May The 4th Celebrates The 40th Anniversary Of The Best ‘Star Wars’ Movie Ever Made

It’s May The 4th, also known as Star Wars Day and it’s kind of an important one. 40 years ago this May, the very best Star Wars movie ever made came to movie theaters.

I know, many of you will say “Wait, no, The Empire Strikes Back came out in 1980, so the 40th anniversary of the best Star Wars movie ever made was actually in 2020.”

Here’s the thing: I can’t pick between that film and Return Of The Jedi so I rank them as a tie for best Star Wars movie ever made. I love them both equally, and nothing across the rest of the Lucasfilm franchise even comes close.

Well, A New Hope and Andor come close, but that’s about it.

Is it fair that I rank The Empire Strikes Back and The Return Of The Jedi both the same? Are we allowed to do that? Can two movies be the best Star Wars movies ever made?

Well nobody’s stopping me. I don’t think there’s some hard-and-fast rule about it. But I suppose I should explain.

What I love about The Empire Strikes Back is how it deepened the rather more shallow original film’s story and lore. It was still a fun adventure, but it was much darker than the first movie. We learned that Luke—who is nearly killed by a snow monster in the opening act of the film—is actually the son of the villain, Darth Vader. Han Solo’s friend, Lando Calrissian, betrays him to Vader, who in turn sends him frozen in carbonite to the mysterious Jabba the Hutt. By the end of the movie, Luke is rescued but his hand has been lopped off and their friend has been captured.

It’s a defeat, but it leaves room for a third act. Everything about Empire is just about perfect. We get three distinct locations: the ice planet, Hoth, where a truly epic battle between the rebels and the Imperial forces takes place; Dagobah, where a young Luke first meets Master Yoda and begins to learn the Force in earnest; and the Cloud City where the final confrontation takes place. (We also get the asteroid space worm, which blew me away as a kid). One thing both this film and Return of the Jedi do better than pretty much any of the rest of the Star Wars movies is give us these great places to explore for an extended length of time, rather than just rushing from one location to the next.

Return Of The Jedi actually follows a very similar structure. The opening act returns to Tatooine, but this time we’re at Jabba’s palace and aboard his convoy. The second act takes place, once again, on Dagobah, with a now-dying Yoda. The third and final act brings us to the moon of Endor and the Death Star, and to the moments that make this film as good as Empire.

I love four things about the final act of RotJ:

• I love Endor itself and the Ewoks. I know a lot of people aren’t Ewok fans, but I was born two years before this movie came out, so by the time I was watching it I was just a little kid and Ewoks were awesome and funny and surprisingly brave. I love how they join forces with our heroes—even elevating C-3PO to god status—and how these scrappy little guys help take down the far superior Imperial army.
• I love the speed bikes that Luke and Leia ride through the forest of Endor. Honestly, as a kid this was one of the coolest things I’d ever seen. I really wanted to ride one someday, though the way they just barrel straight toward those massive trees frightened me.
• I love Luke’s final confrontation with his father and Emperor Palpatine. Frankly, this moment—the fight scene between Luke and Vader and then Anakin turning from the Dark Side, throwing his Master into the void—is the emotional nexus of the entire trilogy for me. This one scene elevates RotJ to masterpiece status. Sometimes I just rewatch this scene alone and am in awe at the sheer power of it. Luke’s desperate fight, the Emperor cackling, telling him to give himself over to his hate. That look Vader gives, behind that clunky mask, when you can tell he changes and can no longer watch his son be tortured. So damn good!
• The ending is just . . . really nice. The Death Star is destroyed (again, sigh) and everyone is celebrating with music on Endor. The Ewoks are dancing. Leia—finally having told Han that Luke is her brother—and Han Solo look like they’re going to live happily ever after. Luke sees the Force Ghosts of Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin (a scene later destroyed by George Lucas when he replaced old Anakin with young prequel Anakin).

In fact, as I type all of this out I realize why I’ve soured so entirely with the sequel trilogy. These final moments of triumph and redemption were sullied by everything that Disney and J.J. Abrams and Rian Johnson did to these characters and this story later on. Instead of living happily ever after, Leia and Han Solo are separated and die apart from one another, the latter killed by his own son, the former in one of the most lackluster scenes in Star Wars. Luke’s triumph—bringing balance to the Force!—is tossed out like old bread, and to what end?

That’s a rant for another time, however. For now, I tip my hat to the best—well, one of the two best—Star Wars films ever made. Happy 40th birthday, Return of the Jedi. May the 4th (or, well, the 40th) be with you!

Does this make me feel old?

Yes. Yes it does.

P.S. You know what would be a really great Star Wars Day surprise? What would make Disney oodles of money? Release the original trilogy without all of Lucas’s heinous edits and changes! Release it in 4K Ultra-HD on disc and on Disney+. What a wonderful day that would be. Until then, the Harmy’s Despecialized Edition will have to do . . . .