CT Which climatic scene do you prefer?

For me, it would either be Luke vs. Vader at the end of TESB or Luke's struggle to deal with Palpatine's temptations and to redeem his father at the end of ROTJ.



One thing I like about the latter is how Palpatine feels confident that he could turn Luke, and yet he seems quite annoyed with him. I've always liked the little exchange during which Luke pointed out that overconfidence was Sidious' weakness, but the Emperor turns back and claims that Luke's faith in his friends and allies is his. You don't see things like that in movies much anymore.

 

Luke vs. Vader in ROTJ. Has an epic yet intimate quality that is pretty unique to Star Wars for me (probably only ROTS captures the same precise feeling). The other two are great as well, but in different ways. The Battle of Yavin is fun and super effective, but can't quite transcend its 70s sci-fi nature (nor does it need to). Luke vs. Vader in ESB for me is mostly about how the action moves through and plays off the environment.

 

Yavin was fun, exciting, and visually stunning in its day. But it was a bit impersonal, with no communication between adversaries.

ESB's revelation was one of the all-time greatest plot twists. Absolutely stunning.

RotJ built on everything that had come before and got even more personal than ESB. What it lacked in ESB's shock value, it more than made up in intensity.

 

I didn't realise the weather featured so prominently.

 

All three are great, but had to choose the ROTJ option... that is not just the climactic scene of that movie, but really for the trilogy as a whole (or even the Saga up to that point).

 

I like the Luke/Vader/Palpatine stuff in the climax of Endor, but aside from some of the ship combat in the battle, the rest isn't so captivating to me. Yavin feels much more tense throughout, partly due to the more static panning shots in the trench run, and lack of music. Makes it feel much more constrained and claustrophobic. The duel in ESB is good too for sure, though it's never really topped my lists. Maybe it's the slight tonal dissonance of 3PO and R2 being intercut with all the other high emotional stakes, much as they provide a necessary counter of lightheartedness.

 

Emotionally, each new climax is better than the previous one, because the stakes are more and more personal.
However, all three climaxes are absolutely brilliant. From the tense and clear editing of the Yavin battle, to the incredible abstract visuals of Luke vs. Vader on Bespin, to the darkness of the final confrontation on the Death Star (the green and red sabers shining brightly in that awesome expressionistic dolly shot, with the phantom choir, during Luke's final assault...).... they're all just GREAT!

 

Hoth, because the intense cold ensures that everyone is properly and decorously dressed in many layers of clothing.

Oh wait, did you mean climactic scene?

 

All three are great but I’m going with ROTJ. The dialogue is magnificent, and better than any duel. There’s emotion and high stakes. Palpatine at his manipulative best. Luke grappling with the light and dark sides, and Vader deciding to either kill his son or overthrow his master. One of the quintessential Star Wars moments for me.

 

The end of Empire. The mix of the music, Leia's sadness, them both looking out into the void and the uncertainty of it all. Not a happy ending, but a great ending.

 

I'm with you too.

My second favorite of the bunch is TESB's climactic scene.

 

One thing we can appreciate is that Mark Hamill summoned the appropriate shock moments before the scene was filmed. After all, they didn't tell anyone but him or James Earl Jones that Vader was Luke's father. The script falsely had Vader saying that Obi-Wan killed his father. I remember Irvin Kershner and Jones describing it on the 2004 DVD, and Jones did not believe it. But I can't get over how Kershner actually did an impersonation of Vader on the commentary: "You are my son. I am your father! You will do as I say." If you haven't heard that, you should check it out.

 

It was a tough choice between the battle in ESB and the one in ROTJ, but I had to go with the one in Jedi. For me, it had much more emotional weight with Luke trying to turn his father back to the light side while Luke was fighting to resist the pull of the dark side. And then when Anakin destroyed Palpatine to save his son, that was definely my favorite moment in all of Star Wars.

 

I'm gonna go with Empire. The choreography, the environment, the shots are all so good. If ROTJ's duel was edited better, I would go for that, but ESB also wins because I find Leia/Lando's attempt to rescue Han intercut with the duel to be more interesting than the Ewok battle that intercuts with ROTJ's duel.

 

For me it would have to be Return of the Jedi as thats the one i saw in theatres , ill never forget the electricity in the theatre when Vader rose and threw Palpatine down the shaft ive never seen or felt that energy again from a crowd.

 

All 3 are great and I refuse to choose.

 

For me it’s Luke vs Vader in TESB.

The movie builds up seamlessly, gradually to it. The entire atmosphere and sequences on Bespin, including the music. So otherworldly.
The duel is fantastic, Vader toying with Luke. The reveal. Luke choosing to jump rather than join forces with evil. All of it is perfect!

 

i voted Empire, but they are all great. the ROTJ scenes take are intercut so much more over what, half an hour?

 

Ive gone with Yavin. The sequence is still incredible. I remember watching the special edition in the cinema in 1997 and was blown away seeing it on the big screen...

Stay on the leader

The force is strong with this one

I have you now

You just wondered who would survive. Great battle

 

I'd go with the end of TESB or ROTJ. I don't like a lot of what Vader does, but he's so complex.

I get the Yavin appeal. It's incredible that Luke was able to pull that off. It's definitely a battle with a lot of tension, but they managed to win in the end despite all the odds being stacked against them.

 

Return of the Jedi throne room ending still to this day an amazing piece of acting and music , great ending to the saga for me.

 

John Williams music makes it. Especially when Luke turns off his targeting computer and the music tone changes.

Simply genius.

 

I just love this climatic scene due to the acting and the redemption. As I've said before, I was thrilled to see it as a kid. It's nice that Vader is so concerned for Luke in spite of just losing a duel to him. I don't Vader was that concerned about losing his hand because those robotic appendages are not his limbs. He had had them replaced multiple times after fights prior to this. I've always interpreted Vader as using the Force to push Palpatine down after he threw him. I think Palpatine was so shocked and enraged that that's one reason he didn't just levitate back up. He was angrier than he had ever been, and he lost his mind and probably control of his lightning. I like the way that Sebastian Shaw and Mark Hamill handled the scene afterward. You can see that Anakin regrets much of what he did in his life, but he's glad that he saved his son. Luke is grateful but fearful of his father dying.

 

End of ESB for the visuals. Just so beautifully shot.