So, in defense of the Jabba sequence - it DOES serve an important purpose, even if it's not in the movie as a self-contained entity. I could just say 'Lucas was making fun films', but that's a cop-out. The ACTUAL important function it serves is wrapping up the Jabba the Hutt arc that the trilogy has been building up. Jabba, directly or indirectly, has had just as much of an impact on the main cast as the Empire in all practical terms - and those two plotlines intersect in Empire Strikes Back when Boba Fett teams up with Vader to take Han. Yes, this portion of the film could be done better or framed better, on that I agree. But I disagree strongly that it could just be cut out without consequence - because if it was cut out, we would never have a resolution to the Bounty on Solo's Head arc, and the trilogy would end with the looming threat of more bounty hunters coming for him in an endless stream. That ends with Jabba's death, and it's necessary conclusion to an arc-wide story.
I think you’re making too much of the “Jabba arc” in terms of overall importance to the story. And what was really advanced anyway? BF was pointlessly killed off, Han got rescued as we all knew he would and Jabba is killed off. Whilst not totally unnecessary I agree, it could have been resolved much quicker. It’s way padded out like GL did not even have a story outside his final act.
I’d be inclined to agree with this actually. This video misses the point of needing to resolve an overarching side plot related to Jabba the Hut and Han Solo’s overall development as a character from scoundrel smuggler to the General Hero of the Rebels. It’s an important thread to follow up on because the Empire Strikes Back ends on a cliffhanger note with the heroes basically losing the day and Han Solo kidnapped. The video says there isn’t a point to the first act of the movie, saying there isn’t a macguffin, when in fact Han Solo “is” the macguffin. It’s also critical for character development as a side plot because it also displays that the heroes must take risk and partake in subterfuge to resolve a conflict, gaining the upper hand to rescue their friend, rather than take it on heads on and risk losing the only ace card they had in their hand: the element of surprise. The first act also ties the movie back to the plot of the first movie by having it take place in Tattooine as a setting. George Lucas has always said he intended for the saga to be cyclical and rhythmic like a poem, so the first act of the movie serves its purpose in this way by having it be a rescue sequence that both begins and resolves in the same way as A New Hope, in so many different ways (i.e for example, the heroes getting into disguise to rescue the princess, except in this case instead of stormtroopers it is bounty hunters and scoundrels, and instead of Leia it is Han Solo.) It is an important part of the movie in terms of character development not really for Han Solo but for Lando Calrissian and Leia, giving them a chance to be highlighted and a chance to be redeemed, show of strength, evolve, etc. I think the first part of this video misses those points entirely.
The reason Luke believes there is good in Vader is because he wants to, imagine finding out that your father who you have been idolizing your entire life has turned into a ruthless killer because he was tempted by the dark side of the force. This is explained by Obi Wan in Empire Strikes Back. Even though Yoda says that once a person has been tempted by. it they are no longer able to be saved when it's your father in the question you would naturally go against what everyone is saying and try to bring him back. It may be extremely hard but it's either that or killing your own father, which Luke has confirmed he can not and will not do, so Luke wanting to save Vader makes perfect sense to me. Also Merry Christmas
Luke can feel the good in Vader through the Force, he says it himself several times throughout the movie. This signifies to us that Luke is not only highly attuned to the Force, perhaps even more so than Yoda and Obi-wan in being able to sense something they cannot, but also that Vader is still holding onto something good. As we learn at the end of the movie, that would be the love for his son.
The first act where they rescue Han and kill Jabba is the conclusion to Han's subplot that is first established in the first film and is built on massively in ESB. The first act wraps up that thread before the rest of the film wraps up the main story.
I'd also argue it's important in regards to the fact it shows Luke's character development since Empire: He appears much more level-headed and calm, his grasp of the Force is much greater, and he comes across more like a Jedi than the impatient heroics of the final arc of Empire that made him out to be far less patient and far more reckless. His presence and demeanor in Return is like a completely different person to the Luke we knew from Empire. Which in turn sets him up for the audience for the following two acts. From an impatient Apprentice, to a thoughtful Knight.
15:00 Rewriting the rescue of Han to be because the Rebellion needs his pilot skills, totally undermines his friends doing it because they love him. Where's your heart Gold Man!!?
The Rebellion still operates as a military. You could have a scene where the Rebel leaders are apprehensive to send several of their best soldiers off on a dangerous personal mission right before their huge attack on the new Death Star. But Luke and Leia convince the leaders that they need Han’s excellent piloting skills to pull off the greater mission. Obviously Luke and Leia are more concerned about rescuing Han but there’s no particular reason it couldn’t have waited until after the Rebels attacked the Death Star from a practical sense in the final film
This makes this seem like they only saved Han out of utility instead of saving him because he is their dear friend Not all character developments has to be in service to the plot, characters should be able to have their own motivations outside of it
I prefer Return over Revenge. Revenge is typically associated with bad guys because Revenge is a personal vendetta. This is why it fitted with Episode 3 with the Sith getting revenge.
@@thegoldman25 Do you know the star wars work by youtubers "Anomaly Inc", "Rick Worley" & "Honeycutt Videos"? Do you know the few Lucas assited novels/Audiobooks like "Darth Plagueis", "Shatterpoint", "Labyrinth of Evil" and the six movie novelizations?
It's a shameless, poorly written, 2 hour toy commercial marketed to the lowest intellectual denominator, that being children. There is no depth of any kind, other than the depth of George Lucas's greed for the merchandising dollars he extracted from his audience, who he has no respect for and views as chumps. If you believe other wise, you simply need to grow up.
So deep so deep I bet Leia was disappointed to find out Luke, the guy she kisses in the first movie and made out with in the second movie was her twin fucking brother. She wished at sometime during the first two movies that Luke would go deep with her (yeah what a DEEP movie), Please explain to me how I didn't get how deep this movie was. First of all, Darth Vader didn't kill anybody and had no one liners. He had his balls cut off and was neutered by George. The Darth Vader I saw in 1980 killed several employees and told a badass bounty hunter that there was to be "no disintegrations" among other gangster moments. While you're at it PLEASE explain to me how Boba Fett turned out to be a worthless punk-ass bitch-ass loser and couldn't pull the trigger on Luke because plot armor. He had a full second and a half to end the hero's journey but George was like... nah, this is a movie for children. Boba is a throw away character so we will throw him into the Sarlaac pit. AND THEN WE LEARN that Darth, Luke and Leia are a family and this was 100% absolutely NOT setup in the previous two movies. There were three different directors and writers for the screenplays, this shit was made up as it went along and nerds and geeks are mad at Kennedy for doing the same. Return FAILED big time to stick the landing of the trilogy and people acting like Disney ruined the franchise. I'm sorry to be the one to have to say this but Return of the Jedi RUINED Star Wars (ask Denis Villeneuve) and it is only now that Disney (primarily with Andor) is able to save this wretched franchise from a fate worse then Hell. I mean, Greedo shot first? Yeah, no. George fucked this shit up A VERY LONG TIME AGO unfortunately in a galaxy very near and dear to all of us.
Return of the Jedi was my favorite Star Wars movie when I was a kid, and now still is, but for different reasons. As a kid, I loved Luke being a badass at the Sarlacc scene, seeing the lightsaber kick up and the score getting upbeat was a great moment and the ground battle on Endor was very exciting. Now it's my favorite because of the whole arc with Luke and Vader, also with the prequels, the funeral pyre scene became more emotional than when I was a kid and the prequels weren't a thing yet.
This video is absolutely perfect to watch on Christmas morning! I always have and always will associate Christmas with Star Wars. I remember always receiving Star Wars action figures on Christmas day between '78 & '83. Very, very special memories right there.
I don’t know if this was Lucas’ intention or not, but I think Luke just knowing Leia is his sister, and that Vader has good in him was made to show just how great Luke was with the force, to the point that nothing could escape him, he can see through ppl’s facades and intentions. Still, this can be seen as a bit of a stretch
Some say this is the most kid friendly star wars cuz of the Ewoks, but Luke's brief fall to the dark side before throwing his lightsaber away is dark and heavy and it's my favorite moment in the original trilogy
The first act and the third act are killer. It's that middle section of the film that strangely moves without purpose. No one seems in a rush despite the fact the entire rebel fleet is relying on the Endor squad.
I agree on the middle act, there is a complete lack of urgency with our heroes! Where does Leia get her new outfit from and why didn’t the Emperor have a second back up shield generator ha
When "Return of the Jedi" was first released, only two theaters in America (one in NYC; the other in LA) had a sound system capable of playing back the newly developed THX soundtrack. So I slept overnight on the Wilshire Boulevard sidewalk so I could be one of the first to see/hear the film. (Note: the sidewalk sleeping crowd was so large, the theater ran the first showing of the movie 3 hours before it was officially scheduled.)
@@thegoldman25 Yes. The sound was spectacular (unmatched for the time), and the crowd was the most enthusiastic audience I've ever experienced in a movie theater.
You're right LET'S NOT!!! We love the movie just the way it is. Simple stuff: Han Solo became part of the Rebels, so he needed to be rescued FROM JABBA by his good friends (Luke, Leia, Lando, etc, who ARE NOW ALL REBELS TOO, fighting the EMPIRE!!!) Once the Han is freed, all the Rebel forces HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE MENACING EMPIRE which is building a MORE powerful Death Star. The Rebels win. Boom: HAPPY ENDING. Don't care if it's not a Three-act script. Some want SO MUCH--they should go kiss a Wookie!!!
It aint perfect, but this is my personal favorite Star Wars movie- probably my favorite movie period, to be honest. It was extremely formative for me, seeing Luke having come all the way into his own as a hero. It was a very different film for me as a kid, less action packed and taking its time with its characters a lot more. As often as that pacing gets criticized I honestly think it's important. It helps show Luke's I guess, non-traditional hero status, for the era the OT was coming out in especially. He's less gunghoe than in movies prior, more subdued, like the pacing itself. He was my first personal experience where a hero really fealt like they didn't do what they did for fun, with recklessness in their heart, like it'd be so easy for child-me to do in his spot. This film was personal for him, an emotional matter of both blood family and found family. But he always maintained control of himself and when- as is only human- he does lose control, he centers himself. Peacefully. As a kid I had a bit of an anger problem, so I reaaally looked up to that discipline. I still do, to be totally honest. I'm struggling to explain precisely why I feel how I do about the movie without going on forEVER, but hopefully you can kind of hear me.
HISHE had the best idea for Luke's plan to free Han Solo. Just throw a couple thermal detonators into Jabba's throne room while they're all asleep. No complicated rescue plan necessary.
I disagree somewhat on Han and Leia lacking internal goals and/or having no arcs of their own in this film. While you can technically argue that Leia's arc culminated in the end of ESB when she finally admitted her feelings for Han in the carbonite chamber, in ROTJ we see that her actions are a fully fleshed-out reflection of her growth from repressing her emotions under duty for the Rebellion to being unafraid to accept love and do something entirely for herself. Her love for Han provoked her to take a detour from the war just to rescue him. The fact that Han doesn't have relevancy for the later battle actually plays into this - she goes after her man simply because he matters to HER. It's also nice to see Leia gradually softening as a result of this acceptance of love for herself, not into a weaker character but as more of a fully realized person, rather than someone shutting herself down due to trauma and responsibilities. Likewise, no, Han doesn't do anything significant for the battle, but we see him come full circle from the selfish rogue he started out as to a selfless person not only willing to help lead in the fight, but to even step aside and let the woman he loves be happy without him if that was her choice. It still gave both characters satisfying caps to their arcs and it was sweet to see them together at the end, their relationship being the reward for everything they went through along with the greater victory against the Empire.
Darth Vader's redemption is one of the most iconic moments in cinema history. His final sacrifice to save Luke from Emperor Palpatine demonstrates that even the darkest of characters can find the light within themselves. This act of filial love powerfully concludes Anakin Skywalker's narrative arc, offering a message of hope and universal redemption. #StarWars #ReturnOfTheJedi #DarthVader #AnakinSkywalker #Redemption #Cinema #Movie #SpaceOpera
Merry Christmas Gold Man! The duel between Luke and Vader in the emperor's throne room is awesome!! And I'm happy that Disney brought back Boba Fett through how they explained in during TBoBF! It makes so much sense!
As kids growing up before ROTJ, we all thought we'd see more of Luke's return to training. I remember it seeming really odd that Yoda just died like he did. I was definitely disappointed. It
Ohhhhh wait hold up, this is ofc retroactive as RotS hadnt been written yet; but what if in the scene where Obi Wan tells Luke about Leia, Luke asks Obiwan if theres any good left in Vader. Obi-Wan then replies "For the longest time, I believed my old friend to be lost. But in your eyes... I see your mother, and I'm sure your father does too. She never lost hope in him even as she took her last breath, and now Vader knows that a piece of her remains within you... " I think that would add a bunch to Vader's redemption, it also shows how deep the connection between Obi-Wan and Vader goes and ofc gives much more weight to the scene where Padme tells him that there's still good in Anakin Would love someone else's perspective though, so if you're reading this please do share your thoughts! I dont *think* that dialogue is outside of the realm of what a force ghost can tell a living person, but I might be wrong
Where the Hoth sequence in Empire strikes back is its own contained story focused on separating and dividing the heroes Return of the Jedi spends the first sequence, bringing the heroes together through their love of Han Solo and ending Luke’s journey on Tatooine on a heroic note. By your logic, if you hate this sequence, you also have to hate the opening of Empire strikes back too.You fundamentally do not understand this portion of the movie.
I like this, but it is definitely the most uneven of the OT. The Jabba stuff goes on for so long, but it basically has no relevance to the rest of the story once it’s over. The second act kind of drags a bit. But the throne room scene and the space battle over Endor are FANTASTIC!! And sorry, you cannot make me buy that the same Luke who refuses to give up on Vader, would give up on his own nephew.
But Luke did kind of give in and up. He chopped Vader’s hand off then gives up and lets Sidious all but kill him. DV saved his life. And Luke didn’t give up on Ben. Ben lost the plot and killed all the students.
@@davidgeisler9885kylo didn't kill the students until after Luke ignited his lightsaber to kill him in his sleep. The Luke who experienced all that he did in rotj would never react like that toward his sleeping, innocent nephew. The sequel trilogy is trash.
I see where you're going about rescuing Han Solo because of his skills, but even tho both motivates can be added, I feel like the audience in the beginning just understands that Luke and Leia are willing to risk it all because that's what friends do... for their new family
I think Luke's plan and Leia's plan to save Han might've been separate. Leia's plan was their "plan A", which ended up failing: get Han and let Lando bust Chewie out after. Luke's plan was always "kill everyone and walk out with my friend+the droids" except he ended up having to save everyone instead of just Han
Space battle of Endor is still looks like the best space battle in star wars. Yes, revenge of the sith had massive siege sequence, but amount of work, editing and modeling in pre-digital era film... also, it's so weird that in different reaction videos space sequence barely gets any credit
I remember being a kid and speculating with the other kids about how Han would be rescued. And that went on for three years. Lucas knew he couldn't just breeze over that part. The fans would've been furious. It had to be it's own little chapter of the story.
It should have tied into the moving plot of the overall film though, and IMO the Empire should have been there to spring a trap. The whole of TESB is driven by DV hunting Luke, then one movie later it’s like he couldn’t care less about Luke.
I love this movie. Thank you Harrison for coming back and thank you George for keeping him alive. I needed a happy ending in this original trilogy and I absolutely love it. Cheers 🍻
I understand what you mean when talking about the issues with Return of the Jedi. It’s still a good movie, it just has more problems than the first two. After listening to you talking about Luke returning to Dagobah following Han’s rescue, I was thinking the movie could reintroduced the audience to Luke continuing his training with Yoda and we see how much Luke has improved in terms of his skills. Then he receives a call from Leia telling him to return to the fleet and Luke needs to finish his training early like he did before. Then the part with Luke going back to continue his training only for Yoda to be on his death bed can play out the same way.
@thegoldman25 thanks for the agreement. Also I have to agree with you hating the Special Edition change where Vader says no before picking up the emperor. It’s just so stupid and in a lot of ways, it’s even worse than Vader saying no in Revenge of the Sith. The lack of words coming out of Vader’s mouth and just his body language as he’s watching his son being electrocuted by Palpatine is a more subtle and better way of showing how conflicted he is. Just the way he looks back and forth between seeing his son being tortured and seeing Palpatine zapping Luke out of rage of refusing to turn to the dark side is really all the audience needed to see. As for the change where Luke takes off Vader’s helmet and we see Anakin’s face, I personally prefer Anakin not having eyebrows because it does tie into revenge of the Sith a little more because of the part where Anakin gets burned. The lack of eyebrows does show the damage done to Anakin a little better than the original did.
Lucas was very right. That happy ending was the crown of this adventure. To see our heroes celebrating together with a smile was a reward for the audience who cheered them on through the 3 episodes. (and ruined the new trilogy in every way) He was right that it started as a fairytale, and should end as one, like the way it worked in the old heroic tales. Of course, as the world and thus the franchise has evolved, there is an opportunity to not just create a fairy tale, but to create a style that appeals specifically to adults, see Andor.
Definitely not mad at your points but personally I think that narratively there is a reason for them to save Han even if he isn’t necessary for the rest of the movie. They care about him, so to follow up the story of last movie, Luke, Leia, Lando, Chewbacca and the droids (all Han’s friends) would go to rescue him based on their characters. They wouldn’t need the rebellions approval. I think if u got to the end of Empire strikes back, the next reasonable course of action that the hero’s would think of is to save Han the same way Luke had to go to cloud city to save his friends
Han blows up the shield generator. It was his idea to get into the shield bunker by disguising as an imperial. Kind of a throw back to Star Wars with him disguised as a storm trooper and messing up in the radio…. The “how are you scene” in the deathstar. In Jedi he does that again and it works. Kind of goofy but still relevant. I agree it would be better if Han flew the Death Star though… but by having Han on Endor you have Harrison Ford on screen more. Lando gets his moment destroying the Death Star but Lando only has like 5 min of screen time.
At the time, which younger people obv won’t know about unless they checked, Solo was a huge character, and after the ESB ending we fans were very invested in his story. So I strongly disagree regarding the rescue plot. Also, it’s a great way to establish Luke’s progress.
I don't fully understand why you think the start of RotJ is unneccesary. Han Solo is one of the main characters of the trilogy, and one of the ongoing plots throughout the films involving Han is that he has a debt to Jabba, who then puts a bounty on his head which results in him getting caught and frozen by a certain famous bounty hunter and the Empire, and sold back to Jabba. The fact that such an important and loved character got frozen in a cliffhanger-moment already warranted a proper and thorough resolving. Imagine them actually going the way you suggested; with him just casually throwing the "they resqued me" line. I would've felt cheated.
I think the point being made is that it goes on too long and is lazily written such that it does not tie into or drive the rest of the story. They could have recused Han AND have that rescue drive the ongoing story like having say DV turn up or Han acquiring some knowledge that then helped the Rebels win. All we have left on screen is 40 minutes of Han being rescued in stand alone unrelated story. It doesn’t even cut away to the Empire at any point to remind you there’s a wider story at large.
I love the fact Luke keeps his lightsabre in cold storage. He could wander in and lose it in the middle of a fortress through overwhelming numbers. This way he gets to try a different way first then whip it out when he’s desperate. Hedging his bets when he’s still not the finished article is great. His friends are willing participants and the more help the better.
Very well put together, you've hit on all the problems perfectly. You made me think of alternative ways to fix some of the issues.Here's my revised ROTJ: Lando hasn't been heard of since entering the Palace. The droids are sent to figure out what's happened and offered as a gift to Jabba, the recording is of Leia though. And she also offers a substantial amount of credits for Solo's release. Jabba laughs as he has an obscene amount of money and wants to keep Solo as a decoration. Leia goes in with Chewie and that all plays the same. Luke isn't involved in the rescue of Han, he's on Dagobah continuing his training. Much more of the dark side is explored here. Luke still shows a lot of anger and hot-headedness. He is resentfiul about being lied to by Ben & Yoda. He argues with them both as they are insistent he must destroy both Vader & The Emperor for the galaxy to be saved. And he argues he can't kill his own father, and questions the Jedi way. He says it would be better to try turn him to the light. Yoda argues that his feelings towards his father is what the Emperor will use to his advantage. Ben makes an emotional plea saying when he fought Vader he sliced his mask and looked into his eyes. Vader told him Anakin was gone & that he killed him. Luke continues his training & Yoda warns him repeatedly because he is showing signs of letting hate consume him. Luke once again sees visions of his friends being killed and has the same dilemma about whether to leave again. Yoda & Luke have a massive argument and Yoda reveals his urge to go is so strong because Leia is his sister & to let the force do it's bidding & continue his training. Luke is incensed. He goes mental at Ben & Yoda for keeping this from him too and berates them & the force & the Jedi Order and he's going to save his sister & his friends. Yoda is frail and close to dying. He says if he leaves he won't be around if he decides to come back. He also insists not finishing his training this time has Galactic implications as he is not prepared enough to face Vader & The Emperor. He has made up his mind though & has to go.Both Ben & Yoda are gravely worried he will turn out the same as Anakin. Yoda dies as Luke takes off, thinking once again he's failed the galaxy. In Jabba's palace Leia defrosts Han, they get captured. As Luke arrives, he is on the warpath and is fluctuationing towards the dark side as he slaughters the Palace guards & other inhabitants. Han & Leia are in front of Jabba, Luke's entrance provides a distraction for them to try & escape. As they try to do so Boba Fett opens fire and Lando is frantically trying to get to Leia to protect her. In his last act of bravery Han saves Leia from getting shot by putting himself in front of her and is killed. As Luke fights to rescue Leia he steps on the trapdoor. Leia is made a slave, Luke fights the Rancor and Lando is inconsolable that he wasn't able to stop Han's death. Luke & Chewie are sent to the Sarlaac for execution with Lando there with them still disguised. When Luke jumps off the platform he force pulls a blaster from one of the guards and him, Chewie and Lando go to work kicking ass. Leia is using Jabbas chains to strangle him. R2 leaves serving drinks and zaps the chains to free her. Leia grabs Luke's lightsaber which is sitting as a trophy next to Jabba. She finishes him off with her blade (and visually nods to the audience she's a potential Jedi). She goes to help the others. Luke is going ape with the force - choking and throwing guards into the Sarlaac. He gets his lightsaber from Leia and has to rescue Lando from Boba Fett. All of them are seeking revenge because he killed Han. Luke bests Fett, Fett asks for mercy before trying to shoot him with his rocket. Luke is full on swaying to the dark side and has his blade to his head. We wonder if he will strike him down. A laser hits the barge and rocks them all. Luke has the decision taken away from him. In the scramble Fett tries to kill Luke and Chewie steps in, grabs him by the throat and throws him into the Sarlaac. They blow up Jabbas barge and escape. You now have a few arcs going on, Leia is inconsolable after Han's death, blames herself for thinking she could do everything herself. When Luke & her are together, he's going to tell her about her being his sister but she's on a mad rampage about Vader being the architect for killing her home planet, her family & now the man she loved. She is filled with anger. He doesn't tell her about their relationship as this would be a nail in the coffin for her to know Vader is her father. Luke is trying to be Jedi-like and saying people can be redeemed but Leia is having none of it, says she can't see any redemption when so much evil & she's no Jedi in that respect. Luke is already in conflict with his feelings and although doesn't admit it can see her point. They are with the Alliance now like in the film. Lando is in pieces and feels once again he's let his friends down & blames himself for Han's death. Chewie convinces him to lead the attack on the Death Star as he's the only one that can pilot the Falcon. His story is now much more charged as he's looking to redeem himself, redeem Han and help the Rebellion. Luke, Leia & Chewie nominate themselves for the ground assault to take out the shield generator. Endor is much more about Luke & Leia developing their relationship and examining this theme of redemption and good vs evil. Part of Luke's pull towards the light is the love he feels for Leia, the sister he never knew he had. He tries teaching her the ways of the force knowing if he dies she is the last hope. During one of these teachings on Endor when she can't do what Luke says - he insists she can. They are nearly captured by troopers and in order for Luke to be saved, Leia must use the force like she was unable to do earlier. When she is able to do it & saves Luke she is stunned. She asks how she was able to do this - and that's where the sister reveal is. Big hugs, awww. Ewoks are in it, but mostly to serve as a distraction for the Rebellion to infiltrate the shield generator bunker & provide some light relief. When Luke & Leia are with the ewoks they are having debates over Vader & the force. Leia feels the same as Yoda that he can't be turned. But he has to try he says. He tells her to be mindful of the training and that she is stronger than him in many ways, a natural leader. And if he dies, she's the last hope for the galaxy. He leaves and is captured, and that plays out like the film. Leia goes on to lead the ground assault with Chewie to take down the shield generator using the ewoks as a distraction. Everything plays out the same for the end of the film, but the stakes are much higher for all the characters and they have stronger arcs. Redemption is now a much bigger theme for them all. Luke resists the temptation of the dark side which he's been battling with the whole film. He proclaims himself a Jedi for the first time when he won't fight the Emperor. Leia successfully takes down the generator & realises redemption is possible because Luke turned Anakin. Lando destroys the Death Star honouring Han & redeeming himself. When Vader is on fire on Endor, Luke & Leia are together consoling each other. Leia is still wrestling over the fact this is the man who caused her & the galaxy all this pain & destruction but the realisation that he's also her father & that he saved Luke by turning back to the light. She is conflicted & emotional. She turns and walks away. When Luke goes to follow her he looks back and sees the force ghosts. It's not as happy, smiley as in the end of the film we know. Anakin is old Anakin and it's more of an emotional exchange of looks between the four Jedis. An acknowledgement perhaps that the light side has eventually won out, but there is much to be done in order for balance to be restored.
Han‘s rescue felt absolutely organic as a kid - you simply have to rescue your friend, you can’t leave him prisoner to anyone! Even as an adult i don‘t find this Part of the Plot contrived. Love ROTJ, it had huge emotional impact on me as a kid.
I think what has to be taken into account is that bringing down the empire is such an enormous task that it is bigger than one person. ROTJ is about multiple people (and space creatures) working collaboratively for the greater good.
The whole plan to rescue Han relied entirely on chance events that Luke could never have expected, like Jabba assigning R2 to his barge as a waiter. And what if something was put on his head that blocked the hatch hiding the sabre? Luke would've been totally screwed. He also wouldn't have expected Jabba to execute them over the Sarlacc. If anything went differently to how it happened in the movie, then the "plan" would've failed. Now let me guess, prediction of everyone's actions is another convenient Jedi power? BS. It's just Lucas forcing events in order to give all the members of the "gang" something to do, no matter how ridiculous and unnecessary it might be. It's like putting the droids into the movie. Far from being needed, rather than being important to any conceivable plan, they'd actually put it in danger of failing. Same with Chewbacca. What use is he in any rescue attempt? Maybe Lando could act as a scout, just as we saw in the movie, but all any plan would really need is Luke, with Lando to back him up from inside, like maybe to open the palace's main doors when everyone's not looking. Every other character's a deadweight and a potential risk. And if Han is such an important member of the Rebellion that they saw fit to immediately make him a general without years of service, then they could've sent a force in there to rescue Han. Speaking of which, NEVER in the history of the military has someone been promoted straight to general from nothing. Even people with strong connections to powerful people in society have to go to officer school and start as a lieutenant, then take years to prove themselves in that military. Lando said he was made a general because of one unconnected battle? In reality it would take many battles or decades of service before you could become a general, even if you could pull strings. Han was a "captain" of his ship, not a military captain. In the movie he's made an army general, and even if him being a "captain" of his ship counted as a rank, that's not the same as an army captain. An army captain is equivalent of a 1st lieutenant in the navy, whilst a navy full captain is the equivalent of a colonel in the army. Neither are generals nor admirals. But what does Lucas know about the military? In ESB, Vader specifically said he wanted Luke as an ally, not because he had some sort of soft spot, but because he wanted to destroy the Emperor, and for the two of them to rule the galaxy as father and son. The whole plot of ESB was about Vader's ambitions to become the top dog in the galaxy, NOT because he wanted to become a good guy again. That change, along with him becoming an unquestioning stooge of Palpatine in ROTJ, was a retcon. As you said, it totally conflicts with how he was acting in ESB, as a ruthless megalomaniac tyrant. Leia was NOT using the Force at the end of ESB, Luke was. He was using his telepathic powers to contact the only person left who could save him. Luke: "LEIA, hear me." He specifically called out to her and no one else. She didn't just hear him by accident. All of "Leia used the Force to hear him" is just excuses made by Lucas gushers in order to suggest that it was all planned from the start. It WASN'T. Just as Vader becoming Luke's father was only decided late in writing ESB, Leia becoming Luke's sister was only decided late in development of ROTJ. During the writing of ESB, "The Other" was always planned to be a totally new character who we'd eventually see in the then planned ST. Ironically considering everyone hates her, I believe from what I've read about the original ST, is that "Rey" was taken from the original concept for "The Other", hence why she has Force powers for apparently no good reason. In the originally planned ST, "Rey" would've been Luke's long lost sister called "Nellith", who'd be in secret training in a hidden part of the galaxy. In the battle on Endor we see loads of conveniently placed traps waiting for the right Imperial to pass at the exact right time. Not only that, but how did they prepare them all over night in heavily defended territory without being detected? What, were they using magical powers as well? Anakin died old and redeemed at the end of ROTJ, so he should've become the Sebastian Shaw ghost, not as the young Hayden Christensen ghost. Lucas' excuses don't hold water, because he did die good in ROTJ. It's more like yet another excuse for Lucas to connect the PT with the OT. Saying all this, ROTJ could've been far, far worse. During scripting of the movie he wanted both Obi-Wan and Yoda to reincarnate to confront the Emperor! In other words, in Lucas' mind all heroes are immune to death!
Leia didn't use the force in Empire Strikes Back -- that was Luke reaching out to her, unless I'm remembering it wrong. 24:23 "Palpatine's manipulation of Luke was perfectly written." Palp, just as Luke is succumbing to the dark side: "Yes! YES!!! Give in to your anger and you will be MIIIIINE!" Luke: "Oh, right. I guess I shouldn't do that, then." Stops. Repeat While I pretty much think that Luke's arc here is BY FAR the best thing about RotJ, that seems a poor bit of manipulation to me... I think it is because he didn't trust his audience enough to understand (and part of that is undoubtedly from him focusing more on the young child audience).
@thegoldman25 I'm just going to point out you heavily criticized the scenes saving Han Solo for being unnecessary but praised the Vader redemption scenes on the Death Star. Despite this, you could easily remove all of Vader and Luke's scenes on the Death Star, and the movie would have proceeded. The audience would have assumed both the emperor and Vader died in the Death Star explosion. The duel between Vader/emperor/Luke is entirely emotional, the real battle in space and on Endor. Let's say Vader doesn't save Luke; all three men still die because the Death Star was Destroyed. The scenes on Tatooine wrap up plot lines left over from the previous film, so it serves a purpose.
@@thegoldman25@thegoldman25 True, but what we connect to emotionally depends on each person and their time in life; it can even depend on the time of day. ROTJ has always been my favorite Star Wars movie, but as a kid, I would fast-forward through the talking bits in the throne room because of cool sword fights; as an adult, I fast-forward through many of the E-wok sequences. The sequence on Tatooine plays an important thematic role; as already stated, it raps up plot threads from the previous films (Boba Fett & Han Solo). I'll give you Luke's plan, wasn't exactly Operation Overlord, but it didn't really need to be; the goal was to save one man. We can reasonably assume that wasn't the first time Jabba had punished somebody, and Luke would have known that, being a resident of Tatooine for nearly two decades. In addition, The escape scene has the benefit of showing the audience just how much of a beast Luke Skywalker now is on the battlefield and how much of a potential threat Luke could be to Vader. You are right. Yoda tells us this later in the movie, but is telling as good as showing?
I believe it's false to claim the majority of Act One has no bearing on the plot. Jabba's Palace scenes quite clearly establish and set-up, in numerous actions, Luke's progression in his Jedi training and the potential he has in the force which is what the Emperor wishes to exploit. This set-up is paid off at the end in the throne room of the Emperor of the Galaxy (the mirror of Jabba sitting on his throne as the Godfather of the Galaxy). Luke weighs his fate and that of his friends in both scenes and makes the right choices.
you seemed to have missed something in ESB with vader. after the emporor revealed he had a son that was alive, he immiidately mved to protect him by askign to join them and turn him instead of killing him. , also, after the confrontation and after the guys messing up, the commander was shocked that vader didn't kill him , just turned around and walked away. it was already starting
I find there’s one problem with you’re mini re-write. It implies the rebels only save Han because he can do something to benefit them. Very selfish reason. The rebels (especially Luke and Leia) are Han’s friends and want to save him no matter what regardless of what they can get out of him later, which is what the movie shows. Adds depth, and further develops the rebels humanity
Luke knows about his father from Obi-Wan. Once finding out Vader is his father, he starts to piece together that there is still good. It's also a matter of faith, something which doesn't need to rely on evidence, and that's what's beautiful about Luke's character
For me the best Star Wars ever, a great conclusion to the orginals, the lines "I'm a Jedi, like my father before me" the response "So be it .... Jedi" while the battle on Endor and the attack on the Death Star rage on ... I was 12 yrs old when released back 83, took the family to rewatch the 40th re-release in 2023 ... they moaned but I think enjoyed it ...
Tattoine is the best part. Everyone's attempts to free Han might not be a plan, but coordinated by the force. Kylo doesn't work. He's just a broken looser.
My favorite Star Wars movie, it has my two favorite characters (Yoda & Jabba the Hutt), it made Darth Vader into a more tragic figure, it concludes 6 movies with a satisfying and hopeful ending, amazing battles, and everything in the empires thrown room is just perfect… Perfect, down to the last little detail
Regarding r2 having the lightsaber, i think it was kinda like a test for Luke to not rely on his weapon. Also i think luke was training with Yoda of screen as well but did not ask Yoda. Kinda like you learn something about your parents and you ask them after a lot of time
I realize this is not going to be a popular comment but I must tell everybody here that this movie was very difficult for me to watch in 1983 at the age of 11. I was 5 in 1977 and 8 in 1980 and for three years after watching Empire my neighborhood friends wondered if Darth Vader was in fact Luke's father. We went back and forth and never came to agree on anything because Vader was a ruthless badass in Empire, heck he killed several of his own officers like it was an avergge Tuesday morning at work. He had one liners and was the best. In Return, he was completely neutered. He didn't kill anybody, he was worthless. But my heart broke when my favorite Star Wars character, whom I thought for the previous 3 years was the greatest badass bounty hunter in all the galaxy turned out to actually be a punk ass little completely worthless bitch. I was squirming in my seat in the theater looking around wondering if anybody else was watching the same trainwreck that I was. This movie was made for children and I was trying to grow up, George wanted me back in preschool trying to color within the lines with my crayons. The first two movies were serious (though had amazing comic relief) and were for everybody. Not this one. Then we got the salt poured onto my open wounds when I found out the girl that kissed Luke in the first movie and made out with him in the second movie was actually his twin sister. OMG the storytelling just fell of a cliff. I'm with Denis Villeneuve and Robert Meyer Burnett, this movie ruined Star Wars. But as if that wasn't enough George has to re-edit these first three and have Greedo shoot Han first fundamentlly ruining Han as a character. Don't even get me started on the Prequels. Jesus Fucking Christ what a shit show. There has only been THREE good Star Wars movies. 1. Star Wars (not episode IV, the one I saw in the theater in 1977 that just said "Star Wars" in the openeing crawl, 2. Empire and 3. Rogue One. everything else sucks. THANK GOD DISNEY BOUGHT THIS ROTTEN IP and made Andor, EASILY the best Star Wars since 1980. THANK FUCKING GOD. Nerds and geeks everywhere thinking Disney is or has ruined Star Wars. Shits been fucked for almost 45 FUCKING years. At least now we are getting SOMETHING to heal the wounds this movie Return of the Jedi (shoulda been called Revenge, but Jedi's are pussies now, right George?) had cause many of us ORIGINAL GANGSTER fans from back in the day. What a fucked IP.
I feel the Jabba sequence also shows how effect and Luke and the team are, establishing there capabilities, so when things become hard form them, the stakes seem high because we saw them winning, now there loosing, we wonder how there going to overcome these powerful enemies
I like it. But it's not what I would've done. The original story had no Death Star, and the climactic battle was to take place on coruscant. Han Solo was rescued from Jabba the hut, but was later killed when the rebels attacked coruscant.
Part of me always thought that RotJ got more special edition changes than Empire because Richard Marquand sadly wasn’t around anymore when 1997 rolled around. Meanwhile Irvin Kirschner was. Meaning Marquand wasn’t around to consult on the changes.
I admit, Luke/Vader/Emperor is why I love this movie so much. Everything else was kind of clutter to me as a kid and still are. I do not like the special edition changes in this movie at all. All except for Victory Celebration. I will kind of defend the Hayden Christensen Force Ghost. Either way, it give people something to think about when it comes to Anakin. As an old man we can see he found renewed peace and this is what he looks like untouched by the Dark Side. As a young man we see the tragedy that he died young and didn't pass on until years later. I prefer the original but I do like how I can think deeply about the new edit. Which I can't say for the rest. Happy Holidays!
@@thegoldman25 I saw it there too, but I wasn't counting that. If I have to account ALL the times I went to the movies, I saw it 3 times in '97 for the Special Edition. I meant 1983 only
So, in defense of the Jabba sequence - it DOES serve an important purpose, even if it's not in the movie as a self-contained entity. I could just say 'Lucas was making fun films', but that's a cop-out. The ACTUAL important function it serves is wrapping up the Jabba the Hutt arc that the trilogy has been building up. Jabba, directly or indirectly, has had just as much of an impact on the main cast as the Empire in all practical terms - and those two plotlines intersect in Empire Strikes Back when Boba Fett teams up with Vader to take Han. Yes, this portion of the film could be done better or framed better, on that I agree. But I disagree strongly that it could just be cut out without consequence - because if it was cut out, we would never have a resolution to the Bounty on Solo's Head arc, and the trilogy would end with the looming threat of more bounty hunters coming for him in an endless stream. That ends with Jabba's death, and it's necessary conclusion to an arc-wide story.
There are actually a ton of thematic threads that tie the first act to the rest of the film that most people miss.
@@ultranova05but where on earth are the Empire?
I think you’re making too much of the “Jabba arc” in terms of overall importance to the story. And what was really advanced anyway? BF was pointlessly killed off, Han got rescued as we all knew he would and Jabba is killed off.
Whilst not totally unnecessary I agree, it could have been resolved much quicker. It’s way padded out like GL did not even have a story outside his final act.
I’d be inclined to agree with this actually. This video misses the point of needing to resolve an overarching side plot related to Jabba the Hut and Han Solo’s overall development as a character from scoundrel smuggler to the General Hero of the Rebels.
It’s an important thread to follow up on because the Empire Strikes Back ends on a cliffhanger note with the heroes basically losing the day and Han Solo kidnapped.
The video says there isn’t a point to the first act of the movie, saying there isn’t a macguffin, when in fact Han Solo “is” the macguffin. It’s also critical for character development as a side plot because it also displays that the heroes must take risk and partake in subterfuge to resolve a conflict, gaining the upper hand to rescue their friend, rather than take it on heads on and risk losing the only ace card they had in their hand: the element of surprise.
The first act also ties the movie back to the plot of the first movie by having it take place in Tattooine as a setting. George Lucas has always said he intended for the saga to be cyclical and rhythmic like a poem, so the first act of the movie serves its purpose in this way by having it be a rescue sequence that both begins and resolves in the same way as A New Hope, in so many different ways (i.e for example, the heroes getting into disguise to rescue the princess, except in this case instead of stormtroopers it is bounty hunters and scoundrels, and instead of Leia it is Han Solo.)
It is an important part of the movie in terms of character development not really for Han Solo but for Lando Calrissian and Leia, giving them a chance to be highlighted and a chance to be redeemed, show of strength, evolve, etc.
I think the first part of this video misses those points entirely.
@@davidgeisler9885Not on Earth.
The reason Luke believes there is good in Vader is because he wants to, imagine finding out that your father who you have been idolizing your entire life has turned into a ruthless killer because he was tempted by the dark side of the force. This is explained by Obi Wan in Empire Strikes Back. Even though Yoda says that once a person has been tempted by. it they are no longer able to be saved when it's your father in the question you would naturally go against what everyone is saying and try to bring him back. It may be extremely hard but it's either that or killing your own father, which Luke has confirmed he can not and will not do, so Luke wanting to save Vader makes perfect sense to me. Also Merry Christmas
fair!
Luke can feel the good in Vader through the Force, he says it himself several times throughout the movie. This signifies to us that Luke is not only highly attuned to the Force, perhaps even more so than Yoda and Obi-wan in being able to sense something they cannot, but also that Vader is still holding onto something good. As we learn at the end of the movie, that would be the love for his son.
The first act where they rescue Han and kill Jabba is the conclusion to Han's subplot that is first established in the first film and is built on massively in ESB. The first act wraps up that thread before the rest of the film wraps up the main story.
I'd also argue it's important in regards to the fact it shows Luke's character development since Empire: He appears much more level-headed and calm, his grasp of the Force is much greater, and he comes across more like a Jedi than the impatient heroics of the final arc of Empire that made him out to be far less patient and far more reckless. His presence and demeanor in Return is like a completely different person to the Luke we knew from Empire. Which in turn sets him up for the audience for the following two acts.
From an impatient Apprentice, to a thoughtful Knight.
Yes it does to that, but did it really need to take 30-40 minutes?
@@apathyisdeath2977 100% agree!
What can you expect from amateur film critics
@@davidgeisler9885 No attention span?
15:00 Rewriting the rescue of Han to be because the Rebellion needs his pilot skills, totally undermines his friends doing it because they love him. Where's your heart Gold Man!!?
both can be true, they can rescue him cuz they love him and because he's usefull
The Rebellion still operates as a military. You could have a scene where the Rebel leaders are apprehensive to send several of their best soldiers off on a dangerous personal mission right before their huge attack on the new Death Star. But Luke and Leia convince the leaders that they need Han’s excellent piloting skills to pull off the greater mission. Obviously Luke and Leia are more concerned about rescuing Han but there’s no particular reason it couldn’t have waited until after the Rebels attacked the Death Star from a practical sense in the final film
Body of gold, heart of ice.
This makes this seem like they only saved Han out of utility instead of saving him because he is their dear friend
Not all character developments has to be in service to the plot, characters should be able to have their own motivations outside of it
I prefer Return over Revenge. Revenge is typically associated with bad guys because Revenge is a personal vendetta. This is why it fitted with Episode 3 with the Sith getting revenge.
I agree
@@thegoldman25 Do you know the star wars work by youtubers "Anomaly Inc", "Rick Worley" & "Honeycutt Videos"? Do you know the few Lucas assited novels/Audiobooks like "Darth Plagueis", "Shatterpoint", "Labyrinth of Evil" and the six movie novelizations?
It comes full circle with "Revenge of the Sith," and that's pretty cool imo.
ROTJ is my favorite SW film out of the entire franchise. It’s so deep, deeper than most fans know or will ever realize.
It's a shameless, poorly written, 2 hour toy commercial marketed to the lowest intellectual denominator, that being children. There is no depth of any kind, other than the depth of George Lucas's greed for the merchandising dollars he extracted from his audience, who he has no respect for and views as chumps.
If you believe other wise, you simply need to grow up.
Bingo. *Empire* shocks you genuinely while *Jedi* stirs the moral heart, tapping into deeply-felt cultural motifs
Both ROTS and ROTJ are the heart of Star Wars.
So deep so deep I bet Leia was disappointed to find out Luke, the guy she kisses in the first movie and made out with in the second movie was her twin fucking brother. She wished at sometime during the first two movies that Luke would go deep with her (yeah what a DEEP movie), Please explain to me how I didn't get how deep this movie was. First of all, Darth Vader didn't kill anybody and had no one liners. He had his balls cut off and was neutered by George. The Darth Vader I saw in 1980 killed several employees and told a badass bounty hunter that there was to be "no disintegrations" among other gangster moments. While you're at it PLEASE explain to me how Boba Fett turned out to be a worthless punk-ass bitch-ass loser and couldn't pull the trigger on Luke because plot armor. He had a full second and a half to end the hero's journey but George was like... nah, this is a movie for children. Boba is a throw away character so we will throw him into the Sarlaac pit. AND THEN WE LEARN that Darth, Luke and Leia are a family and this was 100% absolutely NOT setup in the previous two movies. There were three different directors and writers for the screenplays, this shit was made up as it went along and nerds and geeks are mad at Kennedy for doing the same. Return FAILED big time to stick the landing of the trilogy and people acting like Disney ruined the franchise. I'm sorry to be the one to have to say this but Return of the Jedi RUINED Star Wars (ask Denis Villeneuve) and it is only now that Disney (primarily with Andor) is able to save this wretched franchise from a fate worse then Hell. I mean, Greedo shot first? Yeah, no. George fucked this shit up A VERY LONG TIME AGO unfortunately in a galaxy very near and dear to all of us.
Fucking well said
Return of the Jedi was my favorite Star Wars movie when I was a kid, and now still is, but for different reasons. As a kid, I loved Luke being a badass at the Sarlacc scene, seeing the lightsaber kick up and the score getting upbeat was a great moment and the ground battle on Endor was very exciting. Now it's my favorite because of the whole arc with Luke and Vader, also with the prequels, the funeral pyre scene became more emotional than when I was a kid and the prequels weren't a thing yet.
This video is absolutely perfect to watch on Christmas morning! I always have and always will associate Christmas with Star Wars. I remember always receiving Star Wars action figures on Christmas day between '78 & '83. Very, very special memories right there.
Merry Christmas!
@thegoldman25 Thank you and Merry Christmas to you, also. MTFBWY!!
Perfect video for Christmas morning.
Merry Christmas!
I don’t know if this was Lucas’ intention or not, but I think Luke just knowing Leia is his sister, and that Vader has good in him was made to show just how great Luke was with the force, to the point that nothing could escape him, he can see through ppl’s facades and intentions. Still, this can be seen as a bit of a stretch
Some say this is the most kid friendly star wars cuz of the Ewoks, but Luke's brief fall to the dark side before throwing his lightsaber away is dark and heavy and it's my favorite moment in the original trilogy
that was a great scene
15 seconds ago is actually insane lmao Merry Christmas my dudes ❤️
Merry Christmas dude! Hope it's fun!!
Merry Christmas!
MERRY CHRISTMAS 🎄
If anything, Darth Vader saving Luke makes ROTJ worth watching for me even with all the problems.
Merry Christmas Goldman 🎁🎄
Merry Christmas!
Definitely! ROTJ is a great example of how a very mixed movie can be saved by a strong ending and a solid emotional core.
Merry Christmas 🎄
No better gift on Christmas morning than a new gold man video. Love you man! ❤
Merry Christmas bro!!
Merry Christmas!
The first act and the third act are killer. It's that middle section of the film that strangely moves without purpose. No one seems in a rush despite the fact the entire rebel fleet is relying on the Endor squad.
I agree on the middle act, there is a complete lack of urgency with our heroes! Where does Leia get her new outfit from and why didn’t the Emperor have a second back up shield generator ha
I absolutely adore your long format videos. They're perfect to listen to while I do my art. Thank you for all the effort you put into your videos!
I am so glad you enjoy them!
Merry Christmas Star Wars community
Merry Christmas!!!
Merry Christmas
Thanks and Merry Christmas to you, too! MTFBWY all!
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas!
When "Return of the Jedi" was first released, only two theaters in America (one in NYC; the other in LA) had a sound system capable of playing back the newly developed THX soundtrack. So I slept overnight on the Wilshire Boulevard sidewalk so I could be one of the first to see/hear the film. (Note: the sidewalk sleeping crowd was so large, the theater ran the first showing of the movie 3 hours before it was officially scheduled.)
Was it worth the wait?
@@thegoldman25 Yes. The sound was spectacular (unmatched for the time), and the crowd was the most enthusiastic audience I've ever experienced in a movie theater.
Goldman I’ve been loving these Star Wars videos, what a great Christmas gift. Happy holidays to you and all viewers!
Merry Christmas!
‘Let’s do a mini re-write’.
Let’s not.
why not?
You're right LET'S NOT!!! We love the movie just the way it is. Simple stuff: Han Solo became part of the Rebels, so he needed to be rescued FROM JABBA by his good friends (Luke, Leia, Lando, etc, who ARE NOW ALL REBELS TOO, fighting the EMPIRE!!!) Once the Han is freed, all the Rebel forces HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE MENACING EMPIRE which is building a MORE powerful Death Star. The Rebels win. Boom: HAPPY ENDING. Don't care if it's not a Three-act script. Some want SO MUCH--they should go kiss a Wookie!!!
this feels like an extra christmas gift this morning
It makes me smile reading this!
It aint perfect, but this is my personal favorite Star Wars movie- probably my favorite movie period, to be honest.
It was extremely formative for me, seeing Luke having come all the way into his own as a hero. It was a very different film for me as a kid, less action packed and taking its time with its characters a lot more. As often as that pacing gets criticized I honestly think it's important. It helps show Luke's I guess, non-traditional hero status, for the era the OT was coming out in especially. He's less gunghoe than in movies prior, more subdued, like the pacing itself. He was my first personal experience where a hero really fealt like they didn't do what they did for fun, with recklessness in their heart, like it'd be so easy for child-me to do in his spot.
This film was personal for him, an emotional matter of both blood family and found family. But he always maintained control of himself and when- as is only human- he does lose control, he centers himself. Peacefully. As a kid I had a bit of an anger problem, so I reaaally looked up to that discipline. I still do, to be totally honest.
I'm struggling to explain precisely why I feel how I do about the movie without going on forEVER, but hopefully you can kind of hear me.
16:31 Like every single Jedi plan, they wander into danger and “see how it goes.” Evidently the Force just makes things go ok.
you're not wrong
Thank you for dropping this today!
You're very welcome!
You have one of the most clear moral compasses I've come across online, thank you
TESB's cliffhanger ending is part of what makes it great but it also what makes ROTJ flawed because it has to resolve it.
HISHE had the best idea for Luke's plan to free Han Solo. Just throw a couple thermal detonators into Jabba's throne room while they're all asleep. No complicated rescue plan necessary.
I disagree somewhat on Han and Leia lacking internal goals and/or having no arcs of their own in this film. While you can technically argue that Leia's arc culminated in the end of ESB when she finally admitted her feelings for Han in the carbonite chamber, in ROTJ we see that her actions are a fully fleshed-out reflection of her growth from repressing her emotions under duty for the Rebellion to being unafraid to accept love and do something entirely for herself. Her love for Han provoked her to take a detour from the war just to rescue him. The fact that Han doesn't have relevancy for the later battle actually plays into this - she goes after her man simply because he matters to HER. It's also nice to see Leia gradually softening as a result of this acceptance of love for herself, not into a weaker character but as more of a fully realized person, rather than someone shutting herself down due to trauma and responsibilities.
Likewise, no, Han doesn't do anything significant for the battle, but we see him come full circle from the selfish rogue he started out as to a selfless person not only willing to help lead in the fight, but to even step aside and let the woman he loves be happy without him if that was her choice. It still gave both characters satisfying caps to their arcs and it was sweet to see them together at the end, their relationship being the reward for everything they went through along with the greater victory against the Empire.
Darth Vader's redemption is one of the most iconic moments in cinema history. His final sacrifice to save Luke from Emperor Palpatine demonstrates that even the darkest of characters can find the light within themselves. This act of filial love powerfully concludes Anakin Skywalker's narrative arc, offering a message of hope and universal redemption.
#StarWars #ReturnOfTheJedi #DarthVader #AnakinSkywalker #Redemption #Cinema #Movie #SpaceOpera
Merry Christmas Gold Man! The duel between Luke and Vader in the emperor's throne room is awesome!! And I'm happy that Disney brought back Boba Fett through how they explained in during TBoBF! It makes so much sense!
Merry Christmas!
As kids growing up before ROTJ, we all thought we'd see more of Luke's return to training. I remember it seeming really odd that Yoda just died like he did. I was definitely disappointed. It
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!
Awesome video!👏🏻👍🏻 merry Christmas Gold Man🎅🏻🎄
Merry Christmas!!!
Ohhhhh wait hold up, this is ofc retroactive as RotS hadnt been written yet; but what if in the scene where Obi Wan tells Luke about Leia, Luke asks Obiwan if theres any good left in Vader. Obi-Wan then replies "For the longest time, I believed my old friend to be lost. But in your eyes... I see your mother, and I'm sure your father does too. She never lost hope in him even as she took her last breath, and now Vader knows that a piece of her remains within you... "
I think that would add a bunch to Vader's redemption, it also shows how deep the connection between Obi-Wan and Vader goes and ofc gives much more weight to the scene where Padme tells him that there's still good in Anakin
Would love someone else's perspective though, so if you're reading this please do share your thoughts!
I dont *think* that dialogue is outside of the realm of what a force ghost can tell a living person, but I might be wrong
Where the Hoth sequence in Empire strikes back is its own contained story focused on separating and dividing the heroes Return of the Jedi spends the first sequence, bringing the heroes together through their love of Han Solo and ending Luke’s journey on Tatooine on a heroic note. By your logic, if you hate this sequence, you also have to hate the opening of Empire strikes back too.You fundamentally do not understand this portion of the movie.
I like this, but it is definitely the most uneven of the OT. The Jabba stuff goes on for so long, but it basically has no relevance to the rest of the story once it’s over.
The second act kind of drags a bit.
But the throne room scene and the space battle over Endor are FANTASTIC!!
And sorry, you cannot make me buy that the same Luke who refuses to give up on Vader, would give up on his own nephew.
But Luke did kind of give in and up. He chopped Vader’s hand off then gives up and lets Sidious all but kill him. DV saved his life.
And Luke didn’t give up on Ben. Ben lost the plot and killed all the students.
@@davidgeisler9885kylo didn't kill the students until after Luke ignited his lightsaber to kill him in his sleep. The Luke who experienced all that he did in rotj would never react like that toward his sleeping, innocent nephew. The sequel trilogy is trash.
Merry Christmas Gold man!!!
Always felt like ROTJ was a good movie for Christmas time. Might just be the red and green sabers lol
i feel that vibe
blessed for christmas been waiting for this one
Merry Christmas!
@@thegoldman25 keep up the great videos HOPE to make videos at your level someday! Thanks for the great content
Merry Christmas!!
Merry Christmas!
Even if the beginning is a bit clunky and the middle is a bit slow, the ending however…
👌 PERFECT 👌
I see where you're going about rescuing Han Solo because of his skills, but even tho both motivates can be added, I feel like the audience in the beginning just understands that Luke and Leia are willing to risk it all because that's what friends do... for their new family
All three of the original series are must watches periodically. This season I watched return. This movie never gets old 😂❤
I think Luke's plan and Leia's plan to save Han might've been separate. Leia's plan was their "plan A", which ended up failing: get Han and let Lando bust Chewie out after. Luke's plan was always "kill everyone and walk out with my friend+the droids" except he ended up having to save everyone instead of just Han
This is my favorite star wars movie
I hope you enjoyed this video!
The sequence where Lando and Wedge destroy the core and escape the death star just in time is still my favorite moment in all of Star Wars.
Space battle of Endor is still looks like the best space battle in star wars. Yes, revenge of the sith had massive siege sequence, but amount of work, editing and modeling in pre-digital era film... also, it's so weird that in different reaction videos space sequence barely gets any credit
I remember being a kid and speculating with the other kids about how Han would be rescued. And that went on for three years. Lucas knew he couldn't just breeze over that part. The fans would've been furious. It had to be it's own little chapter of the story.
It should have tied into the moving plot of the overall film though, and IMO the Empire should have been there to spring a trap. The whole of TESB is driven by DV hunting Luke, then one movie later it’s like he couldn’t care less about Luke.
I love this movie. Thank you Harrison for coming back and thank you George for keeping him alive. I needed a happy ending in this original trilogy and I absolutely love it. Cheers 🍻
I am definitely happy Harrison came back
I understand what you mean when talking about the issues with Return of the Jedi. It’s still a good movie, it just has more problems than the first two. After listening to you talking about Luke returning to Dagobah following Han’s rescue, I was thinking the movie could reintroduced the audience to Luke continuing his training with Yoda and we see how much Luke has improved in terms of his skills. Then he receives a call from Leia telling him to return to the fleet and Luke needs to finish his training early like he did before. Then the part with Luke going back to continue his training only for Yoda to be on his death bed can play out the same way.
I agree, the movie could have been more concise
@thegoldman25 thanks for the agreement. Also I have to agree with you hating the Special Edition change where Vader says no before picking up the emperor. It’s just so stupid and in a lot of ways, it’s even worse than Vader saying no in Revenge of the Sith. The lack of words coming out of Vader’s mouth and just his body language as he’s watching his son being electrocuted by Palpatine is a more subtle and better way of showing how conflicted he is. Just the way he looks back and forth between seeing his son being tortured and seeing Palpatine zapping Luke out of rage of refusing to turn to the dark side is really all the audience needed to see. As for the change where Luke takes off Vader’s helmet and we see Anakin’s face, I personally prefer Anakin not having eyebrows because it does tie into revenge of the Sith a little more because of the part where Anakin gets burned. The lack of eyebrows does show the damage done to Anakin a little better than the original did.
@@seanrogers9129 yeah the part where Vader says no is really stupid.
And Lucas really wanted to show off Jabba the Hutt ever since A New Hope. 30 minutes of fun, but the material was mostly there to showcase toys.
Merry Christmas everybody!
Merry Christmas!
@ or in the words of NYSNC “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays”. Can’t wait to celebrate by watching the Star Wars Holiday Special! (I’m kidding)
@@JAXsolochannel Merry Christmas!!!
Star Wars (ANH) is the second movie I saw but RotJ got me more into Star Wars. Vader's death scene never fails to get me welling up.
The whole Jabba sequence was awesome. I remember how hyped I was to see what would happen after watching ESB.
Maybe it would have worked better if they had accidentally stumbled upon the information about the Death Star and the Emperor while rescuing Han.
Not a bad idea. Maybe Jabba would be helping fund it or something
But the universe would have appeared as small
maybe
Lucas was very right. That happy ending was the crown of this adventure. To see our heroes celebrating together with a smile was a reward for the audience who cheered them on through the 3 episodes. (and ruined the new trilogy in every way) He was right that it started as a fairytale, and should end as one, like the way it worked in the old heroic tales. Of course, as the world and thus the franchise has evolved, there is an opportunity to not just create a fairy tale, but to create a style that appeals specifically to adults, see Andor.
Definitely not mad at your points but personally I think that narratively there is a reason for them to save Han even if he isn’t necessary for the rest of the movie. They care about him, so to follow up the story of last movie, Luke, Leia, Lando, Chewbacca and the droids (all Han’s friends) would go to rescue him based on their characters. They wouldn’t need the rebellions approval. I think if u got to the end of Empire strikes back, the next reasonable course of action that the hero’s would think of is to save Han the same way Luke had to go to cloud city to save his friends
Your colts piss me off btw
Han blows up the shield generator. It was his idea to get into the shield bunker by disguising as an imperial. Kind of a throw back to Star Wars with him disguised as a storm trooper and messing up in the radio…. The “how are you scene” in the deathstar. In Jedi he does that again and it works. Kind of goofy but still relevant.
I agree it would be better if Han flew the Death Star though… but by having Han on Endor you have Harrison Ford on screen more. Lando gets his moment destroying the Death Star but Lando only has like 5 min of screen time.
At the time, which younger people obv won’t know about unless they checked, Solo was a huge character, and after the ESB ending we fans were very invested in his story. So I strongly disagree regarding the rescue plot.
Also, it’s a great way to establish Luke’s progress.
I don't fully understand why you think the start of RotJ is unneccesary. Han Solo is one of the main characters of the trilogy, and one of the ongoing plots throughout the films involving Han is that he has a debt to Jabba, who then puts a bounty on his head which results in him getting caught and frozen by a certain famous bounty hunter and the Empire, and sold back to Jabba.
The fact that such an important and loved character got frozen in a cliffhanger-moment already warranted a proper and thorough resolving. Imagine them actually going the way you suggested; with him just casually throwing the "they resqued me" line. I would've felt cheated.
I think the point being made is that it goes on too long and is lazily written such that it does not tie into or drive the rest of the story.
They could have recused Han AND have that rescue drive the ongoing story like having say DV turn up or Han acquiring some knowledge that then helped the Rebels win. All we have left on screen is 40 minutes of Han being rescued in stand alone unrelated story. It doesn’t even cut away to the Empire at any point to remind you there’s a wider story at large.
Merry Christmas 🎄
Merry Christmas!
Return of the Jedi is a masterpiece and one of my favorite movies of all time
I love the fact Luke keeps his lightsabre in cold storage. He could wander in and lose it in the middle of a fortress through overwhelming numbers. This way he gets to try a different way first then whip it out when he’s desperate. Hedging his bets when he’s still not the finished article is great. His friends are willing participants and the more help the better.
Very well put together, you've hit on all the problems perfectly. You made me think of alternative ways to fix some of the issues.Here's my revised ROTJ:
Lando hasn't been heard of since entering the Palace. The droids are sent to figure out what's happened and offered as a gift to Jabba, the recording is of Leia though. And she also offers a substantial amount of credits for Solo's release. Jabba laughs as he has an obscene amount of money and wants to keep Solo as a decoration. Leia goes in with Chewie and that all plays the same.
Luke isn't involved in the rescue of Han, he's on Dagobah continuing his training. Much more of the dark side is explored here. Luke still shows a lot of anger and hot-headedness. He is resentfiul about being lied to by Ben & Yoda. He argues with them both as they are insistent he must destroy both Vader & The Emperor for the galaxy to be saved. And he argues he can't kill his own father, and questions the Jedi way. He says it would be better to try turn him to the light. Yoda argues that his feelings towards his father is what the Emperor will use to his advantage. Ben makes an emotional plea saying when he fought Vader he sliced his mask and looked into his eyes. Vader told him Anakin was gone & that he killed him. Luke continues his training & Yoda warns him repeatedly because he is showing signs of letting hate consume him.
Luke once again sees visions of his friends being killed and has the same dilemma about whether to leave again. Yoda & Luke have a massive argument and Yoda reveals his urge to go is so strong because Leia is his sister & to let the force do it's bidding & continue his training. Luke is incensed. He goes mental at Ben & Yoda for keeping this from him too and berates them & the force & the Jedi Order and he's going to save his sister & his friends.
Yoda is frail and close to dying. He says if he leaves he won't be around if he decides to come back. He also insists not finishing his training this time has Galactic implications as he is not prepared enough to face Vader & The Emperor. He has made up his mind though & has to go.Both Ben & Yoda are gravely worried he will turn out the same as Anakin. Yoda dies as Luke takes off, thinking once again he's failed the galaxy.
In Jabba's palace Leia defrosts Han, they get captured. As Luke arrives, he is on the warpath and is fluctuationing towards the dark side as he slaughters the Palace guards & other inhabitants. Han & Leia are in front of Jabba, Luke's entrance provides a distraction for them to try & escape. As they try to do so Boba Fett opens fire and Lando is frantically trying to get to Leia to protect her. In his last act of bravery Han saves Leia from getting shot by putting himself in front of her and is killed. As Luke fights to rescue Leia he steps on the trapdoor. Leia is made a slave, Luke fights the Rancor and Lando is inconsolable that he wasn't able to stop Han's death.
Luke & Chewie are sent to the Sarlaac for execution with Lando there with them still disguised. When Luke jumps off the platform he force pulls a blaster from one of the guards and him, Chewie and Lando go to work kicking ass.
Leia is using Jabbas chains to strangle him. R2 leaves serving drinks and zaps the chains to free her. Leia grabs Luke's lightsaber which is sitting as a trophy next to Jabba. She finishes him off with her blade (and visually nods to the audience she's a potential Jedi). She goes to help the others.
Luke is going ape with the force - choking and throwing guards into the Sarlaac. He gets his lightsaber from Leia and has to rescue Lando from Boba Fett. All of them are seeking revenge because he killed Han. Luke bests Fett, Fett asks for mercy before trying to shoot him with his rocket. Luke is full on swaying to the dark side and has his blade to his head. We wonder if he will strike him down. A laser hits the barge and rocks them all. Luke has the decision taken away from him. In the scramble Fett tries to kill Luke and Chewie steps in, grabs him by the throat and throws him into the Sarlaac. They blow up Jabbas barge and escape.
You now have a few arcs going on, Leia is inconsolable after Han's death, blames herself for thinking she could do everything herself. When Luke & her are together, he's going to tell her about her being his sister but she's on a mad rampage about Vader being the architect for killing her home planet, her family & now the man she loved. She is filled with anger. He doesn't tell her about their relationship as this would be a nail in the coffin for her to know Vader is her father. Luke is trying to be Jedi-like and saying people can be redeemed but Leia is having none of it, says she can't see any redemption when so much evil & she's no Jedi in that respect. Luke is already in conflict with his feelings and although doesn't admit it can see her point.
They are with the Alliance now like in the film. Lando is in pieces and feels once again he's let his friends down & blames himself for Han's death. Chewie convinces him to lead the attack on the Death Star as he's the only one that can pilot the Falcon. His story is now much more charged as he's looking to redeem himself, redeem Han and help the Rebellion. Luke, Leia & Chewie nominate themselves for the ground assault to take out the shield generator.
Endor is much more about Luke & Leia developing their relationship and examining this theme of redemption and good vs evil. Part of Luke's pull towards the light is the love he feels for Leia, the sister he never knew he had. He tries teaching her the ways of the force knowing if he dies she is the last hope. During one of these teachings on Endor when she can't do what Luke says - he insists she can. They are nearly captured by troopers and in order for Luke to be saved, Leia must use the force like she was unable to do earlier. When she is able to do it & saves Luke she is stunned. She asks how she was able to do this - and that's where the sister reveal is. Big hugs, awww.
Ewoks are in it, but mostly to serve as a distraction for the Rebellion to infiltrate the shield generator bunker & provide some light relief.
When Luke & Leia are with the ewoks they are having debates over Vader & the force. Leia feels the same as Yoda that he can't be turned. But he has to try he says. He tells her to be mindful of the training and that she is stronger than him in many ways, a natural leader. And if he dies, she's the last hope for the galaxy. He leaves and is captured, and that plays out like the film. Leia goes on to lead the ground assault with Chewie to take down the shield generator using the ewoks as a distraction.
Everything plays out the same for the end of the film, but the stakes are much higher for all the characters and they have stronger arcs. Redemption is now a much bigger theme for them all.
Luke resists the temptation of the dark side which he's been battling with the whole film. He proclaims himself a Jedi for the first time when he won't fight the Emperor. Leia successfully takes down the generator & realises redemption is possible because Luke turned Anakin. Lando destroys the Death Star honouring Han & redeeming himself.
When Vader is on fire on Endor, Luke & Leia are together consoling each other. Leia is still wrestling over the fact this is the man who caused her & the galaxy all this pain & destruction but the realisation that he's also her father & that he saved Luke by turning back to the light. She is conflicted & emotional. She turns and walks away. When Luke goes to follow her he looks back and sees the force ghosts. It's not as happy, smiley as in the end of the film we know. Anakin is old Anakin and it's more of an emotional exchange of looks between the four Jedis. An acknowledgement perhaps that the light side has eventually won out, but there is much to be done in order for balance to be restored.
Han‘s rescue felt absolutely organic as a kid - you simply have to rescue your friend, you can’t leave him prisoner to anyone! Even as an adult i don‘t find this Part of the Plot contrived. Love ROTJ, it had huge emotional impact on me as a kid.
Return of the Jedi is my favorite Star Wars movie, has been since I was 6.
It's a fun movie!
Best Christmas gift!
Thanks! Enjoy!
I think what has to be taken into account is that bringing down the empire is such an enormous task that it is bigger than one person. ROTJ is about multiple people (and space creatures) working collaboratively for the greater good.
The whole plan to rescue Han relied entirely on chance events that Luke could never have expected, like Jabba assigning R2 to his barge as a waiter. And what if something was put on his head that blocked the hatch hiding the sabre? Luke would've been totally screwed. He also wouldn't have expected Jabba to execute them over the Sarlacc. If anything went differently to how it happened in the movie, then the "plan" would've failed. Now let me guess, prediction of everyone's actions is another convenient Jedi power? BS. It's just Lucas forcing events in order to give all the members of the "gang" something to do, no matter how ridiculous and unnecessary it might be. It's like putting the droids into the movie. Far from being needed, rather than being important to any conceivable plan, they'd actually put it in danger of failing. Same with Chewbacca. What use is he in any rescue attempt? Maybe Lando could act as a scout, just as we saw in the movie, but all any plan would really need is Luke, with Lando to back him up from inside, like maybe to open the palace's main doors when everyone's not looking. Every other character's a deadweight and a potential risk. And if Han is such an important member of the Rebellion that they saw fit to immediately make him a general without years of service, then they could've sent a force in there to rescue Han.
Speaking of which, NEVER in the history of the military has someone been promoted straight to general from nothing. Even people with strong connections to powerful people in society have to go to officer school and start as a lieutenant, then take years to prove themselves in that military. Lando said he was made a general because of one unconnected battle? In reality it would take many battles or decades of service before you could become a general, even if you could pull strings. Han was a "captain" of his ship, not a military captain. In the movie he's made an army general, and even if him being a "captain" of his ship counted as a rank, that's not the same as an army captain. An army captain is equivalent of a 1st lieutenant in the navy, whilst a navy full captain is the equivalent of a colonel in the army. Neither are generals nor admirals. But what does Lucas know about the military?
In ESB, Vader specifically said he wanted Luke as an ally, not because he had some sort of soft spot, but because he wanted to destroy the Emperor, and for the two of them to rule the galaxy as father and son. The whole plot of ESB was about Vader's ambitions to become the top dog in the galaxy, NOT because he wanted to become a good guy again. That change, along with him becoming an unquestioning stooge of Palpatine in ROTJ, was a retcon. As you said, it totally conflicts with how he was acting in ESB, as a ruthless megalomaniac tyrant.
Leia was NOT using the Force at the end of ESB, Luke was. He was using his telepathic powers to contact the only person left who could save him.
Luke: "LEIA, hear me."
He specifically called out to her and no one else. She didn't just hear him by accident. All of "Leia used the Force to hear him" is just excuses made by Lucas gushers in order to suggest that it was all planned from the start. It WASN'T. Just as Vader becoming Luke's father was only decided late in writing ESB, Leia becoming Luke's sister was only decided late in development of ROTJ. During the writing of ESB, "The Other" was always planned to be a totally new character who we'd eventually see in the then planned ST. Ironically considering everyone hates her, I believe from what I've read about the original ST, is that "Rey" was taken from the original concept for "The Other", hence why she has Force powers for apparently no good reason. In the originally planned ST, "Rey" would've been Luke's long lost sister called "Nellith", who'd be in secret training in a hidden part of the galaxy.
In the battle on Endor we see loads of conveniently placed traps waiting for the right Imperial to pass at the exact right time. Not only that, but how did they prepare them all over night in heavily defended territory without being detected? What, were they using magical powers as well?
Anakin died old and redeemed at the end of ROTJ, so he should've become the Sebastian Shaw ghost, not as the young Hayden Christensen ghost. Lucas' excuses don't hold water, because he did die good in ROTJ. It's more like yet another excuse for Lucas to connect the PT with the OT.
Saying all this, ROTJ could've been far, far worse. During scripting of the movie he wanted both Obi-Wan and Yoda to reincarnate to confront the Emperor! In other words, in Lucas' mind all heroes are immune to death!
Leia didn't use the force in Empire Strikes Back -- that was Luke reaching out to her, unless I'm remembering it wrong.
24:23 "Palpatine's manipulation of Luke was perfectly written."
Palp, just as Luke is succumbing to the dark side: "Yes! YES!!! Give in to your anger and you will be MIIIIINE!"
Luke: "Oh, right. I guess I shouldn't do that, then." Stops.
Repeat
While I pretty much think that Luke's arc here is BY FAR the best thing about RotJ, that seems a poor bit of manipulation to me... I think it is because he didn't trust his audience enough to understand (and part of that is undoubtedly from him focusing more on the young child audience).
@thegoldman25 I'm just going to point out you heavily criticized the scenes saving Han Solo for being unnecessary but praised the Vader redemption scenes on the Death Star. Despite this, you could easily remove all of Vader and Luke's scenes on the Death Star, and the movie would have proceeded. The audience would have assumed both the emperor and Vader died in the Death Star explosion. The duel between Vader/emperor/Luke is entirely emotional, the real battle in space and on Endor. Let's say Vader doesn't save Luke; all three men still die because the Death Star was Destroyed. The scenes on Tatooine wrap up plot lines left over from the previous film, so it serves a purpose.
But we love Star Wars for the emotional scenes. The tatooine sequence is all action (good action), but there’s no emotional moments
@@thegoldman25@thegoldman25 True, but what we connect to emotionally depends on each person and their time in life; it can even depend on the time of day. ROTJ has always been my favorite Star Wars movie, but as a kid, I would fast-forward through the talking bits in the throne room because of cool sword fights; as an adult, I fast-forward through many of the E-wok sequences.
The sequence on Tatooine plays an important thematic role; as already stated, it raps up plot threads from the previous films (Boba Fett & Han Solo). I'll give you Luke's plan, wasn't exactly Operation Overlord, but it didn't really need to be; the goal was to save one man. We can reasonably assume that wasn't the first time Jabba had punished somebody, and Luke would have known that, being a resident of Tatooine for nearly two decades. In addition, The escape scene has the benefit of showing the audience just how much of a beast Luke Skywalker now is on the battlefield and how much of a potential threat Luke could be to Vader. You are right. Yoda tells us this later in the movie, but is telling as good as showing?
I believe it's false to claim the majority of Act One has no bearing on the plot.
Jabba's Palace scenes quite clearly establish and set-up, in numerous actions, Luke's progression in his Jedi training and the potential he has in the force which is what the Emperor wishes to exploit. This set-up is paid off at the end in the throne room of the Emperor of the Galaxy (the mirror of Jabba sitting on his throne as the Godfather of the Galaxy). Luke weighs his fate and that of his friends in both scenes and makes the right choices.
you seemed to have missed something in ESB with vader. after the emporor revealed he had a son that was alive, he immiidately mved to protect him by askign to join them and turn him instead of killing him. , also, after the confrontation and after the guys messing up, the commander was shocked that vader didn't kill him , just turned around and walked away. it was already starting
I find there’s one problem with you’re mini re-write. It implies the rebels only save Han because he can do something to benefit them. Very selfish reason. The rebels (especially Luke and Leia) are Han’s friends and want to save him no matter what regardless of what they can get out of him later, which is what the movie shows. Adds depth, and further develops the rebels humanity
Luke knows about his father from Obi-Wan. Once finding out Vader is his father, he starts to piece together that there is still good. It's also a matter of faith, something which doesn't need to rely on evidence, and that's what's beautiful about Luke's character
Great vid
For me the best Star Wars ever, a great conclusion to the orginals, the lines "I'm a Jedi, like my father before me" the response "So be it .... Jedi" while the battle on Endor and the attack on the Death Star rage on ... I was 12 yrs old when released back 83, took the family to rewatch the 40th re-release in 2023 ... they moaned but I think enjoyed it ...
Uploaded just in time for Christmas Day!
Merry Christmas!
nah vader yelling NOOOOOO is iconic
Tattoine is the best part. Everyone's attempts to free Han might not be a plan, but coordinated by the force. Kylo doesn't work. He's just a broken looser.
Marry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!!!!
🎉🎉 Happy Life Day, everyone! Happy holidays, as always. 🎉🎉
Merry Christmas!
My favorite Star Wars movie, it has my two favorite characters (Yoda & Jabba the Hutt), it made Darth Vader into a more tragic figure, it concludes 6 movies with a satisfying and hopeful ending, amazing battles, and everything in the empires thrown room is just perfect… Perfect, down to the last little detail
Official petition for The Platinum Man. A secondary channel where video games are covered in the same format
That would be awesome! I don't know much about the logistics of video games, but I have had that idea before. I wouldn't name it the platinum man tho
12:36 sorry, who blew up the shield generator again?
ROTJ is the true finale for Star Wars and it did it perfectly.
5:03 Is nobody gonna mention that Palpatine was originally Richard Nixon?
Regarding r2 having the lightsaber, i think it was kinda like a test for Luke to not rely on his weapon.
Also i think luke was training with Yoda of screen as well but did not ask Yoda. Kinda like you learn something about your parents and you ask them after a lot of time
interesting perspective
I realize this is not going to be a popular comment but I must tell everybody here that this movie was very difficult for me to watch in 1983 at the age of 11. I was 5 in 1977 and 8 in 1980 and for three years after watching Empire my neighborhood friends wondered if Darth Vader was in fact Luke's father. We went back and forth and never came to agree on anything because Vader was a ruthless badass in Empire, heck he killed several of his own officers like it was an avergge Tuesday morning at work. He had one liners and was the best. In Return, he was completely neutered. He didn't kill anybody, he was worthless. But my heart broke when my favorite Star Wars character, whom I thought for the previous 3 years was the greatest badass bounty hunter in all the galaxy turned out to actually be a punk ass little completely worthless bitch. I was squirming in my seat in the theater looking around wondering if anybody else was watching the same trainwreck that I was. This movie was made for children and I was trying to grow up, George wanted me back in preschool trying to color within the lines with my crayons. The first two movies were serious (though had amazing comic relief) and were for everybody. Not this one. Then we got the salt poured onto my open wounds when I found out the girl that kissed Luke in the first movie and made out with him in the second movie was actually his twin sister. OMG the storytelling just fell of a cliff. I'm with Denis Villeneuve and Robert Meyer Burnett, this movie ruined Star Wars. But as if that wasn't enough George has to re-edit these first three and have Greedo shoot Han first fundamentlly ruining Han as a character. Don't even get me started on the Prequels. Jesus Fucking Christ what a shit show. There has only been THREE good Star Wars movies. 1. Star Wars (not episode IV, the one I saw in the theater in 1977 that just said "Star Wars" in the openeing crawl, 2. Empire and 3. Rogue One. everything else sucks. THANK GOD DISNEY BOUGHT THIS ROTTEN IP and made Andor, EASILY the best Star Wars since 1980. THANK FUCKING GOD. Nerds and geeks everywhere thinking Disney is or has ruined Star Wars. Shits been fucked for almost 45 FUCKING years. At least now we are getting SOMETHING to heal the wounds this movie Return of the Jedi (shoulda been called Revenge, but Jedi's are pussies now, right George?) had cause many of us ORIGINAL GANGSTER fans from back in the day. What a fucked IP.
Excellent post
Who woulda thought Mark Hamill would turn out to be such a nice guy in his elder years.
he's alright
I feel the Jabba sequence also shows how effect and Luke and the team are, establishing there capabilities, so when things become hard form them, the stakes seem high because we saw them winning, now there loosing, we wonder how there going to overcome these powerful enemies
Quite the Christmas gift
Enjoy!
I like it. But it's not what I would've done. The original story had no Death Star, and the climactic battle was to take place on coruscant. Han Solo was rescued from Jabba the hut, but was later killed when the rebels attacked coruscant.
Why Vader saying NOO is problem, but Luke saying it in previous two films is not?
It's not the same
@@thegoldman25 same word
A Star Wars directed by Spielberg, been thinking about that for over two decades.
I love return of the Jedi ❤
I love it too! (kinda)
Part of me always thought that RotJ got more special edition changes than Empire because Richard Marquand sadly wasn’t around anymore when 1997 rolled around. Meanwhile Irvin Kirschner was. Meaning Marquand wasn’t around to consult on the changes.
I love Return of The Jedi it's my favorite.
Me: The Gold Man just posted a video
Great Grandpa George: will one of you kids show me how to get that video on this big screen tv?
I admit, Luke/Vader/Emperor is why I love this movie so much. Everything else was kind of clutter to me as a kid and still are.
I do not like the special edition changes in this movie at all. All except for Victory Celebration.
I will kind of defend the Hayden Christensen Force Ghost. Either way, it give people something to think about when it comes to Anakin. As an old man we can see he found renewed peace and this is what he looks like untouched by the Dark Side. As a young man we see the tragedy that he died young and didn't pass on until years later. I prefer the original but I do like how I can think deeply about the new edit. Which I can't say for the rest.
Happy Holidays!
All fair points! Have a great holiday
I remember seeing this in the movies! It might be the first movie I saw more than once in the theatre
I saw it in theaters last year for the 40th anniversary
@@thegoldman25 I saw it there too, but I wasn't counting that. If I have to account ALL the times I went to the movies, I saw it 3 times in '97 for the Special Edition. I meant 1983 only