Return of the Jedi concludes the original Star Wars trilogy

Star Wars – Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Released: May 25, 1983 Studio: 20th Century Fox Genre: sci-fi Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 309.30 Worldwide: 573.00 Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: 930.07 Worldwide: 1315.90

Directing: Richard Marquand Screenwriting: Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, Frank Oz Review: The conclusion to the original Star Wars trilogy capped the most successful movie juggernaut in history. The world had fallen in love with rebels Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia and their efforts to defeat the villainous Darth Vader and his Empire. Jedi added even more iconic characters to the mix, including “the evil Jabba the Hutt, who is a cross between a toad and the Cheshire Cat,” RE and “the lovable, cuddly Ewoks, the furry inhabitants of the forest moon of Endor.” RE The movie is “magnificent fun…complete entertainment, a feast for the eyes and a delight for the fancy.” RE There are twice as many visual effects here as there were in the original Star Wars. The movie is populated with “weird creatures, some of them only half-glimpsed…that would provide the centerpiece for lesser movies.” RE There are “more of the amazing battles in outer space” RE and “a breakneck chase through a forest, aboard airborne motorcycles.” RE There’s also that “marvelously edited three-way climactic battle that dexterously flipped us between lightsabers, spaceships and a ferocious (albeit fuzzy) forest conflict.” E18 One can’t point to just one thing that made these movies “more than just space operas. Other movies might approach the special effects. Other action pictures might approximate the sense of swashbuckling adventure. But in Return of the Jedi, as in Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back there’s such a wonderful density to the canvas.” RE Sources: E18 Empire (3/20/2018). “The 100 Greatest Movies”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists: Box Office: Oscars: Wins: 1 – Special Achievement Academy Award Nominations: 4 – Best Art Direction, Best Original Score, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Sound Awards: Other Lists/Honors: Critics’ Picks: Leslie Halliwell/John Walker First posted 5/29/2023.

50 years ago: Original King Kong released

King Kong Released: April 7, 1933 Studio: RKO Genre: monster/romance Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 10.0 Worldwide: -- Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: -- Worldwide: --

Directing: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack Screenwriting: James Ashmore Creelman, Ruth Rose Starring: Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot, Frank Reicher Review: This “classic horror-fantasy thriller” FS is “one of the masterpieces of cinema.” FS Willis O’Brien’s ““ground-breaking technical effects (stop-motion animation)” FS “of monster ape Kong [are] still unsurpassed,” LM “an emotional and special-effects marvel.” RS The movie tells the story of filmmaker Denham (Armstrong) and his plan to shoot a jungle movie starring “a lovely, nubile starlet (Wray)” FS and fortune-hunters “in search of the fabled giant ape, the magnificent, exotic, and dangerous ‘King Kong.’” FS They “travel to remote, fog-shrouded Skull Island…a prehistoric world populated by dinosaurs and giant snakes.” FS In addition to an adventure story, this is “a beauty-and-the-beast drama.” FS Wray is used to lure and capture the fifty-foot gorilla and then “Denham brings him back to New York City as a sideshow attraction.” FS However, Kong “escapes and goes on a rampage, ransacking the city in search of the young actress.” FS The “final sequence atop Empire State Building is now cinema folklore,” LM “but it wasn’t the airplanes that killed the mighty Kong – ‘It was beauty killed the beast.’” A07 The movie “accomplishes the astounding feat of making a horny male (i.e. Kong) who lusts after a blonde bimbo half his age seem sympathetic, tragic and downright endearing.” ML “Kong is the definitive wronged male of the cinema century.” RS The movie was remade in 1976 and again in 2005. Sources: FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films” LM Leonard Maltin “100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century” ML Movieline (Dec. 1995). “100 Best Movies Ever Made” by Virginia Campbell and Edward Margulies RS Rolling Stone (12/30/1999). “100 Maverick Movies of the Last 100 Years”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 3 *: Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Visual Effects Nominations: 4 *: also nominated for Best Art Direction * Oscar wins and nominations are for the 2005 version. Other Lists/Honors: Critics’ Picks: Leslie Halliwell/John Walker Leonard Maltin First posted 1/8/2020; last updated 6/4/2023.