Introduction to Cinema 201

Free movie reviews, film analysis: star wars – revenge of the sith.

January 19, 2017

“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…”

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith brings Fantasy/Sci-Fi to life as George Lucas directs another classic. This blockbuster film released in 2005 perfectly illustrates George Lucas’ cinematic language in ways that we can only sit and watch in awe. Revenge of the Sith puts together a complex plot onto a framework of virtually non-stop action. Although much of the audience already knows what is supposed to happen in the movie, Lucas once again amazes and surprises. The first 20 minutes — a breathtaking rollercoaster of explosions and acrobatics, space battles, lightsaber duels — rivals anything we’ve seen in the series.

The film begins with action and chaos and continues that theme throughout the entirety of the movie. Lucas re-introduces us to two of the protagonists immediately and emphasizes their relationship. Throughout the movie, although at times the dialogue is vague and sometimes cheesy, we see the connections and relationships between many different characters. Many say that the whole movie is about the relationships between Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker), Natalie Portman (Padme), and Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan). These relationships are altered, flipped, re-born, and destroyed in the movie. Revenge of the Sith doesn’t waste time on useless characters or plod through the usual Senate meetings or interstellar politics.

Because the material is so passionate in this installment, with so many conflicting emotions and climactic confrontations, Lucas’ storytelling has vastly improved. But what’s odd and relieving about this script, as opposed to the others, is that the dialogue doesn’t tell the story. It’s the visuals and the extensive emotions that pilot Revenge of the Sith . A perfect example of the “vague” dialogue can be found during a conversation between Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker) and Natalie Portman (Padme). During the conversation, Anakin speaks of Padme’s beauty, she proclaims she is so in love with him, he repeats the same, and so on.

revenge of the sith essay

A technique or characteristic that George Lucas uses in this film and all his films is music. Lucas uses an array of gorgeous music, spanning from the force theme, to the imperial march, to binary sunset, to the classic Star Wars theme composed by John Williams. These songs and themes are perfectly placed throughout the film to create a tone in the scene. For example, in the end of the movie when ‘Darth Vader’ is being propped up on the table, Lucas chose to put “Enter Lord Vader” by the London Symphony Orchestra, composed by John Williams, a song that builds anticipation like no other, perfect for this scene. Another example would be when Mace Windu and the Sith Lord duel. During this scene, we hear a song called “unlimited power”, again by the London Symphony Orchestra, and again composed by John Williams. We sense the tone through the music, as the trumpets get louder and create anxiety throughout the duel.

Another thing that Lucas incorporates into this movie subtly is a good amount of humor. Whenever the audience isn’t watching lightsaber duels or space battles, they’re bound to hear a funny remark from some character, usually it being the main characters. An example of this would be when Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker) and Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan) are speaking with General Grievous (anti-hero). The general makes a remark saying that he thought Anakin would be older, so Anakin makes a funny remark saying that he thought that Grievous would be taller. Little jokes like this are placed in random, but perfect, spots throughout the whole movie to lighten the mood.

The style that is shown in Star Wars might just be the best part of the film. There is a specific style for each character in the movie. Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker), for example, always wears a brown or black Jedi robe, while Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan) always wears a tan or brown robe. A character that perfectly portrays Lucas’ crazy sense of style is Padme (Natalie Portman). Ranging from her hair, to her outfits, to her makeup, Padme is by far the most stylish character in the movie.

George Lucas has achieved what few artists do, he has created and populated a world of his own. Star Wars is one of the most influential, both technically and commercially, series ever made.

Barsam, Richard Meran. Looking at Movies: An Introduction to Film . New York: W.W. Norton, 2007. Print.

Star Wars, Episode III, Revenge of the Sith . By George Lucas. Dir. George Lucas. Prod. George Lucas and Rick McCallum. Perf. Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, and Hayden Christensen. 20th Century Fox, 2005.

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George Lucas comes full circle in more ways than one in "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith," which is the sixth -- and allegedly but not necessarily the last -- of the "Star Wars" movies. After "Episode II" got so bogged down in politics that it played like the Republic covered by C-Span, "Episode III" is a return to the classic space opera style that launched the series. Because the story leads up to where the original "Star Wars" began, we get to use the immemorial movie phrase, "This is where we came in."

That Anakin Skywalker abandoned the Jedi and went over to the dark side is known to all students of "Star Wars." That his twins Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia would redeem the family name is also known. What we discover in "Episode III" is how and why Anakin lost his way -- how a pleasant and brave young man was transformed into a dark, cloaked figure with a fearsome black metal face. As Yoda sadly puts it in his inimitable word order: "The boy you trained, gone he is, consumed by Darth Vader."

As "Episode III" opens, Anakin Skywalker ( Hayden Christensen ) and his friend Obi-Wan Kenobi ( Ewan McGregor ) are piloting fighter craft, staging a daring two-man raid to rescue Chancellor Palpatine ( Ian McDiarmid ). He has been captured by the rebel Gen. Grievous (whose voice, by Matthew Woods, sounds curiously wheezy considering the general seems to use replacement parts). In the spirit of all the "Star Wars" movies, this rescue sequence flies in the face of logic, since the two pilots are able to board Grievous' command ship and proceed without much trouble to the ship's observation tower, where the chancellor is being held. There is a close call in an elevator shaft, but where are the guards and the security systems? And why, for that matter, does a deep space cruiser need an observation tower, when every porthole opens on to the universe? But never mind.

Back within the sphere of the Jedi Council, Anakin finds that despite his heroism, he will not yet be named a Jedi Master. The council distrusts Palpatine and wants Anakin to spy on him; Palpatine wants Anakin to spy on the council. Who to choose? McDiarmid has the most complex role in the movie as he plays on Anakin's wounded ego. Anakin is tempted to go over to what is not yet clearly the dark side; in a movie not distinguished for its dialogue, Palpatine is insidiously snaky in his persuasiveness.

The way Anakin approaches his choice, however, has a certain poignancy. Anakin has a rendezvous with Padme ( Natalie Portman ); they were secretly married in the previous film, and now she reveals she is pregnant. His reaction is that of a nice kid in a teenage comedy, trying to seem pleased while wondering how this will affect the other neat stuff he gets to do. To say that George Lucas cannot write a love scene is an understatement; greeting cards have expressed more passion.

The dialogue throughout the movie is once again its weakest point: The characters talk in what sounds like Basic English, without color, wit or verbal delight, as if they were channeling Berlitz. The exceptions are Palpatine and of course Yoda, whose speech (voiced by Frank Oz ) reminds me of Wolcott Gibbs' famous line about the early style of Time magazine: "Backward ran sentences until reeled the mind."

In many cases the actors are being filmed in front of blue screens, with effects to be added later, and sometimes their readings are so flat, they don't seem to believe they're really in the middle of amazing events. How can you stand in front of exploding star fleets and sound as if you're talking on a cell phone at Starbucks?

"He's worried about you," Anakin is told at one point. "You've been under a lot of stress." Sometimes the emphasis in sentences is misplaced. During the elevator adventure in the opening rescue, we hear "Did I miss something ?" when it should be "Did I miss something?"

The dialogue is not the point, however; Lucas' characters engage in sturdy oratorical pronunciamentos and then leap into adventure. "Episode III" has more action per square minute, I'd guess, than any of the previous five movies, and it is spectacular. The special effects are more sophisticated than in the earlier movies, of course, but not necessarily more effective.

The dogfight between fighters in the original "Star Wars" and the dogfight that opens this one differ in their complexity (many more ships this time, more planes of action, more detailed backgrounds) but not in their excitement. And although Lucas has his characters attend a futuristic opera that looks like a cross between Cirque de Soleil and an ultrasound scan of an unborn baby, if you regard the opera hall simply as a place, it's not as engaging as the saloon on Tatooine in the first movie.

The lesson, I think, is that special effects should be judged not by their complexity but by the degree that they stimulate the imagination, and "Episode III" is distinguished not by how well the effects are done, but by how amazingly they are imagined. A climactic duel on a blazing volcanic planet is as impressive, in its line, as anything in "Lord of the Rings." And Yoda, who began life as a Muppet but is now completely animated (like about 70 percent of what we see onscreen), was to begin with and still is the most lifelike of the non-humanoid "Star Wars" characters.

A word, however, about the duels fought with lightsabers. When they flashed into life with a mighty whizzing thunk in the first "Star Wars" and whooshed through their deadly parabolas, that was exciting. But the thrill is gone.

The duelists are so well-matched that saber fights go on forever before anyone is wounded, and I am still not sure how the sabers seem able to shield their bearers from attack. When it comes to great movie sword fights, Liam Neeson and Tim Roth took home the gold medal in " Rob Roy " (1995), and the lightsaber battles in "Episode III" are more like isometrics.

These are all, however, more observations than criticisms. George Lucas has achieved what few artists do; he has created and populated a world of his own. His "Star Wars" movies are among the most influential, both technically and commercially, ever made. And they are fun. If he got bogged down in solemnity and theory in "Episode II: Attack of the Clones," the Force is in a jollier mood this time, and "Revenge of the Sith" is a great entertainment.

Note: I said this is not necessarily the last of the "Star Wars" movies. Although Lucas has absolutely said he is finished with the series, it is inconceivable to me that 20th Century-Fox will willingly abandon the franchise, especially as Lucas has hinted that parts VII, VIII and IX exist at least in his mind. There will be enormous pressure for them to be made, if not by him, then by his deputies.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Star Wars -- Episode III: Revenge of the Sith movie poster

Star Wars -- Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Rated PG-13 for sci-fi violence and some intense images

Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi

Hayden Christensen as Anakin/Darth Vader

Natalie Portman as Padme

Ian McDiarmid as Chancellor Palpatine

Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu

Written and directed by

  • George Lucas

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Critical Opinion: Revenge of the Sith Original Reviews

{:title=>"Films", :url=>"https://www.starwars.com/news/category/films"}

Critical opinion: revenge of the sith original reviews.

Mark Newbold

As the 10th anniversary of Episode III approaches, StarWars.com revisits the film's first reviews.

Check your calendars. Yes, it's 2015 and that means the arrival of Star Wars: The Force Awakens , the continuation of Season One of Star Wars Rebels and a glut of other new and exciting Star Wars ventures. But it's also a big anniversary year. Not only is it 35 years since the arrival of The Empire Strikes Back but this year also marks the 10th anniversary of Revenge of the Sith , the episode which -- until the announcement of a sequel trilogy in late October 2012 -- marked the final chapter in the six film Star Wars cycle.

Produced on an estimated budget of $113 million, the film arrived on May 19, 2005 with an opening day haul of $50,013,859 from an estimated 9,400 screens at 3,661 locations, for what was then the biggest single days take in movie history. A colossal North American first weekend gross of $108,435,841 on 3,663 screens followed, with a final domestic tally of $380,270,577 and a mammoth $848,754,768 worldwide. Wowing fans of the saga, it brought the prequel trilogy home in bombastic fashion, showing the tragic events which led to the creation of Darth Vader, the fall of the Jedi, and the formation of the Galactic Empire. The circle was now complete, but how did the film fare when it came to the critical opinions of the wider film press?

star_wars_episode_three_ver2

"I still remember the first time I really became aware of George Lucas. We swarmed to anything that had his name on it, ate up every Ewok Adventure or Star Wars Christmas Special because we knew George Lucas had created it. We didn’t just love Star Wars , we loved the mythos of George Lucas, a man who somehow seemed magical.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith begins at a torrid pace and never lets up. Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin (Hayden Christensen) appear in the midst of a stunning space battle, on a mission to rescue Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) being held prisoner aboard Count Dooku’s (Christopher Lee) ship. There’s no need to pause for character development, as Lucas’s exceptionally well crafted script melds deeper growth and personality right in with the action. He establishes the strong friendship between Anakin and Obi Wan immediately, in a way that was never evidenced in Attack of the Clones. This was always one of the great strengths of the original Star Wars movies, an uncanny ability to tell us volumes about its characters while in the middle of a wild ride through a meteor shower, or rescuing a princess from her torture chamber. Writer/Director Lucas has finally recaptured that here, and the film absolutely soars because of it.

Revenge of the Sith isn’t just a great Star Wars movie, it’s a flat out great film. Yes it’s technically proficient and yes it’s visually beautiful. Those things are a given. What hasn’t been is how solidly the film is constructed. Revenge of the Sith is a powerful, big budget experience. Yet it is the way that it fits so wonderfully into the existing Star Wars mythos that best sells it, the way it nestles so nicely into 1977’s Episode IV: A New Hope that makes it special. The real beauty is that you could easily toss out the previous two awkward attempts, watch only this in sequence with the original films, and come out completely satisfied. Attack of the Clones and The Phantom Menace are best forgotten. Lucas’s real miscalculation was in not making this movie right from the start. He tried to stretch the story when all we needed was Vader’s rise in its purest form. Star Wars fans have finally been rewarded for their patience. George has made another masterpiece."

Here in the UK on Friday, May 13, 2005, Peter Bradshaw writing for The Guardian had little good to say about the film, citing the stock and clichéd complaints about the film -- too much spectacle, not enough heart.

" Revenge of the Sith has some almost decent things. Yoda is good value as ever, though his character is never allowed to breathe in the airless galaxy Lucas creates, and there is a good sequence at the end showing the "birth" of Darth Vader while Princess Amidala is delivered of her twins. It has what the rest of the film so conspicuously lacks: a spark of real dramatic life. But it comes far too late and it is over immediately. How depressing to compare any of this with the fun and gusto of Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill in the first movie. As for the elephantine trilogy as a whole, it was all too clearly a product of George Lucas's overweening production giant Industrial Light and Magic. No magic, little light, but an awful lot of heavy industry."

Star-Wars-Revenge-Of-The-Sith-star-wars-revenge-of-the-sith-24686193-1600-900

"Would my grown-up longing for a return to the wide-eyed enthusiasm of my own moviegoing boyhood -- and my undiminished hunger for entertainment with sweep and power as well as noise and dazzle -- be satisfied by " Revenge of the Sith "?

The answer is yeth.

This is by far the best film in the more recent trilogy, and also the best of the four episodes Mr. Lucas has directed. That's right (and my inner 11-year-old shudders as I type this): it's better than " Star Wars ."

" Revenge of the Sith ," which had its premiere here yesterday at the Cannes International Film Festival, ranks with " The Empire Strikes Back " (directed by Irvin Kershner in 1980) as the richest and most challenging movie in the cycle. It comes closer than any of the other episodes to realizing Mr. Lucas's frequently reiterated dream of bringing the combination of vigorous spectacle and mythic resonance he found in the films of Akira Kurosawa into American commercial cinema.

But of course the rise of the Empire and the perdition of Anakin Skywalker are not the end of the story, and the inverted chronology turns out to be the most profound thing about the " Star Wars " epic. Taken together, and watched in the order they were made, the films reveal the cyclical nature of history, which seems to repeat itself even as it moves forward. Democracies swell into empires, empires are toppled by revolutions, fathers abandon their sons and sons find their fathers. Movies end. Life goes on."

ew_rots_2005

"Having spent two scattershot blockbusters whetting our appetite for the fall of Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), George Lucas makes it easy to experience Star Wars : Episode III — Revenge of the Sith as a rush of deliverance.

Unlike The Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones , Revenge of the Sith unfolds with a fury of consequence. There are rousing lightsaber duels, like the one in which the skull-faced General Grievous wields four sabers at once. Yoda, with his twinkly scowl of purpose, has become such a crowd-pleasing action figure that when he coughs up solemn syntactical howlers like ''A prophecy that misread could have been'' — well, forgive him almost you can. The madly detailed cityscapes raise eye candy to a dimension of comic-book awe, though I confess I miss the nearly tactile thrills generated by the original Star Wars films. Lucas' digital imagery allows for whizzy, swirling layers of technological hyperactivity, yet its lacquered gleam is just artificial enough that when a panoramic window gets smashed during a battle in the Jedi chamber, my reaction was to think, ''Gee, how will they find replacement glass that big?''

Kirk Honneycutt, writing on May 6 in The Hollywood Reporter was effusive in his enjoyment of the film, going so far as to request an immediate repeat viewing.

"The final episode of George Lucas' cinematic epic Star Wars ends the six-movie series on such a high note that one feels like yelling out, "Rewind!" Yes, rewind through more than 13 hours of bravery, treachery, new worlds, odd creatures and human frailty. The first two episodes of Lucas' second trilogy — The Phantom Menace (1999) and Attack of the Clones (2002) — caused more than a few fans of the original trilogy to wonder whether this prequel was worth it. The answer is a qualified yes. It did take a lot of weighty expositions, stiffly played scenes and less-than-magical creatures to get to Star Wars : Episode III — Revenge of the Sith . But what a ride Lucas and company have in store!

Needless to say, international box office will register in the hundreds of millions. The real question is how much money the entire series, now ready for packaging and repackaging for all sorts of formats and media, will eventually take in. Let's just say a lot."

And Honeycutt underlines just how far digital cinema and visual effects had come under the guiding hand of George Lucas.

"Now completely at home with digital filmmaking, Lucas can blaze a pioneering path as no one else. Shooting on soundstages in Australia and Britain with additional photography in China, Thailand, Switzerland, Italy and Tunisia, Lucas thrusts viewers into pitched battles in looming caverns and giant spaceships or a lightsaber duel on a river of molten lava. Combining choreographic action aesthetics that are American, Chinese and otherwordly, Lucas has redefined fantasy filmmaking with Star Wars while teaching a generation of filmmakers to accept no limitations.

Yes, by all means, rewind!

rs_rots_2005

"In this heretic's opinion, Sith is a stiff. I kept thinking how much better Sith would play as a silent film, with only Chewbacca allowed to do his Wookiee growl and John Williams to trumpet his recycled score and yet, Revenge of the Sith is the movie that will do more business (my guess is $400 million-plus), sell more popcorn and brainwash more audiences than any blockbuster this summer. There are reasons: Sith is the last time Lucas will ever skywalk with the Skywalkers on the big screen (talk persists of a TV spinoff). There is enormous goodwill built up by the original series Lucas began in 1977 with Wars: A New Hope , continued in 1980 with The Empire Strikes Back and ended in 1983 with Return of the Jedi .

Lucas almost pulls the plot out of the fire in the film's final section, showing Obi-Wan hacking away at Anakin with his light-saber on the lava planet of Mustafar. Lucas even drops a hint that Anakin thinks Padme and Obi-Wan may have been getting it on. As we watch Anakin nearly melt in the lava, only to be put together, Frankenstein style, in a lab while Lucas intercuts scenes of Padme giving birth to the twins Luke and Leia, a link to genuine feeling is established at last.

On May 6, Harry Knowles, a lifelong admirer of the saga wrote his review at Aint It Cool and started his piece with what was --then -- a stark fact of truth.

"I have watched my last new STAR WARS film.

The imagery in REVENGE OF THE SITH -- The turning of Anakin, the annihilation of the Jedi, the expulsion of Yoda, Obi-Wan vs Anakin, Palpatine revealed, the birth of the twins, Alderran, the adoption of Luke, what became of the droids… These are all near religious iconography in the minds of children raised in the ways of the Force. I’ve spent a quarter of a century discussing these things, speculating on what it’d look like, how it’d play out… I’ve seen it in countless dreams, but never with my eyes open. Never George’s dream of what it was. Till now.

I’m having a really hard time writing about this one. It’s just so damn big. So full of literally everything that I wanted to see in all the prequels – but crammed all into this one. This really is the big Michael Corleone episode of STAR WARS… It’s where all the traps are sprung, all the cards are laid on the table, where everybody dies, all is lost and evil rules the galaxy.

REVENGE OF THE SITH is a masterpiece. The final piece of the puzzle Lucas first presented me at age 6. 27 years later, the Jigsaw is complete and damn if it isn't just damn near the most tragically cool thing I’ve ever seen put to film. We won’t see another like this. This is it.

We’ll see enormous sci-fantasy told, with more focus and even grander visions in our lifetime… but we’ll never care as much about a story like this one. For our generation, Star Wars is our mythology. The big story we lived to see told the first time. For those of you that were kids in lines in 1977 through to the coming weeks… I have to say, it has been an absolute ******* honor to do this with y’all.

Remember – this isn’t a Star Wars movie to cheer for, to erupt into applause and call cool. If you really love STAR WARS – this one is heart ache. Not only is it the end of a nearly 30 year journey for us… It really is the story of how things got so bad, that the good guys had to be a rebellion, where the Jedi had to hide and how evil ruled the galaxy. Wow, I’ve seen my last new Star Wars film."

Over at the BBC Paul Arendt wrote on May 20, and explained that Revenge of the Sith satisfied almost all the questions the fans needed answering.

"Good news first: George Lucas has delivered the film Star Wars fans have been praying for. Yes, it's true: Revenge Of The Sith kicks geek botty. The final episode of the prequels completes the cycle begun in 1977. Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is reborn with the familiar face furniture and bondage leathers of Darth Vader, the Emperor (a splendid Ian McDiarmid) reveals his nefarious plot, and we discover the true origins of Leia, Luke, Yoda and a certain walking carpet.

Revenge Of The Sith strings a complex plot onto a framework of practically non-stop action. The first 20 minutes -- a breathtaking rollercoaster of space battles, lightsaber duels, explosions and acrobatics -- rivals anything we've seen in the series. There's an impressive new villain, the Dickensian cyborg General Grievous, a galactic holiday brochure of new locations and, as Anakin succumbs to the dark side, a bleak, bloody atmosphere that's shocking and occasionally even moving.

"WHAT WE WANTED ALL ALONG"

But, lapses aside, Revenge Of The Sith is what we wanted all along: a chunky, funky space opera spectacular."

Yoda vs Sidious

"(T)his final edition does have its pleasures—all of them, as usual, on its surface. Big spaceships, narrow-bladed lightsabers, and the freshly CGI-animated, martial-arts-leaping Yoda make our eyes feel happy. Someone at Skywalker Ranch apparently decided to remedy complaints about the earlier movies’ dourness, and so Hayden Christensen burbles, “This is where the fun begins!” before engaging in a zippy air battle, and Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi gives us some sly grins and ingratiating winks. (As affable as they are, neither is any Han Solo, whom we can now definitively proclaim the best human character in the Star Wars series, thanks to Harrison Ford’s slow-burn charisma.) And as Star Wars ’ most engaging villain, General Grievous is fab: a menacing clickety-clack meanie who wheezes and groans, sprouts new praying-mantis-style appendages with which to wield extra light-sabers, and provides the series with its best one-on-one tussle, against Obi-Wan.

Let's end with the legendary Roger Ebert , writing on May 19, who had plenty of positives to highlight from the film, as he always had throughout the two trilogies.

"George Lucas comes full circle in more ways than one in " Star Wars : Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith ," which is the sixth -- and allegedly but not necessarily the last -- of the " Star Wars " movies. After "Episode II" got so bogged down in politics that it played like the Republic covered by C-Span, "Episode III" is a return to the classic space opera style that launched the series. Because the story leads up to where the original " Star Wars " began, we get to use the immemorial movie phrase, "This is where we came in."

And Ebert compares the techniques used to make the original trilogy to the new ways in which the prequels were crafted.

"The lesson, I think, is that special effects should be judged not by their complexity but by the degree that they stimulate the imagination, and "Episode III" is distinguished not by how well the effects are done, but by how amazingly they are imagined. A climactic duel on a blazing volcanic planet is as impressive, in its line, as anything in "Lord of the Rings." And Yoda, who began life as a Muppet but is now completely animated (like about 70 percent of what we see onscreen), was to begin with and still is the most lifelike of the non-humanoid " Star Wars " characters. If he got bogged down in solemnity and theory in "Episode II: Attack of the Clones," the Force is in a jollier mood this time, and " Revenge of the Sith " is a great entertainment."

And he had a perceptive point to make about future Star Wars movies.

"Note: I said this is not necessarily the last of the " Star Wars " movies. Although Lucas has absolutely said he is finished with the series, it is inconceivable to me that 20th Century-Fox will willingly abandon the franchise, especially as Lucas has hinted that parts VII, VIII and IX exist at least in his mind. There will be enormous pressure for them to be made, if not by him, then by his deputies."

Mark is a long-time contributor to Star Wars Insider , the co-owner of Jedi News, a regular contributor to the UK’s biggest free newspaper The Metro and co-host of RebelForce Radio’s UK-centric RADIO 1138 podcast. When he’s not talking or writing about Star Wars , he can usually be found sleeping, where he’ll most likely be dreaming about Star Wars .

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This article details a subject that is considered canon.

Star Wars : Episode III Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 film written and directed by George Lucas . It is the third and final part of the Star Wars prequel trilogy .

Three years after the First Battle of Geonosis and onset of the Clone Wars , the noble Jedi Knights of the Jedi Order have been leading a massive clone army into a galaxy-wide battle against the Confederacy of Independent Systems . The Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic reveals his true nature as a Sith Lord as he unveils a plot to rule the galaxy by transforming the Republic into a Galactic Empire . The Jedi war hero, Anakin Skywalker , is seduced by the dark side of the Force to become Darth Sidious 's new apprentice - Darth Vader. The Jedi are all but eliminated with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Master Yoda surviving the event and forced into hiding. The only hope for the galaxy is Anakin's own offsprings — the twin children born in secrecy who will grow up to become Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa .

Revenge of the Sith was released in theaters on Thursday, May 19 , 2005 (the same day that the first episode of the prequel trilogy The Phantom Menace was released in 1999), and premiered (out of competition) on the 2005 Cannes Festival May 15 . 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 second highest-grossing movie of 2005 behind Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire . It is the second Star Wars film which used a high-definition digital 24 frame system for most of the movie's live-action scenes. The film was re-released in the Blu-ray format in September of 2011 . On November 12 , 2019 , the film was included with the launch of Disney+ .

  • 1 Opening crawl
  • 2.1 Battle over Coruscant
  • 2.2 Rescuing the chancellor
  • 2.3 Confronting Grievous
  • 2.4 Happy reunions
  • 2.5 The tragedy of Darth Plagueis
  • 2.6 Obi-Wan vs. Grievous
  • 2.7 Sidious revealed
  • 2.8 Rise of Lord Vader
  • 2.9 Order 66
  • 2.10 Birth of the Empire
  • 2.11 Battle of the heroes
  • 2.12 Birth and rebirth
  • 2.13 A new hope
  • 3 Development
  • 4.1 Merchandise
  • 4.2 Home video
  • 5.1 Box office
  • 5.2 Critical reaction
  • 5.3 Popular reception
  • 6 Deleted scenes
  • 7 Continuity
  • 9 Appearances
  • 11 Notes and references
  • 12 External links

Opening crawl

Plot summary, battle over coruscant.

R2 flames

R2-D2 destroys two super battle droids by setting them on fire.

It has been three years since the events of Attack of the Clones . The Galactic Republic is in the midst of the epic war with the Confederacy of Independent Systems under the leadership of Count Dooku , who is also the Sith Lord , Darth Tyranus. The Confederacy's cyborg military leader, General Grievous of the Separatist Droid Army , has brought the war to Coruscant and captured Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine , leader of the Galactic Senate , during a massive space battle .

As the Separatist Droid Army attempts to escape the Galactic capital, a massive space battle erupts, into which race Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his former padawan , now Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker , leading a mission to rescue the Chancellor. The Jedi fight through the Separatist armada. In the process, Obi-Wan's interceptor is damaged by buzz droids and his astromech , R4-P17 , is destroyed. Anakin attempts to shoot the droids off, though succeeds only in blasting apart the wing of his former Master's vessel. Obi-Wan tells Anakin to hold his fire as he's not helping. Anakin agrees it was a bad idea. Obi-Wan tells Anakin to go on and rescue the Chancellor, but Anakin says he won't leave without Obi-Wan. Anakin uses one of his fighter wings to knock some of the buzz droids off Obi-Wan's fighter, but one manages to crawl onto Anakin's ship although it is quickly disabled by R2-D2 . As they approach Grievous's flagship, Obi-Wan reminds Anakin their shields are still up, so Anakin breaks formation and attacks a shield generator, knocking out the shields on the docking bay of the ship. The destruction of it activates the ship' emergency breach door, which quickly begins closing. The two Jedi crash-land just before the door slams closed.

Anakin and Obi-Wan make their way through the flagship, using their lightsabers to fight through an army of droids. Meanwhile, R2-D2 aids them from the hangar bay while simultaneously incinerating a pair of super battle droids , using fuel and his thrusters.

Rescuing the chancellor

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Count Dooku about to duel Anakin and Obi-Wan

The Jedi reach the top, finding the captive Chancellor Palpatine. They are confronted by Count Dooku himself, with Obi-Wan telling Anakin that they will fight Dooku together, and an intense lightsaber duel ensues. The Jedi throw the Count off guard, by converting from basic attacks to more skilled tactics. During the battle, Obi-Wan is rendered unconscious when Dooku uses the Force to hold him in mid-air by the throat before hurling him against a railing.

Anakin continues the battle and is repeatedly taunted by Dooku. Using his anger, Anakin taps into the dark side of the Force and gets the better of the duel. He severs both of Dooku's hands, rendering him incapable of defending himself, and then holds him at blade point with both his own lightsaber and Dooku's weapon. Palpatine encourages Anakin to kill Dooku, much to the shock of the latter who looks at the Chancellor pleadingly, only to be met with a sinister smile from Palpatine. At first, Anakin hesitates but Palpatine firmly insists; completely unaware of Palpatine's true intentions, Anakin viciously decapitates the helpless Dooku. His body falls to the ground and his head falls fast to the ground and rolled like a bowling ball.

The Invisible Hand crosses by a Venator -class Star Destroyer . A broadside attack begins with both ship firing their cannons, a shell from the Jedi cruiser destroy one of the Invisible Hand 's cannons and ammo crates, causing the Invisible Hand to begin an uncontrolled descent into Coruscant. Despite Palpatine's persuasions that he should leave the unconscious Obi-Wan, Anakin carries him on his back, and maneuvers through the ship with the Chancellor. Obi-Wan later regains consciousness.

Confronting Grievous

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General Grievous aboard the bridge of his flagship, Invisible Hand

After Grievous has the bridge crew regain control of his flagship by firing the emergency booster engines, he makes certain the two Jedi and their ward are captured. Having fallen foul of a ray shield trap, the three are brought to the bridge under custody, but R2 successfully creates a distraction, allowing the Jedi to retrieve their lightsabers and break free.

Grievous then sends a pair of his powerful IG-100 MagnaGuard droids after the Jedi. Obi-Wan quickly beheads the first MagnaGuard with his blade, but the droid continues the fight, forcing Obi-Wan to slice the droid warrior apart before it deactivates. Anakin finishes off the second MagnaGuard and destroys the battle droids attempting to drag Palpatine from the bridge. The Jedi close in on Grievous, though the wily General smashes a window with his fallen guard's electrostaff , and is swept outside. Using a tow cable, Grievous latches himself to the ship and heads for the escape pods . Launching all other escape capsules, Grievous speeds for the safety of a Trade Federation Lucrehulk -class battleship . Once again, the flagship begins to descend in free fall into Coruscant, though due to its extensive damage taken from its broadside cannon fight with the Guarlara and entering Coruscant' atmosphere, the ships hangar bay begins to weaken. After extending the ship's drag flaps, the hangar gives out and breaks off from the rest of the ship, sending them into a faster freefall. With the aid of a few emergency firespeeders they land, hitting a control tower along on one of Coruscant's industrial landing platforms.

Happy reunions

(audio)

The Jedi High Council

On Coruscant, Anakin is praised for his heroics. He meets secretly with Padmé Amidala , and they share a kiss in the shadows of the Senate office building , keeping their love secret. She reveals to him that she is pregnant with their child.

Elsewhere, Grievous, now both the political and military leader of the Separatists, arrives on Utapau , where Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray , Geonosian Archduke Poggle the Lesser , Techno Union head of state and Foreman Wat Tambor , and others on the Separatist Council remain in hiding. The General is contacted by Darth Sidious, who gives him instructions to move the Separatist leaders to a volcanic planet , Mustafar . He also explains that the war is almost over. Grievous is uncertain about this, given Count Dooku's death. Sidious assures him that Darth Tyranus's death and loss were necessary, for he would soon have a new Sith apprentice : one far younger and more powerful.

Later, on Coruscant, Anakin awakens in a panic, covered in sweat. He reveals to Padmé that he has been dreaming about her dying in childbirth, and believing that he can't live without her, vows not to let this dream come true.

Chancellor Palpatine requests Anakin's presence, and they meet in the Chancellor's office . The Senate has granted the Chancellor further emergency powers, giving him direct control of the Jedi Council . Palpatine confides in Anakin his fear, distrust, and contempt of the Masters. He appoints Anakin to be his personal representative on the Council.

The High Council begrudgingly accepts Anakin's appointment, but does not grant him the rank of Master. Anakin reacts angrily at this perceived slight, but is quickly shut down by Mace Windu . Ignoring his outburst, the Council goes on to discuss matters concerning the war. It is decided that Anakin will be assigned to protect the Chancellor, and Yoda will take a battalion of clones to reinforce the Wookiees on Kashyyyk . Anakin is angry and disappointed.

Obi-Wan later tells Anakin that the Council wants Anakin to report on all the Chancellor's dealings, essentially spying on him. Anakin is confused and upset, feeling torn between two friends and loyalties. Obi-Wan himself is unhappy with the situation.

The tragedy of Darth Plagueis

Palpatine and Anakin

The Supreme Chancellor and Anakin Skywalker in Palpatine's private viewing box at the Galaxies Opera House

At the Galaxies Opera House in the Uscru District , Anakin joins Palpatine in watching the Mon Calamari Aquatic Ballet performing Squid Lake . Palpatine tells Anakin Clone Intelligence has located General Grievous hiding in the Utapau system. Anakin is delighted by this news, as Grievous's capture will accelerate the war's end. Palpatine remarks that he'd question the competence of the Jedi Council if Anakin was not sent on the mission. Inviting Anakin to join him, Palpatine dismisses his aides: once they are gone, Palpatine seduces Anakin to the dark side. He also tells Anakin that the Jedi Order wishes to overthrow the Republic and that if he has suspected it, Anakin must surely have sensed it. Anakin confirms that the Jedi don't trust him, a fact that Palpatine expands to include the Senate, the Republic, and democracy as a whole. Anakin tells Palpatine that his trust in the Jedi has been shaken and Palpatine deduces Anakin's distaste for the Council's mission to spy on the Chancellor. Palpatine takes Anakin back to some of the early political lessons Palpatine tried to teach him, about how all those who gain power are afraid to lose it and that includes the Jedi. Anakin tries to defend the Jedi by saying they use their powers for good, but Palpatine argues good is only a point of view, noting that in almost every conceivable manner, including a quest for greater power, the Sith and the Jedi are exactly alike. Anakin disagrees, remarking that the Sith depend on passion for strength, thinking only of themselves, whereas the Jedi are selfless, thinking only of others.

After a brief pause in their conversation, Palpatine makes a remark about the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise . Palpatine describes Darth Plagueis as a Dark Lord of the Sith so powerful and wise that he could use the Force to influence the midi-chlorians to create life. Not only this, but having such power and knowledge of the dark side, Plagueis could use thistle ability to save people he cared about from death, a statement which gets Anakin's attention (which was Palpatine's desire) and Palpatine describes the dark side of the Force as a pathway to many abilities considered by some to be unnatural. When Anakin asks what happened to Darth Plagueis, Palpatine concludes that Plagueis became so powerful that all he feared was losing his power, which he eventually did. Unfortunately for Plagueis, he taught his apprentice, who happened to be Darth Sidious, all he knew: after he had, his apprentice killed him in his sleep. (The Sith apprentice in the story, as implied by the film and explicitly stated in various Star Wars Legends sources, is Palpatine himself.) Palpatine notes the irony of how Plagueis could keep others from dying, but not himself. When Anakin asks if it is possible to learn the power to stop death, Palpatine simply replies, "Not from a Jedi," further alienating Anakin from the Jedi Order.

After Yoda arrives on Kashyyyk, Anakin relays the information about Grievous, explaining that a partial message was intercepted in a diplomatic packet from the Chairman of Utapau. Yoda says they should act quickly and decisively on this information. When Anakin expresses his interest in going at Palpatine's request, Mace Windu harshly tells him that the Council will decide who goes and not the Chancellor. Yoda believes that a Master with more experience is needed to confront, and defeat, Grievous. Ki-Adi-Mundi agrees and nominates Obi-Wan to go. With the nomination agreed on, the Council adjourns and Obi-Wan prepares to go to Utapau. Yoda, Luminara Unduli , and Gree , along with Tarfful and Chewbacca defend Kashyyyk against the Corporate Alliance Tanks, Dwarf Spider droids, Droid Gunships, and legions of battle droids .

Obi-Wan vs. Grievous

Kenobi faces Grievous ROTS

Grievous preparing to do battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi

Anakin walks Obi-Wan to his Venator before he leaves. Anakin still believes he'd be needed on Utapau, and while Obi-Wan agrees, he also notes it might just be a wild Bantha chase. Anakin stops Obi-Wan and tells him that he knows he's disappointed Obi-Wan and that he's not been acting very grateful for the training he received. Anakin tells him he's just been so frustrated with the Council lately, but that he does apologize. Obi-Wan calls Anakin strong and wise and tells Anakin he's very proud of him and while Obi-Wan trained him since Anakin was a boy, he calls Anakin a far greater Jedi than Obi-Wan could hope to be. But Obi-Wan encourages Anakin to be patient and that it won't be long before the Council makes Anakin a Jedi Master . The two bid each other farewell and Obi-Wan leaves for Utapau. Little do they know that this is the last time they will see or speak to each other as fellow Jedi and friends.

Obi-Wan arrives in Pau City on Utapau, and begins his search for General Grievous, riding a varactyl named Boga . He finds Grievous on the Tenth Level. After Obi-Wan dispatches the droids around Grievous, the two engage in single combat. Grievous's arms split in half, allowing him to use four lightsabers at once. Obi-Wan quickly cuts off the lower halves of the General's hands, helping to even out the odds a little. During the battle, the Third Systems Army arrives under the command of CC-2224 "Cody." Obi-Wan manages to catch Grievous off guard and uses the Force to push the fiendish droid general into the ceiling. Grievous drops his remaining two lightsabers and attempts to flee on his wheel bike , while Obi-Wan pursues on Boga . During the chase, Obi-Wan drops his lightsaber, which Commander Cody happens to find during the massive battle against the droids.

On Coruscant, Anakin tells Palpatine that General Grievous has been found on Utapau. Anakin insists he should be on Utapau as well. Their conversation shifts to Palpatine's knowledge of the Force and dark side, both of which he learned from his mentor (Plagueis), much to the shock of Anakin who starts to become wary of the Chancellor. After Palpatine tells him that the dark side can save Padme from death, Anakin realizes that Palpatine is in fact Darth Sidious, the latter of which Palpatine confirms (This revelation means that Palpatine as Sidious engineered the Invasion of Naboo and War, betrayed and caused the deaths of Plagueis and Dooku, and has been deceiving the Jedi and Republic). Anakin ignites his lightsaber and threatens to kill Palpatine, but then decides to expose his deception and identity to the Jedi Council. He is still concerned with saving his wife, and believes only Palpatine's knowledge will ensure this.

Obi-Wan continues to chase General Grievous on Utapau. He catches up with the General and jumps onto his wheel bike. Using Grievous's electrostaff, he manages to destabilize the speeder, and it goes into a spin. Both Obi-Wan and Grievous are thrown off as the speeder topples over the edge of Grievous's secret landing platform. Grievous then draws his blaster , though it is knocked from his hand by Obi-Wan, now wielding the electrostaff. He knocks Grievous down, and a brawl ensues, during which Kenobi tears open the General's chest plates, revealing his living organs. Enraged, Grievous repeatedly hits Obi-Wan and then picks up the helpless Jedi and throws him over the edge. Obi-Wan barely manages to hang on and momentarily dangles for his life. As Grievous moves in for the kill, Obi-Wan uses the Force to retrieve the General's blaster and fires at Grievous's exposed organs. He hits, and they burst into flames. With his eyes flaming, Grievous falls to the floor, dead.

Sidious revealed

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Palpatine finally reveals his identity as the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious.

Anakin returns to the Jedi Temple and approaches Windu who tells Anakin that they have just been informed that Obi-Wan has destroyed General Grievous and so they are going to go to the Senate to ensure that Chancellor Palpatine gives back his emergency powers. However, Anakin reveals that Palpatine is a Sith Lord and is not likely to give up his powers, a statement which shocks Windu and stops him dead in his tracks. Anakin confirms what he just said and says he believes Palpatine is the one they have been looking for. When Windu asks how Anakin knows this, he tells Windu that Palpatine knows the ways of the Force and has been trained to use the dark side and that he is absolutely sure. Windu says their worst fears have now been realized and that if the Jedi Order is to survive, they must move quickly. Anakin warns Windu that Palpatine is very powerful and they'll need his help to arrest Palpatine, but Windu urges him to stay out of it as he senses much fear in Anakin and it could cloud his judgment. Windu also adds that if what Anakin says is true then Anakin will have gained his trust but for now, he wants Anakin to wait in the Council Chambers until he returns. Masters Windu, Kit Fisto , Agen Kolar , and Saesee Tiin board a gunship and head to Palpatine's office.

Sitting in the Council Chambers , remembering Palpatine's promise of stopping death and the dreams of Padmé dying in childbirth, Anakin ruminates over his decision: in his mind, he hears Palpatine's voice saying that if the Jedi kill him, any chance of saving Padmé will be lost. Finally, he leaves and rushes after the four Jedi.

Windu and the three other Jedi Masters arrive at Chancellor Palpatine's office. Windu declares Palpatine is under arrest and the Masters ignite their lightsabers. Sidious pulls a lightsaber from his sleeve and hurls himself at the Jedi with a screeching war cry. Kolar is the first to die, run through the chest and as Kolar's life is ending due to the wound, Sidious turns and slices Tiin's torso. A few seconds later, with more effort from Sidious, Fisto is slain, killed by a slash across the gut. Only Windu remains, alone against the Dark Lord.

Rise of Lord Vader

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Sidious' face being disfigured by his backfired Force lightning

Sidious and Windu continue the fight, dueling fiercely. The fight appears to be even early on, but Windu gradually gains ground, slowly driving the Sith Lord out of the Chancellor's antechamber and into the office proper. Shortly after the two shatter a large glass window, Windu delivers a kick to Sidious, leading to Sidious falling down and losing his lightsaber. Anakin arrives just as Windu holds Sidious at blade point. Windu declares Sidious has lost, but the Sith Lord then unleashes a torrent of Force lightning . However, Windu deflects it with his blade, casting much of the energy back into Sidious' body. Sidious becomes hideously deformed; his face becomes deathly pale and sagged, his teeth become yellow and rotten, his fingernails become long and dirty, and his eyes turn burning yellow with blood-red rims. He then ends his assault, claiming he is too weak to fight on. As Windu is deciding to kill Sidious, Anakin argues that Palpatine must stand trial: Windu disregards this, stating Sidious's control over the Senate and courts make him too dangerous to be left alive. Anakin is finally forced to choose between the Jedi Order or Padmé. As Windu is about to deliver the killing blow, Anakin betrays Windu and cuts off his sword arm. Sidious, cackling with glee, tortures and blasts the shocked Windu out of the window, sending him plunging to his death hundreds of stories below.

Anakin is horrified by his actions, yet he knows now there is no turning back now that he betrayed the Jedi. He pledges allegiance to Sidious, in return for the Dark Lord's power to stop death, in the hope of saving his beloved wife. Sidious takes Anakin as his Sith apprentice, bestowing upon him the Sith name "Darth Vader." Sidious instructs Vader launch Operation: Knightfall , to ensure the so-called Jedi Rebellion is crushed, and then wipe out the Separatist Council on the Mustafar system , before declaring that " Once more the Sith will rule the galaxy ."

Vader leads the 501st Legion to the Temple. He and the clones rampage through the Temple, cutting down every Jedi that crosses his path, including swordsmaster Cin Drallig and even the younglings hiding out in the Council Chamber.

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Darth Vader just prior to murdering younglings in the Council chamber

Meanwhile, from his office, Sidious broadcasts a command to Commander Cody and many other clone troopers spread throughout the galaxy : to execute Order 66 , a protocol to kill all Jedi, to which the Clones comply (explained in seasons 6 and 7 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars) .

Across the galaxy, the Jedi Generals find themselves being betrayed and murdered by their clone troopers . As this happens, Yoda feels everyone who is dying. On Utapau, Kenobi is flung off a cliff by a blast from an All Terrain Tactical Enforcer , but he and Boga survive the drop, and Obi-Wan flees on Grievous's hidden starfighter; on Mygeeto , Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi is gunned down by CC-1138 and the 21st Nova Corps ; on the lush, tropical planet of Felucia , Jedi Knight Aayla Secura is murdered by CC-5052 and his 327th Star Corps ; on Cato Neimoidia , Plo Koon 's Jedi starfighter is shot down by Aggressive ReConnaissance-170 starfighters , sending it smashing into a clone staging area; and on Saleucami , Stass Allie 's 74-Z speeder bike is destroyed by CC-8826 and his wingman, riding BARC speeders . On Kashyyyk, Yoda is overlooking the ongoing battle as Commander Gree receives the order. He and Captain Jek attempt to sneak up to Yoda, but the aged Master senses their intent and beheads both clones with a slash of his lightsaber. Tarfful and Chewbacca help Yoda escape the planet.

Senator Bail Organa arrives at the flaming Temple to witness the slaughter of a young Padawan named Zett Jukassa by a squad of troopers led by Commander Appo . Organa, horrified, flees the scene and departs Coruscant in the Tantive III , in an attempt to make contact with any surviving Jedi.

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Ki-Adi-Mundi leads his troops on Mygeeto just before the enactment of Order 66 .

Both Obi-Wan and Yoda survive Order 66 and are picked up by Senator Organa, having evaded pursuit. The Jedi decide to return to Coruscant to recalibrate the Jedi beacon calling for all Jedi to return to Coruscant, knowing that it's really a trap set by Darth Sidious. Kenobi hopes to instead warn any surviving Jedi to stay away from the Temple.

Following the attack on the Jedi Temple, Vader returns to Padmé at the Senate Apartment Complex, from where the smoke rising from the wrecked Temple can be seen. He tells her the Jedi have tried to take over the Republic, and there are traitors in the Senate. He asks for her loyalty to the Chancellor, then tells her that he will go to the Mustafar system, where the remaining Separatists have gathered, to end the war.

Through a hologram, Sidious informs the Separatist Council that Vader would take care of them once he arrived, though the council is unaware that Sidious had betrayed them and truly sent Vader to kill them.

Birth of the Empire

Vader arrives on Mustafar and is greeted by Viceroy Gunray, but the Sith apprentice quickly traps the Separatist Council in the bunker. He slaughters Poggle the Lesser, Rune Haako , Po Nudo , and Wat Tambor among others. He leaves Gunray until last, slicing the Neimoidian across the chest even as he pleads for his life. It is at this point that the first physical manifestation of the dark side in Vader begins to show itself, as his irises turn a pallid yellow, the rest of his eye taking on a bright crimson hue.

The Senate holds a special session where Palpatine tells them of the "plot of the Jedi to overthrow the Senate," but that it was foiled. Amidst thunderous applause, he informs the Senate that the surviving Jedi will be hunted down and defeated. He then states that "in order to ensure the security and continued stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire ," which Palpatine describes as creating a safe and secure society. As the majority of the Senate screams their approval, Padmé Amidala and Bail Organa, who are shocked at the result, simply look around and Padmé can only remark "So this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause."

Burning of the Temple

The burning of the Jedi Temple

In the meantime, Obi-Wan and Yoda go to the Jedi Temple, slaying several clones and walking in disbelief through the carnage. Yoda notices that several of their fellow Jedi were cut down by a foe wielding a lightsaber. They recalibrate the Temple's signal to warn all surviving Jedi to keep away from the Temple, but then Obi-Wan, wanting to know the truth, checks the security hologram recordings. To his horror, one recording shows Vader dueling Younglings and then kneeling before Sidious. Yoda says they must destroy the Sith, but Obi-Wan is reluctant to kill Anakin and wants to go after the Emperor instead. Yoda, however, states that Obi-Wan is not strong enough to face Sidious and that Anakin is gone, "consumed" by Vader. Yoda sets out to confront Sidious, telling Obi-Wan to "use his feelings" to find Vader.

Following Yoda's advice, Obi-Wan visits Padmé and tells her that Anakin has turned to the dark side and killed many Jedi in the temple, and also that everyone was deceived by Sidious who was behind everything which includes the war. Despite her anguish, Padmé refuses to reveal where her husband has gone. Obi-Wan deduces that Padmé is carrying Anakin's child, who already knew the two had been together all along and apologizes to her for what he had no choice to do before leaving. On Mustafar, Vader surveys the violent landscape around him and weeps over his recent acts of violence; knowing he cannot turn back from the influence of Darth Sidious.

Later, Padmé leaves Coruscant in her star skiff, departing for Mustafar to find her husband and the truth. Unknown to her, Obi-Wan secretly stows away aboard the ship just before it takes off.

Battle of the heroes

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Darth Sidious and Yoda , masters of the Force , battle each other.

The star skiff lands on Mustafar, and Padmé is greeted by a smiling Vader. Padmé reveals her conversation with Obi-Wan; he tells her it is only lies but does not deny the accusations. Padmé begs him to run away with her to raise their child in peace. Vader, mad with power, claims that they no longer have to run away and he can overthrow Palpatine so that the two of them can rule the galaxy together. Padmé, realizing how much her husband has changed, backs away in horror and tearfully begs him to stop, insisting she still loves him.

As she pleads, Obi-Wan steps out onto the star skiff's boarding ramp. Upon seeing him, Vader becomes enraged and accuses Padmé of lying about her love for him and betraying him to Obi-Wan. Without even allowing her a chance to explain herself, he begins Force-choking her. Obi-Wan intervenes and demands Vader to release Padmé, but Vader still chokes her unconscious. Turning his anger on Obi-Wan, Vader accuses him of turning his wife against him, but Obi-Wan retorts that Vader has done that himself and let himself be twisted by Sidious' lies, becoming a Sith. Vader refuses to listen and rants that he has brought order to his "new empire." Obi-Wan, unable to believe what he is hearing, prepares to fight. Vader fumes that those who are against him are his enemies and engages Obi-Wan in a ferocious duel between Master and Apprentice.

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Best friends fight the epic duel on Mustafar .

In the Chancellor's office within the Imperial Senate Building , Yoda confronts Palpatine. He tells him that he knows of Anakin's turning, while addressing him as his Sith name. Sidious uses Force Lightning to push the Jedi master backwards into a pillar. Obi-Wan and Vader battle over the bridge and enter the Klegger Corp Mining Facility , making their way through the hallways. Returning to Coruscant , Sidious tells Yoda that the Jedi will be no more. The Jedi master stands up and pushes him backwards past the desk. They engage in an intense battle using their lightsabers and Force abilities. At the Mustafarian Mining Complex, Obi-Wan and Vader battle in the conference room on the desk. Vader attempts to force choke the Jedi master with the enabled lightsaber. Obi-Wan loses it after getting kicked in the stomach, but he retrieves it. Yoda resumes fighting Sidious until they are taken the Galactic Senate Chamber , the heart of the Senate. Vader is still battling Obi-Wan, who is on the defensive. They fight command center with the dead Separatist leaders on the floor. A missed slash from Vader's lightsaber damages a computer console, deactivating the facility's shields. As the door opens, Obi-Wan and Vader exit the mining facility and head outside. At the Galactic Senate Chamber, Sidious hurls Senate pods at Yoda, and the effort to avoid them exhausts the Jedi Master. Sidious then blasts Yoda with Force Lightning, causing the Jedi master to lose his lightsaber. With the last of his strength, Yoda redirects it back at him, but this causes an explosion that throws both himself and Sidious over the pod's edge.

Obi-Wan and Vader's battle continue on as they tip-toe across some pipes. A mining droid comes by the Jedi and they fight with their lightsabers. The pair jump onto a bridge and walk onto some large stalks. At the same time, deadly lava blasts towards Vader and Obi-Wan, forcing them to take cover from raining debris. The lava cuts off a collection arm attached to the main structure. Sidious is able to hold on to a senate pod, while Yoda falls to the senate floor leaving his cloak behind. With Bail Organa's help, Yoda flees the Senate Building, intending to go into exile. Back on Mustafar, the rest of the battle resumes. Obi-Wan and Vader ride the collection arm down the lava river below, which falls over a molten waterfall. Abandoning the arm, Obi-Wan leaps onto a hovering mining platform below, with Vader pursuing him back up the lava river atop a collection droid. Obi-Wan appeals to his old friend one last time, but Vader still refuses to see reason, forcing Obi-Wan to accept that his student, friend, and brother is corrupted beyond redemption.

After fending off another attack from Vader, Obi-Wan disengages as the platform nears the shore of the lava river, leaping up onto the black sand bank. Obi-Wan warns Vader that he now holds an unassailable position, but Vader, enraged and bloodthirsty, yells "You underestimate my power!" and foolishly leaps up to kill his old Master. With a swift sweep of his blade, Obi-Wan slices off Vader's left arm and legs. Vader tumbles down the embankment and rolls to a stop at the edge of the river of lava.

As Obi-Wan watches, Vader, helpless and now fully consumed by the dark side, tries in vain to pull his crippled, smoking body up the embankment with his one remaining mechanical arm. Obi-Wan is overcome with disgust and sadness at the pitiful fate of "The Chosen One," and is reduced nearly to tears. He angrily shouts that Vader has failed in his life and destiny, and has hurt all those who loved him, including Obi-Wan himself. All Vader can do is scream in pain and powerless rage, cursing his former friend and Master. The lava below Vader then catches his leg, setting him on fire, horribly burning and disfiguring him, with Obi-Wan turning away from the terror, unwilling to kill him. After briefly staring at the charred, mutilated figure that was once Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan turns and walks away, taking Anakin's dropped lightsaber with him. He returns to the star skiff and leaves the planet with the unconscious Padmé and her droids.

Birth and rebirth

Sidious arrives on Mustafar with a group of shock troopers led by Commander Thire . They rescue Darth Vader from the edge of death using a stasis pod and Sith medicines held in the Emperor's shuttle .

On the isolated asteroid Polis Massa , Yoda meditates and hears the spirit voice of Qui-Gon Jinn . The voice tells him that there is a way to merge with the Force and retain consciousness after death. In order to learn this power, Yoda declares himself an apprentice to the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn.

VaderOperation-ROTS

The remains of Vader's limbs are retrofitted with prosthetics .

Obi-Wan arrives at Polis Massa with Padmé, who is given emergency medical treatment by the facility's droids. She is dying, having lost the will to live. The medical droids work to save her babies—she has twins, much to the surprise of Bail Organa, Obi-Wan, and Yoda. A boy and a girl are born. In her last few dying breaths, Padmé gives them the names " Luke " and " Leia ."

As his children are born, Vader is being rebuilt at the Grand Republic Medical Facility on Coruscant. Vader is given new legs, a new arm, mechanized lungs, and other "replacement parts." He is dressed in black armor , a face mask is sealed tightly, and his helmet is fitted. Darth Vader begins to breathe through his mask. Most, if not the entire surgery is carried out in true dark-side form, with Vader wide awake and apparently unanesthetized, leaving him moaning, screaming, and writhing in excruciating agony.

With Padmé's final breath, she maintains that there is still good in Anakin. She dies still believing in the man she loved, before his violent acts against the Jedi Order and the Separatist Council .

Vader is raised to a standing position, his surgery complete. Vader begins to speak through his vocabulator to the Emperor, asking about Padmé. Sidious, seeking to cut Vader's last tie to his old life and permanently cement the dark side in his heart, lies to Vader, telling him that he accidentally killed his wife while Force choking her. With his last shred of hope and love now gone and his mind broken by the realization he himself killed the person he wanted to save, Vader rips himself free of the operating table and unleashes a powerful scream of rage, shame, and grief through the Force, shattering the droids and equipment. Vader screams "Nooo!" in anger and despair, while the Emperor looks on with an evil grin.

Vader Sidious

Darth Vader and his master watch as the first Death Star is constructed.

On board the Tantive III , docked at Naboo , Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Bail Organa sit at a conference table. They agree to preserve Padmé's pregnant appearance, thus faking the children's deaths. For their own safety, Luke and Leia will be split up in hopes that the Sith will not sense their presence. Leia will be adopted by Bail Organa, and Luke would be sent to his father's step family on Tatooine . Obi-Wan and Yoda will watch and wait until the time is ready for the Skywalker children to do their part. Yoda tells Obi-Wan to study the technique Qui-Gon learned to achieve immortality.

Bail Organa leaves R2-D2 and C-3PO in the care of Captain Raymus Antilles of the Tantive III . He orders a memory wipe of the talkative protocol droid .

On Naboo, Padmé's funeral takes place in a solemn ceremony in Theed . Her hands clasp the japor snippet given to her by Anakin following his departure from Tatooine some thirteen years ago. To protect her children, her body appears to still be pregnant.

In a deleted scene, Yoda travels to Dagobah to begin his self-imposed exile, which he partly owes as penance for his failure to defeat Sidious.

On the bridge of a gray-hulled Venator -class Star Destroyer, Vader, the Emperor, and Governor Wilhuff Tarkin oversee the construction of a moon-sized battle station .

On Alderaan , the infant Leia is brought by Bail Organa to his wife, Queen Breha .

On Tatooine, Obi-Wan brings Luke to his new family: his uncle, Owen , and his aunt, Beru . Obi-Wan leaves on an eopie , heading to his exile in the Jundland Wastes . As the movie and prequel trilogy ends, Owen and Beru, holding the infant Luke, look out to the horizon and watch the setting of Tatooine's twin suns.

Development

One piece of concept art Lucas approved for use as a starship in the film was described as a "Republic Clone Sky Fighter", but the ship ultimately was not included in the film. The design was later reused years later for the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia initiative, much to the joy of its creator, Warren Fu . Fu is also notable for creating the concept art for the "Droid General" character who evolved into Grievous. One of his previous Grievous designs was used for the MagnaGuards. [4]

Principal photography for Revenge of the Sith took place from June 30 [5] to September 17 , 2003 . Most of the filming took place at Fox Studios, Sydney . An additional block of studio photography took place during late 2004 at Shepperton Studios and an Elstree Film Studio both in the UK . There is a short end sequence shot at Chott el Jerid in Tunisia , during the filming of Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones in 2000 to avoid returning to the country for a single scene. Second unit filming was at Grindelwald in Switzerland , Guilin in China , Phuket in Thailand , and Mount Etna in Italy . [6]

ROTSteaser

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

Revenge of the Sith charity premieres took place in Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C., Boston, Denver, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Miami on Thursday, May 12 , 2005 ; and on May 13 , 2005, there were two additional charity premiere screenings in George Lucas's hometown of Modesto. On that same day, an episode of MTV's Total Request Live aired promoting the movie, featuring a performance from the band Good Charlotte . [7] The film's official premiere was at the Cannes Film Festival (out of competition) on May 15, 2005. It was released in most other countries on May 19. It was predicted that the premiere of Revenge of the Sith would cost the US economy approximately $627 million USD because of employees who would take the day off or report in sick. [8]

Due to its dark undertones, disaster scenes and violent nature (mainly the scene where Anakin is burned alive in a rather graphic and realistic manner, as well as Dooku's decapitation and Grievous' internal organs being burned out), Revenge of the Sith is the first 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 and because of the addition of Owen and Beru Lars' remains.

Merchandise

A novelization of the film was written by Matthew Stover . It includes much more dialogue than the movie. The duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin is lengthened and is much more exaggerated. It also contains many references to Expanded Universe characters, such as Raith Sienar or Garm Bel Iblis , for example, and some details, like the way Shaak Ti meets her fate, and Captain Needa's appearance at the Battle of Coruscant differ from their movie counterparts. Aside from Anakin and Obi-Wan's duel, however, the final act is very compressed, especially in comparison to the opening space battle, which encompasses the first third of the book.

Dark Horse Comics published a comic adaptation of the film in March 2005. Other books include the prequel novel Labyrinth of Evil and the sequel novel Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader .

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, integrating 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/Vader. 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 Obi-Wan warning Vader about having the high ground, to which Vader leaps and dodges Obi-Wan's attempted Mou kei and subsequently stabs his former master in the back, killing him. After his death, Vader kicks Obi-Wan's lifeless corpse down the black sand bank, grins, and walks off, as Palpatine arrives on Mustafar to congratulate Vader on his victory. Vader proceeds towards Sidious' docked shuttle, and the new emperor declares the galaxy to belong to the both of them and gives Vader his new, red-bladed lightsaber. After quickly examining his new lightsaber, Vader ignites it and impales his Sith master, declaring the galaxy to belong only to him.

The film's soundtrack 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 . A music video titled A Hero Falls was created for the film's theme " Battle of the Heroes ," featuring footage from the film.

Ep3DVD

Revenge of the Sith on DVD

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was released on DVD on November 1 , 2005 (in Canada and the United States). The DVD was a two-disc set that has picture and sound mastered from the original digital source material. It 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" and a playable Xbox demo of Star Wars: Battlefront II (which was released simultaneously with the DVD) were also included in the set.

The release was the first Star Wars film (and the first major film of all time) never to be widely released on VHS (for example, it was released on VHS in Australia). This caused some backlash from fans collecting both the DVD and VHS versions, who complained that their VHS set was not complete without Episode III. Both the DVD and VHS versions had only one alteration from the film's digital theatrical cut; A straight cut replaced a wipe between the scene where Obi-Wan leaves Mustafar and the scene where Vader climbs away from the lava. (The wipe was reinstated for the Blu-ray release.)

  • DVD Menu themes based on planets from the movie: Coruscant, Utapau, and Mustafar
  • 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
  • Hip hop Yoda music video, an easter egg containing a non-canonical musical performance by Yoda and a group of clone troopers from the 41st Elite Corps (in phase II armor) in the Jedi Temple . [9] (This was the first release not to contain a secret blooper reel of footage from filming as an easter egg.) The video introduces us to a dancing Yoda, break-dancing in the Jedi Temple along with bopping clone troopers. This easter egg can be activated by putting Disc 1 in a DVD player, selecting "Options," and highlighting the THX logo and punching in the numbers "11," [10] "3," and "8," waiting for the pause after each number.
  • Main DVD Menu's theme is based on the Invisible Hand
  • 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 Ltd. '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: The Official Star Wars Fan Club

Wal-Mart stores included an exclusive bonus disc, entitled The Story of Star Wars , with some copies of Revenge of the Sith , when it arrived on DVD. As with many previous Star Wars "history" featurettes, it is hosted R2-D2 and C-3PO. Presented in full frame with Dolby Digital 2.0 sound and running an 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. [11]

Other retail stores gave away a few collectors items. At Target, Collectors would receive a collectors coin from the film, featuring Darth Vader on the "heads" side of the coin, and the Mustafar duel on the "tails" side of the coin. A $5 gift card was also given to the buyers of the DVD. The gift card features Vader, and has lights and sound added to it. Finally from Target, a bonus CD-Rom came with the Episode III soundtrack. At Best Buy, fans who belonged to the Rewards Zone would receive a Star Wars print by the artist Shepard Fairey. [11]

Revenge of the Sith was released on Blu-ray in September 2011 . [12]

On April 7 , 2015 , the Walt Disney Studios, 20th Century Fox, and Lucasfilm jointly announced the digital releases of the six released Star Wars films. As Lucasfilm had retained digital distribution rights to Episodes I to III and V to VI, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released Revenge of the Sith for digital download on April 10 , 2015. [13]

Despite the Walt Disney Company's 2012 purchase of Lucasfilm Ltd. and the release rights to all future Star Wars films, Fox was to retain original distribution rights to Star Wars : Episode IV A New Hope , which they co-produced and co-financed, in perpetuity in all media worldwide. Fox was also to retain theatrical, nontheatrical, and home video rights worldwide for the franchise's five subsequent films, which Lucasfilm produced and financed independently, through May 2020 , at which time ownership was to transfer to Disney. This complex relationship between Fox and Disney, particularly in regards to Fox's perpetual rights to Episode IV, was to create an obstacle for any future boxed set comprising all nine films. [14] On December 14 , 2017 , The Walt Disney Company announced that it was acquiring most of Fox's parent company, 21st Century Fox , including the film studio and all distribution rights to A New Hope . [15] On March 20 , 2019 , the deal was officially completed. [16] On April 12 , 2019, a Blu-ray box set containing the nine main installments of the Star Wars saga remastered in 4K was reportedly announced to be in development for a 2020 release. [17]

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. Sith has since been bumped to the second highest-grossing opening day. The film that beat Sith was Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest which earned $55 million on its opening day. Pirates eclipsing Sith ' s records would become a trend except for two specific records.

Revenge of the Sith broke another couple records on its opening day, including:

  • Midnight screenings - Previously held by The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King , which earned $8 million from 2,100 midnight screenings.
  • Thursday gross - Previously held by The Matrix Reloaded with $37.5 million.

Sith added $33.5 million on the second day from 3,661 theaters. At $83.5 million in two days, the movie was the highest-grossing two-day movie, well on its way to becoming the highest three-day grossing movie in history.

Revenge of the Sith crossed $100 million and tied Spider-Man and The Matrix Reloaded as the only movies at the time to make $100 million in three days. Being that Sith grossed the highest amount in the three day period, it was given the number one rank as "fastest movie to $100 million." This record would also be broken by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest which would reach the $100 million mark in just two days.

Revenge of the Sith totaled $158.5 million in its first four days, 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 ( Hitch , $177.6 million). The four-day total by Sith is one of the records that Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest did not beat. The four-day gross was beaten in 2007, by Spider-Man 3 . Sith , however, It would hold the five-day record for another three years until The Dark Knight would beat it.

The movie was so popular in the UK, that in the second week of release Revenge of the Sith sold more tickets than the next twenty movies released combined.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was released in over 100 countries. As of October 21, 2005, the movie had grossed $380,270,577 in the US and $469,727,028 Internationally, giving it a total of $849,997,605 worldwide.

(All box office information from Box Office Mojo )

Critical reaction

The critical reaction to Revenge of the Sith was very enthusiastic. The film received mostly very positive reviews, especially in comparison to the last two prequels. Many critics have noted that they view it to be the best of the prequels.

  • Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times recommends the movie because he claims it to be a successful entertainment, with its point being the visuals, imagination, story, and action.
  • Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times hailed it as the best since The Empire Strikes Back .
  • A.O. Scott of the New York Times hailed it as even better than A New Hope .

While many critics noted George Lucas's continued weakness with dialogue, Hayden Christensen 's depiction of a more mature Anakin Skywalker and his slow descent to the dark side was praised, and Ewan McGregor and Ian McDiarmid 's performances as the noble Obi-Wan Kenobi and the evil Palpatine respectively received rave reviews. Various critics have made note that they feel that the actors did a better job in general; though they, like in earlier prequels, have been displeased with Natalie Portman 's performance.

Since early viewings, many have stated that there is a critique of then-current 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," mirroring a quote Bush made after the September 11, 2001 attacks: "Either you're with us, or you're with the terrorists." However, Vader also had a similar line in The Empire Strikes Back ("He will join us or die"). Kenobi's reply is an accusation that "Only a Sith deals in absolutes." Some observers have commented that this line of dialogue seems like a none-too-subtle political jab at Bush; the light and dark sides of the Force and Kenobi's line seems forced in that way. The sentence "Only a Sith deals in absolutes" is itself an absolute. However, the key word is deal . Only a Sith would "deal" in an absolute in the sense of issuing an ultimatum (e.g. the Emperor's line to Luke in episode VI: "If you will not be turned, you will be destroyed."). The Jedi do not "deal" with the "join us or die" idea, which is consistent with them merely assenting to universal claims .

The anti-Bush connotation goes one step further in the novelization, with Mace Windu saying that the new laws decrease liberty in the name of security, but he doesn't feel safer (not so long after the PATRIOT Act was voted). Additionally, Palpatine's speech before the Senate in the novel includes the line, "It is morning in the Republic," which may be a play on one of Ronald Reagan's 1984 campaign slogans, "It's morning in America."

But in interviews, George Lucas said that Bush was no influence in writing the movie. Rather, he wrote the basic story outline in the 1970s during the Vietnam War, thinking of President Richard Nixon. [18] He stated at Cannes, "The parallels between what we did in Vietnam and what we're doing in Iraq now are unbelievable." [19] Lucas added that in more general terms, his story represents how any democracy can turn into a dictatorship with the consent of the people, like Caesar of Rome and Napoleon I of France. [20] [21]

Popular reception

In the era of the internet, Revenge of the Sith has proven to be a major source for content in internet meme culture. In particular, Kenobi's greeting to Grievous on Utapau, " hello there ," has arisen to one of the most famous Star Wars memes [22] and has been referenced in official works, [23] [24] even being included as Kenobi's greeting to Luke Skywalker within the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series, where Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen reprised their roles as Kenobi and Vader, respectively. [25]

Deleted scenes

Six deleted scenes were included on Disc 2 of the DVD:

  • "Grievous Slaughters Shaak Ti" - The death of Shaak Ti by General Grievous on board the Invisible Hand . Deleted due to time constraints, and because the story was changed that Grievous left Shaak Ti on Coruscant alive, and she didn't die.
  • "A Stirring in the Senate" - The First Meeting of the Rebel Alliance . Deleted because it took away from the central plot of Anakin Skywalker.
  • "Seeds of Rebellion" - The Second Meeting of the Rebel Alliance. Deleted because it took away from the central plot of Anakin Skywalker.
  • "Confronting the Chancellor" - The Presentation of the Delegation of 2000 to Palpatine . Deleted because it took away from the central plot of Anakin Skywalker.
  • "A Plot to Destroy the Jedi?" - Mace Windu senses the destruction of the Jedi Order . Deleted due to time constraints and because the point was already known.
  • "Exiled to Dagobah" - Yoda lands on Dagobah . Deleted for fear it would clutter up the endings instead of making it just "father, mother, and the kids." Rick McCallum is quoted as saying that this was the biggest loss for him to the film and he hopes to see it on a future edition.

Other scenes were also cut from the film:

  • Obi-Wan visits Senator Amidala to discuss Anakin , and tell her that he knows of her marriage. This scene features in the script, novel and comic book adaptation of the film, albeit differing slightly in each.
  • Obi-Wan selects Boga from the other varactyls . An animatic of this scene was put on StarWars.com in November 2007.
  • The Deaths of Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee . This scene was never shot.
  • The Order 66 "death" of Quinlan Vos . This scene was never shot.
  • The Order 66 death of Mina Podia . This scene was never shot.
  • Another death of Shaak Ti , elaborated in the novelization: Ti is stabbed in the back by Darth Vader during his raid on the Jedi Temple while she is meditating. She asks Anakin what happened to Windu, Fisto , Kolar , and Tiin . Skywalker replies by stabbing her in the back (a similar death of Shaak Ti appeared in LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game ).
  • Obi-Wan eluding the Nos monster , a natural predator of Utapau , after falling into the sinkhole on Utapau.
  • Talk scenes between Aayla Secura and Bly , and Plo Koon and Jag .
  • An ambush scene by Yoda , Tarfful , and Chewbacca . A Clone Walker passes by a lake. Tarfful is lying dead on Wookiee boat. The clone stares at him for a moment and a furry creature covered in mud all over comes out of the water onto the boat. The clone asks the creature if anything is there. "Wookiee good, eat Wookiee," replies the creature. The clone decides it is just a native Kashyyyk creature and decides to leave. Immediately, Chewbacca jumps out of the water and pulls the clone underwater, killing him. Then Tarfful wakes up and the creature reveals itself to be Yoda. He tells the Wookiees to give him a second to bathe. Yoda jumps into the water and scrubs all the mud off. Yoda emerges and puts on his robes. They then continue towards the emergency escape pod.
  • A scene in which Yoda speaks to the voice of Qui-Gon Jinn's spirit . Yoda dedicates himself to Qui-Gon's teachings. This scene was featured in the novelization .
  • Darth Vader kills Wat Tambor .

In the DVD commentary for Revenge of the Sith , Lucas makes an offhand comment regarding the Death Star seen in the final moments of the film. He explains that it was exactly the same one as seen in A New Hope , and goes on to say that it would be "a bit of a stretch," but explains that due to "union disputes and supply problems," it took 19 years to build. The canon novel Tarkin by James Luceno , set five years after Revenge of the Sith , explores some aspects of the construction of the Death Star. The book Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel , also written by James Luceno, went into more detail about how the Republic secretly began the project and how it continued to expand under the Empire's direction. Thrawn and Thrawn: Treason also show some aspects of the production and supply issues of the Death Star. The movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story sheds further light on the construction of the Death Star, as it depicts how the Rebel Alliance came to have the Death Star plans .

Within the Legends continuity, Kevin J. Anderson 's novels Jedi Search and Champions of the Force explain that a prototype Death Star was built in preparation for the construction of the first Death Star in A New Hope . These conflicting accounts were retconned in The New Essential Chronology , which stated that the former was a testbed prototype for the superlaser to be installed on the latter. The Chronology also mentions the fact that in order to ensure protection from sabotage, the construction site was moved to various locations throughout the nineteen-year gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope , indicating that there were various attempts by unknown persons to disable or even destroy the massive battle station, a theory supported by a line from A New Hope where Vader proclaims that "There will be no one to stop us this time" in regard to the Death Star and its plans. The another Legends novels The Dark Nest Trilogy , written by Troy Denning , explore the continuity pieces about the holographic recordings of Anakin, Padme, and Obi-Wan in R2's memory banks. Although the Skywalker family saga comes full circle, Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa still don't know their mother's identity, but Luke has stumbled on a memory of R2-D2's that contains her image, even he watches a hologram of Anakin Force-choking Padmé, as well as his and Leia's birth. Denning shows Artoo's desire to hide these recordings from Luke – no doubt feeling he will learn something hurtful – while couching it in the fact that the astromech droid has developed quirks in his circuitry.

The Legends video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed revealed that Galen Marek greatly damaged the Death Star while infiltrating the station to rescue Rebel leaders. This was held to be a partial explanation for why it took so long to build the Death Star as well as Vader's line "There will be no one to stop us this time."

Uncredited cast

Uncredited crew

Appearances

Canon characters

Legends characters

Canon organisms

Legends organisms

Droid models

Canon droids

Legends droids

Canon events

Legends events

Canon locations

Legends locations

Organizations and titles

Canon organizations and titles

Legends organizations and titles

Sentient species

Canon species

Legends species

Vehicles and vessels

Canon vehicles

Legends vehicles

Weapons and technology

Canon technology

Legends technology

Miscellanea

Canon miscellanea

Legends miscellanea

Notes and references

  • ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Star Wars Year By Year: A Visual History, Updated and Expanded Edition
  • ↑ Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
  • ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith

SWInsider

  • ↑ Within a Minute: The Making of Episode III
  • ↑ The cost of the Sith by Wastler, Allen on CNN Money ( May 11 , 2005 ) (archived from the original on May 13 , 2005 )

StarWars

  • ↑ Depending on a DVD remote's format, some may have to push 10+ before "11." For those who cannot activate the easter egg with the former method, the bonus is title 10 on the disc.

StarWars

  • ↑ Tangled Rights Could Tie Up Ultimate 'Star Wars' Box Set (Analysis) by Masters, Kim on The Hollywood Reporter ( October 30 , 2012 ) (archived from the original on February 15 , 2020 )

DisneyCompany-favicon

  • ↑ Disney Closes $71.3 Billion Fox Deal, Creating Global Content Powerhouse by Georg Szalai, Paul Bond on The Hollywood Reporter ( March 19 , 2019 ) (archived from the original on June 11 , 2020 )
  • ↑ Exclusive: Disney are working on a 4K Blu-ray box set for Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (updated) on The Digital Fix: Film ( April 12 , 2019 ) (archived from the original on May 6 , 2019 )
  • ↑ Lucas: 'Sith' not written to echo Bush on billingsgazette.com ( May 20 , 2005 ) (archived from the original on November 29 , 2005 )
  • ↑ Latest 'Star Wars' Movie Is Quickly Politicized by Halbfinger, David M. on www.nytimes.com ( May 19 , 2005 ) (archived from the original on April 17 , 2020 )
  • ↑ Lucas: 'Star Wars' isn't Iraq wars by Jacobson, Harlan on usatoday30.usatoday.com ( May 15 , 2005 ) (archived from the original on May 14 , 2020 )
  • ↑ Lucas on Iraq war, 'Star Wars' by Burns, Chris on www.cnn.com ( May 16 , 2005 ) (archived from the original on June 6 , 2019 )
  • ↑ 10 Of The Most Memed Star Wars Moments, Ranked by McGinley, Rhys on Screen Rant ( September 27 , 2021 ) (archived from the original on September 28 , 2021 )
  • ↑ Obi-Wan 5
  • ↑ Age of Republic - Obi-Wan Kenobi 1

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  • ↑ 26.00 26.01 26.02 26.03 26.04 26.05 26.06 26.07 26.08 26.09 26.10 26.11 26.12 26.13 26.14 26.15 26.16 26.17 26.18 26.19 26.20 26.21 26.22 26.23 26.24 26.25 26.26 26.27 26.28 26.29 26.30 26.31 26.32 26.33 26.34 26.35 26.36 26.37 26.38 26.39 26.40 26.41 26.42 26.43 26.44 26.45 26.46 26.47 26.48 26.49 26.50 26.51 26.52 26.53 26.54 26.55 Star Wars : Episode III Revenge of the Sith credits

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Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Samuel L. Jackson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, James Earl Jones, Frank Oz, Ian McDiarmid, Hayden Christensen, and Gene Bryant in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Three years into the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi pursues a new threat, while Anakin Skywalker is lured by Chancellor Palpatine into a sinister plot to rule the galaxy. Three years into the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi pursues a new threat, while Anakin Skywalker is lured by Chancellor Palpatine into a sinister plot to rule the galaxy. Three years into the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi pursues a new threat, while Anakin Skywalker is lured by Chancellor Palpatine into a sinister plot to rule the galaxy.

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Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

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  • Trivia 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.
  • Goofs When Padmé is trying to convince Anakin to turn from the dark side on Mustafar, Anakin says "And I'm doing it for you, to protect you," but his mouth says "And I'm doing it because I love you, to protect you."

Obi-Wan : It's over Anakin, I have the high ground.

Anakin Skywalker : You underestimate my power!

Obi-Wan : Don't try it.

  • Crazy credits The opening logo for 20th Century Fox is static (to match the opening of Episodes 4, 5 and 6), instead of the animated 3-D logo used in Fox films at the time.
  • Alternate versions As Obi-Wan leaves Mustafar, there is a shot of him sitting in the cockpit of Padme's Naboo skiff, with C-3PO sitting next to him. The next shot is of the badly burned Anakin trying to claw his way up the lava bank with his remaining prosthetic arm. In the theatrical version, these shots were separated by a wipe. In the DVD, it is a normal cut. But in the 2011 Blu-Ray release, the wipe has been restored.
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Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (United States, 2005)

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Revenge of the Sith is the most technically accomplished of all the Star Wars movies. Putting aside other important aspects of the cinematic experience (like storytelling, for example), it’s hard to argue that the special effects work in the third prequel isn’t more spectacular than anything previously attempted by George Lucas. From start to finish, Revenge of the Sith redefines how a science fiction spectacle can look. But Episode III isn’t all flash-and-bang. It provides viewers with some of the series’ most emotionally wrenching moments as the inevitable transformation from Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader makes the leap from imagination to reality.

Since the late 1970s, fans have wondered about the moment . There have been artists’ conceptions and Lucas has talked about it openly. But it took 28 years for viewers to finally see the unvarnished spiral into darkness that forced a comely young man into one of the most iconic costumes of the 20th century. Revenge of the Sith is about the death of Anakin Skywalker and the birth of Darth Vader and, although there’s nothing subtle about the transition, Lucas provides gradations to the defection. Anakin isn’t so much seduced by power as he is persuaded by the fear of losing a loved one and the sting of rejection by those whose opinions he values. The Jedi may not be directly responsible for Vader but their role in his creation cannot be ignored. The poor judgment shown by these supposedly wise men illustrates that their order was primed for a fall. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, recognizing this, exploits it.

revenge of the sith essay

One of Revenge of the Sith ’s primary functions is to set up A New Hope . The third prequel represents a bridge between eras. It illustrates the fall of the Republic and the Rise of the Empire. It introduces Luke and Leia (albeit as babies), Chewbacca, and a newly golden C3PO. The Rebel Blockade Runner, Death Star, and Luke’s Tatooine home make appearances. And, of course, Darth Vader dons the mask, speaks using James Earl Jones’ baritone, and takes his first tottering steps.

revenge of the sith essay

Revenge of the Sith is a dark movie and even its few lighthearted moments come under a cloud of grim expectations. We know what will happen and, the closer it gets, the weightier the dread. The blackest moment in all six movies occurs at the precise moment in Revenge of the Sith when Anakin gives himself fully to the dark side and murders the Jedi children in training. This event isn’t shown on screen but one doesn’t need to see it to feel the horror. This completes the transition begun by Anakin in Attack of the Clones when rage overtook him and he slaughtered a tribe of Sand People.

Although Lucas’ directorial weaknesses are occasionally evident in Revenge of the Sith , they are less detrimental here than in the other prequels. The filmmaker feels more at home when addressing dark material - it’s no surprise that the best chapters of the Star Wars saga are this one and The Empire Strikes Back . Little comedy is attempted; Jar-Jar Binks is thankfully relegated to a cameo. C3PO and R2D2 have recovered from the droid factory silliness in Attack of the Clones and evolved into the characters they would be in A New Hope . Some of the dialogue between Anakin and Padme is awkward but those scenes are short and serve their purpose of illustrating how paranoid Anakin has become about losing his wife. The film’s “big” moments are expertly handled and flawlessly executed: the rescue of Palpatine, the seduction of Anakin, the duel with Mace Windu, the final confrontation with General Grievous, the Yoda/Palpatine conflict, and the climactic confrontation above the lava of Mustafar.

revenge of the sith essay

Although Revenge of the Sith is the third volume of the prequel trilogy, its quality places it alongside A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back as the best Star Wars has to offer. Its flaws are easily forgiven; it offers the same successful blend of high energy sci-fi melodrama, epic tragedy, and satisfying storytelling provided by Episodes IV and V. In many ways, Revenge of the Sith is the most important chapter of the first six episodes and, until its release, the Star Wars saga remained incomplete. Once it was available, however, viewers were able to see the themes Lucas was attempting to convey across the two trilogies. Revenge of the Sith exists not only as a fine chapter in its own right but its existence improves the other five segments, adding context and depth not only to the two other prequels but to all three members of the original trilogy.

For my original review, go to this link .

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‘Revenge of The Sith’ Is Underrated. No, Really.

Looking at the better sides of the final installment in the ‘Star Wars’ prequel trilogy 15 years after its release

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revenge of the sith essay

If the strength of a franchise’s legacy were defined by the number of memes it spawned, the Star Wars prequel trilogy would be among the most heralded works in the history of cinema. Far from having a limited shelf life, prequel memes have continued to thrive since the trilogy’s release in the early 2000s—even evolving to make their way onto emerging platforms like TikTok . (Prequel memes are ubiquitous enough that I began my pitch for this essay with “hello there.” ) While it would be a touch unfair to make a blanket statement for the intent behind meme-ing The Phantom Menace , Attack of the Clones , and Revenge of the Sith to death, many of the executions don’t seem mean-spirited, despite often highlighting the trilogy’s wooden dialogue, overabundance of CGI, offensive caricatures, and terrible acting. It’s more like we’ve all come together to laugh and confess that we love trash at the altar of our lord and savior, George Lucas.

Like the rest of Star Wars on the big screen, I have watched the prequels more times than I can count. I remember every detail of the ‘50s-style American diner that somehow exists on Coruscant. I know every reason why Anakin Skywalker doesn’t like sand. I have tried my best to understand the logic behind the first opening crawl of a new trilogy describing the taxation of trade routes (kids love their Space Tax). I unironically believe podracing is cool—maybe even the part in outer space when young Anakin says “now this is podracing!” when he is not, in fact, podracing. Navigating the space between adoring something undeniably flawed and providing a critical retrospective for the material is like trying to slip a torpedo through the Death Star’s tiny exhaust port.

But not all prequel derision should be created equal. While the three films are typically grouped together as low points for the franchise, I contend that Revenge of the Sith shouldn’t be treated with such indignation. (The movies’ respective Metacritic scores at least confirm that Revenge of the Sith is the best reviewed of the trilogy, as it should be.) By 2005, Lucas hadn’t totally worked out some of the prequel’s kinks—namely, an inability to write dialogue that doesn’t, at its very worst, feel like Elon Musk trying his hand at a screenplay—but Revenge of the Sith was too tantalizing to completely fail because of what the trilogy-ender represented.

For all the bizarre directions of the earlier entries, with dry Trade Federation detours and a wasted Christopher Lee performance as the pointless villain Count Dooku, Revenge of the Sith was destined to fill in one of the most exciting gaps of the Star Wars mythos: Anakin’s inevitable transformation into Darth Vader. However clumsily it was set up, Anakin had to betray the Jedi Order and something had to happen with Padmé, but not until Luke and Leia were born and separated. And, of course, Chancellor Palpatine would have to finally reveal himself to be a Sith Lord—a moment that hopefully didn’t register as shocking for anyone since the prequels basically made it an open secret to everyone but the Jedi.

Defending some of the ways in which Lucas scripted these reveals is a losing battle, but there are genuinely devastating and engrossing sequences in the path toward Vader: the anguish when Anakin concludes that he must embrace the Dark Side to save Padmé from death; when he activates his lightsaber in a room full of young Padawans after pledging himself to Palpatine; the consequences of Order 66; when he confronts and Force-chokes Padmé, fulfilling the thing Anakin feared most; the venomous rage in Anakin-cum-Vader’s eyes after Obi-Wan Kenobi slices him in half from ( I know ) the high ground and before his body is slowly incinerated.

As cringe-worthy as Hayden Christensen’s acting could be—in his defense, the scripts rarely did him any favors—it did end up serving what appeared to be Lucas’s motivation. Rather than build upon the myth of an epic villain like Darth Vader, the prequels tore him down. With all of his impulsive, petulant, and self-destructive behavior, Anakin didn’t make villainy look cool; he made it seem pathetic. (In retrospect, Anakin and the try-hard Kylo Ren had a lot in common.) We all make fun of Anakin first donning the iconic Darth Vader helmet and shouting “NOOOOOOOO!” for the sheer ridicule such a moment provides. Maybe the theatrics were the point.

That philosophy would certainly align with Revenge of the Sith ’s undisputed MVP: Palpatine himself. After spending two films hiding behind the facade of a genial politician, Ian McDiarmid got to fully lean into camp at the end of the trilogy. With Palpatine taking only a few minutes of screentime before explicitly revealing some of his monstrous intent—first by ordering Anakin to execute Count Dooku—McDiarmid relishes in peeling the layers back on a manipulative, comically evil presence. The performance both allows us to understand why someone like Anakin would fall for Palpatine’s slimy charm as well as expose the Jedi Council’s fatal hubris when their biggest enemy was right in their face the whole time. (The Jedi’s failures are also interrogated in The Last Jedi , yet that film’s detractors act like Rian Johnson betrayed Lucas’s vision.) By the time Palpatine finishes frying poor Mace Windu—a ridiculous sequence that gives us three Hall of Fame quotes: “I am the senate,” “It’s treason, then,” and “UNLIMITED POWER!!!!”—it’s clear McDiarmid is in on the bit. I’m only half-kidding when I say he deserved an Oscar nomination.

Where Revenge of the Sith still feels weighed down is in its strenuous commitment to doing the absolute Most. Aside from setting up Anakin’s transformation into Darth Vader and unleashing Palpatine’s master plan, the film juggles two other secondary villains in Count Dooku and General Grievous. The grimly funny solution to the Dooku dilemma—how do we tie up this unnecessary loose end from Attack of the Clones ?—was simply having him lose a lightsaber battle on a spaceship within the first 15 minutes of the movie, an unceremonious end for a character who was a transparent Palpatine placeholder. (Christopher Lee deserved better!)

The introduction of Grievous, meanwhile, was perhaps burdened by the lofty expectations of certain viewers (like myself) who watched Genndy Tartakovsky’s now-decanonized Clone Wars series, where the droid general was more akin to an unstoppable Jedi Terminator than the coughing mess he turned out to be. Grievous was conceptually—and maybe incidentally?—a kind of Vader prototype; a weird cyborg thing that never meshed with his new body, as evidenced by a phlegmy cough. (In Clone Wars, the cough was shown to be a result of Mace Windu using the Force to crush part of Grievous’s torso, which was way cooler.) The presence of General Grievous also gave Lucas an easy excuse to split up Anakin and Obi-Wan so that the former could be turned to the Dark Side without his mentor over his shoulder—and while Grievous’s showdown with Obi-Wan was itself a meme gold mine, it did add to the overstuffed nature of this trilogy-ender.

In that respect, however, Revenge of the Sith is representative of a moment when big franchises concluded trilogies by trying to do as much as possible and bring as many new adversaries to the fore. Spider-Man 3 had Peter Parker juggling Harry Osborn, Sandman, and an unfortunate interpretation of Venom-as–Eric Foreman ; X-Men: The Last Stand mixed in a Dark Phoenix story with Magneto, the Juggernaut ( bitch ), and countless other Mutants; Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End introduced viewers to Singapore and surreal pirate purgatory. Some of these overstuffed trilogy-enders fared better than others with critics and audiences—I will always walk the plank for Gore Verbinski’s Pirates films—arriving right before the first phase of the carefully calibrated, somewhat formulaic Marvel Cinematic Universe . (It’s a little miraculous that the MCU has found a way to juggle dozens of stars in Avengers entries without the whole thing falling apart.)

But even when it leans into Lucas’s worst impulses, Revenge of the Sith works on several fronts. Fifteen years on, the film remains a compelling, operatic tragedy featuring some of the darkest moments of the entire franchise; somewhat paradoxically, it is also exceptionally entertaining for some absurdly stilted one-liners I can’t stop thinking about. (I like the part when Anakin says, “This is where the fun begins,” before some of the fun begins.) Whether you’re watching for the moments of actual pathos or just waiting to shout lines like “YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE!” in unison with friends, Revenge of the Sith holds up.

And despite the prequel’s glaring flaws, at least Lucas got to spend more time in the world he created before the Empire (Disney) took the reins of the franchise. Off the heels of a third trilogy to bookend the so-called Skywalker Saga—a mess of competing visions , franchise retconning, and a general lack of purpose exposed by a company’s desire to please everyone—there is something wistful about the product of one dude executing his bonkers vision for an enterprise worth billions of dollars .

The prequels didn’t always strike the right balance in the Force— The Phantom Menace is stealthily better than its reputation; Attack of the Clones should be hurled into the sun—and the trilogy has more than its share of detractors. But for what might end up being Lucas’s final feature film as a director, Revenge of the Sith deserves a lasting legacy beyond all the dank memes. It’s good, and for all its issues, the movie almost approaches greatness. All told, Revenge of the Sith will always be a fine addition to the Star Wars collection .

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Psychology of Anakin and Padme From “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith” Essay (Movie Review)

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The couple selected for this psychological analysis is Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala from the film Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Due to the nature of their jobs, their marriage must be kept secret from everyone, including people they consider close. The second problem is that Padme is pregnant, which threatens to reveal their secret. Also, Anakin is fearful that Padme will die during childbirth due to dreams that he is having, which is causing him to behave erratically and become distanced in their marriage.

It is important to consider several factors when treating the couple. Padme and Anakin met when both were young. Anakin was 9 years old and came from a life of labor and poverty, raised by a single mother until he had an opportunity to leave for his studies. Meanwhile, Padme came from a royal background, becoming a political leader at the young age of 14. After a brief adventure, they did not see each other for ten years until brought together in their line of work in the government, during which they fell in love and eventually got married despite it being forbidden.

Around this time, Anakin lost his mother after being away from her for such a long time. This propelled him into a sense of rage and guilt during which he secretly committed violent crimes. It should be noted that Anakin is an active soldier and veteran who went through years of combat.

Both individuals fulfill traditional gender roles in the family. There were no signs of mental illness or affairs. Lately, Anakin had become more emotionally abusive to Padme, blaming her for betraying his trust when in fact, she was seeking help, at which point he physically assaulted her by choking her. These issues should be addressed by focusing on safety planning and emotional regulation for the family. It is vital to help the couple without triggering a conflict that would translate into domestic violence. Limited confidentiality is also a strategy where the couple agrees to individual sessions as well as regular check-ups.

Evidence shows that the difficult childhood and trauma of losing his mother relatively early in life does lead to emotional dependence in clients. According to Anakin, he is fearful of losing Padme, and it is causing him extreme anxiety, during which he resorts to blindsided anger as a method of control. The object relations theory fits in this situation, arguing that the relationships form based on family experiences in childhood and mentally objectifying people to model similar patterns.

Therefore, Anikan, who lost his mother, expects to lose Padme in some sort of manner, either death or break-up, which makes him angry. Meanwhile, Padme, as a leader, maintains the attitude of caretaker of the vulnerable and internalizes Anikan as a victim who needs her even if he is displaying abuse. However, the theory may not fit in explaining why Anikan is distrustful of external help and Padme turning for help to their mutual friends.

Anakin seems to be the irrational factor in this relationship. He is emotionally unstable and is constantly shifting blame during emotionally charged outbursts. During the sensitive period of therapy, the client may lose his temper. It is vital to address this calmly and acknowledge his feelings. Practicing active listening skills in the attempt to find a common understanding should be helpful to mitigate the situation. It is viable to use creative counseling by offering the client symbolisms for his anger, such as a fuse or a shield to control the situation.

The prognosis is moderate, with some optimism for improvement based on the variable that Anakin can change. Evidence does demonstrate that abusive relationships had recovered when the abuser understood the extent of his actions and psychological problems. Anikan must understand guilt, tolerate emotional injury, share his feelings in a healthy manner, and realize when his behavior is abusive. Therefore, despite his past trauma, he can acquire learned attitudes to manage his behavior. Meanwhile, Padme is extremely empathetic and willing to take the extra steps to help Anikan.

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IvyPanda. (2021, June 13). Psychology of Anakin and Padme From "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith". https://ivypanda.com/essays/psychology-of-anakin-and-padme-from-star-wars-revenge-of-the-sith/

"Psychology of Anakin and Padme From "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith"." IvyPanda , 13 June 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/psychology-of-anakin-and-padme-from-star-wars-revenge-of-the-sith/.

IvyPanda . (2021) 'Psychology of Anakin and Padme From "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith"'. 13 June.

IvyPanda . 2021. "Psychology of Anakin and Padme From "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith"." June 13, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/psychology-of-anakin-and-padme-from-star-wars-revenge-of-the-sith/.

1. IvyPanda . "Psychology of Anakin and Padme From "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith"." June 13, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/psychology-of-anakin-and-padme-from-star-wars-revenge-of-the-sith/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Psychology of Anakin and Padme From "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith"." June 13, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/psychology-of-anakin-and-padme-from-star-wars-revenge-of-the-sith/.

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Star wars legends explains why one revenge of the sith villain was so underwhelming.

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Star Wars Revenge Of The Sith: All Deleted Scenes In Chronological Order

Star wars: 10 most devastating things general grievous did before revenge of the sith, what year quentin tarantino's pulp fiction is set in.

  • General Grievous in Star Wars Legends was a master Jedi-killer, but in Revenge of the Sith, he appears less threatening due to past defeats and injuries.
  • The Clone Wars microseries showcased Grievous as a formidable villain, using psychological warfare to instill fear in Jedi opponents.
  • Grievous' defeat by Mace Windu left him weakened and prone to fleeing battles, explaining his less intimidating portrayal in Revenge of the Sith.

Despite his reputation and fanfare, General Grievous was arguably an underwhelming villain in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith , yet the Star Wars Legends continuity explains why this is. General Grievous' introduction is in the original Star Wars: Clone Wars microseries, proving himself as a capable Jedi-killer. Grievous’ portrayal in the original Legends timeline left viewers and readers with the perception that he is one of the greatest threats to the Galactic Republic , an appropriate conclusion, given his many feats. Yet Grievous is far less threatening to Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker in the film.

The modern canon’s counterpart to the Clone Wars microseries, Star Wars: The Clone Wars , exacerbates this view of Grievous, portraying him as hardly being a threat to anyone more formidable than a Jedi Padawan. The original Legends-era incarnation of Grievous, however, has an extensive backstory and character arc that justifies his fearsome reputation and explains why he was so easily bested in Revenge of the Sith . This recontextualizes his behavior in the movie, rendering it far more satisfying.

George Lucas left quite a bit on the cutting room floor when it came to Revenge of the Sith, and we wish some of these deleted scenes were included.

General Grievous Is So Much More Dangerous In The Clone Wars Microseries

General Grievous made his Star Wars franchise debut in “Chapter 20” of Clone Wars , which saw him route the Republic at the Battle of Hypori and single-handedly defeat a group of Jedi, including notable characters like Jedi Masters Ki-Adi-Mundi and Shaak Ti. The microseries made Grievous a horrific figure who inspired dread in even the best of the Jedi, but not without explanation. As per his training under the Sith Lord Count Dooku, Grievous was a master of psychological warfare, with Dooku training him to weaponize fear, surprise, and intimidation on his enemies before engaging them .

During the production of Clone Wars’s final season, however, the showrunners learned from George Lucas that Grievous would not be portrayed as a terrifyingly efficient Jedi-killer in Revenge of the Sith , but rather an old-fashioned sort of villain who would flee from the heroes at a moment’s notice. For this reason, Dooku’s training also stressed that Grievous retreat if any elements of his psychological weapons fail to faze his opponents . The series finale of Clone Wars shows precisely what happens when Grievous fails to heed the advice of Count Dooku, tying the consequences to his Revenge of the Sith portrayal.

Grievous Faced Defeat At Mace Windu's Hand

Grievous is shown retreating during the Battle of Hypori, as per Dooku’s tutelage. When facing off against the Muunilinst 10’s heavily armed LAAT gunship, Grievous opts to flee, letting the Jedi and clone survivors live to spread the word of his victory. During the Battle of Coruscant, however, Grievous becomes overconfident and ignores Dooku’s instructions. After defeating three Jedi Masters (leaving one alive), Grievous is confronted by a fourth: Mace Windu. Instead of fleeing with the captured Palpatine, Grievous prepares to fight Windu , who – unintimidated – uses the Force to crush Grievous’ chest, nearly killing him.

Despite the damage from Mace Windu’s attack, Grievous survived, albeit severely weakened and now with a noticeable cough. Grievous’ defeat affected both his behavior and his formidability in Revenge of the Sith , explaining the apparent discrepancy between the appearances and making his training scene with Dooku one of the most important moments in his characterization. Windu may not have killed Grievous, but it was this defeat that initiated the downfall of the general.

General Grievous’ cough was inspired by George Lucas himself, who had a cough during the production of Revenge of the Sith and wanted the cough to be used in the film.

General Grievous' character isn't explored much in Star Wars' third episode, and here are 10 of the most heinous acts he committed beforehand.

Mace's Victory Left General Grievous Injured...& More Prone To Retreat

In the Legends continuity, General Grievous never fully recovered from Mace Windu’s Force crush, rendering him a far lesser opponent than before. The shocking results of his failure to follow Dooku’s advice also left Grievous far keener to retreat as soon as a situation was no longer in his favor. Case in point, rather than join his MagnaGuards in attacking Obi-Wan and Anakin aboard the Invisible Hand, Grievous hid behind the droids, allowing them to kill (or at least weaken) the two Jedi. Of course, once the Guards were destroyed, Grievous fled.

Grievous similarly fled as soon as Obi-Wan Kenobi gained the upper hand in their duel on Utapau, a fight that was already in Kenobi’s favor, thanks to Grievous’ injury from Mace Windu. Like Mace Windu, Obi-Wan was not intimidated by Grievous, besting the general for good. Of course, given that he was unfazed by Grievous, Kenobi would still prevail if he had faced Grievous at his full strength in Revenge of the Sith .

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

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Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith is the sixth film in the Star Wars franchise and chronologically the third in the Skywalker Saga. Set three years after the events of Attack of the Clones, Anakin Skywalker is tasked with keeping an eye on Chancellor Palpatine while other Jedi battle across the galaxy. In the background, however, a mysterious Sith lord begins to make their move to destroy the Jedi once and for all.

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

revenge of the sith essay

One Shocking Change To Revenge Of The Sith Would've Completely Changed Star Wars' Padme Problem

  • Padm's storyline in Revenge of the Sith could have been improved with her attempt to kill Anakin on Mustafar.
  • Padm's agency would have been strengthened if she had taken matters into her own hands.
  • A new cause of death for Padm, such as being severely injured in a fight with Anakin, would have made her story more satisfying.

One plan Star Wars creator George Lucas originally had for Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith would have completely changed Padmé's story for the better. Revenge of the Sith is undoubtedly one of Star Wars' best movies , but there were some odd choices made for the characters, Padmé in particular. Although the events of Revenge of the Sith were in some ways set in stone because the original trilogy had come first in the chronology of Star Wars movies and TV shows , Padmé's story had flexibility that the prequel trilogy didn't always take the best advantage of.

Although Padmé was introduced in Star Wars as an impressively steadfast queen at just 14 years old, by Revenge of the Sith , her agency had been diminished somewhat. Ultimately, the movie also revealed how Padmé died , which was unsatisfying to say the least. However, one change to Revenge of the Sith's ending—which George Lucas himself considered—would have rectified all of that .

10 Mistakes George Lucas Made In The Prequel Trilogy That Still Haunt Star Wars 25 Years Later

Although the Star Wars prequel trilogy has become much more beloved in the franchise, 10 mistakes from each of the three movies remain a problem.

Padm Trying To Kill Anakin Would Have Confirmed Her Values

Padm amidala.

Created By George Lucas

Cast Catherine Taber, Natalie Portman

First Appearance Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

Alliance Naboo, Republic

Towards the end of Revenge of the Sith , Padmé learned that Anakin had killed younglings and joined the dark side. However, when she arrived on Mustafar to confront him, she still seemed open to the idea of Anakin changing his mind and leaving with her . Not only was this not a great look for Padmé, but it was also an odd contradiction to most of her character's choices and behaviors thus far (with one glaring exception). The idea that Anakin murdering children wasn't a dealbreaker for Padmé, who, notably, was pregnant with his children at the time, is disturbing.

The idea that Anakin murdering children wasn't a dealbreaker for Padm, who, notably, was pregnant with his children at the time, is disturbing.

Of course, Padmé had already proven her willingness to overlook such heinous acts of violence in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones , as she had simply told Anakin that anger was a normal human emotion after he'd confessed to killing every man, woman, and child at a Tusken Raiders camp. Other than these two shocking outliers, though, Padmé was always focused on peace, harmony, and protection for the most vulnerable. That makes these moments all the more bewildering, in addition to being massively disappointing.

However, Padmé's response, at least in Revenge of the Sith , was almost very different. In concept art for Revenge of the Sith , Padmé can be seen carrying a knife and standing before Anakin on Mustafar. As is suggested by the image, George Lucas toyed with the idea of having Padmé attempt to kill Anakin on Mustafar . While this may have complicated her later sentiment that there was still good in him, this would have been a fascinating turn for Padmé to take right at the very end, and it would have resolved the questionable decisions she'd made along the way.

Attacking Anakin Would Have Given Padm Agency

Anakin skywalker/darth vader.

Cast Sebastian Shaw, Matt Lanter, Matt Lucas, Bob Anderson, Jake Lloyd, James Earl Jones, Hayden Christensen, David Prowse

First Appearance Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

Alliance Jedi, Sith

Prior to Revenge of the Sith , especially in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace , Padmé was a character known for being brave and morally upright. However, particularly at the end of Revenge of the Sith , she seemed more like a person who felt events were happening to her, out of her control. This shift that almost came to be, with Padmé taking matters into her own hands and attempting to kill Anakin, would have changed that.

Had Padmé tried to kill Anakin rather than plead with him to leave with her and tell him she loved him, she would have proven herself to be the character she always seemed to be prior to the Tusken Raider incident . Not only would this have indicated that Anakin's brutal slaughter of children was enough for her to walk away, but also, an attempt on Anakin's life would have reinforced that Padmé put the protection of others above all else. Surely, she had already realized what an incredible threat her husband was to the entire galaxy.

Moreover, this wouldn't have had to change her insistence on her deathbed that there was still good in Anakin. In fact, trying to kill Anakin first would have made this moment all the more profound. It would have been much more moving to see Padmé willing to kill Anakin only to have this moment of clarity before her death and beg Obi-Wan not to lose faith in Anakin the way she had. It would still have been possible for Padmé to regret what she'd done, even if she'd thought it was the right thing to do at the time.

It would have been much more moving to see Padm willing to kill Anakin only to have this moment of clarity before her death.

Padm Could Have Died From This Fight Rather Than Losing The Will To Live

Perhaps the best thing this change could have brought was a new cause of death for Padmé. In fact, the only aspect of Padmé's story more disappointing than her decision to overlook Anakin's intense bouts of violence was the fact that she died seemingly of a broken heart . This ending was a major disservice to her character, who would never have given up or left her children alone. Had she tried to kill Anakin, she instead could have been severely injured in that confrontation and had only enough time to give birth to her children.

While it may have been difficult to swallow that Padmé would really get to a point where she was ready to kill Anakin, it would have made sense for her character. Anakin had just gone on a killing rampage and clearly had every intention of continuing his violent, murderous ways in the Imperial Era. Had Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith kept this plot point, Padmé's Star Wars story would have been so much better.

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Director George Lucas

Release Date May 19, 2005

Studio(s) Lucasfilm

Distributor(s) 20th Century Fox

Writers John Ostrander, George Lucas, Jan Duursema

Cast Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Temuera Morrison, Kenny Baker, Hayden Christensen, Frank Oz, Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels, Ahmed Best

Franchise(s) Star Wars

ALL STAR WARS MOVIES AND TV SHOWS ARE AVAILABLE TO STREAM ON DISNEY+

One Shocking Change To Revenge Of The Sith Would've Completely Changed Star Wars' Padme Problem

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COMMENTS

  1. Film Analysis: Star Wars

    Revenge of the Sith puts together a complex plot onto a framework of virtually non-stop action. Although much of the audience already knows what is supposed to happen in the movie, Lucas once again amazes and surprises. The first 20 minutes — a breathtaking rollercoaster of explosions and acrobatics, space battles, lightsaber duels — rivals ...

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  3. Critical Opinion: Revenge of the Sith Original Reviews

    Revenge Of The Sith strings a complex plot onto a framework of practically non-stop action. The first 20 minutes -- a breathtaking rollercoaster of space battles, lightsaber duels, explosions and acrobatics -- rivals anything we've seen in the series. There's an impressive new villain, the Dickensian cyborg General Grievous, a galactic holiday ...

  4. Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith

    Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 film written and directed by George Lucas.It is the third and final part of the Star Wars prequel trilogy.. Three years after the First Battle of Geonosis and onset of the Clone Wars, the noble Jedi Knights of the Jedi Order have been leading a massive clone army into a galaxy-wide battle against the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

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  6. Star Wars: Episode III

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  9. Star Wars: Episode III

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  10. The dual legacy of Revenge Of The Sith

    In May 2005, legions of beleaguered Star Wars fans flocked to their local theaters to see the concluding chapter of Anakin Skywalker's downfall. Some were cautiously optimistic about Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith's potential, and willing to overlook the two deeply disappointing previous entries in George Lucas' prequel trilogy.. Although The Phantom Menace was a childish ...

  11. PDF Star Wars: Episode III

    The BODYGUARDS raise their power staffs to knock OBI-WAN away, but OBI-WAN ducks as the deadly staffs whistle over his head. The Jedi's lightsaber ignites, and OBI-WAN deftly cuts one BODYGUARD in two. His staff flies into the air and is caught by GENERAL GRIEVOUS.

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    November 15, 2015. A movie review by James Berardinelli. Revenge of the Sith is the most technically accomplished of all the Star Wars movies. Putting aside other important aspects of the cinematic experience (like storytelling, for example), it's hard to argue that the special effects work in the third prequel isn't more spectacular than ...

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    The Revenge of the Sith is an average movie when all things are considered. Though its dialog and character interactions are disparagingly done, its visuals and sound track make up for these shortcomings. The film, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, gets a 6.5/10. While it is not a particularly good film, it is a nice film to watch with the family.

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  23. Star Wars Legends Explains Why One Revenge Of The Sith Villain Was So

    Despite his reputation and fanfare, General Grievous was arguably an underwhelming villain in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, yet the Star Wars Legends continuity explains why this is. General Grievous' introduction is in the original Star Wars: Clone Wars microseries, proving himself as a capable Jedi-killer. Grievous' portrayal in the original Legends timeline left viewers ...

  24. One Shocking Change To Revenge Of The Sith Would've Completely ...

    Padm's storyline in Revenge of the Sith could have been improved with her attempt to kill Anakin on Mustafar. Padm's agency would have been strengthened if she had taken matters into her own hands ...

  25. Star Wars Legends Explains Why One Revenge Of The Sith Villain Was So

    Grievous' defeat affected both his behavior and his formidability in Revenge of the Sith, explaining the apparent discrepancy between the appearances and making his training scene with Dooku one of the most important moments in his characterization. Windu may not have killed Grievous, but it was this defeat that initiated the downfall of the ...