Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher

Han Solo is the prisoner of the gangster Jabba the Hutt, and his friends must rescue him. But Chewie is imprisoned, and Leia, R2-D2, and C-3PO become the Hutt's slaves. When Luke returns in an attempt...( read more  read more... ) to rescue his companions they are all sentenced to death, only to have Luke perform the most spectacular escape ever. Luke returns to Dagobah for a time then rejoins the rebellion and his companions in an ultimate attack against the empire's new, incomplete death star. In an attempt to turn Death Vader, Luke surrenders to the Emperor, leading to the ultimate duel. Jedi versus Sith. Father and Son. The inner struggle. Meanwhile, the rebellion is carrying out its coordinated attack with the help of some resourceful new friends.

Flixster Users

93% liked it

673,564 ratings

Critics

75% liked it

60 critics

PG, 2 hrs. 13 min.

Directed by: Richard Marquand

Release Date: May 25, 1983

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DVD Release Date: September 12, 2006

Stats: 42,606 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (42,606)


  • October 10, 2006
    Some might argue that the third one wasn't that good, but, the characters, story, and thrilling finale keeps it watchable and fun.
  • September 1, 2009
    The last film of the original trilogy was by far the best 'feel good' film of my childhood (The boy who could fly was probably second). Although you wanted more, it was great ending on a high, everything in the universe was good. That was until greed and a lack of imagination too...( read more)k over and bought us the next three offerings anyway. My old local Chinese takeaway was called Ewok, they had nice sweet 'n' sour balls!
  • May 7, 2009
    Probably my fav as a kid because of the endor battle and jabba. There's alot here to like, the whole Jabba line with Rancor and Sarlac battles are just cinematic gold, they are brilliant fun and strip any modern film easily. After that you have the brilliant Endor forest battle a...( read more)nd a gorgeous space battle with the Falcon, a host of rebel fighters and another trench style finish. Its all enough to blow your mind as it never lets up for a second and is quite quite perfect in execution.
    What really hits home is the lack of CGI, can you image a film like this being made today without cgi?????? never happen LOL
    And yet Jedi looks stunning, the aliens are obviously puppets but they still look great (thanks to Oz and co) they all have depth and character that you can believe, plus the model and matte painting work here too! its utter genius and deserves so much praise, cgi? whats that haha
  • December 30, 2008
    "You cannot escape your destiny. You must face Darth Vader again.
    - I can't kill my own father."

    Young Skywalker's Jedi training continues. But as Yoda says, he will not become a Jedi knight unless he doesn't face Lord Vader for a final epic battle.

    The rebel alliance are faced...( read more) with another Death Star. The final battle will be fought at Endor, the home of the annoying little Ewok bastards. A friend of mine said that he's on Vader's side cause he wants to destroy 'em. He even made a shirt were it says "Vote for Vader, Death to Ewoks". I almost agree, but as a supporter of good and a hater of evil, I'll manage if they survive...

    "Return of The Jedi" has great moments but after the darker Episode 5, this is yet again more of a family film. "Cute" new Star Wars characters, more action and fun. Ok, the Emperor is one dark grumpy old man, so he might scare the kids.

    In overall, a nice finish to the original trilogy but I'd liked to see the world of Skywalker turn darker and leave an option for Episode 7...

    "I will not leave you here, I've got to save you.
    - You already... have, Luke. You were right. You were right about me."
  • December 25, 2008
    "Return To A Galaxy... Far, Far Away"

    In the final episode of the Star Wars saga, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) emerges intact from the carbonite casing in which he'd been sealed in The Empire Strikes Back. The bad news is that Solo, together with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill...( read more)) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), is prisoner to the grotesque Jabba the Hutt. But with the help of the charismatic Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), our heroes and our heroine manage to escape. The next task is to rid the galaxy of Darth Vader (body by David Prowse, voice by James Earl Jones) and the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid), now in command of a new, under-construction Death Star. On the forest moon Endor, the good guys enlist the help of a feisty bunch of bear-like creatures called the Ewoks in their battle against the Empire.

    Review
    "Jedi" is not as good as the first two films of the trilogy, but it's still a really good movie. Jedi's primary purpose is to tie up the loose ends from the first two movies while bringing the entire saga to a satisfying conclusion. I think they accomplish this quite well. As far as the Ewoks are concerned, I don't love them but I don't really dislike them either.
  • November 7, 2009
    ...And this is where we see marketing and merchandising -- the true Dark Side of these films -- beginning to influence things. There were a few toys from the first movie, but it was after the second movie that the flood of toys came, and people in high places began to realize ho...( read more)w much MONEY there was to be made from this Star Wars thing.

    For a lot of people, especially people a little older than me, Return of the Jedi was where Star Wars started to seriously lose its luster. The main culprit of course being the Ewoks, those cuddly-cute little furry guys just begging for action figures and plush dolls and cartoons to be made of them. But me, I was 8 years old, and I have to admit, Return of the Jedi is still one of my favorites, and still holds a lot of the old Star Wars magic. The brilliant green of Luke's new lightsaber against the washed out deserts of Tatooine. The forest world of Endor, with its towering trees and the speederbike scenes. Luke coming to terms with the truth about his father. And of course, Leia in that slave bikini thing.

    In the end, as I've gotten older and learned more about it, I have come to agree with those who mark this movie as the beginning of the end. It should have been massive courageous Wookiees on the forest planet of Kashyyyk where few ever see the ground. Not tiny cute Ewoks on Endor, trundling about and making cute noises while they inexplicably manage to slaughter heavily-armed Imperial Stormtroopers with stick and rocks. Heck, they barely even hid the name change, Wook-ee, Ee-wok. It was supposed to be Wookiees on Kashyyyk, because it was the Wookiees who had been enslaved by the Empire for decades, their strength and technological expertise harnessed to build the Death Stars. It would have been so much cooler if it had been Kashyyyk. But the executives decided Wookiees were too scary and wouldn't sell as many toys to kids. And the dumbing-down began. Next stop: Episode 1, and Jar-Jar Binks. Sigh.

    Yet still, this movie holds the old magic for me, and ranks right up there with its predecessors as part of an amazing trilogy. Nevermind the foreshadowing of evil merchandising plots to come, the seeds of darkness, the Wookiee omission. For years after seeing Return of the Jedi, traffic lights at night always reminded me of the brilliant green of Luke's new lightsaber, and the brilliant red of Vader's old one. Sometimes they still do.
  • November 4, 2009
    Definitely my favorite of the six!! :)
  • November 3, 2009
    awesome the best star wars after the 3rd one
  • November 3, 2009
    I really wish they had put these out back before tho others. I hate when Hoolywood does this.
  • November 3, 2009
    Just breath taking film.

Critic Reviews


Comments


  • philiparmstrong01
    November 14, 2008
    This I must say is a fantastic film! Although I like The Empire Strikes Back better, this 1 is still a great film 2 watch
  • pollock65
    October 17, 2008
    Just love everything about this movie
  • shortybrooklyn
    December 23, 2007
    this was not the best star wars movie but it was ok
  • sportboy
    November 10, 2007
    I thought this film was well good. well I thought it was a very good film anyway
  • Aritosgold
    November 7, 2007
    A lot of action thur the whole movie;;
  • chanale
    July 15, 2007
    Though I like Empire the best, this is still a very good star wars movie. All of them are good. If someone says they never saw star wars I would drag them to the tv, glue them to a chair, and make them watch all 6. Preferably the original trilogy, but I like them all... Especially episode 5... 6 is good too. It's star wars, what's not to like?
  • pleades2002
    July 8, 2007
    This was my least favorite in the trilogy,but I still loved it and probably viewed it 50 times. I think I was 15 when it was released. If I was able to change the film, the Ewoks would have been 86ed and replaced by Whookies on planet Kashiek. You just cant get much drama out of a teddy bear.
  • clouse368
    June 11, 2007
    "A Jedi dose not take Revenge, he only Returns" PERFICT!!
  • LoveAndAdoreHardMaleNipples1
    May 28, 2007
    Happy Anniversary "Star Wars" 30 years wow has it been that long already may you have many more anniversaries to come.
  • erikggrep
    May 25, 2007
    Happy 30th anniversary to "Star Wars" and its worldwide fan community!

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Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi Trivia

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of... Trivia


  • Finish this film title - Star Wars: Episode VI - Return ....  Answer »
  • This 1983 film was produced under the name "Blue Harvest" to keep its secrecy  Answer »
  • The only Star Wars movie not to contain a blue lightsaber.  Answer »
  • Jabba the Hutt was killed in which movie?  Answer »

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