Rating: 
Summary: Forceful listening!
Review: I love this adaptation because it brings the movie to life!Complete with the original score by John Williams and realistic sound effects,this is a MUST for any Star Wars fan.Mark Hamil and Anthony Daniels reprise their roles as Luke and C-3PO and John Lithgow and Ed Asner sound just like Yoda and Jabba!This is radio drama expands on the story.It's firt-rate theater of the mind.You'll spend many "Jedi nights"listening to it!
Rating:
Summary: Better than the movie
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It provided an insight into the thoughts and feelings of the main characters which the movie was unable to. Darth Vader's thoughts in particular, are an amazing revelation. Kahn describes very persuasively the incredible lure that the dark side of the force possesses - the heady exultation and sense of unbelievable power make it seem almost sexy. I began to see how Anakin would have been seduced by the dark side. The best part of the novel is the confrontation between Luke and Vader - it is dealt with in far more detail than in the movie. The scene where Darth Vader dies is poignant, even heartrending because we find out what he is thinking and it is this more than anything else, which made me realise what the title "Return of the Jedi" actually means. The only part of this book which I had a problem with is when Vader is unmasked and he is described by Kahn as an "old man". This perplexed me because according to the starwars timeline, Darth Vader would have been about 45 when he died. Apart from this detail, the novel is well done and much better than the movie - even the Ewoks are less silly and irritating than they are in the movie.
This book has the distinction of being the only starwars novel that has ever made me cry.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the movie
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It provided an insight into the thoughts and feelings of the main characters which the movie was unable to. Darth Vader's thoughts in particular, are an amazing revelation. Kahn describes very persuasively the incredible lure that the dark side of the force possesses - the heady exultation and sense of unbelievable power make it seem almost sexy. I began to see how Anakin would have been seduced by the dark side. The best part of the novel is the confrontation between Luke and Vader - it is dealt with in far more detail than in the movie. The scene where Darth Vader dies is poignant, even heartrending because we find out what he is thinking and it is this more than anything else, which made me realise what the title "Return of the Jedi" actually means. The only part of this book which I had a problem with is when Vader is unmasked and he is described by Kahn as an "old man". This perplexed me because according to the starwars timeline, Darth Vader would have been about 45 when he died. Apart from this detail, the novel is well done and much better than the movie - even the Ewoks are less silly and irritating than they are in the movie.
This book has the distinction of being the only starwars novel that has ever made me cry.
Rating: 
Summary: This is where star wars started to fail
Review: I thought the ending to the origial star wars trilogy was ok, but I just cannot give it a 5 stars like most are doing. For starters, I got real bored of the scenes on tatooine. Saving Han took way too much of the book and I just couldn't get into all the happenings on Lukes home planet. The biggest ptoblem I had with ROTJ was the fact that a bunch of teddy bears could defeat an entire legion of the emperors best troops, walkers and blasters!!! I hate the ewoks and may they never, ever return. Well this is a short review but I think star wars has started to fail dramatically.a hardcore star wars fan could overlook this but I can't. It's these kinds of things that has led me clser to star trek
Rating:
Summary: Just as good as the movie if not a bit better!
Review: I'd always thought of Return of the Jedi as the weakest original trilogy movie by FAR (belching, Chewie's Tarzan yell, etc...you get the point), but after reading this book, I have more respect for the actual story itself. This book is very well written with different and extra dialogue between characters than found in the movie and everything is described nicely. The best part of this book, without a doubt, is the confrontation between Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader and the Emperor. It is much longer than in the film and gives us much more information. For instance, Yoda is talked about, not just Obi-Wan Kenobi. It also describes what was going on in their minds as events unfolded. It is very interesting to see how Luke dealt with being tempted to give in to the dark side of the Force and with the pressure from the Emperor to do so. This book is HIGHLY recommended for fans of the film. You can't afford not to read this book. It will make you think about certains scenes with a new outlook. For those who are curious about this book and don't know any of the story, buy Star Wars: A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. Both are great and will prepare you to fully appreciate this excellent adaptation.
Rating:
Summary: !!! !!! !!! FANTASTIC END OF THE TRILOGY !!! !!! !!!
Review: If anyone read this book, he/she would probably agree with me: "The best book ever - beside other two books from the Star Wars Trilogy". The book starts back on the starting planet Tatooine where is Han Solo held at the Jabbas place (he is frozen in carbonite). Certainly will his friends save him from that mafia guy :). Then Luke goes back to Yoda, where he wants to complete his training. But he already did before, Yoda tells him. Next move that the Rebels made, could've been their last: Atack the Death Star. But Death Star is protected with the shield from the near moon Endor and they must disable it. Who'll go there? -- He he ... Certainly our heroes (Leia, Luke, Han, Cheewie, r2d2, c3po,....). And they will disable that shield generator. And in the end: Death Star....booooom. I especially liked locals on Endor, little furry creatures Ewoks. They are so cute and funny, like little teddy bears. And if someone is in danger, they help him no matter what it costs - they would even sacrifice their own lifes. The other thing I liked was the apperance of Emperor. Before, we were just hearing about him but he did not appear. The absolute evil - that is what he represents. So I recomend this book to everyone. If you haven't read it...get it and I assure you, you will enjoy. Well at least I did.
Rating: 
Summary: The Jedi return in classic tale of good vs. evil.....
Review: In 1983, in an attempt to keep fans from discovering some of the plot revelations in the film Return of the Jedi, Lucasfilm and Del Rey held off the release of James Kahn's novelization until the last minute. It proved to be unnecessary; in its cover story on Jedi a few weeks before the premiere on May 25th, 1983, Time magazine revealed to the world (in page 84) that Darth Vader was indeed Luke Skywalker's father. Other plot threads were revealed in various publications, rendering the "hold" of Kahn's novel moot. Return of the Jedi is divided into two halves, one almost independent of the other but predetermined by the events of The Empire Strikes Back. The first half begins with a short prologue in which Darth Vader arrives at Endor, a small sanctuary moon where the Empire is building a second Death Star. The Emperor, it seems, is not happy with Moff Jerjerrod's "current lack of progress" and has sent the Dark Lord to "find new ways to motivate" the Death Star commander and his men to complete the battle station as planned. Then, using material later deleted from the final draft of the screenplay Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas, Luke is in Ben Kenobi's spartan hut, hard at work on his new lightsaber. Then Kahn takes up the film's plot threads and describes how Leia, Chewbacca, Lando and Luke rescue Han Solo from the clutches of the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt. The second half of Jedi starts with Luke returning to Dagobah to complete his Jedi training, only to find that Yoda, his 900-year-old Master, is dying. "No more training do you require," says Yoda on his deathbed, but warns Luke that the true final examination as a Jedi will be to confront Darth Vader. "Luke knew this would be his test," Kahn writes, " it could not be otherwise. Every quest had its focus, and Vader was at the core of Luke's struggle. It was agonizing for him to put the question to words, but after a long silence, he again spoke to the old Jedi 'Master Yoda -- is Darth Vader my father?' "Yoda's eyes filled with a weary compassion. This boy was not yet a man complete. A sad smile creased his face, he seemed to grow smaller in his bed.... "Luke stared at the dwindling teacher, trying to give the old one strength, just by the force of his love and will. 'Yoda, I must know,' he whispered. " 'Your father he is,' Yoda said simply." Kahn then follows the three separate threads of the Battle of Endor: a mission led by Han to destroy the shield generator that provides the unfinished Death Star's main protection; Lando Calrissian's starfighter attack on the battle station itself; and Luke's desperate personal struggle to reclaim his father from the thrall of the evil Emperor Palpatine. It is classic Star Wars action, with heroic deeds, huge space battles, and a final, decisive clash of lightsabers between father and son. Kahn, who is also a recovering emergency room doctor and has published a science fiction trilogy of his own, has done several novelizations of movie scripts, including Poltergeist and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. His style is clear and snappy, although Foster and Glut seem to have a certain quality that Kahn can't replicate.
Rating:
Summary: Jedi a fitting finale for radio drama trilogy
Review: In the wake of the success of radio adaptations of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back in the early 1980s, there was no doubt that Return of the Jedi would be aired on National Public Radio. Both series had increased NPR's audience significantly, and many Star Wars fans waited anxiously for the conclusion of the George Lucas trilogy set "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away" to hit the airwaves. However, the mid- to late 1980s were a "dark time" for public broadcasting as Congress (no doubt guided by the Sith) cut back on funding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (partially because Republicans felt there was too much of a liberal slant in both NPR and its television counterpart, PBS). And even though George Lucas had generously donated the radio rights to KUSC-Los Angeles (his alma mater's radio station) for $1.00, producing even a short Star Wars radio series was expensive, so for over 12 years the Return of the Jedi adaptation lived only in the hopes and dreams of writer Brian Daley, sound engineer Tom Voegeli, and thousands of Star Wars fans. Enter Highbridge Audio. This Minnesota-based company produced the audio cassette and CD releases of both Star Wars radio dramas, and possibly because of good sales they commissioned most of the team behind the Star Wars and Empire serials. Daley was again at the writing helm, even as he bravely fought a battle with cancer. John Madden, a veteran radio and film director, returned to direct. And while Mark Hamill was not available to reprise his role as Luke Skywalker, all of the other cast members from the previous Radio Dramas returned: Ken Hiller as the Narrator, Perry King as Han Solo, Ann Sachs as Leia, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Bernard Behrens as Ben Kenobi, John Lithgow as Yoda and Brock Peters as Lord Darth Vader. Rounding out the cast: Joshua Fardon as a passable Luke Skywalker, Ed Begley, Jr. as Boba Fett, Ed Asner (of Lou Grant fame) as Jabba the Hutt, Arye Gross as Lando Calrissian and Paul Hecht as Emperor Palpatine. Of all the Radio Dramas, Return of the Jedi is the shortest: six episodes and a running time of almost three hours. Thus the focus is on the events depicted within the film and very few extra scenes. The opening is different: Jedi begins with Luke completing his lightsaber, followed by a meeting between Darth Vader and the Emperor on Coruscant (the feeling I got was that the two Dark Jedi Masters sensed Luke's Force growth just as he ignites his laser sword on Tatooine). The movie's opening scene (Vader's arrival on the unfinished second Death Star) is moved to mid-series, since most of Episodes 1 and 2 deal with Han's rescue from Jabba's palace. Here, for the first time in Star Wars history, elements from the expanded universe novels are introduced into a "canon" (i.e., a "real" Star Wars Trilogy) story. Emperor's Hand Mara Jade makes a cameo disguised as Arica, a dancer newly hired by Jabba the Hutt. And a reference is made to events that took place in Steve Perry's novel Shadows of the Empire. Return of the Jedi's strengths and weaknesses are the same as the ones in its predecessors. It adds depth and shading to characters and situations we are already familiar with, and the music by John Williams and sound effects by Ben Burtt give the project the right Star Wars "feel." Fans new to the actors playing roles originated by Hamill, Carrie Fisher, James Earl Jones, Harrison Ford, Frank Oz, and the other major actors may have to be patient with getting used to the substitutes. Also, the radio convention of characters describing what they are seeing and doing may prove annoying to some. However, this is not a common technique, and most of us who have listened to the Trilogy on Radio have enjoyed it. Will there be Radio Dramas of The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones? At present, Lucasfilm has not announced any plans to create any. And on a sad note, Brian Daley died in 1996 just as recording sessions were being finished, and Highbridge Audio and the production crew dedicated the show to his memory.
Rating:
Summary: Jedi a fitting finale for radio drama trilogy
Review: In the wake of the success of radio adaptations of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back in the early 1980s, there was no doubt that Return of the Jedi would be aired on National Public Radio. Both series had increased NPR's audience significantly, and many Star Wars fans waited anxiously for the conclusion of the George Lucas trilogy set "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away" to hit the airwaves. However, the mid- to late 1980s were a "dark time" for public broadcasting as Congress (no doubt guided by the Sith) cut back on funding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (partially because Republicans felt there was too much of a liberal slant in both NPR and its television counterpart, PBS). And even though George Lucas had generously donated the radio rights to KUSC-Los Angeles (his alma mater's radio station) for $1.00, producing even a short Star Wars radio series was expensive, so for over 12 years the Return of the Jedi adaptation lived only in the hopes and dreams of writer Brian Daley, sound engineer Tom Voegeli, and thousands of Star Wars fans. Enter Highbridge Audio. This Minnesota-based company produced the audio cassette and CD releases of both Star Wars radio dramas, and possibly because of good sales they commissioned most of the team behind the Star Wars and Empire serials. Daley was again at the writing helm, even as he bravely fought a battle with cancer. John Madden, a veteran radio and film director, returned to direct. And while Mark Hamill was not available to reprise his role as Luke Skywalker, all of the other cast members from the previous Radio Dramas returned: Ken Hiller as the Narrator, Perry King as Han Solo, Ann Sachs as Leia, Anthony Daniels as C-3PO, Bernard Behrens as Ben Kenobi, John Lithgow as Yoda and Brock Peters as Lord Darth Vader. Rounding out the cast: Joshua Fardon as a passable Luke Skywalker, Ed Begley, Jr. as Boba Fett, Ed Asner (of Lou Grant fame) as Jabba the Hutt, Arye Gross as Lando Calrissian and Paul Hecht as Emperor Palpatine. Of all the Radio Dramas, Return of the Jedi is the shortest: six episodes and a running time of almost three hours. Thus the focus is on the events depicted within the film and very few extra scenes. The opening is different: Jedi begins with Luke completing his lightsaber, followed by a meeting between Darth Vader and the Emperor on Coruscant (the feeling I got was that the two Dark Jedi Masters sensed Luke's Force growth just as he ignites his laser sword on Tatooine). The movie's opening scene (Vader's arrival on the unfinished second Death Star) is moved to mid-series, since most of Episodes 1 and 2 deal with Han's rescue from Jabba's palace. Here, for the first time in Star Wars history, elements from the expanded universe novels are introduced into a "canon" (i.e., a "real" Star Wars Trilogy) story. Emperor's Hand Mara Jade makes a cameo disguised as Arica, a dancer newly hired by Jabba the Hutt. And a reference is made to events that took place in Steve Perry's novel Shadows of the Empire. Return of the Jedi's strengths and weaknesses are the same as the ones in its predecessors. It adds depth and shading to characters and situations we are already familiar with, and the music by John Williams and sound effects by Ben Burtt give the project the right Star Wars "feel." Fans new to the actors playing roles originated by Hamill, Carrie Fisher, James Earl Jones, Harrison Ford, Frank Oz, and the other major actors may have to be patient with getting used to the substitutes. Also, the radio convention of characters describing what they are seeing and doing may prove annoying to some. However, this is not a common technique, and most of us who have listened to the Trilogy on Radio have enjoyed it. Will there be Radio Dramas of The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones? At present, Lucasfilm has not announced any plans to create any. And on a sad note, Brian Daley died in 1996 just as recording sessions were being finished, and Highbridge Audio and the production crew dedicated the show to his memory.
Rating: 
Summary: It is the best book that I have ever read.
Review: It iis amazing all tha places where you can go reading tis book. All the languages and the fiction that is use in there. That space ships are the best. This is the best book I have ever read.
|
