Return Of The Jedi (Star Wars (Penguin Audio)) Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
Like its predecessors, this electrifying drama boasts a splendid cast (including Anthony Daniels as See-Threepio and Ed Asner as Jabba the Hutt), a greatly expanded script, with many scenes and characters not found in the movie, and audio engineering of unparalleled excellence.
Series: Star Wars (Penguin Audio)
Audio CD
Publisher: Highbridge Audio; Unabridged,Original radio broadcast; 3.25 hours on 3 CDs edition (November 1, 1996)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1565111583
ISBN-13: 978-1565111585
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1.4 x 5.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (71 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #1,717,398 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #72 in Books > Books on CD > Cooking, Food & Wine #94 in Books > Teens > Hobbies & Games > Cooking #334 in Books > Books on CD > Radio Shows
Age Range: 12 and up
Grade Level: 7 and up
When NPR's audio adaptation of the first Star Wars film hit the airwaves two decades ago, it was as big a landmark in the history of the Star Wars "universe" as any of the subsequent movies. By stripping the story down to the essentials of character, it proved that the appeal of Star Wars is not merely visual flash, but something more enduring, characters you care about, villains you love to hate and (that oldest of rivalries) good against evil. The writing was excellent and the cast equally good, including as it did Mark Hamill and Anthony Daniels as Luke and C3P0 respectively. When NPR produced a radio version of The Empire Strikes Back a few years later, Billy Dee Williams came on board to recreate the role of Lando Calrissian and the producers' winning streak continued.It would be over a decade before the production team got the chance to complete the trilogy with Return of the Jedi. Sadly, just as Return of the Jedi was the weakest of the original movie trilogy, it is also the weakest of the three radio versions. That is not to say it isn't enjoyable, because it is. Rather it can't quite match the exceptional standards set by the previous two series.Part of the problem is the casting. Although Anthony Daniels returned to play C3PO, Mark Hamill does not reprise the role of Luke Skywalker. Unfortunately the actor who took the role, Joshua Fardon, does not convey the increased maturity of the character in this part of the story. Fardon's performance has a quality of over-eagerness that seems more suited to the naive farmboy that Luke was when we first encountered him rather than the fully trained Jedi-to-be he is here. Good as the other performances are, especially Brock Peters as Darth Vader and Ann Sachs as Leia, this misguided interpretation of Luke leaves a large hole in the story.Part of that hole can also be attributed to the writing. Like the previous adapatations, Return of the Jedi was scripted by the late Brian Daley. Daley did a good job of translating what was perhaps the most visual of the three original Star Wars films into the audio medium, but he doesn't open up the story the way the previous two series did. Whereas the radio versions of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back took the time to show us more about the characters, Return of the Jedi is, for the most part, just what we saw on the movie screen with a handful of extra scenes thrown into the mix.Those criticisms aside, anyone who is a fan of radio drama in general or Star Wars specifically will enjoy these programs. In the final analysis the producers understood the ways in which sound alone can fire the imagination. Using that knowledge, they have crafted yet another fine way to enjoy the magical world that George Lucas has given us.
After having read Star Wars: Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back, I thought Star Wars: Episode 6: Return of the Jedi would also have been written for children. That was not the case at all. It is sophisticated enough in style and substance to satisfy an adult audience.Kudos to James Kahn for writing a book from a movie that was not just a copy of the script. Kahn adds to the books things we don't see in the movie. Han, especially, has much more depth. Jerjerrod piqued my interest here and I hope to see him in the Expanded Universe. Darth Vader and the Emperor have their own motivations for wanting to recruit Luke and their own plans for what to do with him. There was a lot of emotion in the climactic battle between them, and Vader's death was very moving."Return of the Jedi" does read more like an Expanded Universe novel than Empire did. It may be a little too difficult for younger children to read, but older children and adults will enjoy it. I did.
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.
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