Return of the Jedi

"Return to a galaxy far far away."

1983 2h 12m EN

🙌

7.9

BANGER

🍅

83%

FRESH

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

8.3

IMDB

★7.9TMDB · 17,404🍅83%Rotten Tomatoes●58Metacritic★8.3IMDB · 1,200,333

AdventureActionScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Luke Skywalker leads a mission to rescue his friend Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt, the Emperor prepares to crush the Rebellion with a more powerful Death Star, and the Rebel fleet mounts a massive attack on the space station. Luke Skywalker confronts Darth Vader in a final climactic duel before the evil Emperor.

“Return to a galaxy far far away.”

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Cast

Mark Hamill
Luke Skywalker
Harrison Ford
Han Solo
Carrie Fisher
Princess Leia
Billy Dee Williams
Lando Calrissian
Anthony Daniels
C-3PO
Peter Mayhew
Chewbacca
Sebastian Shaw
Anakin Skywalker
Ian McDiarmid
The Emperor

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Richard Marquand
Writers: Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas, George Lucas
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $573M — a 17.7× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

43 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Part of the "Star Wars Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

286+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Richard Marquand, shot by Alec Mills. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Duwayne Dunham shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Richard Marquand directs. Alec Mills behind the camera. John Williams scores. Duwayne Dunham cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Grossed $573M — a 17.7× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
243 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "Star Wars Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4286+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
5Directed by Richard Marquand, shot by Alec Mills. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by John Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Duwayne Dunham shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Return to a galaxy far far away.".
10IMDB entry: tt0086190 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
1117,404 TMDB user ratings logged — serious cultural footprint.
12Classified under 12 themes, including "spacecraft", "sibling relationship", "rebel", "emperor".
13Released under 85 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Alec Mills
Original score: John Williams
Editing: Duwayne Dunham
Production design: James L. Schoppe
Costume design: Nilo Rodis-Jamero
Makeup / hair: Phil Tippett
VFX supervisor: Dennis Muren
Sound: Gary Summers
Stunt coordinator: Glenn Randall Jr.
Runtime: 132 min · 2h 12m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $32,350,000
Box office: $572,700,000
Return: 1770% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Return of the Jedi (1983)
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 58/100
IMDB rating: 8.3/10 · 1,200,333 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

Nominated for 4 Oscars. 25 wins & 23 nominations total

Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Star Wars Collection

An epic space-opera theatrical film series, which depicts the adventures of various characters "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…."

Also by

Richard Marquand

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-12-12
★ 8/10
This is not quite Bantha fodder. Following on from the freshness of Star Wars (1977) and the all round greatness of craft and story telling that was The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Return of the Jedi was always going to struggle in comparison. That's not to say there are not fans who prefer it of the original trilogy, because there are many, and like minded fans of George Lucas' space saga shouldn't have a problem with that. However, it is the weakest of the three. The characters we have come to love, and to be a part of their universe, are performed with gusto - but they are mostly thinly written, reduced to playing second fiddle to special effects, while the dark heart has been replaced with - well - smokey hokey (furry teddy bears with sticks and stones, I ask you). Then there's the lack of sexual tension so evident in the previous two films. Oh we love Han and Leia because that's love! But one can't help missing the sparks that was once between them - and Luke of course, hmm... Yet for all that, of the irks and complaints, Return of the Jedi is still a thrilling film, the budget up on the screen to entertain the children and the adults with the child within. Characters and creatures wander into this wonderful world for super impact. The Emperor, Jabba the scene stealer, Rancor and Sarlaac, while the speeder bike chase, further lightsaber shenanigans and the space battle ensure the action is never far away - even if one can be a little underwhelmed by the big finale not all it can be. Ultimately it was not without faults, but still it was one hell of a conclusion to a genre defining (then) trilogy. 8/10
Wuchak2020-08-02
★ 7/10
Fun, cute, imaginative, iconic space adventure with a kick-axx cast "Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi" (1983) was the anticipated end of the original trilogy that began with the initial blockbuster from 1977. The trilogy is an epic, but simplistic space fantasy about an evil empire and the noble souls who dare to fight it. The main cast features Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Ian McDiarmid (Emperor) and the voice work of James Earl Jones (Darth Vader) and Frank Oz (Yoda). This is an amusing, inventive, iconic space adventure with a stellar cast that upped the ante with edgy cuteness. While I prefer the adult-oriented space science-fiction of Star Trek, I can’t deny that the space fantasy of Star Wars always grants you an entertaining couple hours. This one features lots of sci-fi action, cartoonish characters, great sets, Carrie Fisher at her fittest in an alluring costume, space ships, alien bogs and awesome forest sets (shot in the Redwoods of Northern Cal). Ford and Williams are at their charismatic best. Even the more obscure Hamill shines as the boyish hero and the Darth Vader story arc is notable. Then there’s RD-D2, C-3PO and Chewbacca. The film runs 2 hours, 11 minutes. GRADE: B
r96sk2021-02-01
★ 9/10
Arguably the weakest (comparably) of the original trilogy, yet <em>'Return of the Jedi'</em> is still an excellent film! Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher remain a thoroughly enjoyable trio. I did find parts of the plot a little similar to 1977's <em>'Star Wars'</em>, due to the Death Star stuff, but overall I unquestionably enjoyed the 135 minutes. The score is great again, while the new bunch of characters are cool. There are some memorable moments in there, as we see the first spate of films come to a close very nicely. I'm very intrigued to see where things go with the prequels, hopefully they continue to hit high marks.