Return of the Jedi is the third film of the original Star Wars trilogy and the one that features the much-maligned cuddly Ewoks and more Muppet-style creatures than the other two films. For many fans of the series, this film is the point when George Lucas started pushing the Star Wars films towards a more child-friendly audience. It is also the film that features a substantial amount of new computer generated changes and ‘tweaks’ to key sequences on a number of its DVD and Blu-ray re-releases.
J. W. Rinzler’s incredibly detailed book refreshingly doesn’t shy away from the numerous ‘controversies’ about the issues the more die-hard fans continue to debate and rant about. There’s a surprisingly honest foreword by Pixar/MI4 director Brad Bird, who shares his views about the flaws that are starting to creep in but is also quick to praise the many elements that work.
The book shares a similarly balanced view of the film and its production. It never disrespects the film or the quality of the production, but isn’t afraid to show the numerous ‘discussions’ about the Ewoks or the rising antagonism with ILM who are creating the ground breaking visual effects in an incredibly short amount of time.
Rinzler has compiled an incredible amount of fantastic (and many unseen) images showing every stage of the film making process: storyboards, creature designs, Polaroids of costume fittings, photographs of location scouting and that’s even before we get to the actual filming. The photographs chosen really capture the atmosphere, and often boredom, on the set. We’re shown the familiarity and friendship of the cast and crew, the larger scale of the production and the sadness that it’s the end of the series (at that point). It’s an exhaustive collection and Rinzler really shows the development of the original Star Wars trilogy in his three books about each film.
The first Star Wars film was a smaller production with a disastrous shooting process that no one really believed in that against all odds became a smash hit, while The Empire Strikes Back had even more riding on the film as it was the first sequel to a hit film. Would it work? George Lucas put his own money in and the scale and budget was much, much bigger.
By this book it’s clear that Jedi will be a success (especially as Harrison Ford had just had a box office smash with Raiders of the Lost Ark under his space belt as well!). There’s an even larger budget and a lighter tone on set which is reflected in many scenes in the film and Rinzler’s book matches this brilliantly with his book.
J.W Rinzler’s books are a must buy for any fan of the classic Star Wars films, featuring a great use of interviews, exemplary research, a terrific choice of images and some lovely small touches (there’s a handwritten letter from a 13 year old Warwick Davis asking ‘Mr Lucas’ if he could have the latest toys if ‘this is not too rude of me to ask’ after they’d finished filming).
Publshed on Tuesday 1 October 2013 by Aurum Books.
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