Episode 3

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 science fiction film written and directed by George Lucas. It was the sixth and final film to be released in the Star Wars saga, but it is the third part of the series by chronology of events. Among fans, it is commonly referred to as ROTS. 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, led by Darth Sidious, unveil a thousand-year-old plot to rule the galaxy, the fate of Anakin Skywalker, the Jedi order, and the entire galaxy is at stake. 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 contrast 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.

Plot summary

US$ The opening crawl reveals that the galaxy is in the midst of war. Chancellor Palpatine has been kidnapped by the Separatists second-in-command, General Grievous, and Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi lead a mission to rescue him. The camera trucks down from a blinding Coruscanti sun, to reveal a Venator-class Star Destroyer, with two Jedi Starfighters flying alongside it. 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 Darth Tyranus (Count Dooku). In the ensuing lightsaber duel, Anakin defeats Tyranus by amputating his hands. Palpatine urges Anakin to kill Tyranus, and despite Anakin's reservation, he does. Anakin immediately expresses regret; to kill a foe who surrenders is not the way of the Jedi. Palpatine reassures him that Tyranus was too dangerous to be kept alive. Anakin, Obi-Wan, and the Chancellor attempt to escape the ship, but are captured by General Grevious and taken to the bridge. Anakin and Obi-Wan try to capture Grevious, eliminating most of the bridge crew in the process; Grevious escapes, however, launching the ship's escape pods. Unable to leave the cruiser, which has been damaged in an engagement with the Republic fleet, Anakin crash-lands the cruiser on one of Coruscant's landing fields. Upon his return planetside, Anakin is reunited with his wife, Padmé, and she informs him of her pregnancy. Despite Padmé's worries, as they have kept their love and their marriage secret, Anakin is overjoyed at this news, and the couple make plans to raise their child. However, Anakin is troubled by visions of Padmé dying in childbirth, visions like those he had of his mother before she died. Chancellor Palpatine 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, due to his nightmares regarding Padmé. Jedi Council 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 quickly disposes of Grievous's personal bodyguards before engaging Grievous himself. Undaunted by the General's four-saber technique, Obi-wan quickly finds an opening in Grievous's defences and slices off two of his four hands. At this moment, the Clone Army arrives, forcing Grievous to retreat on his Wheel Bike. After a long chase through the Utapauian city, Obi-Wan catches Grievous at his private hangar, where they yet again fight. Obi-Wan manages to break open Grievous's loose chestplate, exposing the living organs in his chest. Obi-Wan retrieves the droid's blaster and shoots the General several times in the chest, killing him, then tosses the blaster on the ground, muttering that it was, "so uncivilized." Meanwhile, Anakin 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. 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 Windu engage in a lightsaber duel, Anakin arrives. Just as Windu is about to finish Palpatine, Anakin cuts off Mace's hand. Caught off guard, Windu is hit by Palpatine's Force lightning, defenestrating and killing him. Palpatine takes Anakin as his Sith apprentice, and christens 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 Separatist 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. battalion of clone troopers 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 initially greeted by Viceroy Nute Gunray, however Vader immediately attacks the Separatist leaders and their small force of guards, ending the slaughter by killing 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. Padmé wants to leave public life to live together and raise their child, but 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. Vader sees Obi-Wan emerge from Padmé's ship, and suspects her of betraying him to his former Master. Enraged, he uses the Force to choke Padmé unconscious. Obi-Wan and Vader break into a ferocious lightsaber duel. the Force 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 chamber. With clone troopers coming to aid Palpatine, Yoda makes the heart-wrenching 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, sustaining 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. Leia 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. On Naboo, Padme's parents have her funeral. In space, onboard a Star Destroyer, Darth Vader and the Emperor oversee what is either the construction of the first Death Star or the Death Star prototype. Leia is brought to Alderaan to live with the Queen, and Luke is brought to Tatooine to live with Owen and Beru.

Cast

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' first and only appearance in any of the Star Wars films. His three children also play cameos: his son, 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 daughter 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 also 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. However, the Millennium Falcon makes an appearance in the scene in which Anakin and Obi-wan return to Coruscant. It is one of the ships landing in the background. The scene where Yoda arrives on Dagobah to begin his self-imposed exile 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. Quinlan Vos' death scene 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 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's story was written by Lucas, in the form of a basic plot outline, in 1973. It was later adapted into a script from 2003 to 2004. The film was produced with a budget of US$113 million, making it the least expensive of the three prequel films. 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 rewrite 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 Lucas himself, were spotted on the cam.

Release

webcam 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. Then, on June 4th, 2005, an Internal Xvid Rip version of the film was leaked into P2P file sharing networks as well, which was the final, theatrical cut of the movie seen in theaters, and was a much higher fidelity version of the film than the workprint one, although still not quite as good as the theatrical release, and was also wasn't a TeleCine transfer yet, due to vibrations and frame-skips during certain moments in the movie. It wasn't retail, but it wasn't far off, either. Both rips are widely spread and available in popular P2P networks.

Ratings

Due to its dark undertones and scenes of violence, 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, except for A New Hope, were rated PG. 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 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Some critics have noted that they view it to be the best of the prequels, while other reviewers have judged it to be the best Star Wars film since Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. A. O. Scott of the New York Times concluded that it was better than Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, and equal to The Empire Strikes Back as "the richest and most challenging movie in the cycle." Despite the generally positive reception, many critics asserted Lucas' continued weakness with dialogue in general, particularly with the romantic plot-line. Many critics were pleased with the acting, however, with 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 obtrusive 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:
- 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 2s 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 the Jedi navigate their way through General Grevious' ship by traversing elevator shafts, thematically and visually echoing the tradition of post-Die Hard action movies and Lars von Trier's mini-series Riget (The Kingdom). 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 fabrication of a Jedi "coup d'etat" is comparable to the plot of the John Frankenheimer thriller Seven Days in May, while his conversion of 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. The lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan and the four-armed skeletal cyborg General Grevious echoes similar fight sequences in Ray Harryhausen's filmography, particularly the fights involving animated skeletons and multi-armed statues in Jason and the Argonauts and the Sinbad the Sailor series. The close-ups on Grevious' and Obi-Wan's eyes is likely an homage to the work of Sergio Leone, whose protracted gunfights featured such extreme close-ups, especially in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. 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 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. In both cases, jealousy drives the husband to strangle his wife. McDiarmid, Lucas, 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. Midway in the film, Lucas intercuts between Anakin and Padme by themselves, thinking about one another in the Jedi Temple and their apartment, respectively during sunset, in a sequence without dialogue and complimented by a moody, synthicized soundtrack. Lucas' coverage of the exterior cityscapes, skylines and interior isolation is similar to the cinematography and mis-en-scene of Roman Polanski, particularly in The Pianist, The Tenant and Rosemary's Baby, a film in which a husband makes a literal 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. The 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. Some of the deleted scenes included with the DVD release suggest a further analogy between Palpatine and Bush. In one, Padmé visits him in his office to present a petition asking him to lift the state of emergency and return to full democracy. While outwardly sympathetic to her concerns, he tells her "You must trust me to do what is right," echoing a line often used by supporters of Bush. 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 of. In various interviews, 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 the Cannes Film Festival 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 Siths 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 left-wing group MoveOn later published leaflets for distribution outside theaters showing the film comparing the Republican Senate leadership of the time to Palpatine. The whole tone and conduct of the Republic's Senate mirror those of the Senate of ancient Rome. The Roman Senate was similarly beset by internal conflicts and inefficiencies, 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 reappropriated by Mussolini for his party. Some commentators have seen comparisons between the events of this film (and also in the events in Attack of the Clones) and the American Civil War. ROTS and the film preceding it show a group of dissatisfied systems trying to separate from the Republic, just as in the American Civil War dissatisfied States tried to secede from the American Republic. The separatists in Star Wars name themselves the "Confederacy of Independent Systems", just as the Southern States in the US declared themselves the "Confederate States of America". Both Confederacies show a marked lean toward free trade while both Republics show a tendancy toward taxation. In ROTS, Palpatine demands extensive war powers, just as American President Abraham Lincoln suspended writs of Habeas Corpus and imposed extensive restrictions on the American people. Some characters in the film are loyal to the Republic but display a marked discomfort with Palpatine's demand for an Army, just as Lincoln's call for volunteers to end the secession alienated many and drove states like Virginia and others into the Confederate fold. Most interestingly of all, both Palpatine's Clone Army and Lincoln's Union Army were called "The Grand Army of the Republic". These parallels are supported by the fact that, in addition to Nixon, Lincoln has also been cited by Lucas as an inspiration for Palpatine.

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 kills Grievous with a blaster and says "So uncivilized", echoing the line in Episode IV when he talks about the lightsaber "for a more civilized age"
- When Obi-Wan makes his rendezvous with the Tantive IV, the ship he is flying is swallowed up by the Tantive IVs 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, and when Luke had his blade at Vader's throat in Return of the Jedi.
- Anakin cuts off Mace Windu's weapon hand, as Palpatine looks on, and joins the Dark Side. In Return of the Jedi, Luke Skywalker cuts off Darth Vader's weapon hand, 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, and he is dumbstruck to find that Owen and Beru Lars were fried by Imperial Stormtroopers.
- 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, I know there is still...", referring to Anakin. In Return of the Jedi, Luke says to Obi-Wan on Dabogah, "There is still good in him", also referring to Anakin.
- Vader sustains severe injuries from the lightsaber duel he has with his former master on Mustafar. Defeated, he lies on the side of a lava bank, crawling his way up the embankment. Sensing his danger through the Force, Emperor Palaptine rescues him. He is then given cybernetic limbs to replace those he lost in the duel. A similar situation occurs in The Empire Strikes Back, when Luke sustains an injury from Vader in a lightsaber duel (his weapon hand is cut off), and after falling down a shaft, is left dangling from a weather vane on the underside of Cluod City. Leia senses Luke's danger through the force, and comes to rescue him in the Millennium Falcon. Luke is then given a cybernetic hand to replace the one he lost in the duel with Vader.
- 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 (as well as a similar scene of Anakin in Attack of the Clones). The music is also the same in all three cases (the Force Theme).
Soundtrack
Force Theme 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
#"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)
Novelization

- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - Novelization, 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 callsign is Red 5, a reference to Luke's callsign in the Battle of Yavin.
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's and Obi-Wan's). One could also consider the lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan and Grievous, the latter wielding both green and blue lightsabers, making also the first and only time for a blue and green lightsaber to come into contact with each other. This is also, with one exception, (Anakin against Dooku) the only time a blue lightsaber wins a duel. (those wielding green or red lightsabers win in all of 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 [http://www.thefreeman.com/entertainment/story-20050521-30725.html]. 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 [http://www.starwars.com/community/event/celebration/f20050419/indexp15.html].
- 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, and Rick McCallum has reported that it may be put back into a future release of the film.
- 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.
- One of the films many rumored subtitles 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-the-ears method.
- 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 military base in Sattahip, Thailand within 50 miles of Bangkok. Lucas originally intended this name for Tatooine.
- In the two shots where the wookies roar just before their battle, the varactyl lizard bark can be heard.
- 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 Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai.
- The speeder car driven by Senator Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits) is based on the revolutionary, but ill-fated, 1948 Tucker Torpedo automobile. In addition to owning one of the 51 Torpedoes built, George Lucas executive produced the 1988 biopic, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, starring Jeff Bridges as Preston Tucker, and directed by Lucas' old friend, director Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola also owns a Tucker Torpedo.
- 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.
- Natalie Portman surprised many people by showing up to the film's premeres with a shaved head (for her part in V for Vendetta). George Lucas was not put off by this and enjoyed rubbing Natalie's buzzed hair.
- 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 lightsab

gadu Stockholm hotel Jamnik Jamniki Zoja pozycjonowanie Doda i Virgin

:: RELATED NEWS ::

Spekulative Theorien über Jesus von Nazaret
Spekulative Theorien über Jesus von Nazaret sind Hypothesen, die Widersprüche oder Informationslücken in den historisch zugänglichen Quellen über Jesus mit spekulativen Annahmen zu erklären versuchen. Diese Theorien werden nur von einzelnen Historikern, Journalisten, Sekten-Anhängern oder Esoterikern vertreten, von der großen Mehrheit der Leben-Jesu-Forschung jedoch als unwissenschaftlich abge

Ladis
Ladis ist eine Gemeinde im Bezirk Landeck des Bundeslandes Tirol (Österreich).
- Einwohner: 539 (2003)
- Fläche: 7,1 km²
- Seehöhe: 1189 m Österreich Ladis liegt auf der "Sonnenterrasse" am Fuß der Samnaungruppe, etwa 400 m über der Talsohle des

BPRS
Der Bund proletarisch-revolutionärer Schriftsteller, gegründet 1928, war ein der KPD nahestehender Schriftstellerverband in der Weimarer Republik. Die Mitglieder des Bundes bestanden aus zwei Gruppen. Einerseits waren es "bürgerliche" Schriftsteller, die sich innerhalb der KPD engagierten und offen für neue experimentelle Literaturformen waren. Andererseits gab es echte Proletarier, wie <

Hohenölsen
Hohenölsen ist eine Gemeinde im Landkreis Greiz in Thüringen. Sie gehört zur Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Leubatal.

Geographie

Geographische Lage

Hohenölsen liegt auf einer Anhöhe im Thüringer Schiefergebirge an der Bundesstraße 92 zwischen

Kottgeisering
Kottgeisering ist eine Gemeinde im Landkreis Fürstenfeldbruck, Oberbayern und gehört zur Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Grafrath. Sie liegt rund 11 km südwestlich von Fürstenfeldbruck und 34 km westlich von München.

Geschichte

Siedlungsfunde reichen in Kottgeisering bis in die späte

Wallendorf (Eifel)
Wallendorf ist ein Grenzort zu Luxemburg am Zusammenfluss von Sauer und Our in der Eifel in Rheinland-Pfalz (Deutschland). Die erste urkundliche Erwähnung unter dem Namen Vualcheresdorf erfolgte im Jahre 1136.

Daten

- 388 Einwohner
- Fläche

Mohlsdorf
Mohlsdorf ist eine Gemeinde im Osten des thüringischen Landkreises Greiz.

Geographie

Die Gemeinde grenzt im Norden an den Greizer und den Werdauer Wald.

Geographie

Korbußen liegt auf einer Anhöhe - nördlich von Ronneburg und östlich von Read More...