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

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
	; "Return To A Galaxy... Far, Far Away"
Directed By	Richard Marquand
Written By	George Lucas
Screenplay By	George Lucas, Lawrence Kasdan
Cast	Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Frank Oz
Produced By	Howard Kazanjian
Cinematography By	Alan Hume
Film Editing By	Sean Barton, Marcia Lucas, Duwayne Dunham
Music By	John Williams
Studio	Lucasfilm
Distributed By	20th Century Fox
Franchise	Star Wars Franchise
Country	United States
Language	English
Release Date	May 25, 1983
Runtime	134 Minutes
Rating	PG
Budget	$32,500,000
Gross	$475,106,177

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Overview[]

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi or better known simply as Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American produced science fiction fantasy-adventure film starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, David Prowse, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, and Peter Mayhew with James Earl Jones and Frank Oz as principal voice actors. It was directed by Irvin Kershner and was a direct sequel of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. It was the final Star Wars Trilogy film.

Originally the film suffered from mixed reviews from critics but has become regarded as one of the most critically acclaimed films of all time.

Plot[]

The opening crawl reveals that the Galactic Empire has been working on the construction of a new armored space station which is to be even more powerful than the first Death Star. Returning from Coruscant, Darth Vader arrives on the station, where he terrorizes the station commander into doubling his efforts. Vader reveals that the Emperor himself will be visiting the station, in order to oversee the station's final construction stages. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker and his friends return to Tatooine in an attempt to rescue Han Solo from the gangster Jabba the Hutt. R2-D2 and C-3PO arrive at Jabba's palace with a holographic message from Luke that unsuccessfully pleads for Jabba to release Han Solo, who is held prisoner in carbonite. In the middle of the night, Princess Leia, disguised as a bounty hunter named Boussh, removes her disguise and frees Solo from the carbonite, only to be discovered and captured by Jabba. Jabba has Han thrown into the dungeons, where he meets up with Chewbacca, who was also imprisoned earlier, while Jabba makes Leia his slave girl. The next morning Luke arrives to make one final plea to Jabba to release Solo. Luke is dropped into the pit of the rancor monster, where he outsmarts and kills it by crushing it under a huge door. As punishment, Jabba sends Luke and his friends to the Great Pit of Carkoon to be slowly consumed by the Sarlacc. While on the journey to the Sarlacc, Luke talks to Han of how he lived in the desert before leaving with Obi-Wan Kenobi. Meanwhile, on board the Sail Barge, Jabba pulls Leia to him, who is now dressed in a metal bikini as a sign of her enslavement, and says that soon she would learn to appreciate him, then forces her to drink from his cup. When they arrive at the Sarlacc Pit, with the help of R2-D2, Luke retrieves his new lightsaber, and a large battle erupts, in which Jabba the Hutt is killed by Leia, and Boba Fett is knocked into the Sarlacc pit. Luke and crew escape just before Jabba's sail barge explodes.

Luke returns to Dagobah to complete his Jedi training, but Yoda is ill and says no further training is required. Before dying, Yoda tells Luke that all that remains to be done is to confront Darth Vader, whom Yoda confirms is indeed Luke's father. Yoda also informs Luke that after his passing, Luke will be the last of the Jedi. Later, the spirit form of Obi-Wan Kenobi appears, and confirms that Vader was once Anakin Skywalker, a former Jedi who turned to the dark side. It is also revealed that Princess Leia is Luke's twin sister, hidden from Anakin and separated at birth to protect them both from the Emperor. At the rendezvous point, near the planet Sullust, the Rebel Alliance discusses the plan to attack the new Death Star. The rebels have decoded and analyzed the Death Star plans, and have devised a strategy for an attack. As part of the attack, Luke and his companions must infiltrate the defenses surrounding the shield generator on the moon of Endor and deactivate the shield that protects the Death Star. On Endor, Luke and his companions are discovered by scout troopers, but they manage to escape following a speeder bike chase through the forest. They later encounter a tribe of Ewoks, indigenous forest creatures of Endor. Taking advantage of the Ewoks' deification of C-3PO (whose protocol abilities also allow him to communicate with them) the Rebels forge an alliance with the forest creatures, who agree to join the fight against the Empire. Later, Luke decides that the time has come for him to face Darth Vader. He confesses to Leia the truth about her and Vader, and that he has to try to save the man who was once his father. He surrenders peacefully to Vader, and unsuccessfully tries to convince his father to abandon the dark side. The Sith Lord, for the first time in the original trilogy, seems to regret his own fall from grace. They go to the Death Star and meet the Emperor, who reveals that the Rebel Alliance is falling into a trap that he had prepared. This leads to the climactic end of the film with three plot lines running simultaneously: Luke facing Darth Vader in the second Death Star's throne room in the presence of the Emperor, a ground battle on the Endor moon between Imperial forces and the Rebels and their Ewok allies, and a huge space battle between the Rebel and Imperial fleets above the moon.

Later on the forest moon, the Rebels enter the shield generator control facility, only to be taken prisoner by waiting Imperial forces. Solo and company are led out of the bunker, but the Ewoks then spring a surprise attack (possibly at C3P0's behest). A battle begins with the Rebels and Ewoks against the Empire. The Rebel fleet emerges from hyperspace for the battle over Endor, only to discover that the shield of the Death Star is still functioning. An intense battle takes place as the Imperial fleet engages in a holding action to prevent the Rebels from retreating into space, while the Rebel fleet battles to give the surface party more time to complete their mission of deactivating the Death Star's shield. During the battle, the Death Star is revealed to be operational; its superlaser is fired at the Rebel fleet and obliterates two Rebel star cruisers. Meanwhile, on the forest moon of Endor, Chewie and two Ewoks take over control of an Imperial walker, and use it to turn the ground battle in the favor of the Rebels. Also in the midst of battle, Leia is wounded by a blaster shot, followed by a role reversal of the famous exchange at the The Empire Strikes Back carbonite scene, with Han telling Leia "I love you" and Leia replying "I know" before she blasts a couple of stormtroopers who were about to capture them.

On the Death Star, Palpatine tempts Luke to give in to his anger. A ferocious duel erupts between Luke and his father. In the midst of combat, Vader reads Luke's feelings and learns that Luke has a twin sister. When Vader brings up the idea of turning Leia to the dark side instead of Luke, Luke gives in to his anger and gains the upper hand in the battle, cutting off Vader's robotic arm in a rage. However, despite the Emperor's goading, Luke refuses to kill his father, realizing that he is traveling down his father's path towards the dark side. He declares himself a Jedi. Seeing that Luke cannot be swayed, the Emperor uses Force lightning against him to deliver the final blow. Deeply affected by the sight of his son dying, Anakin Skywalker repents and turns on the Emperor by throwing him down a reactor shaft. The Emperor's Force lightning causes fatal injuries to Anakin, damaging his breathing system. Knowing that there is no hope for his own survival, Anakin asks Luke to take his mask off. Luke removes the helmet, revealing the pale and scarred face of his father. Anakin, looking onto his son for the first and last time, says Luke was right about him, and asks Luke to tell his sister so. With those final words, Anakin dies.

Once the strike team finally destroys the shield generator, the Rebel fleet seizes the opportunity to launch a final assault on the Death Star. Lando Calrissian leads Wedge Antilles and his fighter group into the bowels of the Death Star and they fire at the main reactor, causing its collapse. Luke, with the body and armor of Anakin, escapes the Death Star in an Imperial shuttle. Moments later, Wedge in his X-Wing and Lando in the Falcon emerge from the Death Star as well, just as the Death Star explodes. Back on Endor, Leia reassures Han Solo of her love and explains that Luke is actually her brother, thereby resolving the awkwardness of their romance. That evening, Luke cremates the remains of his father in a funeral pyre on Endor, according to the Jedi custom. The entire galaxy celebrates the death of the Emperor and the major Rebel victory against the Empire. It is a major turning point in the Galactic Civil War, which will ultimately lead to the fall of the Empire and the formation of the New Republic. Back on Endor, Luke, Leia, Han, Lando, and the rest of the rebellion, along with the Ewoks, celebrate the victory as well. Amidst the celebration on the forest moon, Luke catches sight of the spirit figures of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and Anakin Skywalker, who are staring proudly back at him, as balance has finally been restored to the Force, in accordance with the prophecy of the Chosen One detailed in the prequels.

Cast[]

Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker
Harrison Ford as Han Solo
Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia
Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian
David Prowse as Darth Vader
James Earl Jones as Darth Vader (voice)
Anthony Daniels as C-3PO
Kenny Baker as R2-D2, Paploo
Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca
Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine
Frank Oz as Yoda
Jeremy Bulloch as Boba Fett
Warwick Davis as Wicket
Sebastian Shaw as Anakin Skywalker
Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi
Michael Pennington as Moff Tiaan Jerjerrod
Kenneth Colley as Admiral Firmus Piett
Michael Carter as Bib Fortuna
Denis Lawson as Wedge Antilles
Tim Rose as Admiral Ackbar, Sy Snootles, Salacious B. Crumb
Dermot Crowley as General Crix Madine
Caroline Blakiston as Mon Mothma
Femi Taylor as Oola
Annie Arbogast as Sy Snootles
Claire Davenport as Yarna D'al Gargan
Jack Purvis as Teebo
Mike Edmonds as Logray
Jane Busby as Chief Chirpa
Malcolm Dixon as Ewok Warrior
Mike Cottrell as Ewok Warrior
Nicki Reade as Nicki
Adam Bareham as Jhoff
Pip Miller as Gherant
Margo Apostolos as Tokkat
Ray Armstrong as Ewok
Eileen Baker as Ewok
Bobby Bell as Ewok
Patty Bell as Ewok
Linda Bowley as Ewok
Peter Burroughs as Ewok
Debbie Lee Carrington as Romba
Willie Coppen as Ewok
Tony Cox as Widdle
Jean D'Agostino as Ewok
Debbie Dixon as Wijunkee
Margarita Fernandez as Ewok
Phil Fondacaro as Ewok
Sal Fondacaro as Ewok
Michael Gilden as Ewok
Pam Grizz as Shodu
Andrew Herd as Ewok
J.J. Jackson as Ewok
Richard Jones as Ewok
John Lummiss as Ewok
Nancy MacLean as Ewok
Chris Nunn as Ewok
Ronnie Phillips as Ewok
Katie Purvis as Maternal Ewok
Diana Reynolds as Ewok
Daniel Rodgers as Graak
Chris Romano as Ewok
Dean Shackelford as Ewok
Kiran Shah as Ewok, Dustbin Droid
Felix Silla as Ewok
Gerald Staddon as Ewok
Josephine Staddon as Ewok
Kevin Thompson as Ewok
Kendra Wall as Ewok
Butch Wilhelm as Ewok
Dalyn Chew as Lyn Me
Celia Fushille-Burke as Greeata Jendowanian
Mercedes Ngoh as Rystall Sant
Hazel Allen as Yoxgit
Peter Allen as Geezum
Franki Anderson as Buboicullaar
Glyn Baker as Lieutenant Endicott
Dickey Beer as Barada, Stormtrooper
Ailsa Berk as Amanaman
Don Bies as Barquin D'an
Richard Bonehill as Nien Nunb, Ree-Yees, Mosep Binneed, TIE Pilot, Mon Calamari
Paul Brooke as Malakili
Ben Burtt as Colonel Dyer
Morris Bush as Dengar
Trevor Butterfield as Lieutenant Blount
David Church as Lieutenant Judder Page
Stephen Costantino as Gamorrean Guard
Sean Crawford as Saelt 'Yak Face' Marae
Andy Cunningham as Ephant Mon
Ronny Cush as Grizz Frix
Peter Diamond as Scout Trooper, Weequay, The Lightman
Mark Dodson as Salacious B. Crumb
Tim Dry as J'Quille, Tanus Spijek
Ernie Fosselius as Giran
David Gonzales as Ak-Rev
Isaac Grand as Gamorrean Guard
Nelson Hall as Doda Bodonawieedo
Gordon Hann as Captain Yutani
Alan Harris as Bossk
Mike Havord as Colonel Jendon
Lynne Hazelden as Karie Neth
Philip Herbert as Hermi Odle
Barrie Holland as Lt. Renz
Gerald Home as Tessek
William Hoyland as Commander Igar
Jasper Jacob as Captain Yorr
Paul Klein as BG-J38
Larin Lahr as GONK Droid
Anthony Lang as Sim Aloo
Arnold Lee as Rayc Ryjerd
Swim Lee as Hoover
Richard Marquand as Maj. Marquand, EV-9D9
Hilton McRae as Arvel Crynyd
George Miller as Gamorrean Guard
Billy J. Mitchell as Keir Santage
Ralph Morse as Stormtrooper
Amanda Noar as Jess
Jack Orris as Kin Jian
Quentin Pierre as Myn Kyneugh
Mike Quinn as Nien Nunb, Ree-Yees, Sy Snootles, Wokling, Wol Cabasshite
Barry Robertson as Gamorrean Guard
Kipsang Rotich as Nien Nunb (voice)
Deep Roy as Droopy McCool
Peter Roy as Major Olander Brit
Michael Stevens as Colonel Airen Cracken
Phil Tippett as Rancor
Marolyn Turk as Beedo
Larry Ward as Jabba the Hutt (voice)
Robert Watts as Lt. Watts
Pat Welsh as Boushh (voice)
Paul Weston as Vedain
Corey Dee Williams as Klaatu
Simon J. Williamson as Max Rebo

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