Return of The Jedi

[Wargriffin]

http://sfdebris.com/videos/films/returnofthejedi.php


You Failed your highness... I am a Jedi Like my Father Before me!


I always love the opening
Vader: The Emperor does not share your optimistic appraisal of the situation.
Jerjerrod: But he asks the impossible. I need more men.

Vader: Then perhaps you can tell him when he arrives.

Jerjerrod: [alarmed] The Emperor's coming here?

Vader: That is correct, Commander, and he is most displeased with your apparent lack of progress.

Jerjerrod: We shall double our efforts.

Vader: I hope so, Commander, for your sake. The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am.


Vader will just kill you... Palpy... He'll Enjoy it

[Winter]

For all the films faults I actually still really enjoy it. For be best finales to a series are the ones that make you want to re-watch/reread/replay the whole series again. They don't Have to be the best in the series they just have to be good period on a general term. And Return of the Jedi is, for me, one of the best finales in fictional history as it does, IMHO, a pretty good job at wrapping up most of the major plot threads (of which there aren't many) and gives a proper sense of finality.

And on a side note, I don't actually mind the whole Anakin Ghost in the Special Edition change and it can all be summed up in this comment from YouTube from Victory celebration.

Hayden as Anakin at the end isn't a change I agree with... But it's one I understand. After seeing my younger sister watch Star Wars in chronological order, including The Clone Wars, the ending had an enormous impact. Hayden's Anakin was her hero and she finally got to see him return to the side of good. The ending was incredible to her and it really made me appreciate it a lot more too. When you look at something through the eyes of a child, it's an incredible thing to see.

That's pretty much my feels in regards to Anakin looking like his Prequel self at the end of Return, it may or may not make sense from a in Universe reason but it made sense from a meta reason. For many kids growing up with Star Wars they may very well watch all of Star Wars in Chronological Order and for many Hayden Christensen will be There Anakin, There hero and they will see him go from being a hero, to a villain, to finally redeeming himself at the end and they may want to see Christensen make one last appearance at the end to know that Anakin really did rejoin the Force.

So for me, this change works from that point of view and for me, I honestly don't mind it from a in universe point as it's not like the Force has been the most consistent plot device even within the films themselves.

[Darth Wedgius]

FWiW, this is my favorite among the original films. I know that's not the most popular choice, but different strokes and all.

Speaking of different strokes, the change for the special edition that bothered me (a little) was the multi-planet celebration at the end. Until the special edition I never really took the Rebel victory as anything more than a really big Rebel victory, and maybe the turning point in their civil war. This might just be my nerd rage at my headcanon going down, but it's hard for me to believe that the death of even the most important figure in the Empire would bring down Imperial rule on all those worlds.

But it didn't bother me much, and it probably does better fit the almost fairy tale course of the stories.

[SabreMau]

Return of the Jedi is actually the Star Wars movie I saw the most while growing up, all because it was the one we taped off of NBC during its network television premiere on March 19th, 1989.


youtu.be/8ikQy7OSKXw

At the time, I considered it the best Star Wars because it had the coolest space battle. I never knew anything about this deleted "blow up Endor if you have to" sideplot they did filming for, and wonder if they took it out for pacing reasons or if they didn't want to replicate the ticking countdown element of the first film too closely.

The pre-Disney EU books also mentioned about how, yeah, there was a spontaneous celebration rally on Coruscant, up until the stormtroopers showed up to restore order by shooting to kill (probably why that part wasn't in the Special Edition). The conquest of the capital by the New Republic came some time later.

[Yukaphile]

I wasn't a big fan of the objectification of Leia, given how uncomfortable it made poor Carrie Fisher behind the scenes, and that she became a primarily damsel in distress. There's Jabba, then her getting captured by the Ewoks, and then getting shot by a stormtrooper.

[ChiggyvonRichthofen]

There's problems with the movie that I didn't necessarily see as a kid, but there's still a lot of great moments in this one. All the stuff in the Throne Room, the battle above Endor (still my favorite space battle in the franchise), the sense of emotional resolution and overall closure to the trilogy, etc. It contributes to Star Wars lore in a meaningful way.

I'm not crazy about the changes made in the special editions, but none of them are deal breakers. As a fan, what I really dislike is how the sequel trilogy craps all over this movie both in terms of outcome (the victory at the end is no longer what it appears) and characterization (Luke in this movie as opposed to TLJ are, ostensibly, polar opposites).

[Yukaphile]

There he goes again. While he was a lot more polite and fair than the ceaseless narking on Vader taking a shuttle back to the Executor, he's still calling the dance sequence a negative. Am I the only one thinking he's just being an entitled fan? Not that there's anything wrong with that. Because it's part of who we are. Me personally, since my first introduction to Star Wars was the Special Edition, I'm going to always prefer that, so that would make me the entitled fan here since I prefer that over, say, the 2004 DVD release, which just feels stupid to me. So this isn't me being a hypocrite for once.

And yeah, as a kid in the nineties, I can personally vouch for this - I did think she got turned into a frog and eaten by Jabba, even with the Special Edition.

The Harvey Weinstein joke was epic.

Must disagree with SF Debris. Wasn't it made clear in Legends they stripped Leia right in Jabba's audience chamber right in front of everybody? Yeah, that's not... going according to plan. That's sick. It also makes her killing him take on a whole new light - and yeah, his discussion on why he liked her was enjoyable to me because it taps into my love for female empowerment.

And of course I prefer the sarlacc with the beak, but appreciate SF Debris didn't go on a screaming fit this time.

Same way I liked the "You were lucky to get out of there" line, I also liked the "It's all right, I can see a lot better now." Because I'm an entitled fan for the '97 Special Edition, as I hope I've made clear. Seriously, if he hated the Special Edition so much, why not stick a disclaimer on the front of the review saying, "I hate it, won't review" and then just review the original unedited versions?

I'm a bit disappointed SF Debris didn't make any Leia/Luke incest jokes. He did in the behind-the-scenes stuff, but still...

"Which is technically accurate, but I don't think you can really have all that many memories back when you were... well, zero." Dead.

And the reason the Battle of Hoth and the Battle of Endor weren't edited are simple. I've seen those original shots. And God, they sucked. They were very unconvincing. The same way you never bought the original explosion of Alderaan. It's fake and cheap-looking as hell.

HAN: Back door, huh? Good idea.
SF DEBRIS: I've always thought so.

Me too. Me too...

Ah, pudding. So Vader has the same weakness as Beerus, the God of Destruction, then.

FINALLY me and SF Debris find some common ground! Yeah, I love the victory celebration, and hate the Vader "NOOOOOOOO!" and replacing Sebastian Shaw with Hayden Christensen too. It just... bleh.

[clearspira]

I wasn't a big fan of the objectification of Leia, given how uncomfortable it made poor Carrie Fisher behind the scenes, and that she became a primarily damsel in distress. There's Jabba, then her getting captured by the Ewoks, and then getting shot by a stormtrooper.

You completely missed the point of that scene. Jabba TRIED to objectify her, TRIED to make her a damsel, TRIED to hurt her. And what does she do? She kills him. No crying, no waiting to be saved.
This is a true strong woman. People need to look past the bra ffs.

[Yukaphile]

As SF Debris pointed out, this attitude came from one of the creators behind the show, Richard Marquand. He wanted a more "feminine" Leia one could argue was character assassination. So no, I don't buy it. And this is someone who didn't like Leia. I thought she was a stuffy and uptight bitch. I prefer Padme. But, yeah. Even I'm aghast at what they did to her. Seriously, read some interviews about how Boba Fett could see into "forbidden areas."

[SFDebris]

Seriously, if he hated the Special Edition so much, why not stick a disclaimer on the front of the review saying, "I hate it, won't review" and then just review the original unedited versions?