Arts & Entertainment

30 Years After Its Debut, 'Return of the Jedi' Wows at MVFF36

From the opening costume contest to a post-screening panel of the people who worked on the film, a packed house immersed themselves in the world created by San Anselmo resident George Lucas.

At the Mill Valley Film Festival's 30th anniversary screening of Return of the Jedi Monday night in Corte Madera, the rousing ovations came early and often.

Cheers rang out for the nearly two dozen entrants into a Star Wars costume contest, from pint-sized Ewoks and Yodas to grown-up Princess Leias. Those cheers continued throughout the film, from the defeat of Jabba the Hut and an Ewok's triumph over the Stormtroopers to the destruction of the Death Star.

The film, which is chronologically the most recent in San Anselmo resident George Lucas's six-film Star Wars saga, will be followed by Star Wars Episode 7 in 2015. That film will be directed by J.J. Abrams, with plenty of help from Lucas himself, according to his son Jett Lucas.

Find out what's happening in San Rafaelwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here