Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (Disc 3)
Star Wars Trilogy DVD
20th Century Fox
Reviewed by Adam Pawlus and Michael Sullenger
September 12, 2004
Director: Richard Marquand
Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams
Format: Anamorphic Widescreen (Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1)
Sound: Dolby 5.1 Surround EX, English Dolby 2.0 Surround, French Dolby 2.0 Surround, Spanish Dolby 2.0 Surround
Subtitles: English
Film Rating: PG
Running Time: 136 Minutes
SRP: $69.98 (4 Disc Boxed Set)
Availability: September 21, 2004

While most fans were enamored with the Western and Eastern sensibilities of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, the final film Return of the Jedi has been a target of scorn for numerous fans and critics since it originally came out andwhen the entire trilogy was virtually deified some time around 1997. By combining what is essentially the end of The Empire Strikes Back with what could have made another longer film, Jedi gets to perform the thankless task of ending one of the most popular stories to ever play the silver screen. Numerous characters are introduced, and then killed off while Luke continues his journey to redeem his father and complete his training as a Jedi Knight, and as such there isn't much room for the nifty character-driven tangents of Empire. Still... it had musical aliens. And the kids freaking love musical aliens.

After A New Hope, this film was probably the most heavily tweaked. In 1997, some new sequences with Boba Fett were added to Jabba's Palace, as was a new musical sequence with dancers and additional band members. The Sail Barge scenes had a herd of wild banthas running free before it took off, and a lot of the effects there were also cleaned up. Other than that, not too much changed aside from the brand new ending sequence which was done to wrap up the two Star Wars trilogies, and as you may have heard, more changes exist in this latest release.

PACKAGING
The platinum foil embossed widescreen outer slip case (gold in the fullscreen version) features the classic Hildebrandt image on one side and Darth  Vader on the other. 

The DVD box follows the template previously seen in the prequel DVD's, with brand new art featuring Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, the Emperor and Yoda.  All 7 discs (including the prequels) can be shelved in handsome uniformity and each sports their Roman numeric episode number. The disc art by Kazuhiko Sano is inspired by the original theatrical release poster.

Also included inside is a sheet featuring a stylized oil painted Battle of Endor with the 50 chapter descriptions on the flip side.

VISUALS
On the whole, the look of the movie has been drastically improved in many ways, and not so much in others. With the herculean task of merely cleaning up the film, the producers of this disc have made it so you can say, with all sincerety, that the films have never looked better. ILM went the extra mile and fixed a few shots' compositions so that it's a little harder to snicker at the bad special effects.

The Rancor Pit sequence has long been plagued by what appears to be a projected image and large thick black matte lines surrounding the beast. The restoration process appears to have fixed this to an extent, improving the scene a great deal but not to the extent you might have wanted.

For the Speeder Bike chase, a similar process was done that has made the chase look much more realistic so that the blue screen savvy can say that improvements were made, and they're noticable.

Sadly, the final space battle, while still astounding, was not greatly cleaned up and TIE Interceptors still quite literally pop out of nowhere. While this is a little unfortunate, I'm sure that there's something in the works for ROJ 4.0 which will undoubtedly street in 2011.

SOUND
The biggest sound edits came in the other films. While the amazing newly remixed soundtrack appears here to immerse you within a galaxy far, far away, the soundtrack itself isn't all that new. Boba's screams are unchanged from the original two releases of Jedi, and non of the Stormtroopers or Scout Troopers have new voices, either.

On the whole, this is a good thing-- a scream's a scream, really, and the explanation George Lucas has given regarding multiple "hosts" for Clonetroopers and Stormtroopers allows for this nicely. As such, as far as we can tell no lines were redubbed for this installment of the saga.

MENU
The menu system by Van Ling continues to improve with eye catching pans but remains sensible and easy to navigate. A random planet theme is loaded upon boot up, and for Return of the Jedi, it's back to Tatooine, along with Endor and Death Star II, with sections for Chapter Selection, Options, and the secret exclusive DVD window to StarWars.com. The pans on ROTJ again are superb, with nice shots of the Sarlaac pit and a zoom in effect in the Emperor's chamber is spectacular. 

Tatooine
 

Endor
 

Death Star
 

ENHANCED SCENES 
Of course, you can't leave what many consider to be perfection alone, so additional changes were made to the films.

The legendary Anakin Reveal at the end of the film has been altered to change the eye color of the dying man, and the folks did a frankly astounding job of frying off his eyebrows. As it makes sense that if all his hair has been removed from his body, it should be all his hair. Overall, an improvement.

Naboo has been added to the Final Celebration Montage with parading Gungans and all sorts of Nabooishness. As many fans noted this is something they truly felt was missing after Episode I, this is a truly welcome addition.

For the Coruscant stage of this sequence, the Jedi High Council Chambers and the Galactic Senate Building have been added to the skyline, another subtle addition but one nobody will really notice except the filmmakers, and kudos to them for its inclusion.

More Coruscant, if you click the new image on the right you can see a box that highlights the new building.

The one scene that leaked months ago and was considered fake at first was the Anakin Skywalker Spirit added to the final shots of the film. Played by Sebastian Shaw for years, now the head has been replaced by Hayden Christensen as he appears in Episode III before his turn to the Dark Side of the Force.

To say this is unusual is an understatement, and rumor has it that it will be explained in Revenge of the Sith but this is as of yet unconfirmed. The story on the rumor mill is that a Jedi does not age in the Dark Side of the Force, and as such his Light Side stopped aging around 22 or so. It's a little unusual, and may be lumped by some fans under the same column as Midichlorians, "Yipeee!", and Greedo shooting first, but it's a change George Lucas felt he needed for the story's sake, and in a way, we can see where he's coming from.

COMMENTARIES
Commentaries in this disc are provided by the same group as Disc 1:  George Lucas,  Ben Burtt,  Dennis Muren, and Carrie Fisher. Since certain plotlines and themes tie in to the prequels, most notably Revenge of the Sith, some very small hints can be learned if you pick the right scene and listen closely enough. Lucas explains that the funeral pyre wasn't originally in the script but was added in to give another element of closure for Luke and Vader's relationship. He then sort of goes over the Jedi ghost theory.  According to Lucas, Yoda and Obi-Wan apparently "learned" how to retain their identity when they passed on and joined the Force at their own will, and in doing so, helped Anakin do the same when he died. Quite an interesting comment by Lucas that makes one wonder how this will all play out in ROTS (like when did Anakin technically "die"?).  Lucas also explains that he decided not to use Wookiees in Return of the Jedi because they were technologically advanced and wanted to portray a more primitive species raging against the machine. Thus we have Ewoks.

Ben Burtt gives more juicy behind the sound facts like the guttural voice of  the bounty hunter Boushh being played by actress Pat Welsh, who also was the principal voice for E.T. The roar of the Rancor monster, on the other hand, was taken from an equally savage beast, the pet dachshund of Burtt's neighbor.

Dennis Muren recalls the steadicam and blue screen technology they used for the Endor forest chase seen. Something that can be accomplished much easier today with CGI technology. 

FIN
Welp, that about does her, wraps her all up. Things seem to've worked out pretty good for Luke 'n Han, and it was a purt good story, dontcha think?

But seriously folks, to eschew a Lebowski-esque ending to this review we have to say that it's a little surreal seeing Jedi so clear that Jabba's rubbery skin folds appear to be real enough that you could reach out and touch them-- and it's just as peculiar to see the iconic trio of spirits changed, thus rendering the joke at the end of that one episode of the Clerks animated series apocryphal. One of the big problems with revising movies like these is not everyone will have seen the newer version and generations to come may be confused by other media referencing versions of a film that they will never, ever see. But we digress.

Return of the Jedi's much needed facelift brings it up to the standards of the other films in the set and to keep quoting a talking point, has never looked better. From the lightsabers to the Speederbikes to the Ewoks, these DVDs show that with the right time, money, and drive, you can do some really amazing things, and after you sit through these movies one more time, you too will be amazed. Or at least intrigued, we're not going to guarantee the amazement.