Luke Skywalker’s returned to Tatooine to rescue Han Solo from gangster, Jabba the Hutt. The Empire’s begun construction on a new armoured space station, more powerful than the first.
An imperial commander reaffirms to Darth Vader that his men are working flat out, asking for more men. Vader mentions the Emperor’s upset with the lack of progress. The commander promises to redouble his efforts.
Droids C3PO and R2D2 are on Tatooine. 3PO knocks on a massive metal door. A metal eye on a stalk jumps out, speaking Huttese. 3PO asks about an audience with Jabba. The door lifts and R2 whistles, rolling in with 3PO.
The droids are led into Jabba’s main audience chamber. A holographic Luke wants to bargain for Solo’s life. Luke presents the two droids as a gift. But, Jabba won’t surrender his favourite decoration, gesturing to Han Solo frozen in carbonite.
Speaking Ubese, Boushh says he’s come for the bounty on Chewbacca. Jabba will pay 25,000. Boushh wants 50,000, producing a thermal detonator. Jabba laughs, saying Boushh is his kind of scum: fearless and inventive. Boushh accepts 35,000.
Boushh frees Han from the carbonite. He says Han has hibernation sickness and that his eyesight will return. Underneath the helmet is Princess Leia Organa. Jabba starts laughing. Jabba wants Leia brought to him. Han’s thrown into the same cell as Chewie.
Using the Force, Luke overpowers two Gamorrean guards. Then, Luke attempts an attack on Jabba, but drops through the floor. In the Rancor monster’s pit, Luke throws a skull at the door mechanism. The door crushes the Rancor with a crunch.
Jabba says Luke, Han and Chewie will be taken to the Dune Sea and fed to the Sarlacc. In the Sarlacc’s belly, they’ll find a new definition of suffering as they’re digested over 1,000 years.
On Jabba’s sail barge, R2 carries drinks on his head. In front of the Sarlacc, Luke says it’s Jabba’s last chance. Luke somersaults and catches a lightsabre from R2.
Luke frees Chewie. Leia chokes Jabba to death with the chain and points a gun at the deck. 3PO and R2 leave the barge. Both droids are collected with magnets, the main barge explodes and the group flies away.
Vader tells Emperor Palpatine the Death Star will be completed on time. The Emperor says when Luke finds Vader, Vader should bring Luke before him.
In the Dagobah system, Yoda tells Luke sick has Yoda become. When nine hundred years old Luke reaches, look as good Luke will not. Luke says he’s returned to complete his training.
Yoda says the final part of Luke’s training is to confront Vader, mentioning that there’s another Skywalker. Then, Yoda vanishes. Obi-Wan Kenobi’s voice says Yoda will always be with Luke. Luke’s father, Anakin Skywalker, was seduced by evil and became Darth Vader.
Obi-Wan says Leia’s Luke’s twin sister. The Emperor knew Anakin’s offspring would be a threat to him, so Leia remained anonymous. Luke should bury his feelings, they could be made to serve the Emperor.
Alliance commanding officer, Mon Mothma, says they know the Emperor’s new battle station orbits the forest moon of Endor. The fledgling Death Star is protected by an energy shield generated from there. Once deactivated, Alliance cruisers will create a perimeter while the fighters knock out the main reactor.
The Alliance has stolen a small imperial shuttle. A strike team will land on Endor and deactivate the shield generator. General Han Solo soon has such a team assembled. Han suggests General Lando Calrissian borrow his Millennium Falcon.
Han radios to say it’s Shuttle Tydirium requesting deactivation of the deflector shield. Luke senses Vader’s on the imperial ship. Han gives the clearance code.
In the forest, a stormtrooper mounts a speeder bike and leaves. Leia spots more escaping and jumps on a bike herself. Luke jumps on the back of Leia’s bike.
Racing through and under trees, Leia gets alongside a stormtrooper, which Luke throws into a tree. They both chase the remaining stormtrooper.
Two other stormtroopers on bikes start firing at Luke and Leia. Luke brakes heavily and one hits a tree. Leia goes alongside another stormtrooper, but is herself toppled.
Luke’s riding beside another stormtrooper. The fronts of the bikes get tangled and Luke jumps. He deflects laser blasts with his lightsabre, then slices the stormtrooper’s bike.
An ewok cautiously approaches Princess Leia and prods her, speaking Ewokese. Soon, Leia offers Wicket food. He takes this and sniffs at it.
Chewie finds hanging meat. It’s a trap. A net snatches the group into the air. R2 cuts them free. They land on the floor and hostile ewoks appear. They see 3PO, prompting Ewokese muttering. They bow and chant, believing 3PO to be a god.
At the ewoks’ treetop village, the group’s to be the main course at a banquet in 3PO’s honour. Luke makes 3PO float in his chair, startling even 3PO himself. The threatened ewoks panic and the group is freed.
That night, 3PO’s regaling the whole village with interstellar adventures, embellished with sound effects of Vader breathing, spaceships flying and lightsabres clashing. 3PO discovers the group’s become accepted as part of the tribe.
Luke tells Leia Vader’s come for Luke. Luke must face Vader, Luke’s father. Luke says he and Leia are brother and sister. Luke must confront Vader because he can save him and return him to the good side.
Vader says the Emperor’s been expecting Luke. Luke’s accepted that Vader was once Anakin Skywalker, Luke’s father. Vader says that name means nothing.
Luke refuses to turn, so Vader will be forced to kill him. Luke feels Vader’s inner conflict. Vader says the Emperor will show Luke the true nature of the Force.
The Millennium Falcon is flanked with X-wing fighters. Admiral Akbar tells all groups to assume attack coordinates. All craft prepare to jump into hyperspace, then vanish.
Wicket mounts a waiting speeder bike and rides away. Three stormtroopers follow him. Wicket grabs a vine and swings clear of the speeder.
The Emperor’s waiting for Luke by a big, round window looking out to space. Luke’s cuffs fall open. The Emperor says eventually, Luke will call him Master.
Luke says the Emperor’s overconfidence is his weakness. The Emperor says Luke’s faith in his friends is his, adding that they’re walking into a trap.
An All Terrain Scout Transport, or ATST, and dozens of imperial troops, holds Han and the group at gunpoint. Then, hundreds of ewoks appear with war cries and overrun the stormtroopers.
The stormtroopers scatter. Ewoks attack them using primitive methods. Two groups of ewoks have a rope across the path of an ATST. This walks through and pulls the ewoks along the floor.
The Emperor tells Luke to witness the firepower of the fully-armed and surprisingly-operational battle station. Several lasers are triggered, gathering to a point, and together destroying an Alliance ship.
Lando engages the Stardestroyers at point-blank range. Akbar says they won’t last long. Lando says they’ll last longer than they will against the Death Star, and they might take a few of the Galactic Empire with them.
Chewie gains entry to an ATST, lifting a soldier out bodily by his helmet. He destroys another ATST and the ewoks rejoice. Two logs swing down toward each other and crush the ATST in between. A pile of logs is made to roll downhill. This ATST falters, wobbles, then crashes to the floor.
Luke’s duelling with Vader. Luke should let the hate flow. Luke stops fighting and somersaults onto a raised gantry. Vader throws his lightsabre and Luke tumbles to the floor.
Vader threatens to turn Leia instead. Luke shouts “never” and fights with renewed vigour chopping off Vader’s right hand. The Emperor laughs, saying Luke’s hate makes him powerful. Luke considers his own robotic hand and discards his lightsabre.
Han destroys the shield bunker. Akbar says commence attack on the Death Star’s main reactor. Lando says they’re on their way. All fighters should follow him.
Electricity from the Emperor’s fingertips knocks Luke painfully to the floor. Writhing in agony, Luke cries out to his father. Vader finally dumps the vicious Emperor into a deep shaft where he explodes.
An Alliance pilot crashes yelling through the window of a Stardestroyer. There’s cheering and applause in Akbar’s control room. The Stardestroyer comes crashing into the Death Star.
Vader wants to look on Luke with his own eyes. Anakin’s skin’s pale with scarring and lacerations. Luke must save him. Anakin says Luke already has.
Lando tells Wedge should aim for the power regulator on the north tower. The centre of the power regulator explodes, triggering further explosions. Lando and Wedge fly out just ahead of the resulting flames.
Luke lights a funeral pyre for Anakin Skywalker as the black Darth Vader costume incinerates. There are extensive Alliance celebrations in Endor, Bespin, Tatooine and Coruscant.
There’s Ewokese singing. Everybody’s rejoicing. 3PO dances with an ewok, as does R2. Luke sees the spirits of Obi-Wan and Yoda then joined by Anakin.
Starring Mark Hamill. Harrison Ford. Carrie Fisher. Rated U. Dir Richard Marquand. Released in the UK 1983. Runtime 2hrs 11mins
