, Chris Sheehan, Michael Townsend, Peter Williams, Terry Wells, Brian Payne[31]
  • Dressing Props: Eddie Francis, Eric Strange[31]
  • Prop Carpenter: Harold Fryer[31]
  • Supervising Chargehand Drape: Barry Wilson[31]
  • Drape: Patrick Worsley[31]
  • Supervising Chargehand Carpenter: Anthony Youd[31]
  • Chargehand Carpenters: Ken Evans, John Healy, Alan Taylor[31]
  • Carpenters: Dick Brown, Tom Davies, Roger Dawson, Raymond Fox, Jeff Frost, Ron Gilson, Fred Gunning, Steve Hargreaves, David Lowen, Hugh McKenzie, Bill McMinimee, Tony Morris, Jack O'Boy, Pat O'Toole, John Sams, Bob Wishart, Bob Archbold, Ron Bates, Michael Biesty, David Bubb, Gary Burkhardt, Bill Chamberlain, John (Nobby) Clark, Peter Collins, Frank Davies, Graham Davis, Michael Davis, Peter Dugg, Trevor Dyer, Stephen Ede, Dudley Foster, Jim George, Frank Gill, Ian Green, Raymond Grant, James Hackett, Roy Hansford, Ron Harrison, Tom Harrod, Frank Henry, Brian Higgins, Frank Hood, Ted Hooper, John Horne, Fred Ifill, Geoff Jarman, Barry Kelly, Jim Kerr, Laurie Kerr, Albert Key, Edward King, Matthew Langley, Bernie Leadbitter, Peter Mann, Peter Marlborough, John Marsella, Len Morse, Brian Mumbray, Anthony Musk, Alexander McClune, Edward McGee, John O'Boy, Mark Overall, Brett Phillips, Harry Portlock, William Pyle, Jock Rae, Joseph (Frank) Roberts, Victor Root, Stanley Rudd, Brian Sullivan, Bob Todd, Michael Traynor, Kevin Wardle, David Webb, Tom Westbrook, Sid Wood, Mavji Giorasia, Douglas Phillips, Ian Ritchie, Robert Devine, Geoff Kingsley, Patrick Lynch[31]
  • Chargehand Machinists: Eric Bray, Richard Rowlands[31]
  • Wood Machinists: Charles Hobbs, Ron Nichols, John Wildgust[31]
  • Carpenter's Improver: Tom McCarthy[31]
  • Supervising Chargehand Plasterer: Ken Barley[31]
  • Chargehand Plasterers: Paul Tappin, Ilija Vasic[31]
  • Plasterers: Harold Burst, John Campbell, Barry Fowler, Malcolm Hibbs, Michael Quinn, Ray Roffe, Mick Spence, Raymond Tricker, Phil Babbage, Sid Barnes, Tony Boxall, Dennis Brown, William Bush, Clyde Clarke, Dave Coldham, Steve Court, Bill Dennis, Dominic Farrugia, George Gillard, Charles Green, Anthony Horsfield, Terry James, Paul Jiggins, Dunston John, Paul King, Malcolm Mister, John Murphy, Eric Nash, Ronald Nash, Victor Predgen, Eddie Quayle, Michael Quayle, John Robery, Francis Ronald, Bob Rose, Roy Seers, Terry Sibley, Raymond Staples, Sid Whitlock, Geoff Wiles, Ken Wilson, Gary Baker, Steve Brown, Chris Greenwood, Gordon Izod, Anthony Vice, John Willis, John Schoonraad[31]
  • Plasterers' Laborers: Ken Jackson, John Brown, A. C. Clarke, James Donahue, Henry Gough, James Muir, David Page, Barry Sams, John Singleton, Mick Stachini, Bruce Newell, John Pinner, W. McCarthy[31]
  • Plasterers' Improvers: Louis Alley, David Welch[31]
  • Supervising Chargehand Painter: Bill Beecham[31]
  • Painters: Ernest Braisher, Mick Finlay, James Murray, Ron Punter, Albert (Butch) Roper, Harry Barnes, John Bede, Robert Betts, Tony Caccavale, Ron Eversfield, Matthew Gilsenan, John Haynes, Fred Heyes, Alan Hooper, Alf Hunter, Ronald Kent, Colin Lovering, Ted Lynch, Jack Newman, Mervyn Richards, Ronald Richards, Alfred Warr, Tommy Waters, Ken Welland, John Chapple[31]
  • Painters Laborers: Terence Grange, Harry Alley, John Ancell, Arthur Bullock, John Fiveash[31]
  • Sprayer: Charlie Cooper[31]
  • Chargehand Rigger: Bill Lowen[31]
  • Riggers: Fred Crawford, Tom Parker, Alan Williams, Robert Anderson, Keith Batterbee, Keith Evans, Francis Farley, Fred Gurhy, William Howe, E. W. Lansbury, Tom Lowen, Colin McDonagh, Paul Mitchell, A. C. Newvell, Ron Newvell, John Pales, Alan Perez, Martin Phipps, Ronald Skinner, Tom Wilkie, Dave Williams, Leonard Lawrence[31]
  • Stagehands: Tom Buckley, Frank Hannon, Philip Jones, Leslie Singleton, William Taylor, Mick Curran, Eric Armstrong, Ron Bede, Vincent Bourke, John Cope, Michael Driscoll, John Flemming, George Gibbons, Tom Gray, Tom Hammond, Harry Holmes, J. T. Lovesay, Brian Mitchell, Keith Muir, Darryl Series, Sid Wilson, Paul Wolstencroft, William Cannon, David Sainty, Bob Lapper[31]
  • Chargehand Gaffer: John Rogers[31]
  • Best Boy: Brian Smith[31]
  • Rigging Chargehand Electrician: Ronnie Homewood[31]
  • Electricians: Fred Ashby, John Barry, George Boner, Peter Corcoran, Roy Furness, Alan Grayley, George Hunt, Ron Lyons, Ron McKay, Michael O'Connel, Jim Smart, Terry Townsend, George Webb, Paul Wells, Jack White, Arthur Whitmarsh, Danny Young, Ron Green[31]
  • Assistant Directors (Second Unit): Dominic Fulford, Gino Marotta[31]
  • Second AD: Peter Waller[31]
  • Production Runners: Paul Taylor, Neil Harris[31]
  • Continuity (Second Unit): Gladys Pearce[31]
  • Secretary to Mr. Marquand: Leila Kirkpatrick[31]
  • Secretary to Mr. Kazanjian: Betty Sharp[31]
  • Secretary to Casting Director: Lucy Boulting[31]
  • Secretary to Makeup Department: Sheila Bowen[31]
  • Accounts Assistants: Sian Williams, Danny Parker, Alex Matcham, Lyndy Trower[31]
  • Unit Transport: Tony Bagley, John Coleman, Brian Estabrook, Bill Humphrey, Colin Morris, Terry Pritchard, John Swan, Steve Hill[31]
  • Animals: Mike Culling[31]
  • Opticians: Richard Glass, Ann Silk[31]
  • Doctor: Dr. Collins[31]
  • Nurses: Sue Clarkson, Fay Whitehouse, Mrs. Parr[31]
  • Stage Security: Bill Goodwin[31]
  • Caterer: Phil Hobbs[31]
United States, Location, & ILM Shoots
  • Standby Choreographer: Suki Turner[31]
  • Additional Cameramen: Jan D'Alquen, Hiro Narita, Bob Ellswitt, Caleb Deschanel[31]
  • Additional Camera Operators: Steve Yaconelli, J. Woods[31]
  • Sound Effects Assistant Editor: Suzanne Fontelieu[31]
  • Sarlacc Burp: Howie Hammerman[31]
  • Re-Sync Assistant Editor: Mary Hel Leasmen[31]
  • Lapti Nek Lyrics: Michele Gruska[31]
  • Second Assistant Director: Eric Jewett[31]
  • Additional Production Illustrator: Brook Temple[31]
  • Additional AD: Niles Shaner[31]
  • Extra Casting: Dave Emann, Bill Lytle[31]
  • Set Production Assistants: Robert Leverett, Charles Wessler, Fritz[31]
  • Office Assistants: Annelle Boswell, Kim Giblin, Carla Edwards, Chris Sturdevant, Sunni Silberfein[31]
  • Office Runners: Don Beach, Tab Wilcox[31]
  • LA Runner: Mark La Bonge[31]
  • Assistant Accounts: Dick Wright, Susan Royal[31]
  • Wardrobe Assistants: Kaye Barrett, Elizabeth Brown, Ghyslaine Mattei, Nancy L. McCovey, Donna L. Stewart, Barbara J. Tryon, Sheila Waldorf, Lola Wilson, Judy Young, Linda Yuvan, Terry Selfrige, J. L. DeLa Chevrotiere[31]
  • Costume Department Cutters: Laurie Rudd, Claudia Everett[31]
  • Costume Accessories: Mick Becker[31]
  • Costume Department Tailor: Nancy Servin[31]
  • Costume Department Seamstresses: Karrin Kain, Patte Moon, Janice Gartin, Julie Woodbridge[31]
  • Props Assistant: Michael Colvin[31]
  • Special Effects Technicians: David Simmons, Gary Zink, Bruno Van Zeebroeck, Eddie Surkin, William Klinger, Jr., John Stirber, John Chapot, Michael Arbogast, Raymond P. Olson[31]
  • Special Effects Assistants: James Campbell, Dale Craig Cleveland, Gary Guntermann, John G. Herzog, Rodney Laszlo, James Law, Joe Wallace, Tom Williams, Marvin Salsberg[31]
  • Modeler: Donald Chandler[31]
  • Construction: Bill Pender[31]
  • Construction Prop Makers: James F. Brown, Dennis R. Wellard[31]
  • Prop Makers: Stan Olexiewicz, Tommy Christy, Tim Wetklow, Tom Lifsey, John Sircy, Dan Sudick, Ralph Votaw, Steve Thayer, Henry Mendoza, Alan Laslovich, Stacy McIntosh, Rodney Armamino, Peter Olexiewicz, Chris Chichotka, Michael E. Hachey, Richard Hoffenberg, Mark Lopez, Jim Reynolds, Chuck Ray, Steve Callas[31]
  • Carpenters: Alan Gardner, Duane Edwards, Gregory Nicol, Shannon Strange, Stan Strange, Steven L. Cardelleni, Mario Pineda, Lorenzo Jaime Garcia, James Allen, M. O'Kelley[31]
  • Grips: Nick Bracisco, Mike Maley, Craig Mohagen, Ronnie Peach, Kim Yackle, Timothy Haben, Harvey Mahach, R. Ross Stow[31]
  • Laborers: Gene (Chubby) Fukazawa, Don Johnson, John Charles Van Gelder, Charles Lyons, Danny Littlefield, Tracy Engler, Kenneth Matz, Daniel Charleston, John L. Hegnes, Robert L. Hughes, Tony L. Bradbury, David Nicholson, Ralph Van Gelder, Frank Bravo[31]
  • Painters: Giovanni Ferrara, Jim Betts, Steve Coia, Jerry Gates, Tony Paolone[31]
  • Plasterers: Dick Johnson, Jerry Rogers, Bob Vandermark, Frank Galvan[31]
  • Fern Brothers: Jerry Adams, Eric Anderson, Steve Bachmann, Alfred Bettencourt, Leonard Branton, Jr., Richard Clause, James Crozier, Jeffrey Downing, Francis J. Du Bois, Jerry Dutton, Gary Early, Steve Early, Keith Gillihan, Leon E. Gochanour, Kevin Hellreg, Michael Kohl, James Maher, Kenneth Mattz, Sr., Craig Ratnour, Mike Schulte, Keith Sellers, Jack Snider, Vic Solis, Harry Spencer, John Thompson, Leroy Tripp, Ben Wigley, Jr., Dennis Woods, Thomas Ratnour, Carl D. Mosier, Dan Cross[31]
  • Electricians: Bill Dreyfuss, Bill Pelkey, Joe Carl Parsons, Bob Powell, Frank Strzalkowski, Timothy Bigsby, Mark Branton[31]
  • Stagehands: C. Canteras, B. Jenichen, C. Eason[31]
  • Documentary Cameraman: Randy Love[31]
  • Documentary Assistant Cameraman: Joe Ward[31]
  • Documentary Sound Man: Adrianos Agamemnon[31]
  • Documentary Assistant Camera-Person: Tomiko Russell[31]
  • Barbers: Kim Hemmingsen, Cindy Shaw[31]
  • LA Drivers: Jayce Garcia, Pat McLaughlin, Dick Lee, Gary Hellerstein, Wayne Campbell, Kenny Lubin, Ted Reed, Joe Lanzl, Sandra Thomason[31]
  • San Rafael Driver: Bill Curtin[31]
  • Arizona Teamsters: Ron Manning, Paul Pinnt, Rod Wolf, J. L. Watkins, Kenny Mason, Randy Edwards, Claud Hereford, Chuck Henson, Nick Nichols, Jack Warner, Joe Hobbs, Harold Sargent, Marcos Salazar, Phil Kent, Steve Wagner, Eddie Blick, Stacy Newton, Harry McCrorey[31]
  • Crescent City Drivers: V. L. Horne, Jim Caetano, Norman Cook, James Corwin, James E. Fredrickson, Jess Freeman, Jim Heidenger, Darrel D. Koroush, Raymond B. Mercer, Don Mizer, Greg Newell, Gene Pidgeon, Harold Pidgeon, Michael Pittman, Ken Simas, Richard Smith, Stanley D. Stamps, Robert Stilwell, Ray Thurmler, Charles Tramble, Jack E. Vaughn, Charles Whitehead, Lewis L. Glisson, Gary Woods, Thomas L. Moore, Robert J. Dickenson, Jack W. Kolshinski, Jack Ballard[31]
  • Honeywagon Drivers: Forest Ingham, Keith Laursen[31]
  • Cinemobile Crew: Ray Van Holten, Michael Cain, Rudy Beilicke, John Rasmussen[31]
  • First Aid: Wendell Telford, Barbara Thurber, Peter Mann, Terry Riley[31]
  • Crescent City Fire Department: Robert Howard, Albert Scalvini, Michael Coffey, Murray Richards, Thomas Brooks, Mark O. Buckley, Ernest Silvey[31]
  • Security: Allan Trosclair, Curis Fox, Dale Kahoun, Dale Parker, William Ratnour, David Reidel, Michael Holiman[31]
  • K-9 Security: Leonard Thomas[31]
  • Imperial County Sheriff: Sergeant John Lemon[31]
  • Helicopter Mechanic: Ron Brott[31]
  • Mobile Maintenance: Lynne Henderson, Deborah Radant[31]
  • Catering Department: George Mauricio, Vincent Wolfe, Paul Bailey, Ben Le Febre, William Bonaiuto, Ignacio Meza, Roberto Lozano, Hector Garcia, Sheila Duignan[31]
  • Projectionists: Dan Miller, Harold "Spence" Spencer[31]
  • Teacher: Ray Benner[31]
  • Crane Crew: Hughs[31]
  • Armorer: Syd Stembridge[31]
  • Assistant to Robert Watts: Peter Bergquist[31]

Special thanks

  • Thanks to the U.S. Department of Interior [sic] Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service
  • Photographed in Buttercup Valley, Death Valley and Smith River, California and EMI-Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, England
  • Cameras and Lenses by Joe Dunton Cameras Ltd.
  • Aerial Camera Systems by Wesscam Camera Systems (Europe)
  • Lighting Equipment and Crew from Lee Electric Ltd.
  • Production Vehicles Courtesy of GMC Truck and Oldsmobile
  • Location Service by Cinemobile
  • Air Transportation by PAN AM
  • Rerecording at Sprocket Systems
  • Music Recording at Anvil-Abbey Road Studio
  • Special Visual Effects Produced at Industrial Lights and Magic, Marin County, CA
  • Music Performed by the London Symphony Orchestra

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Notes and references[]

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 Star Wars Year By Year: A Visual History, Updated and Expanded Edition
  2. 2.0 2.1 This Week in Star Wars logo This Week! in Star Wars Marvel Comics Previews, Unwrapping a Gift for Boba Fett, and More! on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
  3. Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
  4. 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
  5. The Princess and the Scoundrel
  6. StarWars Blue Harvest Letdown on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
  7. This Week in Star Wars logo This Week! in Star Wars Star Wars: The Clone Wars, The Child, Star Wars Nite, and More | This Week! In Star Wars on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
  8. This Week in Star Wars logo This Week! in Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back Turns 40, Queen's Peril Gets a Voice, and More! on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (backup link)
  9. SWInsider "Return of the Ewok" — Star Wars Insider 46
  10. Why Luke's Lightsaber Is Green in Return of the Jedi by Orange, B. Alan on MovieWeb (May 25, 2017) (archived from the original on May 22, 2019)
  11. StarWars This September: Original Unaltered Trilogy on DVD on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
  12. StarWars Bring the Complete Collection Home: Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-Ray on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
  13. StarWars The Star Wars Digital Movie Collection Coming April 10 on StarWars.com (backup link)
  14. Tangled Rights Could Tie Up Ultimate 'Star Wars' Box Set (Analysis) by Masters, Kim on The Hollywood Reporter (October 30, 2012) (archived from the original on February 15, 2020)
  15. DisneyCompany-favicon The Walt Disney Company To Acquire Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., After Spinoff Of Certain Businesses, For $52.4 Billion In Stock on The Walt Disney Company official website (backup link)
  16. Disney Closes $71.3 Billion Fox Deal, Creating Global Content Powerhouse by Bond, Paul on The Hollywood Reporter (March 19, 2019) (archived from the original on July 25, 2020)
  17. Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is set to arrive on 4K Blu-ray in March 2020 on The Digital Fix (April 12, 2019) (archived from the original on July 27, 2020)
  18. StarWars Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Will Be Back in Theaters for 40th Anniversary Celebration on StarWars.com (backup link)
  19. How 'Return Of The Jedi' Ruined 'Star Wars' Forever by Taylor, Drew on IndieWire (May 24, 2013) (archived from the original on October 16, 2017)
  20. 20.0 20.1 How 'Star Wars' was secretly George Lucas' Vietnam protest by Smith, Kyle on New York Post (September 21, 2014) (archived from the original on May 12, 2020)
  21. YouTube Afterburner with Bill Whittle: Han Shot First! on the Townhall Media YouTube channel (backup link)
  22. 'Return of the Jedi' Among 25 Eclectic Films Joining National Film Registry on www.loc.gov (December 14, 2021) (archived from the original on August 26, 2022)
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 StarWars Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
  24. Erik Bauersfeld a force in 'Star Wars' cosmos by Hartlaub, Peter on SFGATE (September 20, 2011) (archived from the original on July 24, 2020)
  25. Star Wars Year By Year: A Visual History, New Edition
  26. SWInsider "Rewind of the Jedi" — Star Wars Insider 218
  27. StarWars Nelson Hall on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
  28. Star Wars - Ralphmorse.com by Williams, Robert on Ralphmorse.com (archived from the original on December 3, 2011)
  29. StarWars The Road to Rotich: Finding Nien Nunb, Part 1 on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
  30. SWInsider "Watts the Story" — Star Wars Insider 101
  31. 31.000 31.001 31.002 31.003 31.004 31.005 31.006 31.007 31.008 31.009 31.010 31.011 31.012 31.013 31.014 31.015 31.016 31.017 31.018 31.019 31.020 31.021 31.022 31.023 31.024 31.025 31.026 31.027 31.028 31.029 31.030 31.031 31.032 31.033 31.034 31.035 31.036 31.037 31.038 31.039 31.040 31.041 31.042 31.043 31.044 31.045 31.046 31.047 31.048 31.049 31.050 31.051 31.052 31.053 31.054 31.055 31.056 31.057 31.058 31.059 31.060 31.061 31.062 31.063 31.064 31.065 31.066 31.067 31.068 31.069 31.070 31.071 31.072 31.073 31.074 31.075 31.076 31.077 31.078 31.079 31.080 31.081 31.082 31.083 31.084 31.085 31.086 31.087 31.088 31.089 31.090 31.091 31.092 31.093 31.094 31.095 31.096 31.097 31.098 31.099 31.100 31.101 31.102 31.103 31.104 31.105 31.106 31.107 31.108 31.109 31.110 31.111 31.112 31.113 31.114 31.115 31.116 31.117 31.118 31.119 31.120 31.121 31.122 31.123 31.124 31.125 31.126 31.127 31.128 31.129 31.130 31.131 31.132 31.133 31.134 31.135 31.136 31.137 31.138 31.139 31.140 31.141 31.142 31.143 31.144 31.145 31.146 31.147 31.148 31.149 31.150 31.151 31.152 31.153 31.154 31.155 31.156 31.157 31.158 31.159 31.160 31.161 31.162 31.163 31.164 31.165 31.166 31.167 31.168 31.169 31.170 31.171 31.172 31.173 31.174 31.175 31.176 The Making of Return of the Jedi
  32. Star Wars Costumes: The Original Trilogy
  33. SWInsider "In the Star Wars Universe" — Star Wars Insider 47
  34. StarWars Return of the Jedi Creature History with Pablo Hidalgo on StarWars.com (backup link)
  35. SWInsider "Ask Lobot" — Star Wars Insider 125

External links[]

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