SPEEDER BIKE CHASE

From RETURN OF THE JEDI - Star Wars Episode VI. Directed by Richard Marquand. Written and Produced by George Lucas (1983)

Return of the Jedi is an incredible film that is jam-packed with exciting action sequences and thrilling scenes. None more so than the fantastic ‘Speeder Bike Chase’, An absolute knockout scene. One of the best chase scenes ever filmed. The sense of speed and danger is awesome.

The ‘bikes’ themselves are a triumph of design, being instantly recognisable as a ‘motorcycle’ and immediately connecting with the audience with a short-hand that results in immediate credibility and acceptance, while still being original.

Of couse the sequence was not filmed per se, but was created by the enormously creative and talented team at Industrial Light & Magic under Dennis Muren’s expert supervision. The acting from Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher is spot-on really and really sells it along with the superb sound effects by Ben Burtt. The up-close engine roars as well as the distant echo-y sounds of the forest create a dynamic and credible world. Interestingly there is no music in this sequence and it truly is a masterpriece of sound design.

I did this painting in celebration of the 40th Anniversary of this tremendous film.

Speeder Bike designed by NILO RODIS-JAMERO, RALPH MCQUARRIE and JOE JOHNSTON

Visual Effects Supervised by DENNIS MUREN

Star Wars created by GEORGE LUCAS