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| The pivotal moment of the STAR WARS SAGA, as Father and Son's destinies collide. The perfect cover for THE MAKING OF RETURN OF THE JEDI - out now from AURUM. Images: LUCASFILM. |
THE
MAKING OF ‘RETURN OF THE JEDI’
By J.W.
Rinzler
Foreword
by Brad Bird
Published
by Aurum Books
Available
from 1st October 2013
Reviewed by Scott Weller
“No one ever said it
would be easy!”
George Lucas
Could there ever have been a film more anticipated worldwide in May
1983 than Return of the Jedi? And now,
in its Thirtieth Anniversary, could there ever have been a book more eagerly
anticipated than it’s Making of, via J.W. Rinzler, with the exhaustive completion
of his superb behind the scenes volumes
linked to the classic STAR WARS TRILOGY: THE MAKING OF RETURN OF THE JEDI?
Taking just as long to write as it was for George Lucas and his
incredible team to bring the final adventure (?) of Luke Skywalker to the
screen back in the day, the author makes huge creative decisions in his
literary world just as important as those made in that past filmic world,
alongside often meticulous detail, of which the end results prove worth the
wait. THE MAKING OF RETURN OF THE JEDI is, once again, another beautifully
printed tome and a great accomplishment for Rinzler-the final signature to his
research works, bringing his smashing and accomplished book trilogy to a rewarding
and still fascinating close, alongside
detailed exploration into the LUCASFILM ARCHIVES as well as making the most of expanded
material and interview quotes from John Philip Peecher’s The Making of Return of the Jedi paperback from 1983, and
previously long-lost STAR WARS FAN CLUB interview tapes recorded during the
films UK making to enhance the project, as well as scores of old reference
materials and new interviews with cast and crew.
▶ The Making of Return of the Jedi by J.W. Rinzler: Book Trailer - YouTube
With JEDI’s now illustrious forebear, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK,
having been the set-up and holding pattern for the spectacular resolution to
come, George Lucas and his team had previously entered their own personal Heart of Darkness beyond the grim
illusions seen by that films end, and had survived to enter the light, but the further
personal and professional challenges posed by the birth and evolution of JEDI
threatened to consume them all anew at varying points.
And as inflation began to soar, resulting in the STAR WARS films costing more and more, with this finale
also notably and considerably having to satisfy millions of expectant fans across the globe, and having to be a huge hit to secure the future of his company, a
pressured George Lucas had to be more
heavily involved with this final film if it was to work, shepherded by the efficient
taskmaster producer and keeper of the budgetary reins, Producer Howard
Kazanjian, taking over duties from the departed Gary Kurtz. And after the
problems of EMPIRE, whose varied troubled production issues had very nearly financially
sunk George Lucas and STAR WARS in general, Rinzler’s book shows us that the
crew were determined not to let a similar situation happen again- that they’d
get the most from the budget and would cut costs where possible (an admirable
if sometimes flawed mindset, with some creative/financial decisions soon coming
back to bite them on the bum during the films later post-production). Even before
the onset of filming there’s early lingering signposts of dread, with another
type of warfare early on affecting the film’s budgeting: after all the problems
between them on the earlier films, there’s still no plain sailing between FOX
and LUCASFILM over the merchandise and sequel rights to JEDI- a scenario
worsened by the loss of Lucas’s friend and supporter of STAR WARS: Alan Ladd, Jr.
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| Happy times at ILM for George Lucas and Richard Marquand. |
The films planned shooting schedule, though not as epic and laborious
as it had often felt on EMPIRE, would also prove a baptism of fire in many
respects: an intense four-month period, with so much to be achieved, involving
a relatively untried new director, Richard Marquand- the only real choice open
to the production team after various States-side Union problems- having to
prove himself as worthy to the project and the STAR WARS universe as the two
previous visionaries that had brought so much to so many. Despite his
enthusiasm and his belief in such a huge project, Rinzler’s book pretty much
concludes that, despite Marquand’s overall direction of JEDI, he really needed
a lot of help in its final shaping from an already beleaguered Lucas, beyond
filming and in all production and editorial matters. (As a side-note, the late
Marquand’s son, James, and wife Carol provide valuable insight into the man and
his work on the film.)
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| Stuart Freeborn with the evolving Jabba the Hutt. |
Bigger and better was what Lucas ultimately wanted JEDI to be, and
he was going to get it by hook or by crook, of which the film soon became
legendary for the enormous undertakings of ILM’s “Creature Shop” and the
physical manifestation of slimy crime-lord Jabba the Hutt- a huge one-time
only responsibility by Stuart Freeborn in London. There’s also the need for
more speed, with effects guru Dennis Muren’s quest to find a practical way of
shooting Lucas’s dreams for the exhilarating Speeder Bike chase through the
woods of Endor. The road to these sequences final shaping – a now lost art with
the emergence of CGI- is paved with interesting anecdotes and technique-shaping.
Alongside this fascinating time capsule of film history, whose Pre and Post Production areas prove the highlights, Rinzler and
his team have the wonderful opportunity to provide gorgeous redone high resolution
scans of classic materials, alongside newly discovered early conceptual art from the likes of
Ralph McQuarrie (his imaginings of underground volcanic lairs, forest moons and two Death Stars as potent as ever) as well as storyboards by Joe Johnston, Dave Carson and others,
plus, further on, four gorgeous pages of unseen concept poster art for the film by Drew
Struzan. Plus some lovely B/W imagery, too-for the most part unpublished: the
author obviously spending a lot of time tying to make sure that the material he
selects hasn’t been used in previous official LUCAS books over the past eight
years, or at least utilizing different takes, with some gorgeous between chapter photo spreads. There’s great written documentation given a highlighting, including,
later in its time-frame, a fun and cheeky hand written letter from a teen
Warwick Davis asking George Lucas for all the latest toys in the new JEDI
range! With such historical wonders seemingly being found with each new major
project, just how much more info is there in that LUCASFILM ARCHIVE waiting to
be found?
There’s also early concept ideas of the at-first-called “Ewaks” and
their co-relations on the forest moon of Endor- their stilted leg sheep-faced cousins, the "Yussem",
as well as early Jabba designs, alongside other creatures and new technology,
courtesy of Ken Ralston, Joe Johnston, Nilo Rodis-Jamero (given his big break as a costume designer on the film by Marquand) and Phil Tippett. Other unseen colour storyboards
show some intriguing action for the Luke/Vader Throne Room duel worked on by UK
artist Ryan Carnon with Marquand-the scenes abandoned because Lucas still stipulated
two-handed lightsaber holding.
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| Darth Vader, as Force-throttling as ever, in this deleted scene from JEDI. |
As the artwork for a new universe of Skywalker adventures continues
apace, Lucas and co. (joined by Larry Kasdan, Howard Kazanjian, and Richard
Marquand) buckle down for some intriguing story meeting discussions, of which
there are some excellent transcripts for early ideas for the film and the
characters being conceived - like Obi and Yoda’s returning to corporeal reality
from the Force netherworld, the evolution of The Emperor, and a Darth Vader
wanting Luke to join him in defeating his master, continuing, but also taking
things in different directions, from the plotline of EMPIRE. It’s here where
you can see how talented and important Larry Kasdan (returning to write the
finale as a favour to Lucas) was to the Classic Trilogy, and how critical his
input will be all over again for the next films, plus how well he worked with
Lucas at that time in 1981/82.
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| Marquand with the finally seen Emperor, now played by Ian McDiarmid. |
Amongst other further intriguing new behind the scenes snippets in
the Pre-Production process: BOND helmer John Glenn being an early candidate as
director, David Suchet auditioning for the Emperor, and Alan Rickman trying for
Moff Jerjerrod. There’s also the reveal of the original actor to play The
Emperor before Ian McDiarmid: the
elderly UK talent Alan Webb, so sinister looking I doubt he needed much make-up,
regrettably giving up the role due to health issues. Webb’s loss was soon
McDiarmid's and our gain!
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| A new lightsaber, ready for action! |
Going into the principal photography starting one long cold January
in 1982, the previously established family feeling of the team is there but
relations are strained- the actors clearly having an obligation to finish the
trilogy but wanting to escape it to ventures new. Harrison Ford, now a bona fide movie star, being a prime example (and showing
later disappointment that his character isn’t given a memorable heroes death!),
whilst Carrie Fisher’s enthusiasm for the film and working with Richard Marquand
wavers constantly.
Overall, the love/hate relationship between certain “Talent” with
Marquand is very much in evidence throughout the book- perhaps because he was a
British rather than American director, who may not have been quite so easily
relatable as Lucas and Kershner had been.
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| Carrie Fisher rides a Speeder Bike at ILM. |
On the other side of the pond, ILM show fractious rivalry, too, as
the company has to handle other projects in the run up to JEDI- bringing in money
needed to keep the company afloat and an effort by Lucas to stop talent from
defecting to other rival effects houses, resulting in the staff all now vying
to do the best for their projects, and all vying for limited equipment- an
irritant situation at times.
With location filming completed in Yuma and the California Redwoods,
the challenges of Post Production intensify for the besieged Lucas when Marquand and editor Sean Barton’s early
“Director’s Cut” fail to catch Lucas and Kazanjian’s enthusiasm, whilst early
but continuing negative thoughts from some cast and crew members concerning the
teddy bear warrior Ewoks quietly linger. Emergency measures see some cut scenes
losses (of which there are some nice photo representations) and the need for extra
shooting (finally, the book gives us documented evidence that the Tatooine cave
scene, where Luke builds his lightsaber, was filmed at ILM, with Mark Hamill
and supervised by Richard Marquand, in December 1982!) which ultimately pay
dividends in the movies final shaping.
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| The Rancor says, "Hi!" |
Meanwhile, a burnt
out ILM, having done five heavy effects films on the trot, work hard to find
their mojo anew in order to make JEDI the often revolutionary effects
extravaganza it would become, with less time than ever before in a round-the-clock
operation, with further frustrations coming from key members of the team who aren’t
allowed to look at a complete’ish version of the script-the producers paranoid,
quite rightly, about leaks and potential damage to the box office, whilst a
distant Lucas, burying himself in work and making hundreds of critical
decisions a day, goes through some sad, painful marital problems with wife
Marcia, who was by that point also working on the film as one of its trusted, key
editors-making a difficult personal situation heart-achingly worse.
Stresses and strains in this marathon journey continue, including
the momentous “Black Friday” event-where hundreds of space battle effects would
be eliminated by Lucas in his revised editing of the movie (why wasn’t any of
this on the Blu-ray!?)- an unintentional but genuine kick in the teeth to the
effects crew, necessitating further shooting in time they just didn’t have but
ultimately find.
Thankfully, despite the trials and tribulations, the angst and
personal heartache of getting this third movie done, there is hope at the end of
the tunnel (as well as being an important closing testament to the book) with the
eventual satisfaction by the STAR WARS team in having created something so
revolutionary and enduringly that it would resonate as an audience favourite,
and a box office success, for years to come…
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| Image: via Prop Store website. |
As I close the book's last few pages, a few critical niggles, also
inherent with the previous Making of's, remain- certain side areas of the production
lack deserved coverage, rare colour scene paintings from Joe Johnston and
Michael Pangrazio are used far too small, as are a few other
conceptual/storyboard pieces, and I miss some of the mass photo spread collages that
were present in THE MAKING OF EMPIRE- but these aren’t dwelled on for too long-
not with so much of the book being so successful and absorbing to the eyes and
the mind…
THE MAKING OF STAR WARS may still have the overall edge over its
successors due to the huge amount of unpublished interview material –a genuine
goldmine of exploration, but this last hurrah from Rinzler squarely lives up to
his past works in charting the many ups, subsequent downs, and up agains in the
making of such an important film in pop culture- a critical one concluding the
overall classic STAR WARS Trilogy. A film which, even more importantly and with
the passing of time, not only sets things up anew for legacies past but also
legacies future.
A future beginning again this January 2014…
Mister Rinzler, myself and STAR WARS fans around the world respect
and thank you for your efforts in charting these beloved fantasy films made
cinematic reality. Now go and enjoy some well-deserved long weekends off!
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| Our favourite trio have fun in this out-take posed image - circa May 1982. |
AFICIONADO
RATING: Featuring an affectionate foreword by top director Brad Bird, master of
such animatic delights as THE INCREDIBLES and memorable adventure alongside
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, stylishly articulating his love of the Classic STAR WARS
TRILOGY- his memories of first seeing the films (attending JEDI’s cast and crew
screening no less!), and why that original opus will always endure in our
hearts, THE MAKING OF RETURN OF THE JEDI takes us back to that seminal part of our
childhood, helping us relive the dedicated work that went into bringing us the power
of the Force, and a young man’s courageous and incredible facing of his
ultimate destiny (not just Luke Skywalker but his real-life alter-ego in George Lucas, too!), all over again… 8.5 out of 10
With thanks to AURUM PRESS for all their help in the review of this book.
