21) Admiral Ackbar wasn't supposed to look like that. he was originally conceived as a three-eyed caprine humanoid. However, that head wasn't finished in time for the Ackbar scenes. So they went with the octopus-in-a-jumpsuit look instead. The original Admiral Ackbar design was used for Jabba's courtier Ree yees.
There’s no alleged to it, Kurtz was fired as his mismanagement of the ESB budget almost caused Lucas to go bankrupt. Lucas still gave Kurtz his percentage points for Empire though, Kurtz just changed the story years later to say he walked after disagreeing with the trilogy’s direction, Kurtz was never involved in the script meetings for ROTJ.
And Kurtz had exactly the same problems on The Dark Crystal and Return to Oz, where he would have been fired if Lucas hadn't stepped in to save his neck.
EDIT: I missed a joke here, so here's the special edition of this comment: I don’t know if you’ve talked about this yet but I’ve got another cool fact. Sebastian Shaw who played Anakin without his mask on (and Anakin’s force ghost), met up with Brian Blessed. Blessed was going to the premier of ROTJ. Shaw and Blessed were already good friends because they both got their starts from working with the Royal Shakespeare company. Blessed told Shaw that he was going to the Premiere of ROTJ. Seb asked him "is that the new Star Wars film?" and Blessed told him, "yes that is the new one. Seb Shaw told him, “Funnily enough, I'm actually in that movie! I don't really remember what I did, they put me in hours of Makeup and they put me in this big black suit. I think I’m playing A character named Dark something.” And Brian thought well, there’s no character called ‘Dark’ so this must be a new character. Then he realised that Sebastian Shaw was talking about Darth Vader And Brian said to him, “Do you even realise what you’re saying? Everyone wants to play Darth Vader!” Which I think is very funny. honestly, I didn't know Anakin and big Boss Nass were such good friends.
@@obiwankenobi9141 And strange for anyone who purely starts with Episodes 4-6. Everyone cheered so loud in the theater in '83 when the older actor faded in as his ghost. Then the DVD comes out and we get Hayden. Another typical 'wut?' moment for all the edits.
And it was very sad HOW David Prowse got shafted over that! HE should have gotten that face reveal, as he'd played the physical presence of Vader in the 3 films!
I would like to throwing it out there. I don’t think most people even realized that Darth Vader didn’t know he had a daughter until right then and there when he was probing Luke’s mind in the final duel scene. And realizes how much Obi-Wan hid from him. His whole time under the dark side Anakin either thought his Kids died during child birth or just buried the thought aside. The thought never popped back up until ESB when the Emperor told him it was the “Son of Skywalker”, who blew up the DeathStar, let alone the knowledge of him having twins, and that even it being Leia Organa.
I always wondered how the emperor never knew about Leia. Also how Darth Vader never figured it out until the very end. I mean he watched strong in the force I thought he would have been able to sense her.
Sidious never told Vader that Luke blew up the Death Star actually. It was Boba Fett in what is now Legends but still holds up on regular canon that the person who blew up the Death Star had a last name of Skywalker. That's when Vader actually knew at least his son survived. 👍
22) max Rebo (Organist in jabba's house band) was originally intended to play his red balljet organ with his feet. What everybody assumes are floppy ears were originally intended to be front-limbs/swim-flippers. I believe it was a misunderstanding by Kenner toy design that influenced the final look of Rebo in the movie.
Honestly when I was 12 and first heard about the darker possible endings for ROTJ, I thought that was super badass and wanted it so bad, but sitting here all these years later, would you *really* want anything different? Is there truly any possible better ending than seeing everyone coming together at Endor for that final celebratory moment where they're all still young and happy and George is behind the camera? I dont think there is.
Before Revenge of the Sith came out, I read somewhere that there was an option to have Darth Sidious's master show up and demand to give him the galaxy. So he and Darth Vader take on all the other Sith he has with him. Freaking cool. Meanwhile, the Skywalker twins (or just Luke) are sent to Dagobah, which is why Luke feels there's something familiar with it, when he returns. They go in the Millennium Falcon (groan).
I remember reading somewhere that the Ewoks and Wookies somewhere along the line were flip flopped. I think it would have been a MUCH better storyline had it been the Wookies as formidable warriors who helped turn the tide on Endor. The Ewoks turned into nothing but a punchline.
It was suppose to be Wookiee’s but it would of been too tough to make that many large Wookiee costumes and to find 7 foot tall actors. Much easier to find little people or to use children in Ewok costumes and much cheaper to make
I've heard it was partly due to Chewbacca having been shown as technologically capable in the prior films: Bowcaster gun, engineering on the falcon, fixing 3PO. Lucas wanted to emphasise the Empire being matched by a primitive but creative culture, so elected not to use them.
It would make sense since Lucas always mirrored the movies. There are some pretty good videos about this, you should check this out if you dont know about it. Very interesting stuff that gives you a completely new outlook on how Lucas created the star wars universe. "If I can become a Jedi like my Father, my Father can become a Jedi like me"
For a new fan of Star Wars or someone who is just starting to get into the 'trivia' of star wars, this is a great video. For others, there is a lot of stuff in here you will already know
I believe the movie almost being title "Revenge of the Jedi" is pretty well known. All the original marketing material had that title, and it was later changed with Lucas deciding revenge is not the Jedi way and went with the Return title instead.
How could Lucas NOT realize how popular Boba Fett had become? They were selling a freaking action figure of him after the first Star Wars movie, and based on that he had already become a fan favorite, even though he hadn't even appeared in that movie!
#1 Revenge Of The Jedi - I can vouch for this. I was into Kenner's Star Wars toys and Revenge Of The Jedi was featured prominently on some of the boxes if I recall correctly.
The Millennium Falcon was supposed to be destroyed (that's why Han had that premonition) and Calrissian was supposed to die in the space battle. It's in the original script. They supposedly shot a scene in the end where Han and Leia got married. There are stills of it. But it wasn't used as it would have been a lot to capture at the end.The appearance of the Force ghosts was enough.
Eh, films don't have to go from Climax to End Credits in 3 minutes- they can take a few extra minutes to breath. (Just don't do that fake out stuff like LotR)
I knew a fair few of these, but I've seen this movie approximately 462738464 times and heard/seen lord knows how much bts stuff and somehow I had 0 clue that there was a director cameo, and I am genuinely confused how I have never heard that one anywhere before
Not bad . . . I only knew 3. Interesting fact: There's a Post-ROTJ graphic novel called "Dark Empire" Where Han goes to one of his old hideouts on Nal Hutta. Boba Fett is there waiting for him and delivers the line "The Sarlacc found me somewhat indigestible, Solo" Awesome stuff!
I think anyone adult and sane on the movie knew that everything regarding plot and dialogues on SW is a total crap, but they simply knew it it is a big thing, lot of fans, lot of money, ok.
Here is an honorable mention: Return of the Jedi was the first film to have THX certification for the best audio performance. During one of the final test runs before the movie's premiere, Lucas and his team found that sound systems in commercial theatres at the time had horrible reproduction of the original mixer's vision due to bad acoustics and mono sound. Therefore, Lucas created a new standard which required stricter acoustic requirements, better speaker placement, more speakers, and a special crossover circuit to bring it all together. The new standard would be called THX, which was short for "Tomlinson Holman's eXperiement", and named after Lucas' first film, THX 1138. The THX standard would be the biggest change for cinema audio systems since 1948.
Partially true. The THX systems were tested on Return of the Jedi, but weren’t rolled out to most cinemas until the following year. The first film to release under these circumstances was Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Speaking of #1, the co-pilot who was pulled out of the cockpit and thrown off screen was once married to my one of my great-aunts and thus was once a part of my family as a great-uncle. Also speaking of Endor, I used to live near where they filmed the beautiful forest moon which was also used for the beautiful island of Isla Sorna in Lost World: Jurassic Park. The filming location is the only reason why I would ever go back to California for any length of time as Star Wars (before the Disney takeover) and Jurassic Park are my two favorite franchises along with Tremors and Scream.
20: Knew it. 19: Knew it. 18: Knew it. 17: Didn't know! 16: Definitely knew! *giggity*. 15: May have heard, will accept Didn't Know though. 14: Knew it. 13: Didn't know! 12: Didn't know! 11: May have heard, accepting Didn't Know! 10: Knew it. 9: Didn't know, but not surprised (Kind of assumed it...) 8: Didn't know! 7: Didn't know! 6: Didn't know! 5: Didn't know! 4: Knew it. 3: Knew it. 2: Not surprised, but didn't know! 1: Didn't know! Tally - Knew it: 8 May have heard but accepting didn't (can't remember for sure): 2 Didn't know!: 10 Not bad! Most of these types of videos are full of "Duh" moments.
Rinzler who wrote all the official making of books said that Kurtz was fired before Empire Strikes back had even finished shooting, since he let the movie go over the budget, despite knowing that Lucas own money was on the line, since he paid for the movie himself. Lucas choose Lucasfilms own Howard Kazanjian to step in for the last 4 weeks of principal photgraphy and through post production.
Calling “Return of the Jedi” definitely makes more sense. Not only is the title suitable for Luke coming back as an official Jedi, it also refers to Anakin returning to the Light Side of the Force in his final moments in life having redeemed himself.
I'm an original generation fan. Star Wars in 1977 was like a Flash Gordon movie. Not an epic tragedy. So after the gloom of The Empire Strikes Back, we mostly felt while waiting 3 long years for "Revenge of the Jedi" (that's how the sequel was announced as really as 1980), that the climax would end happily. So that's why it ended that way. Fans wanted the good guys to win. And it served the idea of a space fantasy. Not just because of merchandise.
Maybe we don't care to know. I was a teen biker at the time and those scout bikes blew my mind. Watched the film 3-4 times within a week, just for the speeder bikes. It was magic. I don't want to know how it's made or whatever, the magic will get lost if i do.
I was disappointed when Luke wasn't the one who killed the Emperor. But ultimately, I'm ok with how it was done. Sometimes the movie is building you up to something, and later you find out what the movie is really about - that's ok as long as the maker isn't being a secret ahole about it. Saved in editing? That sounds familiar. I thought the Leia sister thing weird, too. And least it served the plot during Luke's duel with Vader.
I worked with one of the Ewok actors for a few years on the circus of horrors. A very funny man by the name of Colin. But he goes by the name of Danny for.. stage purposes or something. If I ever bump in to him again, I'll ask him about that prank they pulled.
How much I knew? I knew all of this. Read the Rinzler book. But this is good video for the ones who didn't. One exception though. It wasn't Marcia Lucas who saved Star Wars (aka A new hope). She did not work alone. George Lucas was there, as he controlled everything.
@@m0zric Really? Without a good story the whole movie is worthless. Disney proved it. Lucas wrote the story. Lucas had the vision how it should look like. Lucas told Williams what kind of music he wants. He even rearranged some of it, as some music was written for a different part. And when things were bad, it was Lucas who fired the editor. It was Lucas who asked his wife for input. It was Lucas who guided and handpicked the art of Ralph McQuarrie. Without Lucas you got a complete mess. Disney proved it.
@@fixipszikon6670 Without good execution, a good story falls flat. Star Wars is one of the most archetypically borrowed stories ever. The story of A New Hope is truly nothing special at all; iconic but hardly unique. You seem to think that Lucas had everything in mind and just instructed the crew on exactly what to do. He didn’t. That’s a myth. Without the ADs designs, and without John Williams musical genius, I don’t think Star Wars would have turned out to be much of anything. Reacting to something is different than creating something. Lucas’ role has been much more a reactive process than a creative one. Without his crew he has nothing.
@@m0zric No. I don't seem to think. I read the Rinzler book. You obviously did not. Your assumptions do not matter. So naturally, you are wrong about great many things. Lucas had everything in mind. He controlled everything. He was everywhere. That's why he got a heart attack. It was well executed because Lucas handpicked and hired the right people, and when they were not up to his standard he told them what he wants. Does not matter what you think, because proof is out there, what music was suggested by Lucas to Williams, who did that. There is a video about it on RU-vid. Lucas was the creative genius that other very talanted people managed to bring to life. Maybe you should read the whole book first, then talk.
@@fixipszikon6670 The prequels prove he’s not an impeccable genius, and what happens when you surround yourself with yes-men. He has vision, but as auteur he’s perfectly mediocre.
Umm Obi Wan was never written to actually come back from the dead. It was a throwaway line that happened between Sidious, Yoda, and Obi Wan. It was said by either Yoda or Obi Wan to Sidious mentioning he didn't want them to physically return then Sidious made some comment about not be strong enough still to defeat Sidious and Vader. So I am not even giving you a close enough on the Obi Wan resurrection point because at that point George basically said that Jedi could return from being a ghost but not the Sith or any Dark/Grey Jedi. They literally possess objects with high Dark Side energy/connection or transfer their essence to a new body. 👍
How about that episode 6 was not intended to be the end. Episode 9 was where Vader and the Emperor would be brought low. I'm sure profits had something to do with ending the series three movies early, then not doing anything for about fifteen years.
Makes me wonder what happened after TESB to make him want to end the series with RotJ. Fighting with Hollywood types who wanted him to have credits at the beginning of the movie? That if he kept going with SW, then he wouldn't have time to do Labyrinth, Howard the Duck and Willow? I can't find the fiction book I read that joked in the future the main character was going to Star Wars 40 or some big two-digit number.
@@sandal_thong8631 Probably also not only the fact the Screen Actors Guild went after him following Empires release and he was restricted in a lot of areas because of them for Jedi but also he couldn't make the films how he had them in his mind thanks to the technology at the time
@@plonkersbro That's what he says, but I think he lost interest in making movies, or he's too thin-skinned to take criticism. At the same time, he didn't believe the special editions would make as much as they did, or that people would pay for a ticket to see the trailer to Phantom Menace. My recent thought is that after the OT he could have made 15-minute Star Wars movies like the serials that inspired him, tacked on at the beginning or end of a 90-minute movie either he made or someone else did.
@@Nerdnotwashere I think the main reason a lot of people know about Blue Harvest is because it was used as the title for the Family Guy Star Wars special
Really? Every shot of Leia had to be checked for Wardrobe malfunctions?? But no one noticed Oola's? Hmm...She slipped by all the checks, did she? Hmm....🤔
Also during one shot as Carrie Fisher climbs over Jabba's tail to strangle him the high heels of her shoes, went through the tail and into the head of the dwarf puppeteering the tail.
I read a science fiction book in the 1980s that had a guy in the future seeing Star Wars episode 40 or something. If anyone knows what that was, please reply.
I recently watched the end again and noticed something disjointed in the Luke and Darth interaction. I can't quote it but it goes like this. Take off my helmet Luke, But that will kill you. Let me see you with my own eyes. Luke removes the helmet. Then talks about saving him. YOUR ACTIONS just killed him. You want to save him, don't take off his mask. Yes he was probably going to die anyway. But you don't KNOW that. I admit in the theater I was moved by that scene.
After Vader tells Luke to remove his helmet, Luke says "But you'll die" and Vader responds "Nothing can stop that now." He was already dying. Luke keeping his helmet on would not have changed anything.
Another way to put it is that George made it up as he went along, and accepted improvisations and last-minute suggestions. While he had been writing outlines for a long time, they changed a lot and while the films were being made important plot points changed. The one part that Lucas (mostly) did stick to a thought-out storyline for were the prequels, and we all know how that turned out. The biggest change after the first film that I am aware of was that Jar Jar was phased out.