30 Years of ROTJ - Views From The Vault!

May 25th, 1983. It's a day that I will never forget. I was in Florence, Kentucky, close to Cincinnati Ohio, with my dad who was visiting a friend of his. The only thing on my mind that day was the fact that in the evening we would be going to see Return of The Jedi, the finally installment of The Star Wars Trilogy! I could not wait!! I never thought the day would come.

 After spending three years of lead up from The Empire Strikes Back, wondering what happens to Han, and especially wondering if Darth Vader is, in fact, Luke's father, it was finally going to be revealed!

  Like many that were my age, we started reading about ROTJ in November of 1982 with our subscriptions to Bantha Tracks, the official newsletter of The Star Wars Fan Club. This was pre-internet, of course, so we got our info any way we could!
  Here is a picture from my "Star Wars Vault" of the issues that we would cling to, and read over and over again, that informed us on the production of Jedi. These are the chronological issues of the newsletter/magazine from November 1892-November 1983. It gave us all of the information leading up to, and after, the release of the film.....

(Click on all pix to make them much bigger!)

 

I remember getting SO excited when I would get an issue of Bantha Tracks in the mail! It was like Christmas with every quaterly release!

 

  With the "membership kit" to the fan club we were always treated to some really cool swag, the likes of which would usually be a membership card, pencils with Star Wars movie logos, patches, posters, and cool exclusive photos of the cast in character, like these that I have managed to hold on to since 1983.....

 

 

 

So, the day finally came! The glorious day when I would finally get to see the final chapter of my beloved saga. It was both exciting, and bittersweet, at the same time. This was a new chapter, but also the final chapter, we thought, of Star Wars. Excitement with a hint sadness.

 

 That feeling disappeared as I walked into the lobby of the theater and saw this.....

 

 

The Collector's Edition program! I HAD TO have it!

I was able to talk my dad into plunking down the $3.00 to get this program, which honestly wasn't very hard. My dad knew my love of these movies, so he gave me the money with that child-like sparkle in his eye as well.

 

  I sat in the theater and did a quick flip through of the program because I didn't really want any of the story spoiled before I actually got to see it for myself, but I could tell that I was in for a treat!

 

 

 

  To this day I enjoy looking through this magazine! It's filled with interviews, production photos, behind the scenes photos, and production art from Ralph McQuarrie, Joe Johnston, Phil Tippet, and many of the people that I still follow today, as most are still working on movies...even new Star Wars movies!!

 

  The movie was great! It was a nice conclusion to the trilogy. I accepted all of it, and enjoyed all of it...yes, even The Ewoks.

  The Star Wars Trilogy had ended, but it lives on in our hearts. Many of us still carry the memories, and physical merchandise, of our youth in tribute to that wonderful time in our lives.....

 

   I began my journey with Star Wars when I was 8 years old in 1977, when the original Star Wars was released, and followed it until 1983. These were the greatest movies of my adolescent years, and they remain important to me. The saga put happiness into my life, and in a way Luke, Han , Leia, Chewie, R2, and 3PO were my friends. I would would visit them every three years, and look at their photos in the between years. Return of The Jedi closed an important chater of my life, but little did I know there would be many chapters to come, and although the new chapters will never live up to the excitement that I had in the years of "The Trilogy," I still enjoy all that has come, and will come.

  Until next time,
   "May The Force Be With You"