The Making of Return of the Jedi: The Definitive Story Behind the Film

Author(s): J. W. Rinzler

Film/Drama

Just as Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi completed the most successful cinematic trilogy of its generation, perhaps of all time, this splendid thirtieth-anniversary tribute concludes New York Times bestselling author J. W. Rinzler’s trio of breathtaking books celebrating George Lucas’s classic saga.
Once again, the author’s unprecedented access to the Lucasfilm Archives has yielded a mother lode of fascinating and often unexpected revelations from behind the scenes of a blockbuster in the making. Brimming with previously unpublished photos, concept artwork, script excerpts, storyboards, on-set interviews and present-day commentary, The Making of Return of the Jedi chronicles ‘how George Lucas and his crew of extroverted artists, misfits and expert craftspeople roused themselves to great heights for a third time’ to create the next unforgettable chapter in one of the most beloved stories in movie history. Get up close to the action and feel like a studio insider as:

* George Lucas, Oscar-nominated screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan and director Richard Marquand huddle in a script conference to debate the destinies of iconic Star Wars characters

* The artists and technicians at the ground-breaking Industrial Light & Magic facility surpass their own revolutionary innovations with boundary-pushing new visual effects

* A crack team of sculptors, puppeteers, actors and ‘monstermakers’ brings Jabba the Hutt and his unsavoury cohorts to startling, slobbering life

* Actors and crew race to the finish line at Elstree Studios, in a fiery desert and beneath the canopy of a dense redwood forest to provide answers to the questions that audiences had waited three years to find out: Is Darth Vader really Luke’s father? Who is the mysterious ‘other’? And who, or what, is the Emperor?

Star Wars luminaries from both sides of the camera, including Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, Alec Guinness, director Richard Marquand, producer Howard Kazanjian, Ralph McQuarrie, Joe Johnston, Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett and mastermind George Lucas, all weigh in with candid insights on everything from technical crises and character design, to the Ewoks and the ultimate challenge of bringing this phenomenal space fantasy to a dramatic close.
A gloriously illustrated and painstakingly researched tribute to a truly spectacular movie, The Making of Return of the Jedi invites you to return to a galaxy … far, far away.


Product Information

'The real treat, however is the film's dazzling concept art. The Force is certainly strong with this one.' SPORT Magazine 'Bursting with unparalleled access, previously unseen photos, exclusive interviews and on-set tales from the cast and Lucas's crack team of craftsmen, crew and jaunty model makers, Rinzler constructs a unique view of one of history's best-loved sequels.' Shortlist 'Concluding Rinzler's trio of books celebrating George Lucas' "Star Wars" films is this "mother lode" of revelations about the making of "The Return of the Jedi" which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2013.' Bookseller

J. W. RINZLER, executive editor at Lucasfilm Ltd., is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Making of Star Wars and The Making of The Empire Strikes Back, as well as The Times bestseller The Complete Making of Indiana Jones. He also directed the animated short Riddle of the Black Cat and is presently working on a children's book.

General Fields

  • : 9781781310762
  • : Quarto Publishing Group UK
  • : Aurum Press Ltd
  • : December 2012
  • : 263mm X 289mm
  • : United Kingdom
  • : December 2013
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : J. W. Rinzler
  • : Hardback
  • : Mar-16
  • : en
  • : 791.4372
  • : 372
  • : Full-colour illustrations throughout