SCENES WE WANT ON BLU-RAY 5: REBEL INFILTRATION!

General Han Solo and Princess Leia, with Chewbacca and their Rebel Commando squad, continue their uneasy journey into the dark and dangerous corridors of the Imperial energy shield bunker so as to find and neutralise its command and control area for the incoming "surprise" fighter attack on the Death Star II.

This action sequence, which involves the group accidentally running into a Stormtrooper patrol and getting into a firefight, is probably one of the most desired deleted scenes from RETURN OF THE JEDI, after the infamous Tatooine Sandstorm, that I hope will be included on the Blu-rays. So far, those talented people at ORIGINAL TRILOGY.COM have found a foreign Blu-ray/DVD classifications source (FSK - FSK Suchergebnis) confirming that the deleted/extended scenes for both trilogies will have a running time of up to 45 minutes each, so it looks like we'll get a worthy selection of material to enjoy...

Here's an early look at the box sets from a LUCASFILM STAR WARS MEDIA DAY press event last week: A Destiny Revealed: Star Wars Media Day Brings Blu-ray and More to New York City: BigPictureBigSound

CLASSIC IMAGE: GOLDEN "GOD"!

Celebrating the arrival of their Golden "deity" to the forest of Endor, the Ewoks carve out a wooden throne in his honour and take him to their tree top homestead. The others in Threepio's party aren't so lucky, tied to stakes and carried in a most undignified way by their captors. The majority of this scene, filmed at the Californian Redwoods in April/May 1982, in which the Ewok party traverse a large log/bridge, didn't actually make the final film. It looks as if this scene may be linked to the one and only sequence that famous Stuntman Vic Armstrong actually worked on for JEDI, as he confirmed to AFICIONADO contributor Ian Trussler last month at the launch of his new book on his incredible career in the stunt industry:

"I asked him to say exactly what he did on JEDI and he said he only did the long shot of the heroes being carried on the poles by the Ewoks, he doubled for Harrison/Han as Harrison had a bad back that day.

I then double checked and said, "that was it, you didn't do the Yuma shoot on the skiff?", to which he replied, "Sadly no, I did not do that."

So there you have it. Decades of speculation ended direct from the horses mouth."

For even more detailed info on the making of JEDI, check out our informative and exhaustive special issue, here: STAR WARS AFICIONADO ISSUE 14 - THE MAKING OF "RETURN OF THE JEDI"

CLASSIC IMAGE: BUNKER SNARE!

On the forest moon of Endor, captured by a legion of Imperial troops, Han, Leia, Chewie and the Rebel commando team are unable to carry out their destructive mission against the shield generator protecting the Death Star. Soon enough, though, the tide will turn...

RETURN OF THE JEDI is showing today on the UK's ITV 1 HD channel this mid-afternoon.

ILM CLASSIC IMAGE: IN THE LAND OF THE EWOK!

Here's a great ILM matte painting of a part of the Ewok village on Endor. Can anyone confirm if this was done for JEDI (as some magazines have said over the years-if so, a deleted scene?) or for a scene I don't recall in the Ewok TV movies? I think its probably the latter (perhaps CARAVAN OF COURAGE?), but if anyone can help please get in touch.

CLASSIC IMAGE: EWOK DINNER!

Bad enough to be frozen in carbonite and suffer humiliation from Jabba the Hutt, but now Han Solo is about to have a fate worse than death, being cooked by those cuddly Ewoks as part of a banquet/feast honouring Threepio!! "I have a bad feeling about this!"

Will Han have enough breath in his lungs to put the fires out!

CELEBRATION V: DICKEY BEER - DELETED SCENES ACTION MAN!

One of the nice things about Celebrations is the chance to meet and get autographs from many of the people who worked in front of and behind the cameras of the STAR WARS films, and to find out more about them and their work. Dutch Stuntman and Second Unit director Dickey Beer is one of the most recent new signees in the STAR WARS world and I had the chance to talk to him about some of his work on the final classic STAR WARS film: RETURN OF THE JEDI.

Its well known that he played one of the hired thugs at Jabba's Court (including the alien Barada, doubling for Boba Fett (for a part of his demise) and playing Luke on the skiff (at one point in the films editing Beer fights himself as both Luke and Boba!) during the exterior Sail Barge battle filmed in Yuma, Arizona during April 1982, was one of the Rebel Commando squad members on Endor, and an ILM filmed biker scout, but what you might not know is that he also played an Imperial Stormtrooper for a deleted action scene at ELSTREE, which we hope will be on the eventual Blu-ray. Getting into the Endor Bunker and reaching the shield control room wasn't as easy as it looked in the original cut of the movie, as Han and his commando squad literally walked into, and have to face off, with a squad of Stormtroopers. Beer recalls the scene started off with two Stormtroopers by a wall, which was obscured from Han and his party. Then the fireworks start and Beer's Stormtrooper, who was nearest to the wall, would be felled by an explosion. Beer doesn't recall the scene listed in the novelisation book where Chewbacca grabs a section of door and brings it down on the rest of the Stormtroopers (and I haven't seen any photo documentation for this, either), but does recall it was one of many sequences that he was involved in for JEDI that was cut. In location filming at the Redwoods, Beer, as well as being one of the Rebel commandos nearest Solo, Leia and Chewbacca when they are escorted out of the bunker (and seen below in this behind the scenes shot), would also be the Scout Walker captain shot by Leia when all hell breaks loose with the Ewoks surprise attack.

Beer, who has also had the privilege to work with three James Bonds and battle Harrison Ford in a deleted scene from INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM (playing a Thugee guard who fights Indy on the sacrificial scaffold chamber (which previously housed Willie and lowered her into the volcanic pit), but Indy hits him with a long staff!), was an extremely pleasant and highly likeable person, and I look forward to seeing him again at future STAR WARS related events.

Above top image: Han - once again - walks into trouble in this deleted scene. With thanks to Lou Tambone from his STARWARZ.COM site.