| The Force is with us in EPISODE III: REVENGE OF
THE SITH, the final chapter of the six-part STAR WARS
series, which began a long time ago (1977) in a galaxy
far, far away... This visually awe-striking
kaleidoscope of interplanetary imagination features
the unmatched digital animation and special effects of
George Lucas's Industrial Light and Magic. With pink
and orange skies casting a golden sheen over
magnificent landscapes through which space ships dart
and light sabers flash, the spectacle of the film,
while hypnotising, is but a complement to the intense,
crucial plot.
Three years after the Battle of Geonosis, the Clone
Wars are coming to a close. Anakin Skywalker (Hayden
Christensen) remains the Jedi apprentice of master
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). Battling dark forces
that threaten the Republic, the duo quickly eliminates
enemy Count Dooku (Christopher Lee), and Anakin proves
as he states more than once that his powers have
doubled. An intimidating warrior with superior
knowledge of the Force, Anakin becomes the pet of
Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), who is connected
to the dark side. Meanwhile, Padme (Natalie Portman),
the senator and former queen who is secretly married
to Anakin, is pregnant, and Anakin is tortured by
dreams of her dying in childbirth. With Obi-Wan on
Utapau battling cyborg General Grievous (Matthew
Wood), and Yoda (Frank Oz) joining the Wookiees of
Kashyyyk, the sage warnings of the Jedi council
(Samuel L. Jackson, Jimmy Smits) go unheard by Anakin.
His moodiness and glowering are a clear precursor to
his inevitable, terrifying metamorphosis into Darth
Vader, the dark leader of the evil Empire who haunts
the remainder of the series. John Williams's famous
orchestral score with its thunderous marching themes
adds more continuity, with refrains reminding viewers
of STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE, in which Padme's
children Luke and Leia take charge.
Revenge of the Sith is by far the darkest of George
Lucas's prequel trilogy, detailing the end of the
legendary Clone Wars and the rise to power of the Sith.
Witness General Grievous wielding four lightsabers;
Anakin's rematch with Count Dooku; the terrifying
purge of the Jedi; and the most-talked about
lightsaber battle in Star Wars lore, as Obi-Wan and
Anakin duel in the lava-strewn world of Mustafar; not
to mention, the birth of the twins and Anakin's -
post-lava - biomechanical transformation into Darth
Vader. May the force be with you!
Revenge of the Sith DVD Extras &
Special Features
A brand-new, full-length documentary
produced by Lucasfilm Ltd
Two new featurettes; one exploring the prophecy of
Anakin Skywalker as the Chosen
One, the other providing an in-depth look at the
movie’s eye-popping stunts.
A 15-part collection of Lucasfilm’s groundbreaking
“web documentaries.”
We also expect at least one audio commentary, deleted
scenes and trailers, plus a
playable demo from the Star Wars Battlefront II
videogame making its debut the same day.
The centerpiece of the bonus materials
is Within a Minute, a newly produced feature
that offers unprecedented insight into the complexity
of creating a single 49-second
sequence of Revenge of the Sith. From pre-production
artists to costume designers,
from camera operators to make-up artists, from sound
designers to musicians,
Within a Minute showcases the massive amount of work
that goes into one short
sequence. This one-of-a-kind journey was created from
more than 600 hours of
material gathered throughout the process of making
Revenge of the Sith and is hosted
by Episode III’s producer, Rick McCallum.
Sith Deleted Scenes
In addition to Within a Minute, the Revenge of the
Sith DVD offers a host of special
features that illuminate the process of creating the
epic interstellar adventure. Among
them are deleted scenes that bring new perspective to
the Star Wars saga. As in
previous DVD releases, some of these scenes have been
completed, with finished
visual effects, sound and score.
The first one, however, in a mix of
complete and incomplete footage, serving more as
an animatic to a story-point cut from Episode III.
"General Grievous Slaughters a Jedi;
Escape From The General" has the evil cyborg general
kill a Jedi, Shaak Ti before a helpless
Obi-Wan and Anakin. The two Jedi escape Grievous'
grasp by cutting their way through the cruiser's
floor, from the proverbial frying pan into the
proverbial fire by landing into a chamber filled with
volatile starship fuel.
The next three deleted scenes follow the cut Rebel
Alliance storyline cut from Episode
III. Padmé Amidala would conspire with Senators Bail
Organa, Mon Mothma and others to create worst-case
contingencies to Palpatine's growing powers. In "A
Stirring in the Senate," the Senators gather in Bail
Organa's office to start the discussion. In "Seeds of
Rebellion," the conversation picks up in Padmé's
apartment. In "Confronting the Chancellor," diplomacy
is given once last chance as Padmé voices her concerns
to Palpatine with Anakin standing nearby.
The next deleted scene, "A Plot to
Destroy the Jedi?" is a quiet scene with Yoda, Mace
Windu and Obi-Wan in Yoda's apartment. They discuss
the imbalance in the Force and the danger of
Palpatine's rule. Finally, there's "Exiled to Dagobah,"
the
long-anticipated scene where Yoda arrives on the bog
planet where he will live out the rest of his life.
These deleted scenes are playable with optional
introductions by George Lucas and Rick McCallum.
Even more Features
The DVD bonus features also include a newly recorded
audio commentary featuring
Lucas and key members of the movie’s crew. In
addition, the DVD offers a pair of
brand-new featurettes – “The Chosen One” and “It’s All
for Real” – that look at two of the movie’s most
popular aspects: Anakin Skywalker’s transformation
into Darth
Vader; and the creation of the amazing stunts in the
climactic lightsaber duel between
Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
For those wanting a taste of
Battlefront II, the DVD contains a fully playable Xbox
demo of the game. The trailer for the game, as well as
the trailer for Star Wars Empire
at War is also on the DVD.
The DVD is your gateway to online exclusives. With the
Episode III DVD, an Internet connection, a web browser
with Flash 7 or higher, and a system running Microsoft
Windows 2000 or higher*, dvd.starwars.com is your
source for exclusive text-based
commentaries, behind-the-scenes trivia, hard-to-spot
visual details, and expanded
universe lore as in the Depth Commentary & Plenty
more! |
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