Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
| Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith | |
|---|---|
| File:Star wars episode three poster2.jpg | |
| Directed by | George Lucas |
| Written by | George Lucas |
| Produced by | Rick McCallum, George Lucas |
| Starring | Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Running time | 140 min. |
| Budget | $113,000,000 |
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is the third episode chronologically (but the sixth to be produced) in the Star Wars film series by George Lucas. It chronicles the seduction of Anakin Skywalker to the Dark Side of the Force, culminating in his transformation into Darth Vader. As the final film to be released in the series, it bridges the gap between the original trilogy and prequel trilogy of the Star Wars epic.
Released on May 19, 2005, the film was generally positively received by critics, especially in comparison to the two previous prequels. It broke several box office records in its opening week, and went on to earn over US$800 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing film of 2005 so far.
Plot summary
The opening crawl reveals that the galaxy is in the midst of war. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine has been kidnapped by separatists, and Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi lead a mission to rescue him. During the space battle, Obi-Wan's ship is damaged and the two Jedi crash into the hangar of the ship where the Chancellor is held hostage. They make their way to where Chancellor Palpatine is being held captive by Count Dooku. In the ensuing lightsaber battle, Count Dooku is injured and brought to his knees. With encouragement from Palpatine, Anakin beheads the helpless Count. The ship is damaged by an attack, and begins to descend uncontrolled into Coruscant. Anakin takes the controls and pilots the ship into a hard landing.
On Coruscant, Anakin meets with his wife, Padmé. They have kept their love and their marriage secret. She reveals to him that she is pregnant.
Chancellor Palpatine, distrustful of the Jedi, makes Anakin his representative on the Jedi Council. The Council assigns Anakin to protect the Chancellor, but Obi-Wan privately tells Anakin that the Council is using him to spy on the Chancellor. As the Chancellor's bodyguard, Anakin builds a close friendship with Palpatine. Palpatine subtly manipulates Anakin in their discussions, making him distrust the Jedi. Palpatine says the ability to save people from death is something that can be learned, but not from a Jedi. This intrigues Anakin, as he has been having nightmares of Padmé dying in childbirth.
Obi-Wan is sent to Utapau to find General Grievous, leader of the droid army. He locates Grievous and the two erupt in battle. Obi-Wan manages to rip off Grievous's loose chestplate, exposing the living organs in his chest. Obi-Wan retrieves the droid's blaster and shoots the General in the chest, killing him, tosses the blaster on the ground, and mutters, "So uncivilized."
In Anakin's conversations with Palpatine, he discovers that Palpatine is the Sith Lord, Darth Sidious. Upon realizing this, Anakin threatens to kill Palpatine, but instead decides to expose him to the Jedi Council. Anakin tells Jedi Master Mace Windu about Palpatine's true identity. Mace Windu attempts to arrest the Chancellor, but Palpatine lunges with a fierce lightsaber attack which kills Agen Kolar, Kit Fisto, and Saesee Tiin (who were assigned to accompany him). As Palpatine and Mace engage in a lightsaber duel, Anakin arrives. Just as Mace is about to finish Palpatine, Anakin cuts off Mace's hand. Caught off guard, Mace is hit by Palpatine's Force lightning and flung out the window to his death. Anakin is distraught, and confides in Palpatine. Palpatine takes Anakin as his Sith apprentice, and gives him the Sith name Darth Vader.
Palpatine orders clone troopers across the galaxy to turn against their Jedi Generals. Jedi across the galaxy are exterminated, but Yoda and Obi-Wan barely manage to survive. With a battalion of clone troopers, Darth Vader eradicates the Jedi in the Jedi Temple. Vader later goes to Padmé and tells her the Jedi have tried to take over the Republic. He tells her that he will go to Mustafar, where Nute Gunray and the other separatist leaders are waiting, and kill them all.
Senator Bail Organa rescues Obi-Wan and Yoda, and brings them to the Jedi Temple before heading to the Senate building. Palpatine informs the Senate of a Jedi plot to overthrow the Republic and announces that the Republic will be reorganized into the Galactic Empire.
In the Jedi Temple, Obi-Wan and Yoda reconfigure a signal to warn all Jedi to keep away. Obi-Wan looks into the security recordings and sees Vader slaughtering the Jedi and then kneeling to Palpatine. Yoda says they have no choice but to destroy the Sith.
On Mustafar, Vader is greeted by Viceroy Nute Gunray, and he attacks the separatist leaders, finally killing Nute Gunray.
Obi-Wan meets with Padmé and tells her that Anakin has turned to the Dark Side, but Padmé refuses to reveal where Anakin is. Padmé later departs to Mustafar to see her husband. Unbeknownst to her, Obi-Wan secretly boards the ship just before it takes off. When the couple reunite on Mustafar, they embrace, and Vader tells her that he has brought peace to the Republic, and that he can overthrow Palpatine so he and Padmé can rule the galaxy together. Horrified, Padmé realises that Obi-Wan's story was true, and Anakin has turned to the Dark Side. Vader sees Obi-Wan emerge from Padmé's ship. Enraged, he uses the Force to choke Padmé, thinking she led him there. She loses consciousness and Vader releases the choke. Obi-Wan and Vader break into a ferocious lightsaber duel.
In the Senate building, Yoda confronts Palpatine and the two engage in a fierce battle. Palpatine is too powerful for Yoda to handle, and Yoda barely manages to escape with the help of Bail Organa.
The fierce lightsaber duel continues between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader. Obi-Wan gains the advantage, and cuts off both of Vader's legs and his left arm. Vader tumbles down the embankment and rolls to a stop at the edge of the lava. He ignites into flames and is left close to death. Obi-Wan leaves Mustafar with the badly-injured Padmé. Later, Palpatine arrives at Mustafar with a squad of clone troopers, and they rescue Vader from the edge of death.
Padmé is given medical assistance, but although she is physically intact, her will to live is gone and she passes. However, they manage to save her babies—she delivers twins, a boy and a girl. Padmé gives them the names Luke and Leia. Just before she dies, Padmé says there is still good in Anakin.
On Coruscant, occurring simultaneously in the film with the birth of his children, Vader is given a special suit that keeps him alive. When Palpatine tells Vader that he killed Padmé, Vader unleashes a furious scream in a rage that distorts and destroys the droids in the room.
Aboard the Tantive IV, Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Bail Organa agree to keep the children hidden and separated. Obi-Wan and Yoda will watch and wait until the time is ready for the Skywalker children to do their part in the battle against the Sith. Leia is brought to Alderaan to live with the Queen, and Luke is brought to Tatooine to live with Owen and Beru.
Cast
- Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobi)
- Natalie Portman (Padmé)
- Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker)
- Ian McDiarmid (Supreme Chancellor Palpatine)
- Samuel L. Jackson (Mace Windu)
- Christopher Lee (Count Dooku)
- Anthony Daniels (C-3PO)
- Kenny Baker (R2-D2)
- Frank Oz (Yoda)
Cameo appearances
George Lucas makes an appearance at the Coruscant Opera House as a blue faced being, named Baron Papanoida, that can be seen outside Palpatine's box. It marks Lucas's first and only appearance in any of the Star Wars films. His three children also play cameos: Jett as a young Jedi-in-training called Zett Jukassa at the Jedi Temple, his daughter Amanda as a character called Terr Taneel, seen in the security hologram, and Katie as a blue-skinned alien called Chi Eekway, visible when Palpatine arrives at the Senate after being saved by the Jedi, and talking to Baron Papanoida at the Opera House.
Much of the crew make cameos in the film. Nick Gillard, the stunt coordinator, plays a character named Cin Drallig (his name spelled backwards). Also in the movie was Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett in the original trilogy), who played a speaking roll as Captain Colton, the pilot of the Rebel Blockade Runner Tantive IV.
Deleted roles
Gary Oldman was originally approached to provide the voice of General Grievous, and he accepted. However, complications arose during contract negotions after learning the film was to be made outside of the Screen Actor's Guild, of which he is a member. Out of respect and solidarity with the other members of the guild, he chose to back out of the role rather than violate the union's rules
Scenes with Captain Needa and Mon Mothma were deleted. George Lucas wrote early drafts of the script in which a 10-year-old Han Solo appeared, but the role was never cast or shot.
Bai Ling filmed minor scenes for the film playing the role of a senator, but her role was cut during editing. She claimed that this was because she posed for the June 2005 issue of Playboy magazine, whose appearance on newstands coincided with the movie's May release, but George Lucas denied this, stating that the cut had been made more than a year earlier, and that he had cut out his own daughter's scenes as well.
Production
The film was produced with a budget of US$113 million, in line with the budgets of the other two Star Wars prequels.
Principal photography on the film occurred from June 30 to September 17, 2003 at Fox Studios Australia. George Lucas finished the script of the film only five days before the beginning of principle photography. The long process of post-production continued until weeks before the film was released in 2005.
Lucas confirmed in an interview that Steven Spielberg tinkered with several action sequences in Sith. This happened when a project of his fell through and he had some spare time. Lucas sent over an animatics artist to assist him. It is rumored that the scenes he worked on included the Yoda/Palpatine battle and a part of the Mustafar duel. According to an interview with Hayden Christensen in Playboy magazine, playwright Tom Stoppard did an uncredited re-write and dialogue polish on the script.
Members of Hyperspace, the Official Star Wars Fan Club, received a special look into the production. Not only did Hyperspace members receive special articles, but they also received many other benefits, such as a webcam, which transmitted a new image every 20 seconds during the time it was on from Fox Studios Australia. Many times the stars, and George Lucas himself, were spotted on the cam.
Release
The Revenge of the Sith novel was released two months before the premiere and the actual script was leaked on the Internet a few days later.
Revenge of the Sith premiered at the Cannes Film Festival (out of competition) on 15 May, 2005. It was released in most other countries on May 19, six years to the day after the release of The Phantom Menace ( A New Hope and Return of the Jedi were also released on the same day, six years apart). The global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas claimed before the premiere that it may have cost the US economy approximately US$627 million because of employees who took a day off or reported in sick.
Grauman's Chinese Theatre, a traditional venue for the Star Wars films, did not show it. However, a line of people stood there for more than a month hoping to convince someone to change this. Most of them took advantage of an offer to see the film at a nearby cinema, the Arclight.
A copy of the movie leaked into P2P file sharing networks just hours after opening in theaters. The movie was a time-stamped workprint, suggesting it may have come from within the industry rather than from someone who videotaped an advance screening. It is widely spread and available in popular P2P networks.
Box office performance
The film earned an estimated $16.5 million from 2,900 midnight screenings in North America upon its release. In total, it earned a record $50 million on its opening day. This broke several box office records:
- Midnight screenings. Previously held by The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, which earned $8 million from 2,100 midnight screenings.
- Opening day gross. Previously held by Spider-Man 2 with $40.4 million.
- Single day gross. Previously held by Shrek 2 with $44.8 million.
- Thursday gross. Previously held by The Matrix Reloaded with $37.5 million.
According to the box office prediction and analysis site Box Office Mojo, Revenge of the Sith set domestic records for highest gross in a given number of days for each of at least its first twelve days of release except for the seventh and eighth, where the record is narrowly held by Spider-Man 2.
It totalled $158.5 million in its first four-day period, surpassing the previous four-day record held by The Matrix Reloaded ($134.3 million) and making it the second highest grossing movie of 2005 after just four days in release (behind Hitch, $177.6 million, which it passed on its fifth day). It joins Spider-Man and The Matrix Reloaded as the only movies to make $100 million in three days. It became the only film to tie Spider-Man 2's record of eight days to $200 million, and with $25,088,336 in its third weekend (June 3-5) it had passed $300 million on Saturday, its 17th day, surpassing the record of 18 days held by Shrek 2. It was the third fastest (after Shrek 2 and Spider-Man) to reach $350 million.
It was still playing in a limited number of domestic theaters as of September 21, 2005. Its preliminary total of $380,123,204 ranks it 7th all-time domestically, the highest-grossing movie of 2005 so far by a margin of over $140 million.
Revenge of the Sith was released in 115 countries. Worldwide gross after 18 weeks of release had reached over $846 million, ranking 11th all-time and the highest worldwide of 2005 so far by over $250 million.
Reaction
Critical reaction towards the film was largely enthusiastic, especially in comparison to the two previous prequels. Film review site Rotten Tomatoes gave it a rating of 82% based on 229 reviews, compared to the 63% and 65% received by Episodes I and II. Some critics have noted that they view it to be the best of the prequels, other reviewers have judged it to be the best Star Wars film since The Empire Strikes Back. A. O. Scott of the New York Times concluded that it was the best of all six Star Wars episodes.
Despite the generally positive reception, many critics asserted George Lucas's continued weakness with dialogue in general, particularly with the romantic plot-line. On the other hand, Hayden Christensen's depiction of a more mature Anakin Skywalker and his slow descent to the Dark Side received favourable responses. Various critics have made note that they feel that actors did a better job in general; though as with earlier prequels, they have felt that Lucas did not draw out the potential of Natalie Portman's performance. In contrast with Attack of the Clones, however, critics saw these flaws as minor and not as obtrusive to the film.
Selected plot elements
Cinematic and literary allusions
Throughout Revenge of the Sith Lucas refers to a wide range of films and other sources drawing on political, military and mythological motifs to enhance the impact of his story. Early on Anakin's execution of Dooku mimics the scissor-beheadings of Ridley Scott's film Gladiator, and the subsequent run across the elevator shaft walls while the spaceship is falling in battle echoes the disastrous situations of The Poseidon Adventure.
Palpatine's fears of a Jedi coup d'etat are comparable to the plot of the John Frankenheimer thriller Seven Days in May, while his actions of converting Anakin to the Dark Side and motivating him to assassinate his political enemies in order to aid his ascent to dictatorial powers are more close to the content of Frankenheimer's previous film, The Manchurian Candidate. Also, in both films, the brainwashed assassin eventually murders —or is led to believe he has murdered— his own wife. In Frankenheimer's film, the wife is the daughter of an ACLU card-carrying liberal senator. In Lucas' film, the wife herself is a liberal senator.
Palpatine's appearance and actions are also reminiscent of Dr. Mabuse, particularly as portrayed by German actor Rudolph Klein-Rogge in director Fritz Lang's films. Anakin also bears a resemblance to a villainous character played by Klein-Rogge from a film by Lang —the mad scientist Rotwang from the classic film Metropolis. Both Anakin and Rotwang wear a menacing leather glove on one hand and concentrate on saving —or resurrecting— a lost loved one. Also, Rotwang builds the android whose appearance heavily influenced the image of Lucas' C-3PO, who was built, in The Phantom Menace, by Anakin.
Lucas' editing schemes during Order-66, the slaughter of the Separatists and the declaration of the Galactic Empire is reminiscent of the montage of massacres during the christening scene of The Godfather, a film directed by mentor Francis Ford Coppola, and a film which features several scenes edited by Lucas himself, particularly the aforementioned montages.
Palpatine's scheming manipulations of Anakin have been compared by many, including Ian McDiarmid himself, to those of Iago, the villain of Shakespeare's Othello. In Othello, the title character is led to believe by Iago that his wife has committed adultery with his confidante and lieutenant. In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin comes to believe that his wife, Padmé, has betrayed him to his former master, Obi-Wan.
McDiarmid and others have also called Anakin's journey to the dark side faustian in the sense of making a "pact with the devil" for short-term gain. George Lucas has also used the words "pact with the devil".
Political comparisons
Since early viewings, many have stated that there is a critique of President George W. Bush in the film. [1] Examples cited included Darth Vader's line to Obi-Wan Kenobi, "If you're not with me, then you're my enemy!" This remark echoes Bush's remark that other nations are "either with us or with the terrorists" in the "War on Terrorism" after the September 11th terrorist attacks (which in turn echoes Matthew 12:30). Film critic David Edelstein even coined a term, Darth Dubyous, in response to this. This expression Either with us or against us and similar ones, in modern times, date back to an article written in 1925 by Curzio Suckert, a fascist extremist, in which he accused Benito Mussolini of not endorsing the early fascists' political violence; at the time, Mussolini had not a firm grip on power.
Much of the visual content of the film also alludes to a post-9/11 world, rich with paranoia and conspiracy theories. The assault on the Jedi Temple very clearly resembles the attack on the World Trade Center, and much of the skyline of Coruscant in various scenes resembles New York iconography. When Padmé tells Anakin about the attack on the Jedi Temple —"You can see the smoke from here!"— echoing reactions to 9/11, there is a building in the distance that is a near carbon-copy of the Empire State Building. Furthermore, many have seen the character of Count Dooku as an Osama bin Laden-eque terrorist who secretly reports and obeys the political leader he claims to be an enemy to.
In various interviews George Lucas has repeatedly denied that current political events influenced the movie's script, while subtly implying that there is still a basis for comparison. Rather, he claimed he wrote the basic story outline in the 1970s during the Vietnam War, thinking of President Richard Nixon. Lucas stated at Cannes that "the parallels between what we did in Vietnam and what we're doing in Iraq now are unbelievable." Lucas added that in more general terms, his story represents how any democracy can turn into a dictatorship with the consent of the people, such as in the cases of Caesar Augustus and Napoleon I of France.
Some of the events of the film indeed mirror real landmarks of Adolf Hitler's takeover of Germany. The Great Jedi Purge and Palpatine's secret betrayal of his Separatist Council allies that resulted in their deaths at the hands of his apprentice, Darth Vader, on Mustafar, are very much like the Night of the Long Knives when Heinrich Himmler's SS troops attacked the rival SA and killed Ernst Röhm and other leaders, thus eliminating the last serious threat to Hitler's power. The Senate's vote to give even more power to Palpatine which resulted in the reorganization of the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire afterwards, which prompts Padme's observation, "so this is how liberty dies — with thunderous applause", echoes the Enabling Act passed by the German Reichstag to thunderous applause, a month after the Reichstag fire, ceding what power it had left to the Nazi government.
Still, some conservatives have denounced the film, accusing Lucas of promoting his liberal political views; or even agreeing with film critic Jonathan Last, who wrote after seeing Attack of the Clones that he saw the Empire as the true heroes.
Orson Scott Card, at the religious news site Beliefnet, accused Lucas of promoting moral relativism and elitism, saying that the Jedi "decide among themselves what they're going to do and when its OK to break the law and defy the civilian authority". Card's argument, however, conflicts with some key content of the film. Palpatine tells Anakin that "Good is a point of view." Later, the new Sith Lord Darth Vader echoes this sentiment, saying "From my point of view the Jedi are evil". These statements by the Sith can be interpreted in the light of Obi-Wan's line in Return of the Jedi —"... many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view"— a relativist sentiment that Obi-Wan also expresses in Revenge of the Sith in the line, "Only a Sith deals in absolutes", which is an absolute statement itself. However, Obi-Wan's response to Anakin's "from my point of view the Jedi are evil" is the remark, "then you truly are lost", a decidedly non-relativist statement.
When the United States Senate was debating whether or not to invoke the "nuclear option" a few weeks before Revenge of the Sith's release, Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) used the movie to argue his point of view. He described Palpatine as someone who abused Senate rules to ascend to power, and said that he hoped that when people went to see the movie, they would not be seeing a reflection of their current political climate.
References to the original trilogy
- The title is a reprise of an early working title of Return of the Jedi, "Revenge of the Jedi", which was altered by Lucas with the rationale that Jedi do not take revenge.
- Many vehicles and technology in the film appear to be predecessors of their counterparts in the original trilogy.
- In the beginning of the movie while flying a starfighter on the way to rescue Palpatine, Anakin says, "This is where the fun begins". Han Solo says the exact same line in A New Hope.
- Obi-Wan says the traditional "I have a bad feeling about this!" just before Anakin enters the hangar of General Grievous' battlecruiser.
- The scene where the elevator falls and Anakin has to hold on to the ledge parallels the scene where Luke has to hold on when he falls out of a window in Episode V.
- Palpatine watches as his current apprentice (Count Dooku) and his intended new apprentice (Anakin) duel to the death, while behind them can be seen a massive space fleet battle, as in Return of the Jedi.
- Palpatine urges Anakin to kill Count Dooku, and Anakin does and becomes Palpatine's apprentice. In Return of the Jedi, Palpatine urges Luke to kill Vader, but Luke refuses, and avoids turning to the dark side.
- When Obi-Wan jumps in the middle of the droid army in Utapau, he says "Hello there" to Grievous. This is the first line Obi-Wan says in Episode IV, to R2-D2.
- When Obi-Wan makes his rendezvous with the Tantive IV, the ship he is flying is swallowed up by the Tantive IV's underbelly. This echoes the ultimate fate of the Tantive IV itself in the opening scenes of A New Hope.
- In the original Star Wars script treatment, the climactic battle was between Wookiees and Imperial forces as in Revenge of the Sith. This was adapted for Episode VI as the Battle of Endor between Ewoks and Imperial Stormtroopers.
- Wookiees from Kashyyyk rip out droids from vehicles during the Trade Federation's invasion. Later the Republic kills the Wookiees. In Return of the Jedi, Chewbacca rips out Imperial forces from their AT-STs, avenging his fallen comrades.
- In the battle on the Wookiee planet Kashyyyk, a distinctive Tarzan yell can be heard, just as in Episode VI, when Chewbacca and two Ewoks swing toward an Imperial Scout Walker on Endor.
- In convincing him that the Jedi are trying to oust him as Chancellor, Palpatine urges Anakin to "search your feelings...you know, don't you?" This mirrors Episode V, in which Vader convinces Luke that he is his father, urging the boy to "search your feelings. You know it to be true."
- Palpatine closes his eyes and tells Anakin, "I can feel your anger." He is given the same line, directed at Luke, in Return of the Jedi.
- Anakin is conflicted to choose between Palpatine and a fellow Jedi, as in Return of the Jedi.
- The scene where Mace has his blade at Palpatine's throat is similar to that when Vader has his blade at Luke's throat in The Empire Strikes Back.
- Anakin cuts off the arm of Mace Windu as Palpatine looks on, and joins the Dark Side. In Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker cuts off the arm of Darth Vader as Palpatine looks on, but refuses to join the Dark Side.
- When Anakin and Obi-Wan are approaching the Senate after saving Palpatine, a YT-1300 Corellian Transport, a purposeful copy of the Millennium Falcon, is one of the ships which touch down on Coruscant.
- When Obi-Wan and Yoda return to the Jedi Temple and discover the corpses of their fellow Jedi, closer inspection of the bodies reveals that not all of them were killed by clone troopers, that a lightsaber was used as well, implicating one of the Jedi as a traitor. Obi-Wan decides to look at the security holograms despite Yoda's warning that he will find it painful, and he is dumbstruck to find Anakin led the massacre. This is paralleled in Episode IV when Luke, Obi-Wan and the droids come upon the ruins of the Jawas' sandcrawler and find all of them slaughtered. Luke at first suspects the Sandpeople, but Obi-Wan's closer inspection shows that Imperial Stormtroopers were actually responsible. Luke realizes what this means and races home, despite Obi-Wan's warning that it is too dangerous.
- Vader's offer to Padmé to join him and rule the Empire mirrors Vader's offer to Luke in Episode V.
- Anakin says, "From my point of view, the Jedi are evil." In Return of the Jedi, Obi-Wan tells Luke, "You will find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."
- Vader sustains severe injuries, and lies, defeated, after a duel. He is then rescued by someone who senses him through the Force, then given cybernetic limbs. The same happens to Luke in The Empire Strikes Back.
- Darth Vader's scream of "NOOO!!" upon learning of Padmé's death has been lampooned and criticised as campy and inappropriate following the release of the film. Luke's scream of "NOOO!" upon learning that Darth Vader is his father was also similarly lampooned and poorly received during its release in 1980. An actor screams this line in every Star Wars movie.
- The first line spoken in Episode IV is "Did you hear that?" by C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), on the Tantive IV. The last line spoken in Episode III is "Oh no!", also by C-3PO, played by the same actor, also on that ship.
- The final shot of Owen and Beru holding Luke and looking into the Tatooine twin sunset mirrors a similar scene with Luke in A New Hope. The music is also the same in both cases (the Force Theme).
Trivia
- This is the only time you see two lightsabers of the same color (blue) battle (Anakin and Obi-Wan's). One could also consider the lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan and Grievous, the latter wielding green and blue lightsabers.
- When the ship Anakin and Obi-Wan are on at the start begins firing on an enemy ship, there is some footage of explosions and people being thrown into the air. One of them screams a classic "Wilhelm scream".
- The Revenge of the Sith video game closely follows the film, but for reasons of gameplay greatly expands a number of the action sequences. After the completion of the movie plotline the game unlocks a level that allows the player to go back and replay the final duel from Skywalker's point of view. Its completion then unlocks an alternate short ending where the uninjured Darth Vader kills the Emperor and usurps control of the Galaxy. Plot elements shown in the game include Vader activating the Jedi beacon, killing the librarian Jocasta Nu, and dueling with Cin Drallig and his Padawan Serra Keto (see Cameo appearances above).
- The Darth Vader costume used in the film was created specifically to fit Hayden Christensen, rather than use the old one from the original trilogy. The new costume featured shoe lifts and a muscle suit [2]. It also required Christensen (who is six-foot-one or 1.85 metres, while David Prowse is six-foot-seven or 2 metres) to look through the mouthpiece of the helmet [3].
- Revenge of the Sith has the world record for most special effects used in a single film - over 3500.
- One of the scenes deleted from the theatrical version was Yoda's arrival on Dagobah. Although cut from the theactrical film version, the scene was available in the theatrical digital version and will also be part of the movie on the DVD.
- When the film is released on home video in November 2005, it will only be available on DVD. This will be the first film in the Star Wars Saga not to be available on VHS.
- On the call sheets, Natalie Portman was listed as "Debbie Gibson."
- Ewan McGregor's stunt double was Nash Edgerton (the brother of Joel Edgerton, who plays Owen Lars). Coincidentally, many Star Wars novelizations erroneously refer to Obi-Wan Kenobi as Owen's brother.
- The film's working title was "Rise of the Empire."
- In the first scene between Anakin and Padmé, Padmé has her hair styled in the infamous Princess Leia Danish buns over her ears.
Ratings
Due to its dark undertones and violent nature, Revenge of the Sith is the first and only Star Wars film to receive a PG-13 rating from the MPAA. All previously released films in the series were rated PG. In contrast, A New Hope was originally rated G, but its rating was deliberately pushed up in order to attract a broader audience.
This is a listing of existing ratings for the film:
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Soundtrack
The soundtrack to the film was released by Sony Classical on May 3, 2005, more than two weeks before the release of the film. The music was music composed and conducted by John Williams, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices. John Williams was also composer and conductor of the score for the other five films in the Star Wars saga. A music video titled A Hero Falls was created for the film's theme, Battle of the Heroes, featuring footage from the film.
The soundtrack also came with a collectors' DVD, Star Wars: A Musical Journey, at no additional cost. The DVD features 16 music videos set to remastered selections of music from all six film scores, set chronologically through the saga.
Track listing
- "Star Wars and The Revenge of the Sith" (7:31)
- "Anakin's Dream" (4:46)
- "Battle of the Heroes" (3:42)
- "Anakin's Betrayal" (4:03)
- "General Grievous" (4:07)
- "Palpatine's Teachings" (5:25)
- "Grievous and the Droids" (3:27)
- "Padmé's Ruminations" (3:16)
- "Anakin vs. Obi-Wan" (3:57)
- "Anakin's Dark Deeds" (4:05)
- "Enter Lord Vader" (4:14)
- "The Immolation Scene" (2:41)
- "Grievous Speaks to Lord Sidious" (2:49)
- "The Birth of the Twins and Padmé's Destiny" (3:37)
- "A New Hope and End Credits" (13:05)
DVD release
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith will be released on DVD on November 1, 2005. The DVD will be a two-disc set that will have picture and sound mastered from the original digital source material. The DVD will include a new full-length documentary as well as two featurettes, one which explores the prophecy of Anakin Skywalker as the Chosen One, the other looking at the movie's stunts. The 15 part web documentary series, "Making Episode III", will also be included in the set. LucasFilm has also stated that a playable demo of Star Wars: Battlefront II will also be included on the DVD.
The DVD cover art is the only cover of the six films not to include a central character brandishing a lightsaber towards the viewer.
DVD Features
- Available subtitles: Spanish
- Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1 EX), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
- Commentary by writer-director George Lucas, producer Rick McCallum, animation director Rob Coleman, and ILM visual effects supervisors John Knoll and Roger Guyett
- Exclusive deleted scenes with introductions by George Lucas and Rick McCallum
- "Within a Minute" documentary film about the making of the Mustafar battle
- "The Chosen One" featurette: George Lucas traces the myth of Darth Vader through episodes 1-6
- "It's All for Real: The Stunts of Episode III"
- A 15-part collection of Lucasfilm's Web documentaries
- Star Wars Battlefront II trailer and Xbox game demo
- Star Wars Empire at War PC game trailer
- "A Hero Falls" music video
- Poster and print campaign
- Trailers and TV spots
- Production photo gallery
- DVD-ROM content includes a free trial of Hyperspace
Bonus Disc
The Wal-Mart stores will include a new, separate bonus disc with Revenge of the Sith when it arrives on DVD, as seen here. The new disc will be exclusive to Wal-Mart. The title of the disc is The Story of Star Wars. As in many previous Star Wars "history" featurettes, it will be hosted by the droid duo, R2-D2 and C-3PO. The sticker on the cover of the DVD describes the new DVD as "R2-D2 and C-3P0's chronicles of Luke and Anakin Skywalker". The disc, according to the label, will include almost 60 minutes of additional content to what will be on the DVD set of Revenge of the Sith when it arrives on DVD November 1, 2005.
References
- ^ Box Office Mojo - Star Wars: Episode III.
- ^ Latest 'Star Wars' Movie Is Quickly Politicized by David M. Halbfinger, New York Times, May 19, 2005.
External links
- StarWars.com official Episode III site
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith at IMDb
- TheForce.Net
- BBC Star Wars special feature
- MonoMyth.org - Mythological Structure of Revenge of the Sith
