Star Wars, Episode III Revenge of the Sith

Dark side prevails.

So (finally) the time to close the Star Wars saga has come. All the unanswered questions from the previous episodes will at last let us understand the complex Anakin Skywalker's journey from the light to the dark, the dark side of the force. After all, has Lucas has stated many times, Star Wars is the tragedy of Darth Vader, he is the lead character, unlike many who could have been somehow mislead by the original trilogy focusing more on Luke Skywalker's story. Episode III, Revenge of the Sith is definitely what fans were looking for: the doomed journey into the dark side that would lead emperor Palpatine AKA Darth Sidious to control the universe through the power of his new  apprentice Darth Vader...

The film certainly has its clunky moments, but so did all the other "Star Wars" films. Just go back and listen to Mark Hamill whine to his uncle in A New Hope.

What gave me chills as I watched Revenge of the Sith were the numerous mythological and literary references. These were always highlights of the Star Wars films. It's what raised them above simple space adventures. There are references to Paradise Lost (Count Dooku to Anakin: "Twiced the Pride, double the fall), Prometheus, Frankenstein (Vader's birth) etc.

General Grievous.

Darth Sidious!

Anyone that enjoyed their first viewing of this film should see it again. There are so many details that are not explicitly stated but are meaningful none the less. These include plot details and various modes of symbolism employed by Lucas. Notice how, in their scenes together, Obi Wan is always more in the light and Anakin is more in the shadows. Additionally, there are hints at things that we are never told, but become more obvious with a repeated viewing. One such detail is that Anakin suspects Padame of having an affair with Obi Wan. He says accusingly to Padame, "Obi Wan was here," when they are in her apartment. Then, in one of his vision's of Padame's birth, Anakin sees Obi Wan helping her with the delivery, suggesting that he is perhaps the father of Padme's child. Finally, on Mustafar, when Anakin sees Obi Wan come off of Padme's ship, he feels betrayed, not just because he thinks she's siding with Obi Wan, but also because he feels there might be something between the two of them.

As for the criticism that Anakin's conversion to the Dark Side is unbelievable, I think that it is baseless. Lucas did a superb job of showing Anakin as someone who is too prideful and impatient. He will save Padame at any cost. Additionally, in the scene between Palpadine and Windu, the line between right and wrong has been blurred. By killing Palpadine, Windu would be violating the Jedi code. Palpadine also plays on Anakin's confusion by suggesting the Jedi are attempting to rule the Republic, something Windu already mentioned when he stated that the Jedi would have to take over temporary control of the Senate after Palpadine's arrest. Anakin draws his light saber, not to kill Windu, but to prevent him from committing a crime. He wants to stop Windu's light saber from killing Palpadine--the man who represents his only chance of saving Padame, but in his haste he accidentally cuts off Windu's hand. Once Anakin does this, he is lost. His life as a Jedi, the only life he's ever known, the only thing he's ever aspired to be, has been destroyed. When someone as prideful and immature as Anakin makes such a HUGE mistake it is often almost impossible for them to come to terms with what they have done. The result of this denial is often a defiant repetition of the bad act, a way of insisting to themselves and the world that they have done nothing wrong. These bad acts gain a momentum that eventually complete distorts their sense of morality.

"You're under arrest motherfucker"

Anakin's death scene.

We must also remember that Sidious, or his Sith master, has used the Force to impregnate Anakin's mother with the expectation of him one day becoming the galaxy's most powerful sith lord. Palpadine/Sidious has spent all of Anakin's life grooming him for the moment he changes his allegiance. Sidious has befriended Anakin, given him a taste of power and planted seeds of doubt regarding the Jedi's true intentions. He has been the closest thing to a father Anakin has ever had. With all this in mind, Anakin's conversion seems justified.

As for the acting and dialogue that are being relentlessly bashed, I submit that it's not as bad as some would suggest. Christensen's angry, confused brooding is mostly dead on while portraying a major shift in his character. MacGregor is at his best as Obi Wan. Even Portman's diminished role in this film is thoughtfully portrayed. Above all, the actors and Lucas seem to be having much more fun with this film. They have loosened up and it shows. There are humorous moments that cut through the political debate and relentless action. There are even a few quiet moments that subtly allude to strong emotions that Lucas fails to portray through his dialogue, such as the scene where Anakin is looking out of window of the Jedi council, across the city to where Padame is looking back across the city at him. This important scene illuminates Anakin's frame of mind before he hurries to the Senator's chamber to stop Windu from killing him.

the Dark side owns the movie, literally.

Darth Vader's early trainings.

Visually, this film is absolutely stunning, so much so that I had to see it a second time just to take in the tremendous amount of detail. The action, the score and the sound effects all work to enhance the main plot and theme of the film, rather than overwhelming them. Revenge of the Sith attempts so much more than most "popcorn" movies in terms of pure entertainment, and thematically, it trumps many of the more "serious" theatric releases. All of this combines to make Revenge of the Sith far and away the best film of 2005, and maybe of the last five years. It is certainly a galaxy far, far above Million Dollar Baby, though that is saying very little. Yes peeps, this is the movie we have all been waiting for.

Revenge of the Sith Secrets(finally?) revealed. 

Now let's rejoice with a collection of the most interesting behind the scenes/production secrets you probably would not want to miss from Episode III and if you did miss them on screen now it's the time to replay your Blu-Ray/DVD disc to find these weird moments. Remote control skills required.

Star Destroyer Kitchen set.

In the opening sequence when the second Separatist ship is destroyed, a piece of debris flies into the Clone Star destroyer that shot it. That piece of debris is a Kitchen Sink. It was it put in there by ILM as a joke from someone saying, "We're throwing everything in the sequence but the kitchen sink.

4 Hours of Episode III.

The original cut of the film ran nearly four hours. The opening battle/Palpatine rescue alone ran over an hour!

Wookie suit with Bat suit technology.

The Wookiee costumes from this film sport a new arterial system that pump ice cold water to help cool down the actor wearing the suit.   

Friend or...

...Foe?

Man of a thousand voices.

Apart from providing the voice of R2D2 and the heavy breathing of Darth Vader, which he has done since Episode IV, Ben Burtt provided the voices for every Battle Droid, Super Battle Droid and Buzz Droid in Revenge of the Sith. 

Millenium Falcon!

After the opening battle, as the transport lands at the senate building in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen the Millennium Falcon (or a ship of similar model, Corellian Engineering Corporation YT series YT-1300 Transport) can be seen landing. In the Expanded Universe Star Wars story outside the movies, the YT-1300 has been confirmed as the Millenium Falcon, then named Stellar Envoy, long before Han Solo owned it.

Qui-Gon Jinn Cameo.

Liam Neeson has said that he recorded a cameo as Qui-Gonn Jinn, which was to feature in a scene with Yoda, further explaining the concept of a Jedi communicating from beyond the grave. In the script, the dialog (in which Qui-Gonn is heard, not seen) appeared in the scene in which Yoda is meditating on the secret asteroid base, just before Bail Organa informs him of Obi-Wan's return with Padme. The scene does not appear in the deleted scenes section of the DVD, however an unfinished version was included in the Blu Ray Release Box Set.  

Forbidden love leads inevitably to...

...a Brutal intergalactic tragedy.

Yoda likes Hip-hop.

EASTER EGG: On the Options menu, press "11 Enter 3 Enter 8 Enter" (1138). Yoda will dance to hip-hop music. 

No Academy Awards for you Episode III.

This is the only Star Wars movie that did not receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects. The film's only nomination was for its make-up, which it lost to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)  

Obi Wan's gift to Luke.

After their climactic duel, Obi-Wan can be seen picking up Anakin's lightsaber, which he later gives to Anakin's son Luke in Episode IV. 

Han Solo? nope!

Originally, a young Han Solo was going to make an appearance in the film, living among the Wookies on Kashyyyk.  

George Lucas trolled Hayden Christensen.

George Lucas deliberately made the Darth Vader suit top-heavy (for instance adding weight on the helmet) to make Hayden Christensen not appear "too accustomed" to it in the movie. 

Long time friendship?

Survivors of a massacre.

Commissioner Gordon almost made it.

 

Gary Oldman had agreed to be the voice of General Grievous, but pulled out of the film because it was being made using actors who are not part of the Screen Actor's Guild, of which Oldman is a member. The role was read by Duncan Young on set, and finally voiced by Matthew Wood, who, being a Lucasfilm employee, submitted his reading under the name of Alan Smithee.  

Ian McDiarmid the emperor of the saga.

During the production of this film, Lucas also filmed a scene for Episode V. Ian McDiarmid, who first played Emperor Palpatine in Episode VI, was filmed in prosthetic make-up for use in the character's first appearance as a hologram in Empire, replacing the unknown woman and the voice of Clive Revill. 

William Shakespeare's Presence. 

Ian McDiarmid has likened Palpatine in this film to Iago in William Shakespeare's play Othello, in the way he manipulates other characters to turn against each other, to their own destruction. McDiarmid has in fact played Iago on stage, as has Ewan McGregor. James Earl Jones has played Othello himself. 

Alien Subtitles.

One of only two Star Wars films without English subtitles to translate alien languages, the other being Episode V. 

Anakin, the silent watcher.

Anakin was originally supposed to just watch the entire fight between Palpatine and the other Jedi Masters, with Palpatine even having stolen Anakin's lightsaber to do so. The entire fight would have had Anakin debating on which side he was going to choose. They even filmed it, but they figured that Anakin simply watching the fight meant that he had already made his choice, so it was refilmed to the current one. Further, the final fight between Windu and Palpatine was supposed to be an all-over-the-place masterpiece, but due to Lucas wanting Ian McDiarmid to do as many of his own stunts as possible, it was reduced to, largely, Windu forcing Palpatine down the hallway and then a bit of a scrap in the office before Anakin showed up and both started talking to him.  

Nothing left in the inside.

No love, only pain & hatred.

Grand Moff Tarkin.

George Lucas originally intended have Peter Cushing reprise his role as Tarkin, years after his death, through the use of stock footage and digital technology. However, the idea was scrapped when the footage of Cushing was deemed unusable. 

Darth Vader's shiny mask.

The Darth Vader mask for this film was rebuilt from scratch, using a new digital design to computer-lathe the base master, from which molds were made to cast the on-screen costume masks. The resulting masks are, for the first time in Star Wars history, truly symmetrical.  

Wookie Battle. 

The battle with Wookiees dates back to the earliest screenplays of Episode IV. Originally, the Wookiees were supposed to help the Rebels conquer an Imperial bunker. This idea was the basis for the Battle of Endor in Episode VI, but instead of using Wookiees, George Lucas decided to use a smaller furry race and call them Ewoks. 

Two month Jedi Training.

Actors Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen trained for two months in fencing and fitness in preparation for their fight sequences.  

Hey Grievous, remember your old pal Mace Windu?

General Grievous's breathing problems in this film, as well as his exposed gut-sack (later exploited by Obi Wan) 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. 

Grievous Midiclorians, what!?

Many viewers were surprised the Grievous could be trained in Jedi arts, much less wield a lightsaber. The answer is that when Grievous was constructed, he was given the blood of a Jedi Master, who had a high midi-chlorian count. With this connection to the Force, Grievous had no difficulty learning Jedi ways. 

Anakin suffered borderline personality disorder.

In 2007, Dr. Eric Bui, a psychiatrist in Toulouse, France, co-wrote a study that diagnosed Anakin Skywalker as having borderline personality disorder. When the authors reported their findings at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association they stated that Skywalker fit the diagnosis criteria: difficulty controlling anger, stress-related breaks with reality, impulsivity, obsession with abandonment and a "pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of ideation and devaluation".  

a new hope is born.

Future days...

Anakin, bastard son of Darth Plagueis.

The first draft of the script also explained the mystery surrounding Anakin's conception. In the confrontation scene between Anakin and Palpatine (where Palpatine confesses to Anakin he is Darth Sidious), he would also explain that his master, Darth Plagueis, used the power of the Force to will the midichlorians to start the cell divisions that created Anakin. This explanation was later deemed unnecessary by George Lucas and subsequently cut. 

"You wil go to the Dagobah system"

A short clip of Yoda arriving with his ship on the planet Dagobah for his self-chosen exile was filmed, but not included in the final scene. According to producer Rick McCallum, he liked the shot very much, and he practically begged George Lucas to include it. However, Lucas preferred to keep the focus of the epilogue on the members of the Skywalker family (in order: Padme, Anakin, Leia and Luke). Yoda's deleted scene is included as a bonus on the DVD release of the movie.  

Palpatine, a real politician.

Chancellor Palpatine's strategy for maintaining power is known to political scientists, and is called Perpetual War. He comes to power through conflict with the Trade Federation, gains greater privileges through the Clone War, and solidifies his position through war on the Jedi. 

 Episode III video section.

The first video is the legendary teaser trailer that kept fans hoping for the better:

The second video is a compilation with all the TV spots made for the film:

The third video is the official trailer:

The fourth video is a compilation of the deleted scenes of the film:

Wow! it's been quite a trip finding all this information not only for Episode III but for all of the previous Star Wars reviews I have made. As a fan I can say I'm satisfied now. I know there are plenty of sites with more quality info, but hey! this is a regular people movie blog! We're not pretentious, we just like films as much as you do. Until then, may the force be with you!