Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

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Star Wars Episode III:
Revenge of the Sith
Directed by George Lucas
Written by George Lucas
Starring Ewan McGregor
Natalie Portman
Hayden Christensen
Ian McDiarmid
Produced by Rick McCallum
George Lucas
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Release date May 19, 2005 (USA)
Runtime 140 min.
Language English
Budget $113,000,000
IMDb page

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (often abbreviated ROTS by fans) is the third chapter (but the sixth to be produced) in the popular six-part Star Wars film series by George Lucas. 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.

Three years after the onset of the Clone Wars, the noble Jedi Knights have been leading a massive clone army into a galaxy-wide battle against the Separatists. When the sinister Sith unveil a thousand-year-old plot to rule the galaxy, the Republic crumbles and from its ashes rises the evil Galactic Empire. Jedi hero Anakin Skywalker is seduced by the dark side of the Force to become the Emperor’s new apprentice – Darth Vader. The Jedi are decimated, as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Master Yoda are forced into hiding. The only hope for the galaxy are Anakin’s own offspring – the twin children born in secrecy who will grow up to become Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa. 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.

Contents

Plot summary

Battle of Coruscant.
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Battle of Coruscant.

The opening crawl reveals that the galaxy is in the midst of war. Chancellor Palpatine has been kidnapped by the Separatist's second-in-command, General Grievous, 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 by two buzz droids and the two Jedi crash into the hangar of the The Invisible Hand, where the Chancellor is held hostage. They make their way to the observatory were Chancellor Palpatine is being held captive by Count Dooku (Darth Tyranus). In the ensuing lightsaber duel, Darth Tyranus is literally disarmed and brought to his knees. With encouragement from Palpatine, Anakin beheads the helpless Sith Lord. The ship is damaged by an attack from a Rebulic cruiser, and begins to descend uncontrolled into Coruscant. Anakin takes the controls and pilots the ship into an unorthodox crash 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 agrees with the Chancellor's appointment, 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 Kenobi engaging General Grievous.
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Obi-Wan Kenobi engaging General Grievous.

Obi-Wan is sent to Utapau to find General Grievous, leader of the droid army. After witnessing an argument between General Grievous and Nute Gunray, he emerges from the shadows on top of a walk way, 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 Anakin to go to the Jedi Temple and kill all the Jedi within, then to go to the Mustafar system and kill Viceroy Gunray and the other Seperatist leaders.

Palpatine orders clone troopers across the galaxy to turn against their Jedi Generals. Ki-Adi-Mundi, Aayla Secura, Barriss Offee, Luminara Unduli, Plo Koon, Stass Allie, and other numerous 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.

Darth Vader begins carrying out Palpatine's orders.
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Darth Vader begins carrying out Palpatine's orders.

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.

Vader and Obi-Wan duel on Mustafar.
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Vader and Obi-Wan duel on Mustafar.

In the Senate building, Yoda confronts Palpatine and the two engage in a fierce battle. In a ferocious contest of Force powers both are flung apart, Yoda falling to the floor of the Senate house. With clone troopers coming to aid Palpatine, Yoda makes the heartwrenching decision to retreat, and escapes with the help of Bail Organa.

The fierce lightsaber duel continues between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader. Obi-Wan soon gains the advantage of higher ground, and, when Vader attempts to jump over his former master, Obi-Wan cuts off both of his 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 sustains near-fatal third-degree burns and severe lung damage. 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 dies. 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.

Vader's respirator mask is placed on him for the first time.
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Vader's respirator mask is placed on him for the first time.

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 droids and equipment 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

Actor/Actress Role(s)
Ewan McGregor Obi-Wan Kenobi
Natalie Portman Padmé Amidala
Hayden Christensen Anakin Skywalker, Darth Vader
Ian McDiarmid Palpatine, Darth Sidious
Samuel L. Jackson Mace Windu
Christopher Lee Count Dooku
Anthony Daniels C-3PO
Kenny Baker R2-D2
Frank Oz voice of Yoda
Jimmy Smits Bail Organa
Matthew Wood voice of General Grievous
James Earl Jones voice of suited Darth Vader
Silas Carson Ki-Adi-Mundi, Nute Gunray


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 role 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. The scene where Yoda arrives on Dagobah to begin his self-imposed exile and bids farewell to Bail Organa and Obi-Wan Kenobi was also cut, but is featured in a deleted scene in the DVD release.

Many Order 66 scenes were cut. The deaths of Barriss Offee and Luminara Unduli were either cut from the film or never filmed in the first place. The death scene of Shaak Ti is a DVD deleted scene. The death scene of Quinlan Vos was never filmed.

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 principal 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

Teaser poster for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
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Teaser poster for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

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.

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.

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. Many critics were pleased with the acting, however, with Hayden Christensen's depiction of a more mature Anakin Skywalker and Ian McDiarmid's charismatic turn as the ascendant Chancellor Palpatine receiving the most acclaim. As with earlier prequels, many felt that Lucas did not draw out the potential of Natalie Portman's performance, but this is partially because her entire sub-plot (as a founding member of the Rebel Alliance, alongside Bail Organa and Mon Mothma) was cut from the film. In contrast with the previous two prequels, these flaws are seen as minor and not obstrusive to the film.

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:

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 apparently stopped running in domestic theaters on October 20, 2005. Its preliminary total of $380,262,555 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 21 weeks of release had reached over $847 million, ranking 11th all-time and the highest worldwide of 2005 so far by over $250 million.

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 a 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.

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. 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 did not have 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 to 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, eliminating Hitler's sole remaining rival and his power base.

When the Senate votes to give even more power to Palpatine, who then reorganizes the Galactic Republic as the Galactic Empire, Padmé comments, "so this is how liberty dies — with thunderous applause." This 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. These events mirror, as well, the expansion of powers given to the executive branch in the United States when the Patriot Act was passed shortly after the 9/11 disaster.

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 it's 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 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.

The whole tone and conduct of the rebublic's Senate mirror those of the Senate of ancient Rome. The Roman Senate was similarly beset by internal conflicts and inefficincies, ultimately resulting in the take-over by a strong, militaristic leader (Julius Caesar briefly and his adopted son Octavian at a later date), though the Senate remained as a nominal body under the rule of the emperors. Some of the overtly fascist imageries of Palpatine's rule might come directly from those of ancient Rome - these were reappropriate by Mussollini for his party.

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 Separatists' invasion. This mirrors the scenes in Return of the Jedi where Chewbacca rips out Imperial forces from their AT-STs.
  • 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 gives 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, 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.
  • Vader 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."
  • Padmé says to Obi-Wan on Polis Massa before she dies, "There ... is good in him. I know there is... still...", referring to Anakin, and then dies. In Return of the Jedi, Luke says to Obi-Wan on Dabogah, "There is still good in him."
  • 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).

Soundtrack

Album cover of the Revenge of the Sith soundtrack.
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Album cover of the Revenge of the Sith 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 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

  1. "Star Wars and The Revenge of the Sith" (7:31)
  2. "Anakin's Dream" (4:46)
  3. "Battle of the Heroes" (3:42)
  4. "Anakin's Betrayal" (4:03)
  5. "General Grievous" (4:07)
  6. "Palpatine's Teachings" (5:25)
  7. "Grievous and the Droids" (3:27)
  8. "Padmé's Ruminations" (3:16)
  9. "Anakin vs. Obi-Wan" (3:57)
  10. "Anakin's Dark Deeds" (4:05)
  11. "Enter Lord Vader" (4:14)
  12. "The Immolation Scene" (2:41)
  13. "Grievous Speaks to Lord Sidious" (2:49)
  14. "The Birth of the Twins and Padmé's Destiny" (3:37)
  15. "A New Hope and End Credits" (13:05)

Novelization

  • Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - Novelisation, 1st edition hardcover, 2005. Matthew Woodring Stover, George Lucas, ISBN 0-7126-8427-1

A book version of the movie was written by Matthew Stover. The novelization includes much more dialogue than the movie, including a conversation between Count Dooku and Darth Sidious, where the reader learns Palpatine lied to Dooku about what the Empire would truly be. The novel includes many little details that some Star Wars fans are likely to appreciate. For example, during the Battle of Coruscant, Anakin's callname is Red 5, a reference to Luke's callsign in the Battle of Yavin.

Video game

Main article: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (video game)

A video game, based on the film, was released on May 5, 2005, two weeks before the film. The game followed the movie's storyline, for the most part, intergrating scenes from the movie. However, many sections of the game featured cut scenes from the movie, or entirely new scenes for the game. The style of the game was mostly lightsaber combat and fighting as Obi-Wan or Anakin. One unique and popular aspect of the game was that it included an alternate ending, which functioned as such to both the game and the movie, which involved Anakin killing Obi-Wan, instead of Obi-Wan defeating Anakin as in the movie. After the death of Obi-Wan, Anakin proceeds to kill Palpatine, and take over the galaxy.

Trivia

  • This is the only time you see two lightsabers of the same color (blue) battle (Vader and Obi-Wan's). One could also consider the lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan and Grievous, the latter wielding green and blue lightsabers. This is also the only time a blue lightsaber will win a duel (Mostly the green lightsaber will win in all the other episodes).
  • 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 Vader'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 [1]. 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 [2].
  • 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 film was Yoda's arrival on Dagobah. Even though it didn't make it into the film, it is available on the bonus disc of the Revenge of the Sith DVD as one of the deleted scenes.
  • When the film was released on home video in November 2005, it became the only Star Wars film never to be released on VHS (VHS copies are for sale in stores in the United Kingdom and Australia, however). It is only available on DVD. This has caused some backlash from fans collecting both the DVD and VHS versions, complaining that their VHS set will not be complete without Episode III.
  • The DVD cover art is the only cover of the six films not to include a central character brandishing a lightsaber towards the viewer.
  • This was the first DVD release not to contain a secret blooper reel of footage from filming. Instead it contained a rap video with a dancing Yoda and clonetroopers.
  • 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, the Return of the Jedi novelization erroneously refers 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.
  • The limestone mountains depicting Kashyyyk were filmed in Phuket, Thailand (which was later damaged by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami). One of the planets - Utapau - is named after a coastal city in Thailand within 50 miles of Bangkok. Lucas originally intended this name for Tatooine.
  • This is the only Star Wars film in which the opening crawl has an exclamation point in it.
  • Yoda rubs his head while deep in thought. George Lucas requested this of the animators as an homage to Takashi Shimura's signature gesture in Kurasawa's Seven Samurai.
  • The hot rod speeder car driven by Senator Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits) is based on the front of a Tucker that is parked at Skywalker Ranch.
  • General Grievous' breathing problems in this film are caused by his brief encounter with Mace Windu in "Star Wars: Clone Wars" (2003). Mace Windu "force-gripped" Grievous as the General was making off with Palpatine, crushing the cyborg's chest panel.
  • Composer John Williams added to his opening score an homage to composer Joel McNeely's work from the score to "Shadows of the Empire", a book written to take place between Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. It can be heard briefly during the battle scene over Coruscant.
  • Bail Organa's ship at the end is a real set. No blue screen work was used for those scenes.
  • George Lucas originally intended to have Peter Cushing reprise his role as Tarkin, years after his death, through the use of stock footage and digital technology. Unfortunately, the footage of Cushing was deemed unusable, and the idea was scrapped. Eventually, however, the film's casting director was able to find a very close lookalike, Wayne Pygram.
  • The final scene on Tatooine, where Obi-Wan Kenobi delivers the infant Luke to his aunt and uncle, is often referred to as the "Harry Potter scene". Composer John Williams included a small 11-tone musical cue in the scene reminiscent of his score for Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone (2001). It can be heard when Obi-Wan arrives at Owen and Beru's house.
  • This is the first and only Star Wars film where Palpatine wields his lightsaber.
  • Palpatine's lightsaber is the only Sith lightsaber that is never seen coming in contact with a blue-bladed lightsaber.
  • Also, Palpatine's lightsaber is the only Sith lightsaber that touches Mace Windu's purple blade.
  • The scene where Amidala meets up with Anakin on Mustafar was parodied for the 2005 MTV Movie Awards.
  • The original soundtrack is the only one in the prequel trilogy that does not have a shot of Tatooine as its backdrop.
  • This is the only episode that does not have R2-D2 and/or C-3PO in the closing shot.
  • There are markings on Obi-Wan's starfighter counting the number of kills he scored. During World War II, pilots often placed markings on their planes to personalize them.
  • George Lucas' daughters, who make cameos at the opera house, refused to be in the scene unless their father was in the scene with them. Lucas stands talking with his youngest daughter, and his oldest daughter is in center screen, talking to her boyfriend. (DVD audio commentary)
  • On early discs with the DVD release, the file containing the movie was named "CHARLOTTE," rather than something relating to the movie itself. This was done intentionally by those who created the DVD, in order to keep it a secret as to what exact DVD it was before release. The file will be called something relating to Revenge of the Sith, however, in later pressings of the DVD; it was given this name only in early pressings.
  • Several lava explosions, seen in Mustafar at the fight scene between Anakin and Obi-Wan Kenobi, were in fact real life explosions shot from Mount Etna's eruption which were afterwards, combined with computer generated effects to create the impresive and real-life atmosphere.
  • According to the filmmakers in the audio commentary, the speed in which Anakin and Obi-Wan engage their lightsaber duel is the speed in which the duel was filmed, and was not digitally sped up.
  • Episode III features the longest opening continuing shot in the entire Star Wars saga (nearly two minutes long).

DVD release

Front cover of the DVD release.
Enlarge
Front cover of the DVD release.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was released on DVD on November 1, 2005 (in the USA). The DVD was a two-disc set, with picture and sound mastered from the original digital source material. The DVD includes 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", is also included in the set. A playable demo of Star Wars: Battlefront II was also included on the DVD. The trailer to the DVD, which previews these features can be downloaded here. Unlike every other release of a Star Wars film, Revenge of the Sith was released without any alterations by George Lucas from the film's digital theatrical cut.

Notable firsts

  • Unlike every other DVD release of a Star Wars film, Revenge of the Sith was released without any alterations by George Lucas from the film's digital theatrical cut.
  • The DVD cover art is the only cover of the six films not to include a central character brandishing a lightsaber towards the viewer.
  • This release is notable because, due to marketing issues, it was the first Star Wars film never to be released on VHS (except in Australia and the United Kingdom). This has caused some backlash from fans collecting both the DVD and VHS versions, complaining that their VHS set will not be complete without Episode III.
  • This was the first release not to contain a secret blooper reel of footage from filming as an Easter Egg. Instead it contained a rap video with a dancing Yoda and Clone troopers.

DVD features (USA)

Disc 1:

  • Available subtitles: English
  • 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

Disc 2:

  • 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 cover of The Story of Star Wars alongside the Revenge of the Sith DVD.

The Wal-Mart stores included a new, separate bonus disc with some copies of Revenge of the Sith, when it arrived on DVD [3]. The disc, titled The Story of Star Wars, was an exclusive to Wal-Mart.

As in many previous Star Wars "history" featurettes, it is hosted with newly shot footage by the droid duo, R2-D2 and C-3PO. The sticker on the cover describes it as "R2-D2 and C-3P0's chronicles of Luke and Anakin Skywalker". Presented in full frame with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound and running 1 hour in total, it was originally produced and released in 2004 as a 3-disc collection for the Videonow Color personal video player. The DVD version contains the content from the first two discs: The Story of Anakin Skywalker and The Story of Luke Skywalker. The footage used contains no scenes from Revenge of the Sith nor does it have the changes contained in the 2004 DVD Special Edition releases.

Success

On November 8, 2005, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment reported that, together with Star Wars: Battlefront II, the DVD has earned around $280 million, so far.[4]

References

  1. ^ Box Office Mojo - Star Wars: Episode III.
  2. ^ Latest 'Star Wars' Movie Is Quickly Politicized by David M. Halbfinger, New York Times, May 19, 2005.

External links


Star Wars
I: The Phantom Menace | II: Attack of the Clones | III: Revenge of the Sith

IV: A New Hope | V: The Empire Strikes Back | VI: Return of the Jedi

Spin-off films - Spin-off TV series - Expanded Universe - FanFilms
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