Qualms with Return of the Jedi

My only problem with the movie was the Jabba's Palace sequence.

I think George Lucas lost his mind with that one. I mean what it that blue masrshmellow creature supposed to be? What about the pink thing with the round head? Or the tall cat creature? The thing that looks like it's wearing a Tony the tiger mask. What about the rat creature that sits by Jabba? What is his purpose? Couldn't they have come up with a better creature than the Gomoerean(spl?) guards. I think Jabba himself could have been better. Oh yeah, and what about the scene outside of the palace where the frog creature eats the small vermin? It's like it ceased to be Star Wars and became Muppets in Space. There's so much wrong with the that one scene that you could write a college thesis on it.

Aside from that it really is a good movie. It's funny how I don't bat an eye at the ewoks but I go all to pieces over Jabba's palace.

I guess my opinion may change once they release it on DVD. VHS has been known to disfigure things.

 

"It's funny how I don't bat an eye at the ewoks but I go all to pieces over Jabba's palace."

That is funny. But not in a "ha-ha" way. More of a way. Most people I know have the reverse opinion. I really like the Jabba's Palace sequence. I don't have a problem with the Ewoks either.

 

As with the slapstick antics of Jar-Jar Binks, the slapstick Jabba's Palace scenes I find to be out of place in the Star Wars movies. ROTJ, I find to be too much of a schizoid movie (going from serious to slap stick and back again) for me to enjoy it properly. It's one of the main things that ruins the film for me.

 

lol, im afraid it will be exactly the same on DVD! it is a bit 'muppetty' i suppose. still it could be worse.... jar jar could have jumped out from behind jabba shouting EXQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZZE ME, WASSA GOIN ON IN A HERE? .... oh dear..... that could be on the DVD version....

 

Wow, robbie_wan_kenobi, they should use your voice overs for the AE.

 

cheers......

 

I love you.
Because I'm not much of a fan of the Tatooine sequence either. Even the music is too weird for me and I rarely listen to it.

Maybe because it's ugly

 

While the muppets themselves may be a bit over the top, it is an important scene to illustrate the amount that Luke has grown in the Force (not to mention getting ole Han outta that block of carbonite)

I actually enjoyed the pre-Special Edition version of Jabba's Palace, and I remember it fondly from when I saw it in the theater for the first time in 1983 and I was 10. (I also remember the metal bikini fondly as well, but that is another story!) Granted, Max Rebo and the boys might have been a bit over the top, the rest of the aliens themselves are pretty cool, and give you a feel of how varied and chaotic Jabba's Court really is.

If you ever get a chance, read the book "Tales from Jabba's Palace" it might give you a new perspective on the scenes...

Indy

 

I don't like the muppets either, far too Jim-Henson-ish.

I don't really like the ewoks either (I'd prefer it if they were wookies), but Jabba's Palace bugs me more

 

I don't like Luke very much, so his "greatness" can be spared. Also, he comes in very late, so most of the time isn't spent with Luke anyway. And all that business just to get Han out of carbonite is too long. The plan is nice (albeit weird) but it's executed too slowly. In ANH we start with a battle, then with the trip of the Droids, Luke gives us a sightseeing tour of Tatooine, off they go to Mos Eisley and then to the Death Star where they're chased around before they escape.
In ESB they get thrown out of Hoth during a big battle, split up, the Falcon gets chased and plays hide and seek with Imperials. Luke's visit on Dagobah is a bit slow, but it teaches a lot to Luke. The Falcon-crew ends up on Bespin, have 5 minutes of calm screentime and then face the Dark Lord of the Sith and run away from him and his minions. Meanwhile Luke arrives, walks into a trap, duels with Vader and loses his hand (yay, more injuries for the Skywalker-brat!).
And then there is the Jabba's Palace sequence. They spend half an hour in that dark sleep-inducing (for the characters, not the viewer, but close) Palace talking and talking, before Luke fights against the still-ugly matte lines of the Rancor, 2 minutes after he arrived. Only to be captured, but at least that gets us out of this horrible Palace. Only then they get things done and off the planet, to do more important things - like sealing the fate of the galaxy.
I don't really dislike RotJ. I just forgot what exactly was cool in the Jabba's Palace scenes. I once knew it.

Ewoks and Puppets are both fine for me.


Oh, and after reading Tales from Jabba's Palace, the scenes are even more boring, because I know everything that happened off-screen. Blind Han, Chained Leia, Special Agent Calrissian (*bump*) and Smartass Luke pale in comparison. Well, not really, because the book is only interesting and quite similar to the quiet ongoings on-screen. But we need The Battle of Endor to make up for a "journey" that took place in one dark, dusty location.


at least it spawned a few nice CCG-cards

 

There's nothing wrong with any of the Jabba's Palace scenes.

 

Yes, Leia's bikini was one of the BIG pluses in ROTJ!

 

I knew Bib would post that. I had almost the exact wording in my head.


Naked skin of a mere Skywalker is nothing in comparison with the dialogue of a Dark Lord of the Sith.

 

I'm in total agreement with Indigo Jade. Jabba's Palace was great (although, I have not yet read "Tales from Jabba's Palace". Yes, I do think that some of the costumes were a bit corny, but no more than in ANH.

I think it all comes down to what you think Star Wars is primarily about (special effects, or the telling of a classic epic of good and evil). If you only care about special effects, then you may want to ignore Star Wars all together and go straight to the newer sci-fi movies. For you will never truly enjoy Star Wars because you "JUST DON'T GET IT".

 

You know, there was a time when the creature designers were praised for their creativity and comparing them to 'muppets' wasn't derogatory.


As time passes, younger generations spit on what was once considered great.


Teenagers mock the music their parents listen to, oblivious to the fact that as they get older, they're going to be the ones who's music taste is going to be laughed at by future generations.


The creatures that exist in the 'Star Wars'universe are supposed to look the way that they look.


I suppose the fans that want CGI to replace the creatures in Jabba's palace would be happier if ROTJ looked less like "muppets" and more like a Hanna-Barbera cartoon.

 

Yes, Leia's bikini was one of the BIG pluses in ROTJ!

Ehm, Leia's bikini contained two plusses in RotJ


Nothing wrong with Jabba's palace.

1: The RotJ Jabba is still the best. I even saw his irisses (spl?) widen and narrow!
2: EV-9D9 rocks!
3: Bib is one hell of an example of good make-up
4: Oh no! The Rancor!!!
5: Salacious Crumb is a really cool side-kick
6: Oola (oolalaaa...)
7: Han defrosting
8: Boushh! (I don't mean George)

Iow: coolness!

Now, the Ewoks, that's a completely other story. That's slapstick. That's muppets gallore.

 

There's nothing wrong with any of the Jabba's Palace scenes.

Amen. Don't like it? Don't watch it.

 

"Don't watch it"

Impossible. I can't watch half a movie. Especially Star Wars. They have to be watched in all their glory, even if some things aren't as glorious as others. But you'll never know when you could use your next RotJ-quote and it's always good to refresh your memory.

 

O yeah, more coolness about the Jabba scenes: the languages! In ANH it's all English (sorry, Basic), except for the Jawas. In ESB too, but in RotJ there's Huttese, Boushh-tongue (sorry, forget the species' name. Bib, help me out here!!!), Sullustan. And Ewokian, I'll give you that.

 

There is nothing anyone can say that will convince me that the Jabba's palace sequence is nothing more than a crude and incomplete vision that came out terribly mangled on film.

Those who would rather watch crude puppets over what it was originally meant to be are either hoplessly sentimental or blind.

George and the boys admit that the OT spfx are crude, why can't you? I'm not saying the whole OT is bad but scenes like that are just inexcuseable.

A little off topic here, but the OT wouldn't be possible without the PT. Now don't tell me that the OT made Lucas and gave him the opportunity to complete a PT, because that's not what I'm thinking, even if that is true. I think the OT should be fine-tuned to mesh with the PT. Scenes like the one in Jabba's palace prevent that meshing.

 

Come on, we're talking 1983 here! I'd like to see your comments on AotC and TPM twenty years from now.

As it happens, I watched RotJ yesterday with my girl (whose totally not into SW, she thinks Jar-Jar is a stupid long-eared rabbit. She's right, though). I asked her what she thought of the movie. She said: "I can imagine it was quite spectacular back then." Compared to the sfx nowadays (and let's face it, the sfx are the issue in this discussion), the Jabba scenes look dated. But that doesn't make it lame or something!

Off topic: the RotJ space battle still knocks me off my socks, even if the TIE swarms come out of nothing!

 

IncomT65: As Leia's bra was made out of metal, maybe it could be called a "booby trap"!

 

Booby traps! That's !

Imagine Ackbar walking into Jabba's throne room: "It's a trap!"

 

Change the music, get rid of blue marshmellow man, get rid of pink cotton swab man, get rid of the tall cat creature, and change the leade singer and it may be permissable.

Those pig-men are barely passable.

 

Oh, by the way, what is that big spider-like thing that moves across the floor as 3PO and R2-D2 are entering Jabba's palace. That's another thing that has bugged me.