I love *Return Of The Jedi*. It’s become a bit of a whipping boy for the original trilogy, with many criticsising the Ewoks as the first grand Lucas mistake of “playing to the kids” in what would become a franchise tradition. However, remember these are the cute furry bears who were about to char-broil Han and Luke alive – presumably to eat them, because spitroasted meat is awesome in any galaxy – and could take down an armoured Imperial Stormtrooper with just rocks and sticks. Adorable little barbarians.

*Jedi* also has the best lightsaber battle, still the most beautifully choreographed multi-ship space battle to date, the speeder chase through the trees, “I don’t know – fly casual”, Boba Fett’s transformation into fan icon (and Sarlaak meal), Luke’s diving board flip, Leia’s slave attire. It’s a fantastic movie that, up until Lucas ruined the ending with Jedi ghost-swapping and soundtrack meddling, was a fitting end to a wonderful trilogy.

So, if you’re nodding along to my reminiscence, then this link is for you. Spotted on Imgur this morning, [50 photos chronicling the making of RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983)](http://imgur.com/gallery/pSOtt) is a great selection of behind-the-scenes images that will make you grin like a schoolkid and bring back much of the wonder that has been lost a little in the last few years.

And it’s a also a sign that Lucas, who famously insisted that 19-year-old Carrie Fisher shouldn’t wear a bra under her flimsy white gown in *Episode IV* as “they don’t have them in space”, was still very much past of the costume design process:

There’s a caption competition if ever I saw one. Answers to the usual address.