Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (soundtrack)

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi soundtrack
Attribution information
Composer(s)	John Williams (composer/conductor)
Publication information
Release date	1983

The Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi score was recorded at the Abbey Road studios in January and February 1983 by the London Symphony Orchestra. The score won another Oscar nomination for John Williams. Herbert W. Spencer, Thomas Newman and Gordon Langford served as orchestrators. Because of the decrease of popularity for the vinyl format, Return of the Jedi, which has the longest score of the original trilogy, was only released on one LP instead of two like the scores for its predecessors, A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.

Media

Cover gallery

The 1983 original RSO Records vinyl LP release

The 1993 Arista Records Soundtrack Anthology release

The 2004 Sony Classical release

The 2016 Sony Classical Ultimate CD Soundtrack Collection release

The 2016 Sony Classical Ultimate Digital Soundtrack Collection release

Complete Score: cue list and breakdown

Cue #	Cue Title	Length	Notes
1m2	Main Title
1m3	Approaching the Death Star
1m3x
1m4	Vader Contacts Luke
1m5	The Iron Door
1m6-2m1	To Jabba's Throne
2m2	Jabba Source #1
2m3	My Favorite Decoration
			Jabba source. Called "Lapti Nek" on OST and Anthology. Multiple versions exist: The version used in the original movie, sung by Annie Arbogast is unreleased but can be heard in From Star Wars to Jedi. Instrumental of film version, unreleased but can be heard on the Return of the Jedi radio drama The English version "Fancy Man" is unreleased but can be heard in two documentaries (From Star Wars to Jedi and Classic Creatures) The album version is a complete rerecording, this time sung by Michele Gruska
2m5	Jabba's Prisoners
			unreleased and unused source music
3m2	The Big Thaw
3m2x1
3m2x2	Jabba More Sinister
3m3	A Strange Visitor
3m4-4m1	Fight in the Dungeon
4m1a	The Sentence
			unreleased Max Rebo sail barge source cue
4m3	The Sarlacc Pit
4m4	Jabba's End
4m4r	Jabba's End
4m5	The Emperor
4m5x1
4m5x2
5m1-6m1 pt. 1	Yoda's Scene
5m1-6m1 pt. 2	Luke and Ben
6m2	Battle Plans
6m3	Faking the Code
6m3x
6m4	Jungle Encounter
7m1	After the Bike Chase
7m2	Enter the Ewok
7m3-8m1	More Trouble
7m3-8m1x
8m2	More Ewoks Appear
8m3			Ewok source music
8m4	Using the Force
8m4x
8m5	Bedtime Stories
8m6-9m1			Ewok source music
9m2	Brother and Sister
9m3	Son Meets Father
9m4	Finding an Entrance
9m5	The Fleet Enters Hyperspace
9m6-10m1	Heroic Ewok
10m2	The Emperor Confronts Luke
10m3	Into the Trap
10m4	Rebel Forces Captured
10m5-11m1	First Ewok Battle
10m5-11m1x
11m2	Fight with TIE Fighters
11m3	The Ewoks Retreat
11m4	The Emperor Provokes Luke
11m5	The Ewok Battle
11m5x
11m6-12m1	Leia is Wounded
11m6-12m1x
12m2	The Battle Rages
12m3	Vader Stalks Luke
12m4	The Explosion
12m5	The Emperor's Death
12m6-13m1	Space Battle
13m2	Vader's Death		orchestrated by Thomas Newman
13m3	Through the Flames
13m4	Leia Breaks the News
13m4 New
13m4r	The Force Theme
13m5			known as "Yub Nub"
13m5a			orchestral ending of "Yub Nub", recorded separately
	End Titles

Concert Suites:

Cue #	Cue Title	Length	Notes
	Jabba the Hutt
	Parade of the Ewoks
	Brother and Sister
	The Battle in the Woods
			album version of Ewok celebration music ("Yub Nub"), different from film cue

New music recorded for Special Edition:

Cue #	Cue Title	Length	Notes
			Known as "Jedi Rocks", replaced Lapti Nek
13m5r	New Finale		replaced "Yub Nub"

Track listing for the first release on LP

Side one

1. Main Title (The Story Continues) – 5:09
2. Into the Trap – 2:36
3. Luke and Leia – 4:44
4. Parade of the Ewoks – 3:25
5. Han Solo Returns (At the Court of Jabba The Hutt) – 4:10
6. Lapti Nek (Jabba's Palace Band) – 2:49

Side two

1. The Forest Battle – 4:01
2. Rebel Briefing – 2:22
3. The Emperor – 2:41
4. The Return of the Jedi – 5:02
5. Ewok Celebration and Finale – 8:00

Total Time: 44:59

Track listing for the first release on CD by Polydor

1. Main Title (The Story Continues) – 5:09
2. Into the Trap – 2:36
3. Luke and Leia – 4:43
4. Parade of the Ewoks – 3:24
5. Han Solo Returns (At the Court of Jabba The Hutt) – 4:07
6. Lapti Nek – 2:48
7. The Forest Battle – 4:01
8. Rebel Briefing – 2:19
9. The Emperor – 2:40
10. The Return of the Jedi – 5:00
11. Ewok Celebration and Finale – 7:57

Total Time: 45:40

Star Wars Trilogy: The Original Soundtrack Anthology

In 1993, Twentieth Century Fox Film Scores released a four-CD box set containing music from the original Star Wars trilogy. Disc three in the set was devoted to Return of the Jedi, with further tracks on disc four.

Track listing for the Special Edition release

The two-CD expanded edition on RCA (1997) and Sony (September 21, 2004) contained the 1997 remix of the score. (It was falsely advertised with the legend "Now available on RCA (1997) and Sony Classical (2004) presenting the complete score.")

Disc one

1. 20th Century Fox Fanfare (Alfred Newman, 1954) – 0:22
2. Main Title/Approaching the Death Star/Tatooine Rendezvous* – 9:21
   • contains the hidden track "Death Star in Disarray" (source music counterpart to "Darth Vader's Death") at 5:04–5:38
3. The Droids Are Captured* 1:21
4. Bounty for a Wookiee* – 2:50
5. Han Solo Returns** – 4:01
6. Luke Confronts Jabba*/Den of the Rancor/Sarlacc Sentence* – 8:51
7. The Pit of Carkoon*/Sail Barge Assault – 6:02
8. The Emperor Arrives/The Death of Yoda/Obi-Wan's Revelation* – 10:58
9. Alliance Assembly* – 2:13
10. Shuttle Tydirium Approaches Endor – 4:09
11. Speeder Bike Chase*/Land of the Ewoks* – 9:38
12. The Levitation*/Threepio's Bedtime Story* – 2:46
13. Jabba's Baroque Recital* – 3:09
14. Jedi Rocks* – 2:42
    • only heard in the Special Edition of the film
15. Sail Barge Assault (Alternate) – 5:04

Total Time: 73:16

Disc two

1. Parade of the Ewoks – 3:28
2. Luke and Leia – 4:46
3. Brother and Sister/Father and Son*/The Fleet Enters Hyperspace**/Heroic Ewok – 10:40
4. The Emperor's Throne Room – 3:26
5. The Battle of Endor I – 11:50
   1. Into the Trap – 2:30
   2. Forest Ambush* – 2:00
   3. Scout Walker Scramble – 2:04
   4. The Prime Weapon Fires – 5:16
6. The Lightsaber*/The Ewok Battle – 4:31
7. The Battle of Endor II – 10:03
   1. Leia Is Wounded – 1:02
   2. The Duel Begins – 1:51
   3. Overtaking The Bunker* – 1:00
   4. The Dark Side Beckons – 3:33
   5. The Emperor's Death – 2:37
8. The Battle of Endor III – 6:04
   1. Superstructure Chase* – 1:53
   2. Darth Vader's Death – 2:34
   3. The Main Reactor – 1:36
9. Leia's News/Light of the Force – 3:24
10. Victory Celebration*/End Title – 8:34
    • Victory Celebration is only heard in the Special Edition and subsequent releases of the film
11. Ewok Feast*/Part of the Tribe* – 4:02
12. The Forest Battle (Concert Suite) – 4:05

Total Time: 74:47

*previously unreleased

**contains previously unreleased material

Track Listing for The Remastered Edition

A remastered version of the soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on May 4, 2018. supervised by Shawn Murphy and Skywalker Sound, this version was transferred to a new hi-resolution (24/192). This remaster was newly assembled from the highest-quality tapes available, rather than sourced from the existing 1983 album masters.

1. Main Title (The Main Story Continues) - 5:09
2. Into The Trap - 2:36
3. Luke And Leia - 4:44
4. Parade Of The Ewoks - 3:25
5. Han Solo Returns (At The Court Of Jabba The Hutt) - 4:10
6. Lapti Nek (By Jabba's Palace Band) - 2:49
7. The Forest Battle - 4:01
8. Rebel Briefing - 2:22
9. The Emperor - 2:41
10. The Return Of The Jedi - 5:02
11. Ewok Celebration And Finale - 8:00

Total Time: 44:59

External links

• Return of the Jedi (soundtrack) on Wikipedia
• Return of The Jedi Soundtrack in the StarWars.com Cargo Bay (content now obsolete; backup link)
• Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi Soundtrack at Discogs

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