Retroplex Cinema Special Edition: The Force Is With Cut Scenes Part 3: Star Wars Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi

A year ago TMIAJ presented this series of articles after the initial announcement of the Star Wars Blu-Rays.  Now the discs are in stores this Friday, so we present these articles again as part of our Retroplex Cinema series, so that you can take a look at what may appear on the Blu-Ray discs! 

Articles In This Series:
The Force Is With Cut Scenes Part 1: Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope
The Force Is With Cut Scenes Part 2: Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
The Force Is With Cut Scenes Part 3: Star Wars Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi

Retroplex Cinema Special Edition: The Force Is With Cut Scenes Part 3: Star Wars Episode VI -  Return Of The Jedi

Luke's Lightsaber

In the beginning of Return of the Jedi, Luke constructs a new lightsaber and hides it inside of Artoo Detoo, along with a message for Jabba the Hutt.

This scene would have set things up for the later action at Jabba's palace, but it also would have given away the surprise element of Luke's hidden lightsaber.  The scene shows up in the novel and radio play as well, but takes place inside Ben Kenobi's hut. From the matte painting and storyboard that exist, it appears the location was changed to take place inside a cave on Tatooine rather than Ben's hut. 
     Until recently rumor was that this scene was never filmed completely.  Anthony Daniels himself even said it was only partially filmed as far as he remembered.  But then at Celebration V Lucas revealed that it had indeed been filmed and showed it to the crowd.  If you were lucky enough last week to see it on You Tube then great, if not you have to wait till the Blu-Ray's hit stores!

Rancor Pit Grate

Luke has fallen through a trapdoor in Jabba's palace, and is now in grave danger inside the Rancor pit. The monstrous Rancor is about to attempt to have him for dinner. In an effort to escape, Luke uses the Force to jump up to a grate above, but he is unable to get out and has his fingers mashed by Jawa gun butts for the effort. He then drops down right onto the Rancor's eye, causing it great pain... but again ends up on the run.

There seems to be no particular reason for this scene being cut, other than for time or because of the difficulty of the special effects regarding the fall onto the Rancor. It would have given another chance to see Luke exercise his Jedi abilities as he makes the jump to the grate.

A single photo from this scene has appeared in the Return of the Jedi storybook, and the scene is included in the novel as well.

Barge Fight

On board Jabba the Hutt's barge, Threepio has found himself an unwilling translator/mediator between a drunken Ree-Yees and Saelt Marae (aka Yak-Face). Salacious Crumb joins in the fun as well. The altercation ends in fisticuffs, just before Threepio bumps into Artoo serving drinks.

This was just a little extra action taking place aboard Jabba's barge, but it was cut from the film as it was non-essential to the storyline.

Pictures from this scene show up all over in various places, including in the photo insert from the novel. Also, the scene is described in the novel, but it is Ephant Mon rather than Saelt Marae who gets in the fight there.

Damn Sand Clogging My Sensors

The Sandstorm

Perhaps Jedi's most famous deleted scenes, after Jabba's barge explodes, our heroes rendezvous once more before taking off and going their separate ways, but they end up having to struggle through a tremendous sandstorm to get to their ships. Chewbacca has been wounded during the battle, and is hobbling along with the help of Luke and Lando. They reach their ships and prepare to part, exchanging feelings and farewells.

I Can't See A Damn Thing

     This scene would explain how everyone got on and off the planet. Parked out in the desert here is the Milennium Falcon and Luke's X-wing. The script also mentions a two-seated Y-wing being there as well.

Ooops, Did I Grab Your Boob

     Although this scene was the first scene filmed for Jedi, none of it made it into the final film. Footage from this scene has shown up so far only as a snippet on one of the trailers for Jedi, as well as in still photographs in various places including the original West End Games Star Wars role-playing game books, the Behind The Magic CD ROM, and the Star Wars Insider.

Goodbye, We Will Rendevous Later

Luke Puts On The Glove Before He Boards The X-Wing

Other known Jedi scenes believed to exist include some info from a scene filmed where General Crix Madine was aboard a Mon Calamari ship during the final battle. These scenes were filmed according to the actor. Actor Dermot Crowley claims to have spent a few extra days filming in a moving chair shouting things such as "Fire!". There are also cut shots of rebel gunners aboard the Millennium Falcon. It was rumored that the B-Wing fighters would be given more to do during the battle in the Special Editions but have yet to see the light of day on film. 

A scene now confirmed to appear on the Blu-Ray's includes additional filming inside the bunker on Endor.  The image to the left feature's Han Solo in the bunker and you can see the complete scene on the Blu-Ray disc! 

Retroplex Cinema Special Edition: The Force Is With Cut Scenes Part 2: Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

A year ago TMIAJ presented this series of articles after the initial announcement of the Star Wars Blu-Rays.  Now the discs are in stores this Friday, so we present these articles again as part of our Retroplex Cinema series, so that you can take a look at what may appear on the Blu-Ray discs! 

Articles In This Series:
The Force Is With Cut Scenes Part 1: Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope
The Force Is With Cut Scenes Part 2: Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
The Force Is With Cut Scenes Part 3: Star Wars Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi

Retroplex Cinema Special Edition: The Force Is With Cut Scenes Part 2: Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

Dead Tauntans

    We see here that the Tauntauns have been attacked by something, but we don't know what it is quite yet. This is not long after Luke has been attacked in the wasteland by something unknown as well. Han takes little note of what has happened here as he is too busy worrying about Luke.

     This was part of the whole Wampa storyline that was trimmed from the film. A tiny bit of this scene is left over in the film: we see a dead Tauntaun on the floor, but we don't get any mention of what happened

Bacta Tank

Luke has just been rescued and brought back to the medical center by Han Solo. He's been attacked by a Wampa ice creature, and his face was slashed by the creature's claws. He barely escaped with his life, and would have frozen to death had Han not appeared. The medical droid 2-1B has placed Luke in a tank of healing Bacta fluid to help him recover.

Most of this scene remains in the film, but the dialogue that happens while Luke is in the Bacta tank has been cut out. The scene remains in the comic book adaptation of the film, and the novel.

Wampa Attack

Perhaps the most famous cut scene from Empire, Artoo-Detoo narrowly escapes as a Wampa Ice Monster crashes into the base, enraged by his electronic whistling. A group of Rebel soldiers only manage to stop the creature with a blast from a large bazooka weapon. Right after this, sensors pick up a new intruder (which happens to be an Imperial Probe Droid).

This is part of the Wampa sub-plot that was deleted from the film. Some of the Wampa footage was filmed, but most of it was scrapped due to problems with getting the Wampa to look right.

Sneaky Droids!

Wampa Trap

A number of Wampas have now been captured and are now being kept in a confined area. Threepio and Artoo-Detoo are discussing how the creatures were captured by using electronic whistles like Artoo's. This leads into another deleted scene, which comes later.

Again, this is part of the Wampa storyline that was deleted.

Bacta Mask

Luke has now emerged from the Bacta tank, and is beginning recovery. First, a protective healing mask is removed from his face by 2-1B, and then he is able to converse with his friends. This leads to a rather awkward scene between himself and Leia.

Part of this scene was left intact at the point where Han enters the room, but the rest of this scene involving the mask removal and Luke's conversation with Leia ended up being removed. It remains in the novel and the comic  book adaptation.




General Veer's Death 

During the Battle of Hoth, General Veers is just about to target the rebel power generators when he is suddenly faced with a kamikaze pilot (Hobbie, Rogue Four) crashing through the front window of the cockpit. Veers is presumably killed in this scene.

Everything up to the snowspeeder crash is still in the film, leaving the question of whether Veers is meant to be alive or dead still a mystery. At least one early version of a Return Of The Jedi script has Veers appearing again, but this was later left out. Also interesting to note is that a very similar scene did end up happening later in Return Of The Jedi, when a damaged rebel craft flies through the front viewscreen of the Super Star Destroyer's bridge after the shields are disabled, causing the entire massive bulk of the ship to plunge into the Death Star's surface.

The only known evidence left of Veers' death scene are the storyboards and descriptions in earlier versions of the script.

Troops Meet Wampas

Imperial troops have now entered the base, and our heroes are in retreat. But Threepio makes a quick decision to help throw off the pursuers: he tears the warning sign off the Wampa trap! The unsuspecting troops then enter the unmarked room, unaware of the fate that awaits them there. Afterwards Darth Vader enters to find only the remains of his troops.

This was cut since it was part of the Wampa storyline that ended up being dropped from the film. Originally it gave Threepio the chance for a clever but deadly joke at the Empire's expense. It also explains why he was so far behind the others when they ran into the hangar to board the Milennium Falcon. One of the trailers for The Empire Strikes Back actually contains a few seconds of this scene.

Luke's Rescue

After losing his duel with Darth Vader as well as his hand, Luke has plunged to his apparent death from a Cloud City gantry platform. However, he has been sucked into an exhaust chute and now hangs precariously below the city. He calls out to Leia, who hears him and heads the Milennium Falcon back to rescue him.

Most of this scene still remains in the film, but there was some additional footage detailing Lando's rescue of Luke after he climbs out of the Falcon's hatch and onto the top of the ship, as well as some description of the scene in an earlier version of the script. One of the trailers for The Empire Strikes Back actually contains just a few frames more of Lando exiting the hatch.

Here are a several additional photos of deleted scenes including Luke manning a heavy artillery gun and him returning to Echo base after the battle, along with more found on the new Star Wars Blu-Ray's!

Part 3 - Return Of The Jedi

Retroplex Cinema Special Edition: The Force Is With Cut Scenes Part 1: Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope

A year ago TMIAJ presented this series of articles after the initial announcement of the Star Wars Blu-Rays.  Now the discs are in stores this Friday, so we present these articles again as part of our Retroplex Cinema series, so that you can take a look at what may appear on the Blu-Ray discs! 

Articles In This Series:
The Force Is With Cut Scenes Part 1: Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope
The Force Is With Cut Scenes Part 2: Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
The Force Is With Cut Scenes Part 3: Star Wars Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi

Retroplex Cinema Special Edition: The Force Is With Cut Scenes Part 1 - Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Luke Sees the Battle In Space

This particular scene happens right after the Imperial Star Destroyer has overtaken the Rebel Blockade Runner and the Imperial troops begin boarding the ship, and right before Darth Vader first makes his appearance on the rebel ship. Luke, out in the desert working on a vaporator with the help of a Treadwell droid, looks up and happens to notice the two ships firing on each other in the sky. He then jumps in his landspeeder and races off to tell his friends. 

Though this scene was never shown publicly, it still showed up in the novel, the comic book, and still photos published in various places. The scene was finally made available in 1998 on the Behind The Magic CD ROM, much to the delight of fans. The version included was from the legendary Lost Cut of Star Wars, which is in black and white with no sound or special effects.

Luke Hangs Out With Friends

This scene was to come right after Artoo-Detoo and Threepio have ejected from the Blockade Runner in their escape pod, and right before Princess Leia is led captive before Darth Vader. Luke zooms into Anchorhead in his landspeeder to tell his friends about the battle he's seen. He is momentarily distracted when he finds that his best friend Biggs Darklighter has returned from the Academy, but then pulls them all outside to check out the battle. At this point the battle is over, so everyone thinks Luke is making it up

For years this scene remained unseen, with only a few still photos and references in the comic book and novel showing that it ever actually existed. Despite people's claims that they had seen the footage in early prints of Star Wars, this scene was never shown to the public. The sound mix had never been completed, and the footage was not included in anything but rough editor's cuts (such as the legendary Lost Cut). In 1997 at the San Diego Comic Con, mega-collector and Lucasfilm employee Steve Sansweet gave fans an incredible treat by showing the Biggs footage publicly for the first time 

Luke & Biggs  

This scene was to come right after Threepio spots the Jawa sandcrawler in the desert, and catches their attention, and right before Artoo gets zapped by the Jawas in the rock canyon..

Here, Luke's relationship with Biggs is established, and Biggs reveals his plan to join the Rebellion to Luke. We are given a better understanding of why the Empire is such a tyranny, and the threat of even Luke's uncle's farm being taken over for their benefit. We also see how Luke is struggling between his responsibility to his uncle and his need to go on to greater things.

For years this scene remained unseen, with only a few still photos and references in the comic book and novel showing that it ever actually existed. Despite people's claims that they had seen the footage in early prints of Star Wars, this scene was never shown to the public. 

Commander Bast

This scene was to come right after the scene where Han Solo encounters Jabba the Hutt in Docking Bay 94, and right before our heroes enter Docking Bay 94 for the first time. Here we see Darth Vader and Commander Bast talking together regarding the missing droids, Leia's resistance to her interrogation, and Governor Tarkin's "foolish plan". It is here we see also that Vader may not feel so confident in Tarkin's command, since he seems to go along with Bast's bold criticism of Tarkin.  The novel and the comic book both include this short scene. Photos from it have appeared on Topps trading cards as well as in various other locations. This entire scene was actually included in the Star Wars Holiday Special, and can be seen there featuring overdubbed dialogue to fit the story from that TV feature. A couple of the shots here are actually taken from the Holiday Special.

The Search For Artoo

This small scene originally was to happen while Luke and Threepio are rushing off in the landspeeder to search for Artoo-Detoo.

Here we have Threepio driving the landspeeder while he and Luke discuss Artoo and how much trouble Luke will be getting into.

You can see remnants of this scene in the final version of the film: a distant shot shows Luke talking to Threepio and gesturing, but the dialogue does not seem to match what is shown. The part that is cut has close-ups of their extended conversation, and a shot of the landspeeder's display showing where Artoo is. The scene appears in the Lost Cut with a rather unconvincing effect of Tatooine landscape going by outside the speeder, done with rear projection of moving footage.

Lukes Poncho

Well, it's all about Luke's mysterious poncho. There are a number of still shots where Luke is wearing this poncho, but in the finished film the poncho is nowhere to be seen. The poncho actually only appears in these scenes in the final version of the film: when our heroes enter Docking Bay 94 to start their fateful trip on the Milennium Falcon and Luke puts on this poncho (for some odd reason) just before they go through the doorway, when Leia wraps it around Luke to comfort him on their flight away from the Death Star after Ben has been killed, and after the arrival at the Rebel base when Luke is wearing it as he gets off the small transport in the hangar.

It seems likely that some of the other scenes may have actually been filmed as alternate versions with Luke wearing his poncho. In fact, a good explanation of the Docking Bay 94 scene with Luke wearing the poncho would be that it was the only version of that scene available or that it was the best one to use, and so Luke had to be shown inexplicably putting on the poncho as they reach the bay doorway, just before there is a cut to the inside of the bay--and then not wearing the poncho again once they're on board the Falcon. In any case, this is merely an interesting look at alternate or missing scenes of Luke and his beloved poncho 

Here's is a collection of other scenes that will found on the new Blu-Rays!

Part 2 - The Empire Strikes Back

Retroplex Cinema: The Planet Of The Apes Saga Part 3 - The Television & Cartoon Shows

 

Welcome to the final part of our 3 part look at the original Planet Of The Apes saga.  As Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes swings through theaters, we have looked at the original film and it's sequels, now a look at the television and cartoon shows that aired, along with some other fun stuff you may have not seen before!

Part 1  -Planet Of The Apes
Part 2 - The Sequels
Part 3 The Television Show & Cartoon

Planet Of The Apes: The TV Series (1974):  The series based on the successful film franchise was short lived, yet memorable in the hearts of fans.  The series ran from September 13, 1974 to December 20, 1974 and featured Roddy McDowall, who starred in the original Planet Of The Apes films! . Although fourteen episodes were produced, only 13 were originally networked; the 14th episode (shown in some markets, but pre-empted in others) was included in the DVD box set which is now available. Fox had promised to include promotional materials and trailers for the episodes with the DVD set, but no such footage was included.
      Synopsis: The series begins on March 21, 3085 with the crash of an Earth spaceship, that encountered a time warp while approaching Alpha Centauri on August 19, 1980. The spaceship is manned by three NASA astronauts, one of whom has died in the crash. The other two astronauts are unconscious but are rescued by a human who carries them to an old bomb shelter. After the human opens a book containing historical text and pictures of Earth circa 2500, the two astronauts are convinced that they are indeed on a future Earth.
     The crash is also witnessed by a young chimpanzee who tells his father, a village official who alerts the authorities. Ape counselor Zaius (an analog of the Dr. Zaius character from the original movie), notes that another such incident occurred ten years earlier. He orders the head gorilla, General Urko (Mark Lenard), to find the humans and bring them back alive. Zaius wants to find out as much as he can about the humans before they are eventually killed. Zaius doesn't trust General Urko to follow his orders and bring back any surviving humans, so he sends along his newly-hired chimpanzee assistant, Galen (Roddy McDowall, who played Cornelius and Caesar in most of the film versions).

     The two astronauts, Colonel Alan Virdon (Ron Harper) and Major Peter J. Burke (James Naughton), go back to their ship to check the ship's chronometer. They are more than 1000 years in the future from when they left Earth. Virdon insists on retrieving the ship's flight log in the hopes that they will be able to analyze it and be able to return to their own time period, but while they are at the ship, they are captured, and the old man is subsequently killed by a group of apes.

     Galen finds the human book that the old man had been carrying. He reads parts of the book and begins to doubt the history that he has been told: apes have always been dominant, and humans have always been inferior and subservient. When Galen finds out that Urko has arranged for the two astronauts to escape and be killed in the attempt, he prevents the shooter and helps the humans escape.
     Galen discusses the book that he found with Zaius, who then accuses him of heresy. Galen is sentenced to death for his crime. The two astronauts find out about his sentence and rescue Galen. They are all then declared enemies of the state and become fugitives. The three fugitives wander around the territory that used to be the western United States having various encounters with apes, humans, and old human civilization ruins.
In 1981, several episodes of the series were edited into five made-for-television movies.

Back to the Planet of the Apes
Forgotten City of the Planet of the Apes
Treachery and Greed on the Planet of the Apes
Life, Liberty and Pursuit on the Planet of the Apes
Farewell to the Planet of the Apes 

The television series also spawned it's own merchandise.  Novelizations of several episodes as well as audio stories and filmstrip stories that were comprised of 32 short comic strip films that to this day are very rare!  As you read past the cartoon series, take a look at some pictures of some of the merchandise spawned from the Planet Of The Apes film and television series.

The television series was by no means a success, but it showed that the Planet Of The Apes series had lasting appeal and the saga wouldn't end there.  Before long, an animated series was on television!

A newspaper clipping advertising the debut of the Planet Of The Apes television series!

Return To The Planet Of The Apes (1975) depicted a technologically advanced society, complete with automobiles, film, and television; as such it more closely resembled both Boulle's original novel and early concepts for the first Apes movie which were changed due to budgetary limitations in the late 1960s.
     Produced following the last of the big-screen features and a short-lived live action TV series, this series was among the last Planet of the Apes projects for several years, aside from a number of comic books from Marvel Comics and Adventure Comics, and a series of audio adventures from Power Records.The next project based upon Boulle's concepts would be Tim Burton's reimagining a quarter century later.
     Along with the second film Beneath the Planet of the Apes, this is one of only two original Planet of the Apes productions in which Roddy McDowall was not involved.  The series features very 1970's style animation, where things only move if they have to!

     Airing on NBC, the series premiered on September 6, 1975 and was broadcast until September 4, 1976, although only thirteen episodes were produced. The series aired Saturday mornings at 11:00am Eastern/10:00am Central.  The series was later shown in reruns on the Sci Fi Channel in 1992 as part of Sci Fi Cartoon Quest.
     Synopsis:   As with the film and the live-action series, Return to the Planet of the Apes involved a handful of astronauts from Earth who were hurtled into the future and found themselves stuck in a world populated by advanced apes and primitive humans. Over the course of the thirteen episodes the astronauts attempted to keep one step ahead of the apes while at the same time trying to make some sense of what had happened. Additionally, they did their best to safeguard the human population from the apes.

     Each episode was self-contained to an extent. The story threads did weave in and out, with characters and plots from earlier episodes popping up in later ones. In order for the series to make any sense, the episodes need to be viewed in order.
     The animated series does chronologically fit with the rest of the Apes universe. It borrows characters and elements from the movies, the TV series, and the original novels. General Urko is borrowed from the TV series. Along with Zaius, Zira, and Cornelius, Brent (renamed here as Ron Brent) and Nova are from the movie series. Krador and the Underdwellers in the animated series are loosely based on the mutants in Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
     As with the live action television series, the animated series was concluded before the resolution of the storyline, and we do not learn if the astronauts are able to return to their own time period. But the animated series does otherwise offer a conclusion. Doctor Zaius, in recognising the threat of a military overthrow from General Urko, assures that he is relieved of command. Further, Cornelius and Zira, in recognising that Simian Society was established long after human society had deteriorated, believed that the time was right for humans to be offered equal rights to that of apes, and intend to present their proposition to the Senate.

     The series only saw 13 episodes produced but for years, a 14th unfilmed episode, "A Date With Judy," was thought to have existed since one of the novelizations lists it in the book's contents. However, that was actually an early title for the episode "The Unearthly Prophecy."  Several of the episodes were aired out of order. For example, the episode "Terror on Ice Mountain" should be viewed before the episode "Battle of the Titans", but the former was mistakenly aired after the latter. Likewise, the episode "Lagoon of Peril" should be viewed after the episode "Tunnel of Fear". The last episode to air, "River of Flames", should be viewed after "The Unearthly Prophecy", if the series is to be viewed in the proper order.  Despite it's flaws, the series has it's place in Planet Of The Apes lore just as the live action television show does and for many, it remains a nice piece of nostalga.

This poster was released to promote screenings of all five films in theaters showing for the whole day!

 The two posters to the right are quad posters used to promote the first two films in the franchise.

Beneath The Planet Of The Apes features just a cameo of Charlton Heston at the end of the film, because he didn't want to make a sequel but the studio insisted on him at least appearing briefly!










The treehouse playset was one of many items produced by Mego to tie in with the Planet Of The Apes films and television series.

This ad was used in Marvel Comics to promote the upcoming comic book series based on Planet Of The Apes!











The Mego Toy commercials!
 

This is the opening of the excellent documentary, Behind The Planet Of The Apes which you can find on the DVD and Blu-Ray sets!  Both can be ordered below!