Movies - Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi

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	Movies - Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi

Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi is a 1983 science fantasy film directed by Richard Marquand. It was the third film to be released in the Star Wars saga, but it is the sixth film by chronology of events. Among fans, it is commonly referred to as simply ROTJ.

In this epic conclusion of the saga, Luke Skywalker and friends travel to Tatooine to rescue their friend, Han Solo. The Empire prepares to crush the Rebellion with a more powerful Death Star, while the Rebel fleet mounts a massive attack on the space station. Luke Skywalker confronts his father, Darth Vader, in a final climactic duel before the evil Emperor.

The film debuted on May 25, 1983, and was released on VHS and LaserDisc in this form in the 1990s. It was re-released with changes in 1997 (all cinema), 2000 (VHS), and 2004 (DVD). A 3-D release is planned for 2007.

Plot summary

Backstory

Construction has begun on a new, more powerful Death Star than the previous one. At the suggestion of Prince Xizor, Emperor Palpatine allows the plans to this new station to slip into Rebel hands, albeit at a price. The Bothan spies have discovered that the plans are to be sent in a small computer onboard a fertillizer freighter, en route to their home planet of Bothawui. The Bothans send an alert (in the form of a message droid) to Tatooine, believing rebel leader Princess Leia Organa to be present. The alert asks her to come to Bothawui, as they have this information for her. However, she is not on Tatooine, so Luke Skywalker and Dash Rendar intercept the message instead, and take up the challenge. Luke and Dash, along with a fleet of volunteer Bothans, intercept the freighter coming out of hyperspace. They mount an attack which proves successful, albeit at the cost of the lives of several Bothans. The victory allows the plans to come into the rebel hands, ready to be decoded.

Story

Returning from Coruscant, Darth Vader arrives on the station, where he terrorizes the station commander into doubling his efforts. Vader reveals that the Emperor himself will be visiting the station in order to oversee the station's final construction stages. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker and his friends return to Tatooine in an attempt to rescue Han Solo from the gangster Jabba the Hutt. It is there that Luke constructs his new lightsaber.

R2-D2 and C-3PO arrive at Jabba's palace with a holographic message from Luke that unsuccessfully pleads Jabba the Hutt to release Han Solo, who is held prisoner in carbonite. In the middle of the night, Princess Leia, disguised as a bounty hunter, removes her disguise and frees Solo from the carbonite, only to be discovered and captured by Jabba. The next morning, Luke arrives to make one final plea to Jabba to release Solo, but Jabba orders Luke to be thrown into the pit of the rancor monster. Luke overpowers the rancor and kills it, and as punishment, Jabba sends Luke and his friends to the Pit of Carkoon to be destroyed by the Sarlacc. With the help of R2-D2, Luke retrieves his new lightsaber, and a large battle erupts, in which Jabba the Hutt is killed, and Boba Fett is knocked into the Sarlacc pit. Luke and crew escape just before Jabba's sail barge explodes.

Luke returns to Dagobah to complete his Jedi training, but Yoda is ill and says no further training is required. Before dying, Yoda tells Luke that all that remains to be done is to confront Darth Vader, whom Yoda confirms is indeed Luke's father. Later, the spirit form of Obi-Wan Kenobi appears, and confirms that Vader was once Anakin Skywalker, a former Jedi who turned to the Dark Side. It is also revealed that Princess Leia is Luke's twin sister, hidden from Luke at birth to protect them both from the Emperor.

At the rendezvous point, the Rebel Alliance discusses the plan to attack the new Death Star. The rebels have decoded and analyzed the Death Star plans, and have devised a strategy for an attack. As part of the attack, Luke and his companions must penetrate the shield generator on the moon of Endor and deactivate the shield that protects the Death Star.

On Endor, Luke and his companions are discovered by Scout Troopers, but they manage to escape following a speeder bike chase through the forest. They later encounter a tribe of Ewoks, indigenous forest creatures of Endor. They forge an alliance with the Ewoks, who agree to join the fight against the Empire. Later, Luke decides that the time has come for him to leave Endor and face Darth Vader. He surrenders peacefully to the Empire, and unsuccessfully tries to convince Vader to abandon the Dark Side. They go to the Death Star and meet the Emperor, who reveals that the Rebel Alliance is falling into a trap that he had prepared. This leads to the climactic end of the film with three plot lines running simultaneously: Luke facing Darth Vader and the Emperor in the second Death Star's throne room, a ground battle on the Endor moon between Imperial forces and the Rebels and their Ewok allies, and a huge space battle between the Rebel and Imperial fleets above the moon.

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