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Yeah, I think by this point, Lucas had probably been burned out by the whole experience and wanted to wrap it up. IIRC, he got somebody else to direct it because he just didn't want to direct by this point. I'm sure he felt a bit revitalized when he started the prequels but when he eventually sold the whole thing to Disney it was clear he wanted out.
shareI agree that ‘some’ of the effects used in ROTJ (particularly the Han and Lando conversation on the sail barge like you mentioned) look shoddy and cheap compared to today’s standards but come on, of course they do - ROTJ is 36 years old! It’s very easy for us to sit here on the fence and criticise after all these years. I bet the effects in ROTJ were cutting edge back in 1983 and that they fully deserved their Academy Award nomination at the time. In contrast some of the effects in Jedi still look great today.
I’m glad Lucas handed over the directing duties to someone else for both Empire and Jedi, it was a good decision.
What's the matter? You don't like the towering Redwoods of Northern California as the forest moon of Endor?
shareSeeing as I lived 15 minutes away from a northern California redwood forest in 1983, I was pretty disappointed with Endor. I wanted to see something that looked like another planet, not my neighborhood park!
And that's just the disappointment with the location, of course the film had plenty of others
Well, Empire strikes back is often considered as the best Star Wars, and I totally agree with the general opinion about this. So, ESB really set the bar high.
This being said, I am an absolute lifelong fan of the original trilogy and I never had any real issues with Return of the Jedi, except maybe that it kinda introduced this kids friendly mood in the Star Wars universe with the ewoks. However, I like the plot and it was a satisfying ending to the trilogy. Plus, it was still kinda dark so, no, I always loved RotJ and still do.
By the way, I don't want to be rude, George Lucas didn't direct meither ESB or RotJ.
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Both your's and mrbobbyh's post made it sound like you both thought Lucas directed Empire Strikes Back. Also I love Return of the Jedi and disagree with you completely that it sucks.
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Okay. I know he was heavilly involved in making them but knew he didn't direct Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.
shareROTJ was much better than ESB. Cloud City was terrible, Dagobah was boring. Endor was far better. Plus you have the incredible space battle in this one. ESB just felt like filler to me. The only memorable parts of ESB were the Hoth battle and the asteroid chase.
shareForest planet should be filmed ... in some other forest now? Get a grip on reality.
The effects in the space battle alone trump anything in ESB.
Both great films for different reasons. Both sht all over the disney mess.