Just two weeks left. Just two weeks left. The mantra of the day for Star Wars fans everywhere. The wait may seem interminable, but there is a light at the end of this tunnel flickering at a wonderful 24 frames per second. Think back to what you were doing two weeks ago today. Doesn’t seem too far back right? Now flip that around and that’s the short amount of time we have to go until all this merciless withholding of Wars in the Stars is over.
So, what can we do to pass the time. Well there is some more of that free stuff we promised you. Up first, the winner from last week.
Vader the White – The Making of The Empire Strikes Back
And up this week, we’re tackling the end of the saga as it existed pre-Disney. The one everyone thought was the end, only to find out that the end was only the beginning. Star Wars: Episode VI. Return of the Jedi. So, today we have Bluestreaking and Darth Zloi breaking down different fronts from the Battle of Endor as they take us through their favorite action sequences.
Bluestreaking – Battle Over Endor
As a kid there was one Star Wars film I would watch constantly, and that was Return of the Jedi. The Battle over Endor just stuck to me as a kid, while on the surface it is a retread of the Episode IV battle just with a bigger Death Star the bits and pieces of it make it a completely unique and different experience. From the score, the highly underrated Battle of Endor suite, to the dialogue which gave us classics such as “It’s a trap” we were given our first ever taste of a major space battle in the Star Wars universe.
The opening horns as the Rebel fleet arrives in gives us a taste of the emotions of the Rebel Alliance as they throw everything they have in a desperate attempt to defeat the Emperor. The drums signify the pounding heartbeats and the sight of the Death Star sparks a crescendo leading into my favorite single piece of music in Star Wars as Lando and Nien Nunb realize the shield is still up. The moments continue to build as the Rebellion realizes they have been trapped by the might of the Imperial fleet. But the battle offers more beyond just the music and emotions.
We are exposed to ship to ship combat completely unlike what we saw in A New Hope as TIE Fighters swarm our heroes. Highlights of the battle include another of my favorite all time scenes when Arvel Crynyd crashes his A-Wing into the Executor’s bridge to take out the dreaded Super Star Destroyer from Empire Strikes Back. The flight into the Death Star’s, while not as dramatic as the trench run, still was memorable in the intensity of the narrowing corridor and the uniqueness of the scene. In all the sights and sounds gave us our first look at large scale Space Warfare in the Star Wars universe which would serve as a template for the Universe as a whole
Darth Zloi- Emperor’s Throne Room
Though TESB is probably my favorite SW film as an adult, ROTJ was king during my childhood and I’ll always have a special place in my heart for this film. The climax featured three stunning rotating action sequence. While I loved the Battle of Endor both from space and on the ground, I think the throne room scene was the one that got the most viewing out of me. It was our first time seeing a lightsaber duel that wasn’t basically one-sided. Obi-Wan had neither the youth nor desire to take down Vader in ANH. Sure Luke had his moments against his Sith Lord father on Cloud City, but Vader was essentially toying with him. In ROTJ we had a pretty level playing field and got to see how far Luke’s training had come in just a short time.
The tension in this three-way showdown was palpable. @DEKKA129 pointed out a nice parallel between ESB and ROTJ to me. In episode 5, Vader was trying to turn Luke to the darkside and held back a lot during this duel. In ROTJ, we got the reverse. Luke held back until the very end and he was trying to turn his father back to the lightside. Another parallel that nicely comes into focus after viewing the PT, was Sidious trying to seduce Luke as he had done to Anakin. They key factor in Anakin’s turn was his desire to save his wife at all costs. Here, Vader uses family attachments to try and complete Luke’s slide into darkness. It nearly worked. Driven by the desire to save his sister, Luke used a brief burst from the darkside to chop off his father’s sword arm, much like Vader did to him in the previous installment.
The key difference in this parallel is that Anakin gave into his fear, allowing the tendrils of the darkside lease in his heart. Luke was able to taste this power and turn away. The moment where Luke refuses to fight and Vader realizes there is still good in his heart, sacrificing himself to save his son from death at the Emeperor’s hands is a powerful moment that still resonates strongly in my heart to this day. It’s the first time we really see Sidious lose. Also of note, Luke shows both the controlled rage of a young Obi-Wan and the peaceful wisdom of his other master, Yoda. He embodies both the warrior and sage parts of a Jedi, proving that he truly is a Jedi and the order has not completely faded away.
So what is your favorite action sequence from Return of the Jedi? Want to make a case for Sarlaacs or Rancors? Maybe you are partial to Ewoks or Speeder Bikes? Let us know in the comments and you could win…
UPDATE!
The winner from last week is
Matex. Congrats!
Well, that’s it folks. This is when we wrap our countdown to The Force Awakens. Next week will be epic! We will post our SPOILER FREE review of The Force Awakens on December 16th at 00:01 PST (08:01 UK time). If you have questions come around and ask them in the comments section. We promise we won’t spoil the movie for you, and answer your questions. 🙂
I just happened to finish my 6 week marathon with Return of the Jedi. It is really odd to see all that celebration on all those planets, the heroes so happy….it implies that it is the end of the Empire….not that the war will continue for more then 30 years. And it is crystal clear that when mentioning her “true” mother Leia wasn´t talking about Padme. Padme wasn´t kind, beautiful and sad – she was just screaming and crying, that´s all Leia would possibly remember….well, “through the Force” at least…..funny how new movies changes the old ones….and not exactly in a good way….
To be honest, a lot of that felt pretty open-ended (think about it thoroughly for a moment), not something ironclad literal, like it could be open for interpretation (a least this is the way I see it, with all the talk of Leia being Force sensitive and whatnot). Perhaps you personally didn’t like the take on the backstory but it is what it is.
It’s the most egregious continuity mess-up in the whole saga. There’s no reason whatsoever that Luke and Leia should have such different memories of their ‘real mother’, unless Leia had stayed with Padme. Or are we to understand that Breha was somehow more of a ‘real’ mother than the obviously-loving Aunt Beru? And even if that were the case, what exactly is the point of the RotJ conversation if it’s not about their biological parentage? Awful stuff, and while I am a diehard Lucas supporte and Prequel fan, I can never forgive the utter stupidity of Padme’s death, which makes no sense in terms of logic, drama, character or, as in this discussion, continuity.
If nothing else I look forward to TFA to remove those last 15 minutes of RotS from their ill-deserved place as the last word in cinematic Star Wars.
Why do her memories of her real mother have to be actual memories? Sure, they may seem like that is what they are to Leia, but she has no idea that she is force sensitive like Luke when she says this. To me, that leaves it completely open to interpretation, and I see an easy link from that to memories of Padme before the day Anakin became Vader. Padme was kind beautiful and, at the end, very sad. Sad because everything she believed in and fought for (which is made deeper with the addition of her role throughout The Clone Wars) had been taken from her or destroyed.
I think Leia’s “memories” of her mother are pretty damned accurate.
So why doesn’t Luke share them?
The force manifests itself differently in different people. I think leia’s memories are more feelings than anything else. She can have those memories as she is the more grounded of the two before luke starts his training. Luke was always looking to the future, never his mind on where he was, what he was doing. =)
Luke strongly asked if she remember her “real” mother. I say this was only a prequel continuation problem. 🙂
Enjoy this precious time now, my fellow fans. You may not outlive the last Star Wars film.
The Battle of Endor is an epic space battle, it doesn’t get better than that.
this is my favourite episode since 83 when I saw it at the age of 9
It is hard to name one action sequence…I always loved the beginning, the Sarlac Pitt, the Emperor´s parade, the three battles of Endor…..I would say all of it but there has to be a winner and that is – the final duel, the chorals, Luke taking over Vader, striking hard…..that´s so powerful moment to me…
I absolutely adore the Battle of Endor. I mean come on. In movie history where else has there been a major space naval battle in sci-fi history? Trust me… it’s a nearly nonexistent list. It’s why Endor to this day even after 30 years is still the best one I’ve seen!
It would take video games much later to finally start to rival it.
Perhaps TFA can raise the stakes and give us another great battle that not only is visually stunning but one we are also so deeply invested in.
“Also of note, Luke shows both the controlled rage of a young Obi-Wan and
the peaceful wisdom of his other master, Yoda. He embodies both the
warrior and sage parts of a Jedi, proving that he truly is a Jedi and
the order has not completely faded away.”
This.
Still awesome. Possibly my favourite moment from the OT. Certainly the most awe-inspiring…
http://youtu.be/HWUQzbYUqGA
Until someone proves otherwise, I’m saying that Asian pilot is the Father of the female Asian one in this one.
Well, your favorite moment is grammatically incorrect. It should be there ARE too many of them.
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/people-who-highlight-minor-grammar-points-are-amazing-2013082378916
My favorite action sequence in ROTJ would indeed have to be the Space Battle.
From the moment the fleet is about to launch from the staging area, when all of the fighters, lead by Lando in the Falcon, begin to enter hyperspace you know it is special.
Once they arrive in system and they realize they have to engage the Imperial fleet so that the Death Star II would have a harder time targeting the capital ships, that was such a brilliant move.
We also see TIE Interceptors in combat for the first time, the Rebellion begins to get shredded against the superior fire power and numbers of the Empire, and as all hope is lost the shield generator drops and Lando and Wedge lead the foray into the depths of the Death Star II.
Here is Wedge, most likely one of the longest tenured Rebel fighter pilots, now leading a squadron and about to be apart of the destruction of the second Death Star. Imagine the number of friends he has lost to this point, at Yavin, Hoth, and now a chance to get revenge for his lost comrades while more are still dying outside.
This scene brings a sense of urgency in tandem with the other two ongoing battles, but it was the most important.
We see:
New ships, Imperial and Rebel alike
Capital ship combat
Old friends carrying on the mantle of those lost before (Wedge)
And someone new piloting the Falcon (Lando) which speaks to the trust of Han. And when the Falcon loses it’s Radar Dish as it proceeds towards the reactor it brightens up this tense scene.
I remember the first time watching it, my palms were sweaty as they weaved their way through the cramped tunnels, a ship would crash into a wall or a pipe and it made you even more nervous.
And then when they tried to escape and the flames began to close in on the Falcon and you fear the worse, just to see that beautiful ship shoot out of the exploding Death Star like a cannon ball!
It makes me want to scream in excitement along with Lando and the rest of the Rebels! The destruction truly marked the beginning of the end for the Empire and was one of the best ways you could ever end a trilogy!
I think my answer is going to be a little tricky. I love how RoTJ had our herous seperately – all having trouble in different places. While Han, Leia and Chewbacca must find a way to destroy the energy shield; Lando and the Rebel fleet take their way to the assault on the second Death Star. On the other hand, unknown to all the other people in the Alliance, Luke is trying to redeem his father. But my favourite of these three has to be Luke vs Vader.
I love Luke. He’s a great explanation of improvement, and determination. To see how a young farmer boy has accomplished is such a great feel to me. He was dueling with Vader, one of the only alive 2 Sith Lords of that time while having to deal with the Emperor’s “nice’ words too.
Another great thing I love about this duel was the emotional sotry that was going on background. Luke is not only there to finish the tyranny of the Emperor. He is here on a bigger mission of turning Darth Vader to the good side again. To have a massive belief in such a small conflict in someone is the exact definition of trust. Luke KNEW Vader was inside belonged to the Light Side. All he had to do was to make him realise that.
Also he was able to stop himself from going to the Dark Side. Not all heroes are capable of stopping themselves when they taste the easiness and the joy of the dark side. Luke knew where it would take him into – with the living example, Darth Vader, lying before him. And the symbolizm of the hand, is also great to make him realise what waited for him.
The music makes my heart go crumble itself, shatter and never be able to stick it together back. Especially after when Luke shouts “Never!” John Williams lets the audience agree one more time that he is a living legend.
okay, to get this out of the way, i love ROTJ, its my favorite of the whole saga. i don’t care about Ewoks or Fett’s death, the movie itself is so perfect visually and story-wise that I can easily overlook all of its flaws.
my favorite scene will have to be the throne room confrontation. there’s so much talking, so much at stake there and the suspense is unbearable. Luke is looking out of that freaking window, talking to the most powerful man in the universe while his friends are being mercilessly slaughtered in front of him. i mean we’re talking the history of moving picture here.
how he gives in to the impulse and fights his father. how he stops halfway through and tries to turn him back. how much courage and faith you need to have to do that. then how he looses his shit over his sister. he’d rather go down to the dark side than have her go through that. knowing what would that do to Han and the rebellion. and finally, after he defeats his father, and emperor goes “finish him”, how he throws his freaking lightsaber AWAY
I saw this in 1997 as a kid for the first time and it blew my mind. i remember going in my head at that moment: why?! how?! doesn’t he realize who the emperor is?! why would he willingly disarm himself in front of him?! wasn’t his job to kill both of the villains?! how is he gonna confront the emperor now?!
I couldn’t comprehend that as a kid.
years later i finally understood the significance of that gesture. Obi Wan and Yoda had been pushing Luke to kill Vader since mid-ESB. in ROTJ they have this conversation when Luke tells Obi Wan he will not kill his father and Obi manipulates him by throwing out that “then all our hope is lost” and Yoda going “well, there’s another Skywalker (to kill Vader of course)”. it’s clear, these guys don’t see any alternative end to that story than Vader and Emperor dying. they given up on Anakin 20 years earlier and still cannot see past that black armor and what it symbolizes.
but Luke does. he recognizes that very Jedi ignorance that led to the destruction of the order in prequels. “only sith deals in absolutes” Obi Wan tells Anakin shortly before almost killing him, yet 20 years later he implies to Luke that either he kills his father or the whole rebellion and the Jedi cause will fail.
Luke throwing away his lightsaber not only refuses to become Emperor’s apprentice but also shows a middle finger to Kenobi and Yoda and their limited understanding of Vader and morality in general. it’s so POWERFUL I CAN’T EVEN
I think that might be Anakin’s moment of realization. one doesn’t have to obey a master, wether its Jedi council or Sith lord, to know what’s right; it is possible for one to attain wisdom and choose their own path if they are clairvoyant enough to see larger picture.
we all know what follows. Vader’s retribution, Emperor’s final moments and Luke having his faith in his father rewarded. the way the whole Throne Room scene is written, portrayed, produced and directed is as perfect as cinema gets. no words, pure love.
Jedi is the most underrated film in the entire saga by far! If TFA never happened, It would have been the perfect epilogue to it.
This.
The themes of hope and love are perfectly communicated in those final moments.
“I am a Jedi, like my father before me”.
Still gets me, every time.
that was a genuine pleasure to read. this is why i go to the comments section.
its interesting that as kid empire was my least favorite and jedi was my number one. now empire is first with jedi in the number 3 slot. but still as a kid the second half of that film with the simultaneous space battle, land battle and light sabre duel was so cool, i couldn’t get enough of it. that plus it was the end, the climax of the story and it ended on such a positive and happy note. i see more of the film’s flaws today then i did then, but a good many of them are special addition related(god awful singing performance at jabba’s, and “NOOOOOOO!” to name a few). so all in all, not a perfect film, but still a great ride.
ESB is my favorite movie as well, but my favorite parts are all Luke Skywalker in RotJ. Nearly every scene of his arc in that film is fantastic, and Hamill acted his butt off throughout that film. Jedi was definitely flawed in many ways compared to Empire, but Luke always brings it up higher for me, so it’s my #2.
ANH is actually my #3, mostly because the acting didn’t seem as good to me. Empire and Jedi both had more emotion and depth in the acting, especially Hamill and Ford.
Really hope we see this version of Luke in TFA. Granted, It’s been decades since he’s played him but it was why he was my favorite character in Jedi.
He’ll be older, wiser and probably more enigmatic, but I have no doubt that he’ll have the depth and character of RotJ and then some. The passion being put into this movie is inspiring. I’ve got a lot of faith.
I have not seen him in a starring live-action role in probably decades now but judging by his voice acting, He is a superior actor today. I think Harrison’s skills atrophied in the last 15 years due to apathy but like Carrie I think they both know this could be their last shot at being in a major blockbuster and maybe their final films so they will clearly want to put 100 percent into it.
Spot on. 🙂
I think Ford also wants one more shot at Indy too after what happened with the last one and they’d be less likely to hire him if he phoned it in this one or didn’t get in shape.
He’ll also be Supreme leader Snoke.
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The space battle over Endor. It is the only one major space battle in the OT where we can see capital ships fighting. It’s just awsome. The throne room scene is also very well made, its epic as hell. I hope we will see something like that in the new trilogy.
The throne scene alone makes ROTJ the best film. That space battle was pretty sweet though.
My 3rd and 4th favorite scenes are The Endor Bike Chase and the Jabba’s Barge Fight.
Also the first scene with Wicket the Ewok was really good. The stuff with the Ewoks acting all “superstitious tribesmen”-y was super tacky, but Wicket by himself with Leia is alright in my book.
The ROTJ space battle will always trump the opening of ROTS.
That shot of the TIEs slamming straight out of the screen led by a TIE Interceptor is incredible, the suicide run of the A-Wing and Piett’s sheer panic is awesome, Ackbar’s face of relief, the initial shock of Lando’s realization that the shield is operational and “Red Group, Gold Group, all fighter’s follow me!!!”
Amazing.
I always thought of Vader destroying the Emperor was Anakin come to the light side. However, Is not a Sith Apprentice supposed to kill their Master? Is this not what Vader did too?
Probably since he killed him as Anakin and not Vader. In other words, He did it to save his son and not to become the new Sith Master.
Perhaps but don’t you think that could be a ruse? Killing Palpatine does also fulfill the Sith’s Apprentice Quest too.
I think the title of TFA is going to explain why the whole prophecy thing was either misintrepeted or only the first phase of it. It’s probably going to be the contraversial part they are all talking about. Clearly it has to happen since Jedi wrapped up things so well, I just hope it’s believable. Probably the most important part of the story.
One would hope some discussion about the force might be in TFA but I do not think so. I think only the Dark side will be discussed between Snoke and his apt student Kylo Ren. I highly doubt any discussion of the light side will even be broached other than it does exist. Episode VIII I think will have that discussion as Luke trains Rey and another in the mysteries of the Force.
It seems like they are suggesting that with Maz’s scenes, Maybe with Luke at the end?
Well Maz might talk a small amount before the 1st Order crashes the party. I doubt it will be much though. Luke I doubt we will see much of him until the end where Rey and another reach his domain.
The fact that he turned to the light at the end and peacefully became one with the Force shows that it was not a ruse. Had he been acting out of any sort of selfish emotion, he would not have been redeemed.
Are you sure about that Remember Darth Bane was a force ghost in the Clone Wars too. So maybe being a force ghost does not mean it is a light side attribute.
In that episode, Yoda said that Bane was dead and the vision was just an illusion, implying that it was not a true force spirit.
Everything at the end of RotJ indicates that Anakin died in the light.
A remember everything is relative and could be true from a certain point of view!
Well, yeah, but he did it just to save his son, and he was selfless. He died after it (I don’t really understand why though) XD
Why? Well the Force lightning from the Emperor fried all his suit’s electronics and he died not able to breathe.
No one mentioned the Sail Barge attack? Sure the fight choreography was not the greatest in certain parts and Boba Fett went out like a bitch but it was totally unexpected when it happened from Artoo shooting Luke’s lightsaber up into the air to it being green (a new color in the saga for blades!) when he ignited it. I also enjoyed that we got to see them fight aliens for once and we have also never really seen a brawl in broad daylight either. The fact that it was pretty much done all practically was part of it’s charm as well and Williams score in that scene is among his very finest. It was the scene I recreated most with the old Kenner toys as a child.
My biggest problem with that Sail Barge fight is that we never actually see Luke hitting anyone with his lightsaber. He’s hitting weapons, deflecting blaster bolts, and just being a badass in general, but we don’t get to see the weapon hitting other people.
Whereas I (really) don’t feel the need for wanton violence in these movies (lots of violence to be found elsewhere in this movie, even), it’s just super distracting to me.
Also, whether you’re a Fett fanboy or not, you have to admit the way he went out is pretty anti-climatic and lame. They’ve built him up as this badass warrior, only to get accidentally punked by a blind Han Solo?
That isn’t to say that I hate that scene, I just think that the rest of the movie has much more to offer.
And, I’ve somehow just noticed that this thread is a week old. I spent the time typing this though, so I’m still going to submit 🙂
Not lame, only more authentic. In real life the heroes and the villains are not dying in a glorious way, mostly it’ s unexpected and without the fanfare. And the badass warrior was built AFTER in EU. Until Jedi it was just thenext bounty hunter. I lived in that era and I can tell. Boba Fett was nothing special in 1983.
Yeah, good point about Fett not being very special until the fandom built him up. I’ve read so much EU that it’s hard to separate the EU from the movies.
I will point out though that in general, most people watch movies because of their fantastical elements. I personally get a lot out of epic battles, regardless of how authentic they are or aren’t. For most people, they watch movies because they aren’t realistic. Especially when I watch Star Wars 🙂
Luke was never a killer though, The only people he ever killed were the odd Stormtrooper on The Death Star and the ones inside when he blew it up. Which was more self-defense than anything else. Anakin would have been another story.
Tuareg us right in that he was just another henchman in the 80’s and not the icon he was in the 90’s with the rise of the EU.
Unfortunately, I disagree with the Luke comment. He killed a bunch of people, even in the Sail Barge sequence. We just don’t get to see the effects of the lightsaber, other than people falling from apparently being hit with it. He’s obviously willing to kill them, and does. We just don’t get to see the effects of the lightsaber, which is what distracts me so much 🙂
As to the Fett argument, I understand that line of reasoning. I’ve read so much EU, it’s hard for me to view Boba Fett as anything than the consummate badass. In the movies, he’s kind of just a chief bodyguard for Jabba. Still would have enjoyed a little more of a “boss fight” there, but it’s a valid argument.
In self-defense though and if they worked for Jabba then they were probably murderers already. Different from killing Tusken and Jedi children, Some of which were unarmed.
If they bring him back then they should use the EU characterization of him instead. I always thought he was a bit unstable anyway what with him being a clone and such a loner who never removed his helmet and probably lived on his ship. At least Jango had some redeeming qualities and a life outside of his job,
One of my favorite scenes from ROTJ is when Luke storms into Jabba’s palace and we see a touch of the dark side in him. Suddenly force choking 2 of the gammorian guards and threatening Jabba with his powers, that is something a sith would do lol, and it is awesome!
Best parts of Jedi are salacious crumb and Luke fighting Vader and redeeming him
The first two minute of Ep VII was leaked, I…. I dont know what to say… just… just watch… https://youtu.be/D2i7i1FvZ2s
It’s a trap!!!
lmfao
YES!
the 3po “previously on star wars” scene , dunno why , just always sticks in mind , keeps my attention and makes me smile
Just for shits and giggles, You should do one for the new film. I don’t care if I win or not but I enjoy reading people’s comments on this subject.
As of now, I really like the whole Jakku chase scene which fits in very well with the other films.
I just got “The Making of The Empire Strikes Back” today. Thank you very much for this fantastic early Christmas present. I didn’t even write that hoping for it, I just wanted to share my story as it is one close to my heart. So thank you, and may you have a Merry Christmas or whatever you happen to celebrate.