The Battle of Endor without Ewoks
January 3rd, 2015The space battle sequence at the end of Return of the Jedi is one of the most thrilling sequences from the original Star Wars films. In fact, to this date it’s still one of the most impressive space battles ever shown on film – and it was done without the use of CGI. Sadly, director Richard Marquand (how many of you knew that name?) decided to interrupt this intricately-crafted ballet of model ships, moving cameras and hand rotoscoping with silly footage of Ewoks clobbering Imperial Stormtroopers on the head, and smashing their AT-STs with logs.
YouTuber Prometheus4Vids didn’t like this chopsocky editing style either, and has lovingly restored the battle to its original splendor – sans the footage on Endor. Hey, I made a rhyme! Prometheus actually removed more than just the silly Ewok scenes on Endor to make this happen, eliminating the climactic showdown between Luke, Darth Vader and the Emperor as well. Oh well, you gotta break some eggs to make an omelette right?
So sit back, relax and enjoy 8 minutes and 44 seconds of pure Star Wars bliss. I just know you were looking for an excuse to hear Admiral Ackbar say “It’s a trap!” today.
