Return of the Jedi stands for two meanings

[Whitestar]

Last night, I finished watching Return of the Jedi: The Special Edition and while its a good Star Wars movie, it wasn't as appealing as its original version. I hated all the CGI extra footage, it made it the movie looked incoherent and distracting. Ditto for A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back special editions. After seeing RotJ, I began to wonder what exactly did the title signify. and realized that the meaning of the title meant two things: one, the return of Luke Skywalker, and two, the return/reemergence of Anakin Skywalker. Its funny after seeing it so many times, I never realized the latter. Interesting, huh?

Whitestar

 

[Brian G Turner]

I always tended to take it as simply meaning "Return of the Jedi" - ie, the Jedi banished from the galaxy, but now returning as a balancing force under Luke Skywalker, who at present *is* the Jedi.

It's also worth noting that the original title was "Revenge of the Jedi", and I remember seeing the early merchandising with that, which points very much to Luke Skywalker again, rather than the redemption of Anakin.

2c.

 

[Whitestar]

I always tended to take it as simply meaning "Return of the Jedi" - ie, the Jedi banished from the galaxy, but now returning as a balancing force under Luke Skywalker, who at present *is* the Jedi.

It's also worth noting that the original title was "Revenge of the Jedi", and I remember seeing the early merchandising with that, which points very much to Luke Skywalker again, rather than the redemption of Anakin.

2c.

Quite true! I recalled looking at a coming-soon poster and it said, "Revenge of the Jedi", but prior to its release, it was quickly changed. One thing is certain, all of those merchandise with the Revenge of the Jedi label are quite valuable today.

Whitestar

 

[TK-421]

Yes, the stated reason is that a Jedi would never take revenge. But just goes to show that the changed title "Return of the Jedi" works on a couple of levels.

I quite like the Special Editions. Works well in my opinion. Especially the Jaba scene in A New Hope.

 

[steve12553]

I also understood that the threat of the "Revenge" title caused the second Star Trek movie to be changed from the "Vengence of Khan" to the "Wrath of Khan". I always thought Vengence would have been better.