The Greatest Star Wars Finale Ever (Luke's Ultimate Lightsaber Duel) 

“Vader dies and Anakin Skywalker rises. The return of the Jedi.” Damn that was brilliant.

When you're in space Vietnam and the trees start speaking teddy bear...

Someone: "Return of the Jedi is bad." Me: "You will pay the price for your lack of vision."

"It's the weakest of Original trilogy." that says more about the OT than about the movie.

"Just for once, let me look on you with my own eyes" yeah... not gonna lie, that line had me tearing up

"Anakin is the chosen one, but the honour of Greatest Jedi will always belong to this small-time farm boy" Perfect

I love how the last thing Anakin wants to do before death is to simply see his son himself, without the tainted lenses of the Dark Side. It’s so wholesome

I never thought of Return of the Jedi with Anakin being the Jedi that returns. It's a beautiful thought.

"[Palpatine] doesn't even get his army out of the parking lot." LMAO so true

As a child the ending of ROTJ always gave me a sense of peace. Just seeing everyone not only survive the emperor’s trap, but also seeing the quiet acknowledgment of Yoda Obi-wan and Anakin from the background. That scene was a happy and fun filled scene full of optimism and hope. I’m glad it hit other Star Wars fans as hard as it did me.

"When Anakin kills the Emperor... that shit needs to stick!" Such true words.

"I am a Jedi, like my father before me." This line defined Luke as the epitome of what a true Jedi was. It was fantastic, and it gives me chills every time I hear it. But then The Last Jedi came, and took a huge dump on what Luke was, and everything he stood for. The sequels did nothing but damage everything that was great about Star Wars.

....I just realized something absolutely brilliant. The line “you don’t know the power of the dark side” has a dual meaning throughout the two Lucas trilogies. Depending on who is saying it and when, it is either a threat or a plea. For instance, when Vader says it to Luke in this climax it is a plea. He is trapped in the dark side. It was a slippery slope for him, his pain and rage trapping him where he is. It’s the allure of the dark side that Vader is referring to as its power at the end here. It’s exactly as Lucas said-it’s like poetry. It rhymes.

The music when Luke loses control is low key some of John Williams best work!

“What’s better than a teddy bear that can also beat up fascists?” Best defense I’ve ever heard for Ewoks.

Fun Fact: that one “poor guy that takes a tumble” in the Endor Bunker is actually Ben Burt, and the scream he makes is the Wilhelm Scream, also created by Ben Burt.

Honestly, Return of the Jedi is my favourite film out of all of them, the variant of the imperial march that plays when Vader dies is the best piece of Star Wars music ever

I remember when I first watched this scene when i was around 9yrs old. When Luke screamed “Never”, I was quiet and shocked. When he started wailing on Vader, I was really worried he’d turn to the Dark Side. Then Luke said the iconic line. *I am a Jedi, like my father before me.* This is when I knew i was in love with this saga...

Your breakdown of the greatest Star Wars finale was incredible. I'm just surprised you left out my favourite last moments with Luke and his father, "Now go my son, leave me" Luke refuses, "No, you're coming with me, I'll not leave you here, I've got to save you" His father looks up, "You already have." That line, always makes me cry.

"Shout out to this poor guy who takes a tumble" That was sound designer Ben Burtt in a cameo, i.e. the guy responsible for many of the most iconic sounds in the franchise. You can thank him for the lightsaber and blaster SFX for instance.

This ending was perfect. Luke’s journey to becoming a Jedi was completed here. Anakin’s story of coming back to the light once again was completed here. The duel also killed palpatine in a very satisfying way, he overconfidently believed that he had completely seduced Anakin’s to the dark side and that nothing could turn him back.

His meme references help you understand which weeks he started recording this lmao

You made a really important point about the Ewoks, too. From the Empire's perspective, their attack was completely unexpected. It was a surprise attack on their home turf. Several Expanded Universe sources say directly that the Empire of course knew about the Ewoks, but never given them much thought because they didn't cause any trouble. They'd never fought with the Imperial troops before. They didn't even steal anything.

Luke knew only a fraction of the evil that Vader had done, yet he still had faith that his father could be redeemed. Yeah, that character would totally try to kill his nephew in his sleep just because his nephew had bad dreams. It's so frustrating!

A 37 minute video on Luke's ultimate duel? That truely is the fullest of fat! Thanks guys

"He's my brother" *what should have come next* "I have questions"

I always interpreted “Return of the Jedi” as referring to Anakin but also to the Jedi themselves. When Luke returns with his own green saber, he’s become a true Jedi, the ONLY true Jedi left in the galaxy. And his redemption of Vader isn’t just a sign that the laser sword wizards have returned, the JEDI have, the real Jedi before they got caught up in politics and corruption, Luke is everything the Jedi were at the height of their good influence, and everything they could have been. With Anakin at last returning then passing away, the Jedi, as they were always meant to be, returned.

It was confirmed that as Anakin lay dying, literally in his last breath, 2 things occurred. 1, Obi-Wan quickly taught Anakin how to ascend into the force and become a Force Ghost. 2, He lamented everything he did to his late wife Padmé. Going so far as to say "Our son came. He cam to save me." And "I'm sorry, Padmé." It's truly heartbreaking, but wholesome to think that Anakin's last thoughts were of his loved ones.

"And so the Saga ends." Mentions Episode 7 "AND SO, THE SAGA ENDS!"

The male vocal choir during the duel between Vader and Luke is probably my favorite star wars music ever.

When Lando says, "Han'll have that shield down, we have to give him more time!" I get chills. The tension is so thick at this point, and you're worried for our heroes.

I'm with you on this. There are so many reasons to love this finale. What's been striking me lately is how utterly defiant Luke is toward the Emperor. He speaks to him boldly and with disdain, never giving him the respect and awe others do. This no doubt enrages the Emperor. Ian McDiarmid is amazing here, showing, a little bit at a time, that Luke's insolence is getting to him. A truly priceless moment is when Luke addresses him, mockingly, as "your highness". It is an honorific quite appropriate for a prince or princess, but it is never used to address a king, queen, or emperor. "Your Imperial Majesty", "Your Majesty", or even "Your Excellency" would be correct here. "Your Highness" is an insult. Years ago, when I saw this in the theatres, I didn't realize what an absolute badass Luke was being here. He does what his father dreams of doing: he stands up to the Emperor, mocking and insulting him all the way. By doing so, he puts his life at grave risk, and ultimately chooses to die rather than give in to the vile man who ruined his father. At this moment, he becomes not only a Jedi, but one of the greatest to ever live. Then it gets even better. Anakin Skywalker, overcome with emotions that he thought himself no longer capable of, rises up in defense of his son and, using the last of his remaining strength, destroys the hated Emperor, proving that there is no higher ground than love. Thank you for this brilliant and obviously heartfelt tribute. May the Force be with you.

Every second that I watch this, my hatred for Disney making such an inconsistent and unnecessary sequel trilogy grows

"You don't know the power of the Dark Side." It wasn't until watching this video that I really let in the tragedy Anakin was admitting with those words. What I always thought was a flex of his power now sounds like a plea for help.

That intercut of “i must obey my master” with anakin betraying windu my god lucas is an amazing creator

I'm teaching my future kids that Episodes 7,8, and 9 are just Legends. That they are not canon and are only "what if" stories.

Also, the Ewoks didn't really have any stakes in the battle. The Empire was leaving them alone, only using a small portion of the jungle to protect their bastion. They decided to fight because of C-3PO, his tales and stories, they realized that a dictatorship this cruel shouldn't be in power even if it doesn't affect them directly. They are resolute, empathic being that deserve respect, because they decided to fight for what they thought was right. Also, Simon the killer Ewok is a beast.

"Go son. Leave me..." "No. I have to save you!" "You already... have... Luke... you were right about me. Tell your sister... you were right." That. That exchange gets me every time. It's an exchange I won't ever forget. Like just reading it out loud gets me teary eyed. I absolutely love ROTJ. It is *THE* movie to end the Star Wars Saga on, if you ask me. ROTS is still my absolute favourite out of them all but it beats ROTJ only by a very small margin. I will also never not get emotional seeing Luke give Anakin a funeral and the victory celebration that follows. And while I'm talking about victory celebration. Yub Nub is a beautiful song. I look up the original ending to ROTJ very frequently to enjoy that song again. However. Victory Celebration is a much better musical send off for the 6 movies (and depending how you watched things up to 8 movies and 2 tv shows) that are the story of Star Wars. But back to the main point. This ending is absolutely brilliant. I couldn't ask for a better way to finish that story. Star Wars ROTJ has the perfect conclusion of Star Wars.

SCREW the sequels this was the true ending to a trilogy that the sequels never can do

Luke in Return of the jedi: "I know that Vader killed many ppl, but there is still good in him!" Luke in The Last Jedi: "My nephew had a bad dream! Lets kill him in sleep!"

Ewok Hunt from Battlefront will make you see the ewoks as they are, relentless hunters that should be feared.

Last night, I subjected myself to an old Cosmonaut video "Return of the Jedi - Why it Sucks." And paused it every 2 minutes or so to just rant to my wife about why Jedi is awesome and hits all the themes and emotions and character arcs being wrapped and is packed with fun and also packed with a ton of great moments taken in isolation and sure, it's not the best piece of filmmaking, but it's such an emotionally satisfying end to the saga. Full Fat gets it. Cosmonaut missed it. This video is like a cleansing shot. And I love it. Empire: better film Jedi: my favorite Star Wars by more than 12 parsecs

The most heartbreaking thing about Rise of Skywalker is how it actively makes the other sequel movies worse.

"There's so much heart in this moment and it was done with an actor wearing a gigantic ****ing fish head." You got me with that one.

I like to think that when luke was being zapped and begging vader to save him, thats when he finally realized the reason he turned to the dark side all those years ago was to save his family. And now his own son was about to die, he HAD to step in

Episode 6 has always been my personal favourite movie of all time and one of my favourite things about it is it’s theme of redemption. Anakin’s sacrifice exemplifies a particular aspect and perspective on the idea of redemption that I absolutely love and really resonates with me. Sometimes a redemption story focuses more on how a character grows to except themselves for who they are despite their past mistakes, realize what’s truly important, and live going forward a life helping others and doing the right thing. Alternatively, I feel Anakin’s redemption focuses more on the idea that it’s never too late to do the next right thing, and that redemption or at least forgiveness can have nothing to do with whether you deserve to be redeemed or not. Both Anakin and Luke’s choices in particular put forward the idea that love and true good is really caring for those who don’t deserve it. What I love about Anakin’s redemption is that it does not try to justify or paint His(Vader’s) past deeds as ok or that his one act of love for his son somehow absolves him of the guilt of ending countless innocent lives and supporting a tyrannical government. All it represents is that it is never to late to love the people around you, and sacrifice yourself to do the right thing. Even if you yourself gain nothing from it, not even “redemption”, there is always hope. That message is part of what Anakin’s legacy means to me, I hope you have a nice day.

THANK YOU for defending Ewoks. ROTJ is my favourite movie of all time, and it always bothers me when people crap on those little teddy bears of death

31:50 "And not a single person in these frames laments the loss of Emperor Palpatine" I mean, the crowd surfing stormtrooper might.

23:20 "hav you tried telling him the tragedy of Darth plagius the Wise" "no shut up" "worked on you when you were his age"

"Plus, Boba could've gone out like less of a bitch." The Mandalorian: I agree.

"Then my father is truly dead" oof, that must've burned worse than Mustafar

Return of the Jedi is my favourite. It shows Luke's growth from a scared young child to a full on badass. THIS is how you show character development Disney, instead of Rey just instantly being a powerful Jedi, Luke went through a lot to actually get to his potential.

Epic video! So well produced as always :D

Lest we also forget that the Ewoks literally eat people.

i really think if they were planning to do a sequel trilogy, they should've just make it take place many years later, with a new republic, a new jedi order, with Luke being an Honored and deceased Jedi, and now a story centered on new characters

Empire is a better overall movie but this ending is better than anything in that film.

It's a great ending, but man, everytime I hear "YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE" or just see obis face from that bit I have tears in my eyes.

The Last Jedi was such a desecration that it fooled JJ Abrams into thinking he could bring Palpatine back and make it make sense.

I grew up on Revenge Of The Sith for the first 8 years of my life. So when I got to see the original trilogy at the age of 9, I genuinely thought Vader couldn't be saved. Luke turning Vader back to the light was the most mindblowing thing I'd ever seen.

Easily the best. It's bursting at the seams with emotion

When he said I Must obey my master. I nearly cried as a child. You could just hear from the voice that he didn’t want to do it. He wasn’t evil he was forced to. The story of Anakin Skywalker is truly a tragedy And with the prequels and CW perfection This Movie is the perfect finale for the OT and prequels.

Empire might be the better film, but Jedi is such a perfect ending to the story. It gets me every time. "You can't die. I've come to save you." "You already have, Luke. You were right about me. Tell your sister, you were right."

So what would all the dead younglings think of Anakin's "salvation"? He crossed the moral event horizon with that move.

"I don't like the addition of Vader's noes" Or "I don't like the addition of Vader's nose"

"yoda vs the senate" had me dying

Wow. You summed up my feelings about ROTJ's ending perfectly. This is exactly why this ending always makes me cry. I always thought that this was the end of Star Wars, and it was a perfect end. I do like the sequels (for the most part), but part of me wishes they were never made. The saga was perfect as it was. I just wish they made anthology films and spinoff trilogies, nothing tampering with the official Skywalker Saga.

This is exactly why return of the Jedi is my favorite of the original trilogy and in my opinion the best original trilogy movie

"This absolute weapon" has a name, you know: Arvel Crynyd. Single-handedly took down the third-largest (I think) construct seen up to this point, after only the Death Stars. Badass. Possibly Welsh.

The Return of the Jedi Finale for me, along with Revenge of the Sith have by far the two best finales in any star wars movie.

"He doesn't even get his army out of the parking lot" I died.

I just love how my dude just geeks out completely over this

It's great hearing ROTJ getting the love it deserves. It's always been my personal favourite of the series. Check out "Sam Witwer defends ROTJ as great" as well for some more great insight.

Finally, someone who appreciates rotj as much as me.

The original trilogy really proves that the sequel Trilogy was a mess.

My favorite line happens before the third act. "It is too late for me, son." At this point, this isn't Vader: it's clearly Anakin trying to get out of the shell that is Vader even though he can't. He's self-aware of what he did and what he's been through. Even he was willing to give up. It's the fact that he was ready to give the same warning as Obi-Wan and Yoda did. And that last shot just after Luke is taken away by the troopers is powerful. The fact that he held what could have been, at the time, the last lightsaber of the Jedi Knight Order (or its remnants) and that it was built by his offspring, the upstraight Vader is starting to lay low, surrendering to what he once stood for: love.

For me this is the best Star Wars film of the original trilogy

Something that I wish was talked about more was that Luke used the Dark Side to defeat Vader. Sure, Luke's love was what ultimately redeemed Anakin. But if Luke hadn't first hulked out and beaten Vader down, he couldn't have shown mercy and spared him. And Luke using his anger for good should have immediately discredited much of the teaching of the old Jedi order. The Jedi were so afraid of the Dark Side that they stigmatized emotion. They were literally afraid of fear. Luke's actions should have proven that there was a better way. A way to actually bring balance to the Force. Not by destroying the Dark Side, but by bringing the two sides together into harmony. But, apparently Luke failed to come to this conclusion, tried to recreate the Jedi as they were, and was met with predictable results. When Luke said "It's time for the Jedi to end" I wish they had gone through with it, and instead started something new. Alas, the Jedi branding is too strong to ever be discontinued.

"What's better than a teddy bear that can also beat up fascists?" Possibly the greatest line in reviewing history.

Having watched since Empire first came out, your narrative gave me new ways to look at ROTJ. Especially where the redemption of Anakin is the true meaning behind Return of the Jedi not just the fact that Luke became a Jedi by passing what would have been his trials. Well done.

Can we all just pretend this was the last Star Wars movie and pretend the sequels never happened

I absolutely love this video. It had me basically crying at the end. I really think you nailed what me and many others love about star wars and the end of Return of the Jedi. It is my favorite ending in All Star Wars. And includes my favorite moments of all Star Wars.

God I just found this and with your dialogue while Vader was dying. I actually started crying, that goes to show you how beautiful the original films where.

"I have accepted the truth that you were once Anakin Skywalker, my father." That scene is one of my favorite scenes in all the movies. I just love how Luke comes at him with full confidence that he can turn Vader back to the light right there. It doesn't work, but by the end of the scene when Vader is staring out into the woods you can tell that the wheels have started to turn and that the mask is coming off.

This was my favorite film as a child. As you mentioned in the video, I used to watch this finale over and over again (On a VHS at that!) . It was truly awesome! Also the reason why the green lightsaber was the best! Watching this video took me back to that feeling briefly. Thankyou!

I swear these is one of those videos and movies that makes me shed a tear to how good it is and makes me smash my head on the wall everytime I see the the sequels

I remember thinking after watching "The Rise of Skywalker," that somehow the best space battle ever put to screen is still Return of the Jedi. A 36 year old movie using practical effects beats out pretty much every major blockbuster since then. That's how amazing the final battle in ROTJ is.

"He didn't even get his army out of the parking lot."

This is my favorite film of the Lucas Saga. I used to be head over heels for the prequels when I was a kid because that’s what was out at the time and it was action packed and fantastical. It was only after I got older and after I lost my father that ROTJ really took hold in my heart as my favorite of only for the intimate final duel between Father and Son. The “I’ve got to save you”, “you already have” gets me in tears every single time.

Love the ROS footage talking about bad finales Btw ROS stands for Rise of SkyWalker

When they cut away from the fight at the beginning after they cross sabers, they go back into it when the fighting is still super intense. Makes you feel like you didn’t miss anything. Perfect cuts 👍

“Cloning, secrets only the sith knew”

As a kid in the mid to late 90's this movie always had a special place in my heart. Darth Vader's face reveal was a very emotional scene for me. I was obsessed with Darth Vader/Anakin after that. His story is so very tragic much like my own. Also, Luke's green lightsaber 💚 is bad ass! Now rewatching it with my 4 year old son I can see that's it's not the best of the Original trilogy, but that ending brings it all full circle!

I always saw Vader blocking Luke's strike as not obedience to The Emperor but him saving Luke from going too far.

This is seriously one of the best Star Wars analysis vids I have ever seen. You freaking nailed it. Have a sub.

This is one of the best Star Wars videos I've ever seen, so many intelligent points, great editing, some humor... A++++

I might think that Empire is the best out of the OT, but good God man, the third act of ROTJ is quite possibly my favorite act of any movie in all of cinema.

The ending always makes me cry, the one without Vader yelling “no”

Vader doesn't say "no" to himself, he says it to Palpatine. He's telling Palpatine to stop and when he doesn't he kills him. Very clever addition from Lucas.

I was so happy to see this in my recommendations..the video about Luke's first duel with Vader was a home run!

"I may not dig the addition of Vader's nose" I was like HUH? His WHAT?