fbpx
Wikipedia

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith

February 09, 2023

"Star Wars III" redirects here. For the third film released, see Return of the Jedi.

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It stars Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker and Frank Oz. The sequel to The Phantom Menace (1999) and Attack of the Clones (2002), it is the sixth film in the Star Wars film series, the final installment in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and third chronological chapter of the "Skywalker Saga".

Star Wars: Episode III –
Revenge of the Sith
Theatrical release poster by Drew Struzan
Directed byGeorge Lucas
Written byGeorge Lucas
Produced byRick McCallum
Starring
CinematographyDavid Tattersall
Edited by
Music byJohn Williams
Production
company
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
  • May 15, 2005 (2005-05-15) (Cannes)
  • May 19, 2005 (2005-05-19) (United States)
Running time
140 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$113 million[2]
Box office$868.4 million[2]

Revenge of the Sith is set three years after the onset of the Clone Wars as established in Attack of the Clones. The Jedi are spread across the galaxy in a full-scale war against the Separatists. The Jedi Council dispatches Obi-Wan Kenobi on a mission to defeat General Grievous, the head of the Separatist army, to put an end to the war. Meanwhile, after having visions of his wife Padmé Amidala dying in childbirth, Anakin Skywalker is tasked by the Council to spy on Palpatine, the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic and, secretly, a Sith Lord. Palpatine manipulates Anakin into turning to the dark side of the Force and becoming his apprentice, Darth Vader, with wide-ranging consequences for the galaxy.

Lucas began writing the script before production of Attack of the Clones ended, citing that he wanted the end of the trilogy to have similar aspects to a romantic tragedy, thus building into Darth Vader's state at the beginning of the next film. Production of Revenge of the Sith started in June 2003, and filming took place in Australia with additional locations in Thailand, Switzerland, China, Italy and the United Kingdom.

Revenge of the Sith premiered on May 15, 2005, at the Cannes Film Festival, then released worldwide on May 19, 2005. The film received positive reviews and is widely considered to be the best installment of the prequel trilogy, with praise for its mature tone, story, emotional weight, action sequences, score, visual effects, and the performances of McGregor, McDiarmid, Oz, and Jimmy Smits; criticism largely focused on the film's dialogue and Christensen's performance. It broke several box office records during its opening week and went on to earn over $868 million worldwide, making it the second-highest-grossing film in the Star Wars franchise at the time. It was the highest-grossing film in the U.S. and the second-highest-grossing film worldwide in 2005. It also holds the record for the highest opening-day gross on a Thursday, making $50 million.

Plot

Above Coruscant, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker lead a mission to rescue the kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine from the cyborg Separatist commander General Grievous.[a] After infiltrating Grievous' flagship, Obi-Wan and Anakin battle the Sith Lord Count Dooku, whom Anakin overpowers and decapitates at Palpatine's urging. Grievous escapes the battle-torn ship, which the Jedi crash-land on Coruscant. There, Anakin reunites with his secret wife, Padmé Amidala, who reveals that she is pregnant. While initially excited, Anakin soon begins to have visions of Padmé dying in childbirth.

Palpatine appoints Anakin to the Jedi Council as his personal representative. The Council, suspicious of Palpatine, approves the appointment but declines to grant Anakin the rank of Master and instead instructs him to spy on Palpatine, diminishing Anakin's faith in the Jedi. Meanwhile, on Utapau, Grievous relocates the Separatist leaders to the volcanic planet Mustafar. Obi-Wan travels to Utapau to confront Grievous and kills him, while Yoda travels to the Wookiee planet of Kashyyyk to defend it from a Separatist invasion.

Palpatine tempts Anakin with his knowledge of the dark side of the Force, and offers to teach him the power to prevent Padmé's death. Anakin deduces that Palpatine is the Sith Lord behind the war and reports his treachery to Mace Windu, who confronts and subdues him. Desperate to save Padmé's life, Anakin severs Windu's hand before he can kill Palpatine, who sends Windu falling to his death. Anakin pledges himself to the Sith, and Palpatine knights him Darth Vader. Palpatine issues Order 66, which commands the clone troopers to kill their commanding Jedi generals across the galaxy, while Vader and a battalion of clone troopers kill the remaining Jedi in the Jedi Temple. Vader then travels to Mustafar to assassinate the Separatist leaders, while Palpatine declares himself Emperor before the Galactic Senate, transforming the Republic into the Galactic Empire, and denounces the Jedi as traitors.

Having survived the chaos, Obi-Wan and Yoda return to Coruscant, where Obi-Wan learns of Anakin's turn to the dark side. Yoda instructs Obi-Wan to confront Vader while he faces Palpatine. Obi-Wan seeks out Padmé to find out Vader's whereabouts and reveals his treachery. Padmé then travels to Mustafar – with Obi-Wan stowing away on her ship – and pleads with Vader to abandon the dark side and leave with her, but he refuses. Seeing Obi-Wan aboard the ship, and thinking that they are conspiring to kill him, Vader uses the Force to strangle Padmé to unconsciousness in a blind rage. Obi-Wan then engages Vader in a lightsaber duel that ends with Obi-Wan severing Vader's legs and left arm, leaving Vader at the bank of a lava flow where he is horribly burned. Obi-Wan retrieves Vader's lightsaber and leaves him for dead.

On Coruscant, Yoda battles Palpatine until their duel reaches a stalemate. Realizing he cannot defeat Palpatine, Yoda flees with Senator Bail Organa and regroups with Obi-Wan and Padmé on the planetoid Polis Massa. There, Padmé gives birth to twins, whom she names Luke and Leia, and dies soon after, having lost her will to live but still believing there is good in Vader. Palpatine recovers a barely-alive Vader and takes him to Coruscant, where his mutilated body is treated and covered in a black armored suit. When Vader asks if Padmé is safe, Palpatine says that he killed her out of anger, devastating Vader.

Obi-Wan and Yoda plan to conceal the twins from the Sith and go into exile until the time is right to challenge the Empire. As Padmé's funeral takes place on her home world of Naboo, Palpatine and Vader supervise the construction of the Death Star. Bail takes Leia to Alderaan, where he and his wife adopt her, while Obi-Wan delivers Luke to his step-uncle and -aunt, Owen and Beru Lars, on Tatooine before going into exile to watch over the boy.

Cast

See also: List of Star Wars characters and List of Star Wars cast members
 
 
 
 
 
 
Left to right, top to bottom: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson and Jimmy Smits

Peter Mayhew, Oliver Ford Davies, Ahmed Best, and Silas Carson reprise their roles as Chewbacca, Sio Bibble, Jar Jar Binks, and Nute Gunray and Ki-Adi-Mundi, respectively, from the previous films. Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse also make cameo appearances, reprising their roles as Owen and Beru Lars respectively from Attack of the Clones. Sound engineer Matthew Wood provides the voice of General Grievous, the fearsome cyborg commander of the Separatists' droid army, who had been trained in wielding a lightsaber by Count Dooku. Wood took over the role, after Gary Oldman was originally cast in the role, but had to drop out of the production due to scheduling conflicts; Oldman had completed some voice-over work.[5][6] Temuera Morrison portrays Commander Cody and the rest of the clone troopers. Bruce Spence portrays Tion Medon, local administrator of Utapau. Jeremy Bulloch (who played Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi) appears as Captain Colton, the pilot of the CR70 corvette Tantive III.[7] Genevieve O'Reilly portrays senator Mon Mothma, though her speaking scene was ultimately cut.[8][9][10][d] Rohan Nichol portrays Captain Raymus Antilles.[11]

Wayne Pygram appears as a young Wilhuff Tarkin, and stunt coordinator Nick Gillard appears as a Jedi named Cin Drallig (his name spelled backward, without the 'k').[12] Editor Roger Barton's son Aidan Barton portrays Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa as infants.

Director and Star Wars creator George Lucas has a cameo as Baron Papanoida, a blue-faced alien in attendance at the Coruscant opera house.[13] Lucas' son Jett portrays Zett Jukassa, a young Jedi-in-training. One of Lucas' daughters, Amanda, appears as Terr Taneel, seen in a security hologram, while his other daughter Katie plays a blue-skinned Pantoran named Chi Eekway, visible when Palpatine arrives at the Senate after being saved by the Jedi and talking to Baron Papanoida at the opera house.[14][15] Christian Simpson appeared as a stunt double for Hayden Christensen.[16]

Production

Writing

Lucas said he conceived the Star Wars saga's story in the form of a plot outline in 1973. However, he later clarified that, at the time of the saga's conception, he had not fully realized the details—only major plot points.[17] The film's climactic duel has its basis in the Return of the Jedi novelization, in which Obi-Wan recounts his battle with Anakin that ended with the latter falling "into a molten pit".[18] Lucas began working on the screenplay for Episode III before the previous film, Attack of the Clones, was released, proposing to concept artists that the film would open with a montage of seven battles on seven planets.[19] In The Secret History of Star Wars, Michael Kaminski surmises that Lucas found flaws with Anakin's fall to the dark side and radically reorganized the plot. For example, instead of opening the film with a montage of Clone War battles, Lucas decided to focus on Anakin, ending the first act with him killing Count Dooku, an action that signals his turn to the dark side.[20]

A significant number of fans speculated online about the episode title for the film with rumored titles including Rise of the Empire, The Creeping Fear (which was also named as the film's title on the official website on April Fool's 2004), and Birth of the Empire.[21] Eventually, Revenge of the Sith also became a title guessed by fans that George Lucas would indirectly confirm.[22] The title is a reference to Revenge of the Jedi, the original title of Return of the Jedi; Lucas changed the title scant weeks before the premiere of Return of the Jedi, declaring that Jedi do not seek revenge.[23]

Lucas had originally planned to include even more ties to the original trilogy, and wrote early drafts of the script in which a 10-year-old Han Solo appeared on Kashyyyk, but the role was not cast or shot. He also wrote a scene in which Palpatine reveals to Anakin that he created him from midichlorians, and is thus his "father", a clear parallel to Vader's revelation to Luke in The Empire Strikes Back, but Lucas ejected this scene as well. Another planned scene by Lucas that was written during the early development of the film was a conversation between Master Yoda and the ghostly Qui-Gon Jinn, with Liam Neeson reprising his role as Jinn (he also hinted his possible appearance in the film).[24] However, the scene was never filmed and Neeson was never recorded, although the scene was present in the film's novelization.

After principal photography was complete in 2003, Lucas made even more changes in Anakin's character, rewriting his turn to the dark side. Lucas accomplished this through editing the principal footage and filming new scenes during pickups in London in 2004.[25] In the previous versions, Anakin had several reasons for turning to the dark side, one of which was his sincere belief that the Jedi were plotting to take over the Republic. Although this is still intact in the finished film, by revising and refilming many scenes, Lucas emphasized Anakin's desire to save Padmé from death. Thus, in the version that made it to theaters, Anakin falls to the dark side primarily to save Padmé.[25]

Art design

For the Kashyyyk environment, the art department turned to the Star Wars Holiday Special for inspiration.[26] Over a period of months, Lucas would approve hundreds of designs that would eventually appear in the film. He would later rewrite entire scenes and action sequences to correspond to certain designs he had chosen.[25] The designs were then shipped to the pre-visualization department to create moving CGI versions known as animatics. Ben Burtt would edit these scenes with Lucas in order to pre-visualize what the film would look like before the scenes were filmed.[25] The pre-visualization footage featured a basic raw CGI environment with equally unprocessed character models performing a scene, typically for action sequences. Steven Spielberg was brought in as a "guest director" to make suggestions to the art designers for the Mustafar duel,[e] and oversee the pre-visualization of an unused version of the Utapau chase scene.[28] Later, the pre-visualization and art department designs were sent to the production department to begin "bringing the film out of the concept phase"[25] by building sets, props and costumes.

Filming

Although the first scene filmed was the final scene to appear in the film (shot during the filming of Attack of the Clones in 2000),[29][f] the first bulk of principal photography on the film occurred from June 30, 2003 to September 17, 2003, with additional photography at Shepperton Studios in Surrey and Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire from August 2004 to January 31, 2005.[25] The initial filming took place on sound stages at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney, although practical environments were shot as background footage later to be composited into the film. These included the limestone mountains depicting Kashyyyk, which were filmed in Phuket, Thailand. The production company was also fortunate enough to be shooting at the same time that Mount Etna erupted in Italy. Camera crews were sent to the location to shoot several angles of the volcano that were later spliced into the background of the animatics and the final film version of the planet Mustafar.[25]

While shooting key dramatic scenes, Lucas would often use an "A camera" and "B camera", or the "V technique", a process that involves shooting with two or more cameras at the same time in order to gain several angles of the same performance.[25] Using the HD technology developed for the film, the filmmakers were able to send footage to the editors the same day it was shot, a process that would require a full 24 hours had it been shot on film.[25] Footage featuring the planet Mustafar was given to editor Roger Barton, who was on location in Sydney cutting the climactic duel.

Hayden Christensen says Lucas asked him "to bulk up and physically show the maturity that had taken place between the two films."[31] The actor says he worked out with a trainer in Sydney for three months and ate "six meals a day and on every protein, weight gain supplement that man has created" to go from 160 lbs to 185 lbs.[32]

Christensen and Ewan McGregor began rehearsing their climactic lightsaber duel long before Lucas would shoot it. They trained extensively with stunt coordinator Nick Gillard to memorize and perform their duel together. As in the previous prequel film, McGregor and Christensen performed their own lightsaber fighting scenes without the use of stunt doubles.[33] The speed at which Vader and Obi-Wan engage in their duel is mostly the speed at which it was filmed, although there are instances where single frames were removed to increase the velocity of particular strikes. An example of this occurs as Obi-Wan strikes down on Vader after applying an armlock in the duel's first half.[17]

Revenge of the Sith eventually became the first Star Wars film in which Anakin Skywalker and the suited Darth Vader were played by the same actor in the same film. As Christensen recounted, it was originally intended to simply have a "tall guy" in the Darth Vader costume, but, after "begging and pleading", Christensen persuaded Lucas to have the Vader costume used in the film created specifically to fit him. The new costume featured shoe lifts and a muscle suit.[34] It also required Christensen (who is 6 feet or 1.8 metres tall) to look through the helmet's mouthpiece.[35]

In 2004, Gary Oldman was originally approached to provide the voice of General Grievous;[36] however, complications arose during contract negotiations after Oldman learned the film was to be made outside of the Screen Actors Guild, of which he is a member. He backed out of the role rather than violate the union's rules.[37] Matthew Wood, who voiced Grievous, disputed this story at Celebration III, held in Indianapolis. According to him, Oldman is a friend of producer Rick McCallum, and thus recorded an audition as a favor to him, but was not chosen.[38] Wood, who was also the supervising sound editor, was in charge of the auditions and submitted his audition anonymously in the midst of 30 others, under the initials "A.S." for Alan Smithee.[39] Days later, he received a phone call asking for the full name to the initials "A.S."[40]

Visual effects

The post-production department (handled by Industrial Light & Magic) began work during filming and continued until weeks before the film was released in 2005. Special effects were created using almost all formats, including model work, CGI and practical effects. The same department later composited all such work into the filmed scenes—both processes taking nearly two years to complete. Revenge of the Sith has 2,151 shots that use special effects, a world record.[41]

The DVD featurette Within a Minute illustrated the film required 910 artists and 70,441 man-hours to create 49 seconds of footage for the Mustafar duel alone.[25] Members of Hyperspace, the Official Star Wars Fan Club, received a special look into the production. Benefits included not only special articles, but they also received access to a webcam that transmitted a new image every 20 seconds during the time it was operating in Fox Studios Australia. Many times the stars, and Lucas himself, were spotted on the webcam.[42]

Deleted scenes

Lucas excised all scenes of a group of Senators, including Padmé, Bail Organa, and Mon Mothma (Genevieve O'Reilly), organizing an alliance to prevent Palpatine from usurping any more emergency powers. Though this is essentially the birth of the Rebel Alliance, the scenes were discarded to achieve more focus on Anakin's story.[17] The scene where Yoda arrives on Dagobah to begin his self-imposed exile was also removed, but is featured as an extended scene in the DVD release, although McCallum stated he hoped Lucas would have added it to the new cut as part of a six-episode DVD box set.[17]

Bai Ling filmed minor scenes for the film playing a senator, but her role was cut during editing. She claimed this was because she appeared in a nude pictorial for the June 2005 issue of Playboy, whose appearance on newsstands coincided with the film's May release. Lucas denied this, stating that the cut had been made more than a year earlier, and that he had cut his own daughter's scenes as well.[43] The bonus features show an additional removed scene in which Jedi Master Shaak Ti is killed by General Grievous in front of Obi-Wan and Anakin.[44] The bonus features also show Obi-Wan and Anakin running through Grievous' ship, escaping droids through a fuel tunnel, and arguing over what R2-D2 is saying.[17]

Music

Main article: Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (soundtrack)

The music was composed and conducted by John Williams (who has composed and conducted the score for every episode in the Star Wars saga), and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices.[45] The film's soundtrack was released by Sony Pictures Classical Records on May 3, 2005, more than two weeks before the film's release. A music video titled A Hero Falls was created for the film's theme, "Battle of the Heroes", featuring footage from the film and was also available on the DVD.[46]

The soundtrack also came with a collectors' DVD, Star Wars: A Musical Journey, at no additional cost. The DVD, hosted by McDiarmid, features 16 music videos set to remastered selections of music from all six film scores, set chronologically through the saga.[47]

Release

 
George Lucas in 2005. Portrait by Oliver Mark.

Marketing

The first trailer for Revenge of the Sith premiered in theaters on November 5, 2004 with the release of The Incredibles.[48] It was also attached to the screenings of The Polar Express, National Treasure, Alexander and Flight of the Phoenix. At the same time, the trailer became available on the Internet.[49] Just four months later, another trailer was unveiled on March 10, 2005, debuting with The O.C.'s "The Mallpisode" during the second season (Lucas himself would appear in a later episode) and in theaters with the release of Robots the next day on March 11. On March 14, it would then premiere on the official Star Wars website.[50] On March 17, 2005, George Lucas revealed a preview of the film at the ShoWest Convention in Las Vegas, saying "It's not like the old Star Wars. This one's a little bit emotional. We like to describe it as Titanic in space. It's a tearjerker."[51]

Theatrical

Star Wars: Episode III – 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;[52] and on May 13, 2005, there were two additional charity premiere screenings in George Lucas's hometown of Modesto, California. The official premiere was at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival (out of competition) on May 16.[53] Its theatrical release in most other countries took place on May 19 to coincide with the 1999 release of The Phantom Menace (the 1977 release of A New Hope and the 1983 release of Return of the Jedi were also released on the same day and month, six years apart). The global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas claimed one week before the premiere that it may have cost the U.S. economy approximately US$627 million in lost productivity because of employees who took a day off or reported in sick.[54] Grauman's Chinese Theatre, a traditional venue for the Star Wars films, did not show it. However, a line of people stood there for more than a month hoping to convince someone to change this.[55] Most of them took advantage of an offer to see the film at a nearby cinema, ArcLight Cinemas (formerly the "Cinerama Dome").[56] On May 16, the Empire Cinema in London's Leicester Square hosted a day-long Star Wars marathon showing of all six films; an army of Imperial stormtroopers "guarded" the area, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra gave a free concert of Star Wars music.[57]

Leaked workprint

A copy of the film leaked onto peer-to-peer file sharing networks just hours after opening in theaters. The film was a time-stamped workprint, suggesting it may have come from within the industry rather than from someone who videotaped an advance screening.[58] Eight people were later charged with copyright infringement and distributing material illegally. Documents filed by the Los Angeles District Attorney allege that a copy of the film was taken from an unnamed Californian post-production office by an employee, who later pleaded guilty to his charges.[59] The illegal copy was passed among seven people until reaching an eighth party, who also pleaded guilty to uploading to an unnamed P2P network.[60]

Rating

Revenge of the Sith is the first Star Wars film to receive a PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), officially for "sci-fi violence and some intense images",[61] namely for the scene in which Darth Vader is set aflame by lava. Lucas had stated months before the MPAA's decision that he felt the film should receive a PG-13 rating, because of Anakin's final moments and the film's content being the darkest and most intense of all six films.[62] Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper later opined that children would be able to handle the film as long as they had parental guidance.[63] All previously released films in the series were rated PG.[61][g]

Home media

The film was released on DVD and VHS on October 31, 2005, in the UK and Ireland; on November 1, 2005, it was released in the United States and Canada on DVD; and on November 3, 2005, it was released in Australia. It was also released in most major territories on or near the same day.[64] The DVD release consists of widescreen and pan and scan fullscreen versions and is THX certified. This two-disc set contains one disc with the film and the other one with bonus features. The first disc features three randomized selected menus, which are Coruscant, Utapau and Mustafar.[65] There is an Easter egg in the options menu. When the THX Optimizer is highlighted, the viewer can press 1-1-3-8. By doing this, a hip hop music video with Yoda and some clone troopers will play.[66]

The DVD includes a number of documentaries including 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 film's stunts and a 15-part collection of web-documentaries from the official web site. Like the other DVD releases, included is an audio commentary track featuring Lucas, producer Rick McCallum, animation director Rob Coleman, and ILM visual effects supervisors John Knoll and Roger Guyett. Six deleted scenes were included with introductions from Lucas and McCallum.

This release is notable because, due to marketing issues, it was the first Star Wars film never to be released on VHS in the United States.[67] However, the film was released on VHS in Australia, the U.K. and other countries.[68][better source needed]

The DVD was re-released in a prequel trilogy box set on November 4, 2008.[69]

The six Star Wars films were released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on Blu-ray on September 16, 2011, in three different editions.[70]

On April 7, 2015, Walt Disney Studios, 20th Century Fox, and Lucasfilm jointly announced the digital releases of the six released Star Wars films. Revenge of the Sith was released through the iTunes Store, Amazon Video, Vudu, Google Play, and Disney Movies Anywhere on April 10, 2015.[71]

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment reissued Revenge of the Sith on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download on September 22, 2019.[72] Additionally, all six films were available for 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos streaming on Disney+ upon the service's launch on November 12, 2019.[73] This version of the film was released by Disney on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on March 31, 2020 whilst being re-released on Blu-ray and DVD.[74]

3D re-release

On September 28, 2010, it was announced that all six films in the series were to be stereo-converted to 3D. The films would be re-released in chronological order beginning with The Phantom Menace on February 10, 2012. Revenge of the Sith was originally scheduled to be re-released in 3D on October 11, 2013.[75][h] However, on January 28, 2013, Lucasfilm announced that it was postponing the 3D release of episodes II and III in order to "focus 100 percent of our efforts on Star Wars: The Force Awakens" and that further information about 3D release plans would be issued at a later date.[77][78][79] The premiere of the 3D version was shown on April 17, 2015, at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim.[80]

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 79% based on 304 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "With Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, George Lucas brings his second Star Wars trilogy to a suitably thrilling and often poignant – if still a bit uneven – conclusion."[81] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[82] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, the same score as the previous two films.[83]

Most critics have considered the film to be the best of the prequel trilogy.[84] A. O. Scott of The New York Times concluded that it was "the best of the four episodes Mr. Lucas has directed", and equal to The Empire Strikes Back as "the richest and most challenging movie in the cycle".[85] J.R. Jones, a Chicago Reader critic who disliked The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, gave the film a positive review, saying that it had a "relatively thoughtful story".[86] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, writing "If [Lucas] 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", but he noted that "the dialogue throughout the movie is once again its weakest point".[87]

Though many critics and fans viewed Revenge of the Sith as the strongest of the three prequels, some viewers thought it was more or less on par with the previous two episodes.[84] Much of the criticism was directed towards the dialogue, particularly the film's romantic scenes;[88][89] critics claimed this demonstrated Lucas's weakness as a writer of dialogue, a subject with which Lucas openly agreed when receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute.[89] Some film critics and fans criticized Hayden Christensen's acting, calling it "wooden".[90][88][91][92] A retrospective review by Time felt that Christensen's maligned performance was in part affected by the screenwriting.[93]

Other responses

Art critic Camille Paglia praised the film as an essential example of the modern digital art movement due to its "overwhelming operatic power and yes, seriousness", and arguing that its finale has "more inherent artistic value, emotional power, and global impact" than the work of some contemporary artists.[94][95][96]

During the late 2010s, the film amassed a cult following on social media among young fans who were children when the film was released, using the film's dialogue to create Internet memes out of nostalgia.[97]

Some American conservatives criticized the film, claiming it had a liberal bias and was a commentary on the George W. Bush administration and Iraq War. Some websites went so far as to propose a boycott of the film.[98] Lucas defended the film, stating that the film's storyline was written during the Vietnam War and was influenced by that conflict rather than the war in Iraq. Lucas also said "The parallels between Vietnam and what we're doing in Iraq now are unbelievable".[98]

Box office

The film was released in 115 countries. Its worldwide gross eventually reached $849 million—making it the second most financially successful film of 2005,[2] behind Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.[99] The film earned an estimated $16.91 million from 2,900 midnight screenings in North America upon its release. In total, it earned a record $50 million on its opening day,[100] marking the record for the highest opening-day gross on a Thursday.[101] It was surpassed the following year by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which earned $55.5 million on its opening day.[102]

With only the May 19 earnings, the film broke four box office records: midnight screenings gross (previously held by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, $8 million), opening day gross (Spider-Man 2, with $40.4 million), single day gross (Shrek 2 with $44.8 million) and Thursday gross (The Matrix Reloaded with $37.5 million).[100] Its single day and opening day gross records were later surpassed by Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest on July 7, 2006, when that movie grossed $55.5 million on its opening day,[102] and its midnight screening gross was broken by The Dark Knight on July 18, 2008 with $18.5 million.[103] With a total gross of $108.4 million, Revenge of the Sith would go on to hold the record for having the biggest opening weekend for any 20th Century Fox film for a decade until it was taken by Deadpool in 2016.[104] The year prior, Minions had already surpassed Revenge of the Sith for having the largest opening weekend for a prequel.[105]

According to box office analysis sites, the film set American records for highest gross in a given number of days for each of its first 12 days of release except for the seventh and eighth, where the record is narrowly held by Spider-Man 2. Within three days, Revenge of the Sith surpassed Spider-Man for having the highest three-day gross of any film, scoring a total of $124.7 million.[106] On its fifth day, it became the highest-grossing film of 2005, surpassing Hitch ($177.6 million). The film earned $158.5 million in its first four-day period, surpassing the previous four-day record held by The Matrix Reloaded ($134.3 million), and joining the latter film, Spider-Man, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as one of the only four films to make $100 million in their first three days. In eight days, it reached the $200 million mark (a record tied with Spider-Man 2) and by its 17th day, the film had passed $300 million (surpassing the record of 18 days of Shrek 2). It was eventually the third-fastest film (after Shrek 2 and Spider-Man) to reach $350 million.[2] Revenge of the Sith earned a total of $55.2 million during its second weekend, making it the fourth-highest-grossing second weekend of all time, behind Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Spider-Man and Shrek 2. The film then earned $70 million in just four days, becoming the seventh-highest Memorial Day weekend gross of any film, trailing only behind Shrek 2, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, The Day After Tomorrow, Bruce Almighty, Pearl Harbor and Mission: Impossible 2.[107]

The film ended its run in American theaters on October 20, 2005,[2] finishing with a total gross of $380,270,577. It ranks 29th in all-time domestic grosses and is the highest-grossing U.S. of 2005, out-grossing second-place The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by nearly $90 million.[2] The film sold an estimated 59,324,600 tickets in the US. It topped the domestic box office for two consecutive weekends before being overtaken by Madagascar and The Longest Yard (which were in their second weekend).[108]

International grosses that exceeded $460 million include those Australia ($27.2 million), France and Algeria ($56.9 million), Germany ($47.3 million), Italy ($11.3 million), Japan ($82.7 million), Mexico ($15.3 million), South Korea ($10.3 million), Spain ($23.8 million), and the United Kingdom and Ireland ($72.8 million).[109] The total worldwide opening of Revenge of the Sith for each country was $254 million, combined with $304 million from its four-day weekend. It would go on to hold this record for two years before Spider-Man 3 took it in 2007.[110]

Accolades

Following the release of Revenge of the Sith—the completion of the original and prequel Star Wars series—on June 9, 2005, George Lucas was presented with the 33rd American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award. The institute honored his "astonishing contributions to the art and technology of filmmaking, as well as the impact of the epic Star Wars series".[111]

Despite being the prequel trilogy's best reviewed and received film, it received fewer award nominations than the previous films. It became the only Star Wars film not to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects; it was nominated for Best Makeup (Dave Elsey and Nikki Gooley), losing to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.[112] It also won "Favorite Motion Picture" and "Favorite Dramatic Motion Picture" awards at the People's Choice Awards,[113] "Hollywood Movie of the Year" award at the Hollywood Film Festival,[114] Empire Awards for Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film and Scene of the Year (The birth of Vader),[115] and the Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie – Action.[116]

As did every film of the original trilogy, the film won the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film.[117] Williams also won Best Music. The film was nominated for ten Saturn Awards overall, including Best Director and Best Writing for Lucas, Best Actor for Christensen, Best Actress for Natalie Portman and Best Supporting Actor for Ian McDiarmid.[118]

Of the three Star Wars prequels, the film received the fewest Golden Raspberry Awards nominations: only one, for Christensen as Worst Supporting Actor,[119] which he won.[120] (The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones received seven nominations each, with one and two wins, respectively.) It is the only Star Wars prequel not to receive a Razzie nomination for Worst Picture. Christensen further won the "Best Villain" award at the MTV Movie Awards.[121] The film also received the fewest nominations (and no wins) at the 2005 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards: Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing More Than $100M and Worst On-Screen Couple (Christensen and Portman).[122]

Themes

See also: Star Wars sources and analogues

Throughout Revenge of the Sith, Lucas refers to a wide range of films and other sources, drawing on political, military, and mythological motifs to enhance his story's impact. The most media coverage was likely given to an exchange between Anakin and Obi-Wan, leading to the aforementioned conflict: "If you're not with me, then you're my enemy", Anakin declares. Despite Lucas' insistence to the contrary, The Seattle Times concluded, "Without naming Bush or the Patriot Act, it's all unmistakable no matter what your own politics may be."[123]

McDiarmid, Lucas, and others have also called Anakin's journey to the dark side Faustian in the sense of making a "pact with the devil" for short-term gain, with the fiery volcano planet Mustafar representing hell.[124] Midway through the film, Lucas intercuts between Anakin and Padmé by themselves, thinking about one another in the Jedi Temple and their apartment, respectively, during sunset. The sequence is without dialogue and complemented by a moody, synthesized soundtrack. Lucas' coverage of the exterior cityscapes, skylines and interior isolation in the so-called "Ruminations" sequence is similar to the cinematography and mise-en-scène of Rosemary's Baby, a film in which a husband makes a literal pact with the devil.[125]

Other media

Novelization

Main article: Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (novel)

The film's novelization was written by Matthew Stover. It has more dialogue than the film, and certain story elements were expanded upon in the novelization including Anakin and Palpatine's relationship and Palpatine's apprenticeship to Darth Plagueis.[126]

Video game

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

A video game based on the film was released on May 5, 2005, two weeks before the film. The game generally followed the film's storyline, integrating scenes from the film. However, many sections of the game featured scenes cut from the film, or entirely new scenes for the game.[127] The style of the game was mostly lightsaber combat and fighting as Obi-Wan or Anakin.[128] It also has a form of multiplayer mode, which includes both "VS" and "Cooperative" mode.[128] In the first mode, two players fight with characters of their choice against each other in a lightsaber duel to the death. In the latter mode, two players team up to combat increasingly difficult waves of enemies.[128]

The Clone Wars

Main article: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 TV series)

The 2008 animated film and subsequent television series fill the three-year gap between the events of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. A number of plot threads initially developed for inclusion in Revenge of the Sith were instead incorporated into The Clone Wars. These include Boba Fett's revenge plot against Mace Windu for his father Jango's death, and the solving of the mystery behind deceased Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas which was introduced in Attack of the Clones. The final four episodes of the series take place concurrently with Revenge of the Sith. Several scenes from the film were recreated and expanded for these episodes in order to showcase the whereabouts of Anakin Skywalker's former Padawan Ahsoka Tano during the events of the film. While Ahsoka was a major character in The Clone Wars, she is not referenced in Revenge of the Sith as the character had not yet been created at the time.[129]

The Bad Batch

Main article: Star Wars: The Bad Batch

Several scenes from Revenge of the Sith were recreated in the first episode Aftermath. This episode also takes place concurrently with the film and the following episodes deal with the aftermath of Order 66 and the Clone Wars.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Main article: Obi-Wan Kenobi (TV series)

The 2022 miniseries takes place ten years after Revenge of the Sith (and approximately nine years before A New Hope),[i] and features flashbacks taking place prior and during the events of the film, with some of the latter via archive footage. McGregor, Christensen, Earl Jones, Edgerton, Piesse, Smits, McDiarmid, and Daniels reprise their roles from the film.[130]

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ As depicted in the 2008 animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
  2. ^ Jones himself has never confirmed his participation. When specifically asked whether he had supplied the voice, possibly from a previous recording, Jones told Newsday: "You'd have to ask Lucas about that. I don't know."[4]
  3. ^ As depicted in The Phantom Menace.
  4. ^ Her speaking scene (A Stirring in the Senate) was featured in the bonus features of the DVD release.
  5. ^ Spielberg suggested that Anakin and Obi-Wan should be "dripping sweat" and that "their hair at some point should be smoking", which Lucas loved.[27]
  6. ^ The scene with Obi-Wan delivering Luke to the Lars homestead was reshot on a sound-stage during the production of Episode III.[30]
  7. ^ The PG-13 rating had not existed when the films in the original trilogy were released, having been introduced in 1984 as a result of the Lucas-produced film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
  8. ^ Later pushed up to October 4, 2013.[76]
  9. ^ Revenge of the Sith is set 19 years before A New Hope (19 BBY) so Obi-Wan Kenobi is 9 BBY.

Citations

  1. ^ "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith". British Board of Film Classification. from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2021.
  3. ^ "1,000 studio workers behind 'Revenge of the Sith' gathered to watch this epic Darth Vader scene get shot". Business Insider. from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  4. ^ Lovece, Frank (March 12, 2008). "Fast Chat: James Earl Jones". Newsday. Melville, New York: Newsday Media. from the original on December 4, 2009. Retrieved March 1, 2011.
  5. ^ Christopher, Marc (June 11, 2022). "Gary Oldman Says He Was Originally Cast As General Grievous' Voice In The 'Star Wars' Prequels". The Playlist. from the original on June 11, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  6. ^ Fink, Richard (June 13, 2022). "Gary Oldman On Almost Playing General Grievous In Star Wars Prequels". Screen Rant. from the original on June 14, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  7. ^ Bulloch, Jeremy (May 17, 2005). "Star Wars: Boba Fett". The Washington Post. from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  8. ^ Robinson, Will (August 5, 2016). "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: Jimmy Smits confirms he has a cameo". Entertainment Weekly. from the original on December 13, 2016. Retrieved August 6, 2016.
  9. ^ Crookes, Del (April 7, 2016). "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - the new trailer dissected and storylines revealed". BBC News. from the original on May 26, 2018. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  10. ^ White, Brett (December 16, 2016). "Every Rogue One Cameo You Won't Want To Miss". Comic Book Resources. from the original on December 18, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
  11. ^ Swain, Sarah (July 12, 2017). "He was in Star Wars and now actor Rohan Nichol has moved to Summer Bay for Home and Away". Daily Telegraph. Sydney, Australia: News Limited. from the original on July 13, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
  12. ^ . April 19, 2005. Archived from the original on May 7, 2005. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  13. ^ McGinley, Rhys (January 4, 2020). "10 Star Wars Cameos Even Devoted Fans Forgot About". Screen Rant. from the original on February 4, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  14. ^ Jones, Brian Jay (December 6, 2016). George Lucas: A Life. New York City: Little, Brown and Company. p. 427. ISBN 978-0-316-25745-9.
  15. ^ "Star Wars, A Family Affair". StarWars.com. December 16, 2014. from the original on September 9, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  16. ^ Simpson, Christian (June 4, 2014). "From Fandom to Phantom: When Star Wars Dreams Become Reality". Star Wars.com. from the original on May 13, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  17. ^ a b c d e Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith DVD commentary featuring George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Rob Coleman, John Knoll and Roger Guyett, [2005]
  18. ^ Slavicsek 1994, p. 117.
  19. ^ Rinzler 2005, pp. 13–15.
  20. ^ Kaminski 2008, pp. 380–384.
  21. ^ "Episode III Title Rumors". IGN. from the original on December 16, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  22. ^ . Cinema Confidential. June 15, 2004. Archived from the original on September 26, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  23. ^ Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy Star Wars Trilogy Box Set DVD documentary, [2004].
  24. ^ Keck, William (January 10, 2005). "Movie-star night in Palm Springs". USA Today. from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  25. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith DVD documentary Within a Minute, [2005].
  26. ^ . StarWars.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  27. ^ Jones, Brian Jay (2016). George Lucas: A Life. New York City: Little, Brown and Company. p. 426. ISBN 978-0-316-25744-2.
  28. ^ Star Wars: The Complete Saga Episodes I–VI Bonus Disc I: Utapau Deleted Scenes (Blu-ray). 20th Century Fox. 2011.
  29. ^ We Didn't Go to the Desert to Get a Suntan Episode II DVD Special Feature, [2002].
  30. ^ Kaminski 2008, p. 397.
  31. ^ B., Brian (October 10, 2005). "Hayden Christensen Talks Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith". Movieweb. from the original on June 8, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
  32. ^ Rea, Darren (November 1, 2005). "Hayden Christensen Interview". Sc-Fi Online. from the original on March 21, 2016. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
  33. ^ Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith DVD documentary It's All for Real: The Stunts of Episode III, [2005].
  34. ^ . The Freeman. Archived from the original on May 26, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  35. ^ . StarWars.com. Archived from the original on April 23, 2005. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  36. ^ "Gary Oldman in talks for Star Wars: Episode III". MovieWeb. from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  37. ^ "Oldman Out of Sith". IGN. September 4, 2004. from the original on December 16, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2008.
  38. ^ Wood, Matthew (April 19, 2005). Voicing Grievous. Indianapolis, Indiana: Celebration III.
  39. ^ . StarWars.com. April 19, 2005. Archived from the original on May 27, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2008.
  40. ^ Walters, Mark. "The voice of GENERAL GRIEVOUS". Big Fanboy. from the original on April 22, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  41. ^ "Revenge of the Sith: Part 1 — The Circle is Now Complete". VFXWorld. May 19, 2005. from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  42. ^ . StarWars.com. Archived from the original on April 29, 2004. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  43. ^ "Ling claims Star Wars bosses cut her after Playboy pose". Contact Music. from the original on April 16, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  44. ^ "Star Wars' Shaak Ti: The Jedi Master Who Died 4 Times". Screen Rant. July 15, 2019. from the original on July 16, 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  45. ^ . Sony BMG. Archived from the original on July 20, 2008. Retrieved August 3, 2008.
  46. ^ . StarWars.com. April 30, 2005. Archived from the original on December 5, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2008.
  47. ^ . StarWars.com. March 15, 2005. Archived from the original on March 16, 2005. Retrieved August 3, 2008.
  48. ^ "'Star Wars: Episode III' trailer debuting with 'Incredibles'". October 22, 2004. from the original on February 20, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  49. ^ Davidson, Paul (October 12, 2004). "Revenge of the Sith Teaser Preview". IGN. from the original on July 3, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  50. ^ "When to catch the Revenge of the Sith trailer debut!". March 2, 2005. from the original on February 20, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  51. ^ "'Star Wars' final chapter previewed". The Leader-Post. March 18, 2005. p. 9. from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.  
  52. ^ . Archived from the original on September 8, 2015.
  53. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith". festival-cannes.com. from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  54. ^ "Can't work today, got a nasty case of Episode III-fever". CNET. from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
  55. ^ "'Wrong queue' for Star Wars fans". BBC. May 19, 2005. from the original on April 7, 2008. Retrieved July 30, 2008.
  56. ^ Lee, Chris (June 25, 2005). "At ArcLight, cinema with a chaser". Los Angeles Times. from the original on December 16, 2008. Retrieved July 30, 2008.
  57. ^ "Star Wars marathon marks premiere". BBC. April 19, 2005. from the original on December 19, 2006. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
  58. ^ "Revenge of the Sith Leaked Online". BBC. May 19, 2005. from the original on November 22, 2008. Retrieved July 30, 2008.
  59. ^ (PDF). MPAA. September 27, 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 30, 2006. Retrieved July 30, 2008.
  60. ^ (Press release). U.S. Department of Justice. January 25, 2006. Archived from the original on January 15, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2015.
  61. ^ a b "Search". FilmRatings.com. from the original on August 1, 2021. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  62. ^ Stahl, Lesley (March 13, 2005). . CBS News. Archived from the original on October 15, 2007. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  63. ^ . At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper. Archived from the original on April 15, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  64. ^ . StarWars.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2005. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  65. ^ "DVD Review – Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith". from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  66. ^ "Revenge of the Sith Easter Egg – Hip Hop Yoda – Eeggs.com". from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  67. ^ "Studio's first no-VHS release for major new title". Video Business. August 26, 2005. from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved July 30, 2008.
  68. ^ "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith [2005]". Amazon.com. October 31, 2005. from the original on February 10, 2007. Retrieved February 18, 2007.
  69. ^ . Lucasfilm. StarWars.com. August 28, 2008. Archived from the original on October 26, 2008. Retrieved November 8, 2008.
  70. ^ . StarWars.com. January 6, 2011. Archived from the original on January 9, 2011. Retrieved January 7, 2011.
  71. ^ Vlessing, Etan (April 6, 2015). "'Star Wars' Movie Franchise Headed to Digital HD". The Hollywood Reporter. from the original on April 10, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  72. ^ Bonomolo, Cameron (August 8, 2019). "Newest Star Wars Saga Blu-rays Get Matching Artwork". Comicbook.com. from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  73. ^ Hayes, Dade (April 11, 2019). "Entire 'Star Wars' Franchise Will Be On Disney+ Within Its First Year". Deadline. from the original on April 14, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  74. ^ Lussier, Germain (March 27, 2020). "Let's Dive Into Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga's 27-Disc Box Set". io9. from the original on March 13, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
  75. ^ Dietsch, T.J. (August 28, 2012). "Star Wars 3D Continues Next Fall With Release of Episodes II and III". Spinoff Online. from the original on August 31, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  76. ^ Collura, Scott (November 21, 2012). "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith 3D Release Date Shift". IGN. from the original on November 28, 2012. Retrieved November 22, 2012.
  77. ^ "Focusing on Episode VII, Lucasfilm Postpones Episodes II and III 3D". StarWars.com. January 28, 2013. from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  78. ^ Eisenberg, Eric (January 28, 2013). "Star Wars Attack Of The Clones And Revenge Of The Sith Won't Be Getting 3D Re-Releases". Cinema Blend. from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  79. ^ Finke, Nikki (January 28, 2013). "EXCLUSIVE: No More 'Star Wars' 3D Prequel Releases; Lucasfilm Passes To Focus On New Trilogy". Deadline Hollywood. from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  80. ^ . Archived from the original on February 24, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
  81. ^ "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. from the original on December 25, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2022.  
  82. ^ "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith reviews". Metacritic. from the original on January 30, 2010. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  83. ^ Gina Carbone (December 21, 2019). "Yep, Rise Of Skywalker's CinemaScore Matches My Theater's Reaction To Star Wars Movie". CinemaBlend. from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
  84. ^ a b "Star Wars: Episode III". The New Yorker. from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  85. ^ "Some Surprises in That Galaxy Far, Far Away". The New York Times. from the original on November 8, 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2016.
  86. ^ Jones, J. R. (May 19, 2005). "Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith". Chicago Reader. from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  87. ^ Ebert, Roger (May 19, 2005). "Dark side shadows 'Sith'". Chicago Sun-Times. from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  88. ^ a b Travers, Peter (May 19, 2005). "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith". Rolling Stone. from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  89. ^ a b . Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. June 10, 2005. Archived from the original on April 16, 2009. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  90. ^ "Fifteen years on, how does Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith stand up?". The Guardian. May 21, 2020. from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  91. ^ Chaney, Jen (December 15, 2017). "In Defense of Hayden Christensen's Performance in the Star Wars Prequels". Vulture. from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  92. ^ Robinson, Joanna (April 16, 2017). "Watch Hayden Christensen Cleverly Mock His Worst Star Wars Line". Vanity Fair. from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  93. ^ Dockterman, Eliana (May 20, 2022). "It's Time to Forgive Hayden Christensen for the Star Wars Prequels". Time. from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  94. ^ Nicholson, Max (November 29, 2012). "Is Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith a Work of Art? Famed art critic calls Episode III the greatest artwork in 30 years". IGN. from the original on November 7, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  95. ^ Sean Craig (November 28, 2012). "Critic Camille Paglia Thinks 'Revenge of the Sith' Is Our Generation's Greatest Work of Art". Vice.com (Interview). from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  96. ^ Paglia, Camille. Glittering Images: A Journey through Art from Egypt to Star Wars January 11, 2023, at the Wayback Machine. Pantheon Books, 2012. pp. 185, 189.
  97. ^ Caitlin Chappell (January 9, 2020). "Star Wars: Gen Z Has Turned Revenge of the Sith Into a Cult Classic". CBR. from the original on January 11, 2023. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  98. ^ a b Soriano, César G. (May 17, 2005). "Politics creates a disturbance in the Force". USA Today. from the original on May 5, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  99. ^ "2005 Worldwide Grosses". from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  100. ^ a b "'Sith' Destroys Single Day Record". Box Office Mojo. May 20, 2005. from the original on December 16, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  101. ^ "Top Single Day Grosses By Day Of The Week". Box Office Mojo. from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  102. ^ a b "Pirates Breaks Opening Day Record!!". Coming Soon. from the original on July 18, 2006. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  103. ^ . Guinness World Records. July 21, 2008. Archived from the original on August 5, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  104. ^ "'Deadpool' shatters box-office records with $135 million weekend". from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  105. ^ Mendelson, Scott (July 12, 2015). "Box Office: 'Minions' Nabs Despicable $115M Weekend For Stunning $395M Worldwide Cume". Forbes. from the original on January 17, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  106. ^ "'Star Wars' breaks box office records". from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  107. ^ Gray, Brandon. "'Star Wars' Edges Out Computerized Critters and Secondhand Convicts". Box Office Mojo. from the original on May 6, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  108. ^ "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith". Box Office Mojo. June 3, 2016. from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  109. ^ "Star Wars: Episode III – International Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. from the original on February 1, 2010. Retrieved April 8, 2010.
  110. ^ "Spidey sets a new standard for movie openings: rule the world". Los Angeles Times. May 7, 2007. from the original on March 11, 2022. Retrieved March 11, 2022.
  111. ^ "2005: George Lucas". American Film Institute. June 9, 2005. from the original on March 28, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  112. ^ . AMPAS. Archived from the original on July 3, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  113. ^ . People's Choice Awards. Archived from the original on June 22, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  114. ^ "2005 Hollywood Movie Awards". Hollywood Festival. from the original on March 2, 2010. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
  115. ^ . Empire. Archived from the original on June 16, 2013. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  116. ^ . Fox. Archived from the original on March 8, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  117. ^ . Locus Magazine. Archived from the original on August 29, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  118. ^ "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith – IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  119. ^ . Golden Raspberry Foundation. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  120. ^ . Golden Raspberry Foundation. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  121. ^ "2006 MTV Movie Awards". MTV. from the original on April 23, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  122. ^ "2005 Stinkers Awards Announced". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  123. ^ Rahner, Mark (May 18, 2005). . The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  124. ^ Lucas interview on CBS's 60 Minutes. Transcript July 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine March 13, 2005
  125. ^ "Star Wars III: "Titanic in Space"". Today.com. April 11, 2005. from the original on September 27, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2008.
  126. ^ Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith – Novelization, 1st edition hardcover, 2005. Matthew Woodring Stover, George Lucas, ISBN 0-7126-8427-1
  127. ^ . IGN. April 28, 2005. Archived from the original on December 16, 2008. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
  128. ^ a b c . IGN. April 28, 2005. Archived from the original on January 31, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
  129. ^ "'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' meets 'Revenge of the Sith' in final episodes". from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  130. ^ "Obi-Wan Kenobi". disney.com. from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved August 18, 2022.

Sources

  • Kaminski, Michael (2008). The Secret History of Star Wars. Kingston, Ontario: Legacy Books Press. ISBN 978-0-9784652-3-0.
  • Rinzler, Jonathan W (2005). The Making of Star Wars, Revenge of the Sith. New York City: Del Ray. ISBN 0-345-43139-1.
  • Slavicsek, Bill (1994). A Guide to the Star Wars Universe (2nd ed.). Del Rey. p. 117. ISBN 0-345-38625-6.

External links

 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
  • Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith at StarWars.com
  • Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith at Lucasfilm.com
  • Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki
  • Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith at IMDb
  • Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
  • Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith at the TCM Movie Database
  • Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith at AllMovie

February 09, 2023
star, wars, episode, revenge, sith, star, wars, redirects, here, third, film, released, return, jedi, 2005, american, epic, space, opera, film, written, directed, george, lucas, stars, ewan, mcgregor, natalie, portman, hayden, christensen, mcdiarmid, samuel, j. Star Wars III redirects here For the third film released see Return of the Jedi Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas It stars Ewan McGregor Natalie Portman Hayden Christensen Ian McDiarmid Samuel L Jackson Christopher Lee Anthony Daniels Kenny Baker and Frank Oz The sequel to The Phantom Menace 1999 and Attack of the Clones 2002 it is the sixth film in the Star Wars film series the final installment in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and third chronological chapter of the Skywalker Saga Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the SithTheatrical release poster by Drew StruzanDirected byGeorge LucasWritten byGeorge LucasProduced byRick McCallumStarringEwan McGregor Natalie Portman Hayden Christensen Ian McDiarmid Samuel L Jackson Christopher Lee Anthony Daniels Kenny Baker Frank OzCinematographyDavid TattersallEdited byRoger Barton Ben BurttMusic byJohn WilliamsProductioncompanyLucasfilm Ltd Distributed by20th Century FoxRelease datesMay 15 2005 2005 05 15 Cannes May 19 2005 2005 05 19 United States Running time140 minutes 1 CountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget 113 million 2 Box office 868 4 million 2 Revenge of the Sith is set three years after the onset of the Clone Wars as established in Attack of the Clones The Jedi are spread across the galaxy in a full scale war against the Separatists The Jedi Council dispatches Obi Wan Kenobi on a mission to defeat General Grievous the head of the Separatist army to put an end to the war Meanwhile after having visions of his wife Padme Amidala dying in childbirth Anakin Skywalker is tasked by the Council to spy on Palpatine the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic and secretly a Sith Lord Palpatine manipulates Anakin into turning to the dark side of the Force and becoming his apprentice Darth Vader with wide ranging consequences for the galaxy Lucas began writing the script before production of Attack of the Clones ended citing that he wanted the end of the trilogy to have similar aspects to a romantic tragedy thus building into Darth Vader s state at the beginning of the next film Production of Revenge of the Sith started in June 2003 and filming took place in Australia with additional locations in Thailand Switzerland China Italy and the United Kingdom Revenge of the Sith premiered on May 15 2005 at the Cannes Film Festival then released worldwide on May 19 2005 The film received positive reviews and is widely considered to be the best installment of the prequel trilogy with praise for its mature tone story emotional weight action sequences score visual effects and the performances of McGregor McDiarmid Oz and Jimmy Smits criticism largely focused on the film s dialogue and Christensen s performance It broke several box office records during its opening week and went on to earn over 868 million worldwide making it the second highest grossing film in the Star Wars franchise at the time It was the highest grossing film in the U S and the second highest grossing film worldwide in 2005 It also holds the record for the highest opening day gross on a Thursday making 50 million Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3 1 Writing 3 2 Art design 3 3 Filming 3 4 Visual effects 3 5 Deleted scenes 3 6 Music 4 Release 4 1 Marketing 4 2 Theatrical 4 3 Leaked workprint 4 4 Rating 4 5 Home media 4 6 3D re release 5 Reception 5 1 Critical response 5 2 Other responses 5 3 Box office 5 4 Accolades 6 Themes 7 Other media 7 1 Novelization 7 2 Video game 7 3 The Clone Wars 7 4 The Bad Batch 7 5 Obi Wan Kenobi 8 References 8 1 Footnotes 8 2 Citations 8 3 Sources 9 External linksPlot EditAbove Coruscant Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker lead a mission to rescue the kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine from the cyborg Separatist commander General Grievous a After infiltrating Grievous flagship Obi Wan and Anakin battle the Sith Lord Count Dooku whom Anakin overpowers and decapitates at Palpatine s urging Grievous escapes the battle torn ship which the Jedi crash land on Coruscant There Anakin reunites with his secret wife Padme Amidala who reveals that she is pregnant While initially excited Anakin soon begins to have visions of Padme dying in childbirth Palpatine appoints Anakin to the Jedi Council as his personal representative The Council suspicious of Palpatine approves the appointment but declines to grant Anakin the rank of Master and instead instructs him to spy on Palpatine diminishing Anakin s faith in the Jedi Meanwhile on Utapau Grievous relocates the Separatist leaders to the volcanic planet Mustafar Obi Wan travels to Utapau to confront Grievous and kills him while Yoda travels to the Wookiee planet of Kashyyyk to defend it from a Separatist invasion Palpatine tempts Anakin with his knowledge of the dark side of the Force and offers to teach him the power to prevent Padme s death Anakin deduces that Palpatine is the Sith Lord behind the war and reports his treachery to Mace Windu who confronts and subdues him Desperate to save Padme s life Anakin severs Windu s hand before he can kill Palpatine who sends Windu falling to his death Anakin pledges himself to the Sith and Palpatine knights him Darth Vader Palpatine issues Order 66 which commands the clone troopers to kill their commanding Jedi generals across the galaxy while Vader and a battalion of clone troopers kill the remaining Jedi in the Jedi Temple Vader then travels to Mustafar to assassinate the Separatist leaders while Palpatine declares himself Emperor before the Galactic Senate transforming the Republic into the Galactic Empire and denounces the Jedi as traitors Having survived the chaos Obi Wan and Yoda return to Coruscant where Obi Wan learns of Anakin s turn to the dark side Yoda instructs Obi Wan to confront Vader while he faces Palpatine Obi Wan seeks out Padme to find out Vader s whereabouts and reveals his treachery Padme then travels to Mustafar with Obi Wan stowing away on her ship and pleads with Vader to abandon the dark side and leave with her but he refuses Seeing Obi Wan aboard the ship and thinking that they are conspiring to kill him Vader uses the Force to strangle Padme to unconsciousness in a blind rage Obi Wan then engages Vader in a lightsaber duel that ends with Obi Wan severing Vader s legs and left arm leaving Vader at the bank of a lava flow where he is horribly burned Obi Wan retrieves Vader s lightsaber and leaves him for dead On Coruscant Yoda battles Palpatine until their duel reaches a stalemate Realizing he cannot defeat Palpatine Yoda flees with Senator Bail Organa and regroups with Obi Wan and Padme on the planetoid Polis Massa There Padme gives birth to twins whom she names Luke and Leia and dies soon after having lost her will to live but still believing there is good in Vader Palpatine recovers a barely alive Vader and takes him to Coruscant where his mutilated body is treated and covered in a black armored suit When Vader asks if Padme is safe Palpatine says that he killed her out of anger devastating Vader Obi Wan and Yoda plan to conceal the twins from the Sith and go into exile until the time is right to challenge the Empire As Padme s funeral takes place on her home world of Naboo Palpatine and Vader supervise the construction of the Death Star Bail takes Leia to Alderaan where he and his wife adopt her while Obi Wan delivers Luke to his step uncle and aunt Owen and Beru Lars on Tatooine before going into exile to watch over the boy Cast EditSee also List of Star Wars characters and List of Star Wars cast members Left to right top to bottom Ewan McGregor Natalie Portman Hayden Christensen Ian McDiarmid Samuel L Jackson and Jimmy Smits Ewan McGregor as Obi Wan Kenobi a Jedi Master general of the Galactic Republic and Anakin Skywalker s best friend and mentor Natalie Portman as Padme Amidala a senator of Naboo who is secretly Anakin s wife and pregnant with their children Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker Darth Vader a Jedi Knight hero of the Clone Wars and former Padawan of Obi Wan and Padme s secret husband who turns to the dark side of the Force and becomes a Sith Lord Christensen also plays Vader in his suit James Earl Jones reprises his role as the voice of Vader from previous Star Wars media in an uncredited cameo 3 b Ian McDiarmid as Palpatine Darth Sidious the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic who is secretly a Sith Lord and later the leader of the Galactic Empire He takes advantage of Anakin s distrust of the Jedi and fear of Padme dying to turn him towards the dark side becoming Vader s master Samuel L Jackson as Mace Windu a Jedi Master and senior member of the Jedi Council Jimmy Smits as Bail Organa a senator from Alderaan Christopher Lee as Count Dooku Darth Tyranus Sidious Sith apprentice and the leader of the Separatists Anthony Daniels as C 3PO Anakin and Padme s personal protocol droid that Anakin created as a child c Kenny Baker as R2 D2 Anakin s astromech droid Frank Oz as the voice of Yoda a Jedi Grandmaster and the leader of the Jedi Council Peter Mayhew Oliver Ford Davies Ahmed Best and Silas Carson reprise their roles as Chewbacca Sio Bibble Jar Jar Binks and Nute Gunray and Ki Adi Mundi respectively from the previous films Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse also make cameo appearances reprising their roles as Owen and Beru Lars respectively from Attack of the Clones Sound engineer Matthew Wood provides the voice of General Grievous the fearsome cyborg commander of the Separatists droid army who had been trained in wielding a lightsaber by Count Dooku Wood took over the role after Gary Oldman was originally cast in the role but had to drop out of the production due to scheduling conflicts Oldman had completed some voice over work 5 6 Temuera Morrison portrays Commander Cody and the rest of the clone troopers Bruce Spence portrays Tion Medon local administrator of Utapau Jeremy Bulloch who played Boba Fett in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi appears as Captain Colton the pilot of the CR70 corvette Tantive III 7 Genevieve O Reilly portrays senator Mon Mothma though her speaking scene was ultimately cut 8 9 10 d Rohan Nichol portrays Captain Raymus Antilles 11 Wayne Pygram appears as a young Wilhuff Tarkin and stunt coordinator Nick Gillard appears as a Jedi named Cin Drallig his name spelled backward without the k 12 Editor Roger Barton s son Aidan Barton portrays Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa as infants Director and Star Wars creator George Lucas has a cameo as Baron Papanoida a blue faced alien in attendance at the Coruscant opera house 13 Lucas son Jett portrays Zett Jukassa a young Jedi in training One of Lucas daughters Amanda appears as Terr Taneel seen in a security hologram while his other daughter Katie plays a blue skinned Pantoran named Chi Eekway visible when Palpatine arrives at the Senate after being saved by the Jedi and talking to Baron Papanoida at the opera house 14 15 Christian Simpson appeared as a stunt double for Hayden Christensen 16 Production EditWriting Edit Lucas said he conceived the Star Wars saga s story in the form of a plot outline in 1973 However he later clarified that at the time of the saga s conception he had not fully realized the details only major plot points 17 The film s climactic duel has its basis in the Return of the Jedi novelization in which Obi Wan recounts his battle with Anakin that ended with the latter falling into a molten pit 18 Lucas began working on the screenplay for Episode III before the previous film Attack of the Clones was released proposing to concept artists that the film would open with a montage of seven battles on seven planets 19 In The Secret History of Star Wars Michael Kaminski surmises that Lucas found flaws with Anakin s fall to the dark side and radically reorganized the plot For example instead of opening the film with a montage of Clone War battles Lucas decided to focus on Anakin ending the first act with him killing Count Dooku an action that signals his turn to the dark side 20 A significant number of fans speculated online about the episode title for the film with rumored titles including Rise of the Empire The Creeping Fear which was also named as the film s title on the official website on April Fool s 2004 and Birth of the Empire 21 Eventually Revenge of the Sith also became a title guessed by fans that George Lucas would indirectly confirm 22 The title is a reference to Revenge of the Jedi the original title of Return of the Jedi Lucas changed the title scant weeks before the premiere of Return of the Jedi declaring that Jedi do not seek revenge 23 Lucas had originally planned to include even more ties to the original trilogy and wrote early drafts of the script in which a 10 year old Han Solo appeared on Kashyyyk but the role was not cast or shot He also wrote a scene in which Palpatine reveals to Anakin that he created him from midichlorians and is thus his father a clear parallel to Vader s revelation to Luke in The Empire Strikes Back but Lucas ejected this scene as well Another planned scene by Lucas that was written during the early development of the film was a conversation between Master Yoda and the ghostly Qui Gon Jinn with Liam Neeson reprising his role as Jinn he also hinted his possible appearance in the film 24 However the scene was never filmed and Neeson was never recorded although the scene was present in the film s novelization After principal photography was complete in 2003 Lucas made even more changes in Anakin s character rewriting his turn to the dark side Lucas accomplished this through editing the principal footage and filming new scenes during pickups in London in 2004 25 In the previous versions Anakin had several reasons for turning to the dark side one of which was his sincere belief that the Jedi were plotting to take over the Republic Although this is still intact in the finished film by revising and refilming many scenes Lucas emphasized Anakin s desire to save Padme from death Thus in the version that made it to theaters Anakin falls to the dark side primarily to save Padme 25 Art design Edit For the Kashyyyk environment the art department turned to the Star Wars Holiday Special for inspiration 26 Over a period of months Lucas would approve hundreds of designs that would eventually appear in the film He would later rewrite entire scenes and action sequences to correspond to certain designs he had chosen 25 The designs were then shipped to the pre visualization department to create moving CGI versions known as animatics Ben Burtt would edit these scenes with Lucas in order to pre visualize what the film would look like before the scenes were filmed 25 The pre visualization footage featured a basic raw CGI environment with equally unprocessed character models performing a scene typically for action sequences Steven Spielberg was brought in as a guest director to make suggestions to the art designers for the Mustafar duel e and oversee the pre visualization of an unused version of the Utapau chase scene 28 Later the pre visualization and art department designs were sent to the production department to begin bringing the film out of the concept phase 25 by building sets props and costumes Filming Edit Although the first scene filmed was the final scene to appear in the film shot during the filming of Attack of the Clones in 2000 29 f the first bulk of principal photography on the film occurred from June 30 2003 to September 17 2003 with additional photography at Shepperton Studios in Surrey and Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire from August 2004 to January 31 2005 25 The initial filming took place on sound stages at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney although practical environments were shot as background footage later to be composited into the film These included the limestone mountains depicting Kashyyyk which were filmed in Phuket Thailand The production company was also fortunate enough to be shooting at the same time that Mount Etna erupted in Italy Camera crews were sent to the location to shoot several angles of the volcano that were later spliced into the background of the animatics and the final film version of the planet Mustafar 25 While shooting key dramatic scenes Lucas would often use an A camera and B camera or the V technique a process that involves shooting with two or more cameras at the same time in order to gain several angles of the same performance 25 Using the HD technology developed for the film the filmmakers were able to send footage to the editors the same day it was shot a process that would require a full 24 hours had it been shot on film 25 Footage featuring the planet Mustafar was given to editor Roger Barton who was on location in Sydney cutting the climactic duel Hayden Christensen says Lucas asked him to bulk up and physically show the maturity that had taken place between the two films 31 The actor says he worked out with a trainer in Sydney for three months and ate six meals a day and on every protein weight gain supplement that man has created to go from 160 lbs to 185 lbs 32 Christensen and Ewan McGregor began rehearsing their climactic lightsaber duel long before Lucas would shoot it They trained extensively with stunt coordinator Nick Gillard to memorize and perform their duel together As in the previous prequel film McGregor and Christensen performed their own lightsaber fighting scenes without the use of stunt doubles 33 The speed at which Vader and Obi Wan engage in their duel is mostly the speed at which it was filmed although there are instances where single frames were removed to increase the velocity of particular strikes An example of this occurs as Obi Wan strikes down on Vader after applying an armlock in the duel s first half 17 Revenge of the Sith eventually became the first Star Wars film in which Anakin Skywalker and the suited Darth Vader were played by the same actor in the same film As Christensen recounted it was originally intended to simply have a tall guy in the Darth Vader costume but after begging and pleading Christensen persuaded Lucas to have the Vader costume used in the film created specifically to fit him The new costume featured shoe lifts and a muscle suit 34 It also required Christensen who is 6 feet or 1 8 metres tall to look through the helmet s mouthpiece 35 In 2004 Gary Oldman was originally approached to provide the voice of General Grievous 36 however complications arose during contract negotiations after Oldman learned the film was to be made outside of the Screen Actors Guild of which he is a member He backed out of the role rather than violate the union s rules 37 Matthew Wood who voiced Grievous disputed this story at Celebration III held in Indianapolis According to him Oldman is a friend of producer Rick McCallum and thus recorded an audition as a favor to him but was not chosen 38 Wood who was also the supervising sound editor was in charge of the auditions and submitted his audition anonymously in the midst of 30 others under the initials A S for Alan Smithee 39 Days later he received a phone call asking for the full name to the initials A S 40 Visual effects Edit The post production department handled by Industrial Light amp Magic began work during filming and continued until weeks before the film was released in 2005 Special effects were created using almost all formats including model work CGI and practical effects The same department later composited all such work into the filmed scenes both processes taking nearly two years to complete Revenge of the Sith has 2 151 shots that use special effects a world record 41 The DVD featurette Within a Minute illustrated the film required 910 artists and 70 441 man hours to create 49 seconds of footage for the Mustafar duel alone 25 Members of Hyperspace the Official Star Wars Fan Club received a special look into the production Benefits included not only special articles but they also received access to a webcam that transmitted a new image every 20 seconds during the time it was operating in Fox Studios Australia Many times the stars and Lucas himself were spotted on the webcam 42 Deleted scenes Edit Lucas excised all scenes of a group of Senators including Padme Bail Organa and Mon Mothma Genevieve O Reilly organizing an alliance to prevent Palpatine from usurping any more emergency powers Though this is essentially the birth of the Rebel Alliance the scenes were discarded to achieve more focus on Anakin s story 17 The scene where Yoda arrives on Dagobah to begin his self imposed exile was also removed but is featured as an extended scene in the DVD release although McCallum stated he hoped Lucas would have added it to the new cut as part of a six episode DVD box set 17 Bai Ling filmed minor scenes for the film playing a senator but her role was cut during editing She claimed this was because she appeared in a nude pictorial for the June 2005 issue of Playboy whose appearance on newsstands coincided with the film s May release Lucas denied this stating that the cut had been made more than a year earlier and that he had cut his own daughter s scenes as well 43 The bonus features show an additional removed scene in which Jedi Master Shaak Ti is killed by General Grievous in front of Obi Wan and Anakin 44 The bonus features also show Obi Wan and Anakin running through Grievous ship escaping droids through a fuel tunnel and arguing over what R2 D2 is saying 17 Music Edit Main article Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith soundtrack The music was composed and conducted by John Williams who has composed and conducted the score for every episode in the Star Wars saga and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices 45 The film s soundtrack was released by Sony Pictures Classical Records on May 3 2005 more than two weeks before the film s release A music video titled A Hero Falls was created for the film s theme Battle of the Heroes featuring footage from the film and was also available on the DVD 46 The soundtrack also came with a collectors DVD Star Wars A Musical Journey at no additional cost The DVD hosted by McDiarmid features 16 music videos set to remastered selections of music from all six film scores set chronologically through the saga 47 Release Edit George Lucas in 2005 Portrait by Oliver Mark Marketing Edit The first trailer for Revenge of the Sith premiered in theaters on November 5 2004 with the release of The Incredibles 48 It was also attached to the screenings of The Polar Express National Treasure Alexander and Flight of the Phoenix At the same time the trailer became available on the Internet 49 Just four months later another trailer was unveiled on March 10 2005 debuting with The O C s The Mallpisode during the second season Lucas himself would appear in a later episode and in theaters with the release of Robots the next day on March 11 On March 14 it would then premiere on the official Star Wars website 50 On March 17 2005 George Lucas revealed a preview of the film at the ShoWest Convention in Las Vegas saying It s not like the old Star Wars This one s a little bit emotional We like to describe it as Titanic in space It s a tearjerker 51 Theatrical Edit Star Wars Episode III 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 52 and on May 13 2005 there were two additional charity premiere screenings in George Lucas s hometown of Modesto California The official premiere was at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival out of competition on May 16 53 Its theatrical release in most other countries took place on May 19 to coincide with the 1999 release of The Phantom Menace the 1977 release of A New Hope and the 1983 release of Return of the Jedi were also released on the same day and month six years apart The global outplacement firm Challenger Gray amp Christmas claimed one week before the premiere that it may have cost the U S economy approximately US 627 million in lost productivity because of employees who took a day off or reported in sick 54 Grauman s Chinese Theatre a traditional venue for the Star Wars films did not show it However a line of people stood there for more than a month hoping to convince someone to change this 55 Most of them took advantage of an offer to see the film at a nearby cinema ArcLight Cinemas formerly the Cinerama Dome 56 On May 16 the Empire Cinema in London s Leicester Square hosted a day long Star Wars marathon showing of all six films an army of Imperial stormtroopers guarded the area and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra gave a free concert of Star Wars music 57 Leaked workprint Edit A copy of the film leaked onto peer to peer file sharing networks just hours after opening in theaters The film was a time stamped workprint suggesting it may have come from within the industry rather than from someone who videotaped an advance screening 58 Eight people were later charged with copyright infringement and distributing material illegally Documents filed by the Los Angeles District Attorney allege that a copy of the film was taken from an unnamed Californian post production office by an employee who later pleaded guilty to his charges 59 The illegal copy was passed among seven people until reaching an eighth party who also pleaded guilty to uploading to an unnamed P2P network 60 Rating Edit Revenge of the Sith is the first Star Wars film to receive a PG 13 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America MPAA officially for sci fi violence and some intense images 61 namely for the scene in which Darth Vader is set aflame by lava Lucas had stated months before the MPAA s decision that he felt the film should receive a PG 13 rating because of Anakin s final moments and the film s content being the darkest and most intense of all six films 62 Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper later opined that children would be able to handle the film as long as they had parental guidance 63 All previously released films in the series were rated PG 61 g Home media Edit The film was released on DVD and VHS on October 31 2005 in the UK and Ireland on November 1 2005 it was released in the United States and Canada on DVD and on November 3 2005 it was released in Australia It was also released in most major territories on or near the same day 64 The DVD release consists of widescreen and pan and scan fullscreen versions and is THX certified This two disc set contains one disc with the film and the other one with bonus features The first disc features three randomized selected menus which are Coruscant Utapau and Mustafar 65 There is an Easter egg in the options menu When the THX Optimizer is highlighted the viewer can press 1 1 3 8 By doing this a hip hop music video with Yoda and some clone troopers will play 66 The DVD includes a number of documentaries including 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 film s stunts and a 15 part collection of web documentaries from the official web site Like the other DVD releases included is an audio commentary track featuring Lucas producer Rick McCallum animation director Rob Coleman and ILM visual effects supervisors John Knoll and Roger Guyett Six deleted scenes were included with introductions from Lucas and McCallum This release is notable because due to marketing issues it was the first Star Wars film never to be released on VHS in the United States 67 However the film was released on VHS in Australia the U K and other countries 68 better source needed The DVD was re released in a prequel trilogy box set on November 4 2008 69 The six Star Wars films were released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on Blu ray on September 16 2011 in three different editions 70 On April 7 2015 Walt Disney Studios 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm jointly announced the digital releases of the six released Star Wars films Revenge of the Sith was released through the iTunes Store Amazon Video Vudu Google Play and Disney Movies Anywhere on April 10 2015 71 Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment reissued Revenge of the Sith on Blu ray DVD and digital download on September 22 2019 72 Additionally all six films were available for 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos streaming on Disney upon the service s launch on November 12 2019 73 This version of the film was released by Disney on 4K Ultra HD Blu ray on March 31 2020 whilst being re released on Blu ray and DVD 74 3D re release Edit On September 28 2010 it was announced that all six films in the series were to be stereo converted to 3D The films would be re released in chronological order beginning with The Phantom Menace on February 10 2012 Revenge of the Sith was originally scheduled to be re released in 3D on October 11 2013 75 h However on January 28 2013 Lucasfilm announced that it was postponing the 3D release of episodes II and III in order to focus 100 percent of our efforts on Star Wars The Force Awakens and that further information about 3D release plans would be issued at a later date 77 78 79 The premiere of the 3D version was shown on April 17 2015 at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 80 Reception EditCritical response Edit On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 79 based on 304 reviews with an average rating of 7 3 10 The site s critical consensus reads With Episode III Revenge of the Sith George Lucas brings his second Star Wars trilogy to a suitably thrilling and often poignant if still a bit uneven conclusion 81 On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100 based on 40 critics indicating generally favorable reviews 82 Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of A on an A to F scale the same score as the previous two films 83 Most critics have considered the film to be the best of the prequel trilogy 84 A O Scott of The New York Times concluded that it was the best of the four episodes Mr Lucas has directed and equal to The Empire Strikes Back as the richest and most challenging movie in the cycle 85 J R Jones a Chicago Reader critic who disliked The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones gave the film a positive review saying that it had a relatively thoughtful story 86 Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film three and a half out of four stars writing If Lucas 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 but he noted that the dialogue throughout the movie is once again its weakest point 87 Though many critics and fans viewed Revenge of the Sith as the strongest of the three prequels some viewers thought it was more or less on par with the previous two episodes 84 Much of the criticism was directed towards the dialogue particularly the film s romantic scenes 88 89 critics claimed this demonstrated Lucas s weakness as a writer of dialogue a subject with which Lucas openly agreed when receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute 89 Some film critics and fans criticized Hayden Christensen s acting calling it wooden 90 88 91 92 A retrospective review by Time felt that Christensen s maligned performance was in part affected by the screenwriting 93 Other responses Edit Art critic Camille Paglia praised the film as an essential example of the modern digital art movement due to its overwhelming operatic power and yes seriousness and arguing that its finale has more inherent artistic value emotional power and global impact than the work of some contemporary artists 94 95 96 During the late 2010s the film amassed a cult following on social media among young fans who were children when the film was released using the film s dialogue to create Internet memes out of nostalgia 97 Some American conservatives criticized the film claiming it had a liberal bias and was a commentary on the George W Bush administration and Iraq War Some websites went so far as to propose a boycott of the film 98 Lucas defended the film stating that the film s storyline was written during the Vietnam War and was influenced by that conflict rather than the war in Iraq Lucas also said The parallels between Vietnam and what we re doing in Iraq now are unbelievable 98 Box office Edit The film was released in 115 countries Its worldwide gross eventually reached 849 million making it the second most financially successful film of 2005 2 behind Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 99 The film earned an estimated 16 91 million from 2 900 midnight screenings in North America upon its release In total it earned a record 50 million on its opening day 100 marking the record for the highest opening day gross on a Thursday 101 It was surpassed the following year by Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man s Chest which earned 55 5 million on its opening day 102 With only the May 19 earnings the film broke four box office records midnight screenings gross previously held by The Lord of the Rings The Return of the King 8 million opening day gross Spider Man 2 with 40 4 million single day gross Shrek 2 with 44 8 million and Thursday gross The Matrix Reloaded with 37 5 million 100 Its single day and opening day gross records were later surpassed by Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Man s Chest on July 7 2006 when that movie grossed 55 5 million on its opening day 102 and its midnight screening gross was broken by The Dark Knight on July 18 2008 with 18 5 million 103 With a total gross of 108 4 million Revenge of the Sith would go on to hold the record for having the biggest opening weekend for any 20th Century Fox film for a decade until it was taken by Deadpool in 2016 104 The year prior Minions had already surpassed Revenge of the Sith for having the largest opening weekend for a prequel 105 According to box office analysis sites the film set American records for highest gross in a given number of days for each of its first 12 days of release except for the seventh and eighth where the record is narrowly held by Spider Man 2 Within three days Revenge of the Sith surpassed Spider Man for having the highest three day gross of any film scoring a total of 124 7 million 106 On its fifth day it became the highest grossing film of 2005 surpassing Hitch 177 6 million The film earned 158 5 million in its first four day period surpassing the previous four day record held by The Matrix Reloaded 134 3 million and joining the latter film Spider Man and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as one of the only four films to make 100 million in their first three days In eight days it reached the 200 million mark a record tied with Spider Man 2 and by its 17th day the film had passed 300 million surpassing the record of 18 days of Shrek 2 It was eventually the third fastest film after Shrek 2 and Spider Man to reach 350 million 2 Revenge of the Sith earned a total of 55 2 million during its second weekend making it the fourth highest grossing second weekend of all time behind Harry Potter and the Sorcerer s Stone Spider Man and Shrek 2 The film then earned 70 million in just four days becoming the seventh highest Memorial Day weekend gross of any film trailing only behind Shrek 2 The Lost World Jurassic Park The Day After Tomorrow Bruce Almighty Pearl Harbor and Mission Impossible 2 107 The film ended its run in American theaters on October 20 2005 2 finishing with a total gross of 380 270 577 It ranks 29th in all time domestic grosses and is the highest grossing U S of 2005 out grossing second place The Chronicles of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by nearly 90 million 2 The film sold an estimated 59 324 600 tickets in the US It topped the domestic box office for two consecutive weekends before being overtaken by Madagascar and The Longest Yard which were in their second weekend 108 International grosses that exceeded 460 million include those Australia 27 2 million France and Algeria 56 9 million Germany 47 3 million Italy 11 3 million Japan 82 7 million Mexico 15 3 million South Korea 10 3 million Spain 23 8 million and the United Kingdom and Ireland 72 8 million 109 The total worldwide opening of Revenge of the Sith for each country was 254 million combined with 304 million from its four day weekend It would go on to hold this record for two years before Spider Man 3 took it in 2007 110 Accolades Edit Following the release of Revenge of the Sith the completion of the original and prequel Star Wars series on June 9 2005 George Lucas was presented with the 33rd American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award The institute honored his astonishing contributions to the art and technology of filmmaking as well as the impact of the epic Star Wars series 111 Despite being the prequel trilogy s best reviewed and received film it received fewer award nominations than the previous films It became the only Star Wars film not to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects it was nominated for Best Makeup Dave Elsey and Nikki Gooley losing to The Chronicles of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe 112 It also won Favorite Motion Picture and Favorite Dramatic Motion Picture awards at the People s Choice Awards 113 Hollywood Movie of the Year award at the Hollywood Film Festival 114 Empire Awards for Sci Fi Fantasy Film and Scene of the Year The birth of Vader 115 and the Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Action 116 As did every film of the original trilogy the film won the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film 117 Williams also won Best Music The film was nominated for ten Saturn Awards overall including Best Director and Best Writing for Lucas Best Actor for Christensen Best Actress for Natalie Portman and Best Supporting Actor for Ian McDiarmid 118 Of the three Star Wars prequels the film received the fewest Golden Raspberry Awards nominations only one for Christensen as Worst Supporting Actor 119 which he won 120 The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones received seven nominations each with one and two wins respectively It is the only Star Wars prequel not to receive a Razzie nomination for Worst Picture Christensen further won the Best Villain award at the MTV Movie Awards 121 The film also received the fewest nominations and no wins at the 2005 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing More Than 100M and Worst On Screen Couple Christensen and Portman 122 Themes EditSee also Star Wars sources and analogues Throughout Revenge of the Sith Lucas refers to a wide range of films and other sources drawing on political military and mythological motifs to enhance his story s impact The most media coverage was likely given to an exchange between Anakin and Obi Wan leading to the aforementioned conflict If you re not with me then you re my enemy Anakin declares Despite Lucas insistence to the contrary The Seattle Times concluded Without naming Bush or the Patriot Act it s all unmistakable no matter what your own politics may be 123 McDiarmid Lucas and others have also called Anakin s journey to the dark side Faustian in the sense of making a pact with the devil for short term gain with the fiery volcano planet Mustafar representing hell 124 Midway through the film Lucas intercuts between Anakin and Padme by themselves thinking about one another in the Jedi Temple and their apartment respectively during sunset The sequence is without dialogue and complemented by a moody synthesized soundtrack Lucas coverage of the exterior cityscapes skylines and interior isolation in the so called Ruminations sequence is similar to the cinematography and mise en scene of Rosemary s Baby a film in which a husband makes a literal pact with the devil 125 Other media EditNovelization Edit Main article Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith novel The film s novelization was written by Matthew Stover It has more dialogue than the film and certain story elements were expanded upon in the novelization including Anakin and Palpatine s relationship and Palpatine s apprenticeship to Darth Plagueis 126 Video game Edit Main article Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith video game A video game based on the film was released on May 5 2005 two weeks before the film The game generally followed the film s storyline integrating scenes from the film However many sections of the game featured scenes cut from the film or entirely new scenes for the game 127 The style of the game was mostly lightsaber combat and fighting as Obi Wan or Anakin 128 It also has a form of multiplayer mode which includes both VS and Cooperative mode 128 In the first mode two players fight with characters of their choice against each other in a lightsaber duel to the death In the latter mode two players team up to combat increasingly difficult waves of enemies 128 The Clone Wars Edit Main article Star Wars The Clone Wars 2008 TV series The 2008 animated film and subsequent television series fill the three year gap between the events of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith A number of plot threads initially developed for inclusion in Revenge of the Sith were instead incorporated into The Clone Wars These include Boba Fett s revenge plot against Mace Windu for his father Jango s death and the solving of the mystery behind deceased Jedi Master Sifo Dyas which was introduced in Attack of the Clones The final four episodes of the series take place concurrently with Revenge of the Sith Several scenes from the film were recreated and expanded for these episodes in order to showcase the whereabouts of Anakin Skywalker s former Padawan Ahsoka Tano during the events of the film While Ahsoka was a major character in The Clone Wars she is not referenced in Revenge of the Sith as the character had not yet been created at the time 129 The Bad Batch Edit Main article Star Wars The Bad Batch Several scenes from Revenge of the Sith were recreated in the first episode Aftermath This episode also takes place concurrently with the film and the following episodes deal with the aftermath of Order 66 and the Clone Wars Obi Wan Kenobi Edit Main article Obi Wan Kenobi TV series The 2022 miniseries takes place ten years after Revenge of the Sith and approximately nine years before A New Hope i and features flashbacks taking place prior and during the events of the film with some of the latter via archive footage McGregor Christensen Earl Jones Edgerton Piesse Smits McDiarmid and Daniels reprise their roles from the film 130 References EditFootnotes Edit As depicted in the 2008 animated television series Star Wars The Clone Wars Jones himself has never confirmed his participation When specifically asked whether he had supplied the voice possibly from a previous recording Jones told Newsday You d have to ask Lucas about that I don t know 4 As depicted in The Phantom Menace Her speaking scene A Stirring in the Senate was featured in the bonus features of the DVD release Spielberg suggested that Anakin and Obi Wan should be dripping sweat and that their hair at some point should be smoking which Lucas loved 27 The scene with Obi Wan delivering Luke to the Lars homestead was reshot on a sound stage during the production of Episode III 30 The PG 13 rating had not existed when the films in the original trilogy were released having been introduced in 1984 as a result of the Lucas produced film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Later pushed up to October 4 2013 76 Revenge of the Sith is set 19 years before A New Hope 19 BBY so Obi Wan Kenobi is 9 BBY Citations Edit Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith British Board of Film Classification Archived from the original on August 26 2016 Retrieved December 27 2015 a b c d e f Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith Box Office Mojo IMDb Archived from the original on March 4 2021 Retrieved March 4 2021 1 000 studio workers behind Revenge of the Sith gathered to watch this epic Darth Vader scene get shot Business Insider Archived from the original on August 14 2022 Retrieved June 8 2022 Lovece Frank March 12 2008 Fast Chat James Earl Jones Newsday Melville New York Newsday Media Archived from the original on December 4 2009 Retrieved March 1 2011 Christopher Marc June 11 2022 Gary Oldman Says He Was Originally Cast As General Grievous Voice In The Star Wars Prequels The Playlist Archived from the original on June 11 2022 Retrieved June 12 2022 Fink Richard June 13 2022 Gary Oldman On Almost Playing General Grievous In Star Wars Prequels Screen Rant Archived from the original on June 14 2022 Retrieved June 13 2022 Bulloch Jeremy May 17 2005 Star Wars Boba Fett The Washington Post Archived from the original on June 4 2011 Retrieved August 4 2008 Robinson Will August 5 2016 Rogue One A Star Wars Story Jimmy Smits confirms he has a cameo Entertainment Weekly Archived from the original on December 13 2016 Retrieved August 6 2016 Crookes Del April 7 2016 Rogue One A Star Wars Story the new trailer dissected and storylines revealed BBC News Archived from the original on May 26 2018 Retrieved April 7 2016 White Brett December 16 2016 Every Rogue One Cameo You Won t Want To Miss Comic Book Resources Archived from the original on December 18 2016 Retrieved December 16 2016 Swain Sarah July 12 2017 He was in Star Wars and now actor Rohan Nichol has moved to Summer Bay for Home and Away Daily Telegraph Sydney Australia News Limited Archived from the original on July 13 2017 Retrieved May 30 2018 Master Behind the Action Nick Gillard April 19 2005 Archived from the original on May 7 2005 Retrieved August 4 2008 McGinley Rhys January 4 2020 10 Star Wars Cameos Even Devoted Fans Forgot About Screen Rant Archived from the original on February 4 2020 Retrieved February 4 2020 Jones Brian Jay December 6 2016 George Lucas A Life New York City Little Brown and Company p 427 ISBN 978 0 316 25745 9 Star Wars A Family Affair StarWars com December 16 2014 Archived from the original on September 9 2019 Retrieved January 5 2020 Simpson Christian June 4 2014 From Fandom to Phantom When Star Wars Dreams Become Reality Star Wars com Archived from the original on May 13 2016 Retrieved July 15 2016 a b c d e Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith DVD commentary featuring George Lucas Rick McCallum Rob Coleman John Knoll and Roger Guyett 2005 Slavicsek 1994 p 117 Rinzler 2005 pp 13 15 Kaminski 2008 pp 380 384 Episode III Title Rumors IGN Archived from the original on December 16 2008 Retrieved May 17 2008 Lucas Fans have already guessed the Episode III title Cinema Confidential June 15 2004 Archived from the original on September 26 2011 Retrieved May 17 2008 Empire of Dreams The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy Star Wars Trilogy Box Set DVD documentary 2004 Keck William January 10 2005 Movie star night in Palm Springs USA Today Archived from the original on April 20 2017 Retrieved December 19 2016 a b c d e f g h i j Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith DVD documentary Within a Minute 2005 Kashyyyk Revisited StarWars com Archived from the original on December 14 2007 Retrieved May 17 2008 Jones Brian Jay 2016 George Lucas A Life New York City Little Brown and Company p 426 ISBN 978 0 316 25744 2 Star Wars The Complete Saga Episodes I VI Bonus Disc I Utapau Deleted Scenes Blu ray 20th Century Fox 2011 We Didn t Go to the Desert to Get a Suntan Episode II DVD Special Feature 2002 Kaminski 2008 p 397 B Brian October 10 2005 Hayden Christensen Talks Star Wars Revenge of the Sith Movieweb Archived from the original on June 8 2017 Retrieved December 25 2016 Rea Darren November 1 2005 Hayden Christensen Interview Sc Fi Online Archived from the original on March 21 2016 Retrieved December 25 2016 Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith DVD documentary It s All for Real The Stunts of Episode III 2005 Hayden Christensen on the Force and the Future The Freeman Archived from the original on May 26 2008 Retrieved May 17 2008 Live from Italy Hayden Christensen StarWars com Archived from the original on April 23 2005 Retrieved May 17 2008 Gary Oldman in talks for Star Wars Episode III MovieWeb Archived from the original on January 31 2021 Retrieved April 12 2018 Oldman Out of Sith IGN September 4 2004 Archived from the original on December 16 2008 Retrieved August 3 2008 Wood Matthew April 19 2005 Voicing Grievous Indianapolis Indiana Celebration III General Rumblings Matthew Wood on Grievous and Sound StarWars com April 19 2005 Archived from the original on May 27 2007 Retrieved August 3 2008 Walters Mark The voice of GENERAL GRIEVOUS Big Fanboy Archived from the original on April 22 2008 Retrieved May 17 2008 Revenge of the Sith Part 1 The Circle is Now Complete VFXWorld May 19 2005 Archived from the original on September 24 2015 Retrieved January 11 2016 Hyperspace Online Star Wars Fan Club StarWars com Archived from the original on April 29 2004 Retrieved May 17 2008 Ling claims Star Wars bosses cut her after Playboy pose Contact Music Archived from the original on April 16 2008 Retrieved May 17 2008 Star Wars Shaak Ti The Jedi Master Who Died 4 Times Screen Rant July 15 2019 Archived from the original on July 16 2019 Retrieved June 9 2020 Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith Sony BMG Archived from the original on July 20 2008 Retrieved August 3 2008 A Hero Falls Music Video StarWars com April 30 2005 Archived from the original on December 5 2007 Retrieved August 3 2008 Episode III Soundtrack Includes Bonus DVD StarWars com March 15 2005 Archived from the original on March 16 2005 Retrieved August 3 2008 Star Wars Episode III trailer debuting with Incredibles October 22 2004 Archived from the original on February 20 2022 Retrieved February 20 2022 Davidson Paul October 12 2004 Revenge of the Sith Teaser Preview IGN Archived from the original on July 3 2022 Retrieved June 28 2022 When to catch the Revenge of the Sith trailer debut March 2 2005 Archived from the original on February 20 2022 Retrieved February 20 2022 Star Wars final chapter previewed The Leader Post March 18 2005 p 9 Archived from the original on August 15 2022 Retrieved August 15 2022 via Newspapers com Star Wars NYC Premiere Archived from the original on September 8 2015 Festival de Cannes Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith festival cannes com Archived from the original on February 4 2012 Retrieved December 13 2009 Can t work today got a nasty case of Episode III fever CNET Archived from the original on January 31 2021 Retrieved April 7 2008 Wrong queue for Star Wars fans BBC May 19 2005 Archived from the original on April 7 2008 Retrieved July 30 2008 Lee Chris June 25 2005 At ArcLight cinema with a chaser Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on December 16 2008 Retrieved July 30 2008 Star Wars marathon marks premiere BBC April 19 2005 Archived from the original on December 19 2006 Retrieved April 20 2009 Revenge of the Sith Leaked Online BBC May 19 2005 Archived from the original on November 22 2008 Retrieved July 30 2008 U S ATTORNEY CHARGES STAR WARS MOVIE THIEVES amp Academy Award Screener PDF MPAA September 27 2005 Archived from the original PDF on September 30 2006 Retrieved July 30 2008 Seven Plead Guilty in Star Wars Leak Press release U S Department of Justice January 25 2006 Archived from the original on January 15 2012 Retrieved February 8 2015 a b Search FilmRatings com Archived from the original on August 1 2021 Retrieved August 1 2021 Stahl Lesley March 13 2005 Star Wars Goes To Hell CBS News Archived from the original on October 15 2007 Retrieved August 1 2021 Audio review of Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith At the Movies with Ebert amp Roeper Archived from the original on April 15 2008 Retrieved May 17 2008 November 1 Experience Episode III on DVD and Star Wars Battlefront II StarWars com Archived from the original on July 28 2005 Retrieved May 17 2008 DVD Review Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith Archived from the original on November 8 2021 Retrieved November 8 2021 Revenge of the Sith Easter Egg Hip Hop Yoda Eeggs com Archived from the original on January 11 2023 Retrieved November 8 2021 Studio s first no VHS release for major new title Video Business August 26 2005 Archived from the original on July 25 2008 Retrieved July 30 2008 Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith 2005 Amazon com October 31 2005 Archived from the original on February 10 2007 Retrieved February 18 2007 Star Wars Saga Repacked in Trilogy Sets on DVD Lucasfilm StarWars com August 28 2008 Archived from the original on October 26 2008 Retrieved November 8 2008 Pre order Star Wars The Complete Saga on Blu ray Now StarWars com January 6 2011 Archived from the original on January 9 2011 Retrieved January 7 2011 Vlessing Etan April 6 2015 Star Wars Movie Franchise Headed to Digital HD The Hollywood Reporter Archived from the original on April 10 2015 Retrieved April 7 2015 Bonomolo Cameron August 8 2019 Newest Star Wars Saga Blu rays Get Matching Artwork Comicbook com Archived from the original on September 26 2019 Retrieved September 26 2019 Hayes Dade April 11 2019 Entire Star Wars Franchise Will Be On Disney Within Its First Year Deadline Archived from the original on April 14 2019 Retrieved April 23 2019 Lussier Germain March 27 2020 Let s Dive Into Star Wars The Skywalker Saga s 27 Disc Box Set io9 Archived from the original on March 13 2021 Retrieved March 13 2021 Dietsch T J August 28 2012 Star Wars 3D Continues Next Fall With Release of Episodes II and III Spinoff Online Archived from the original on August 31 2012 Retrieved September 8 2012 Collura Scott November 21 2012 Star Wars Revenge of the Sith 3D Release Date Shift IGN Archived from the original on November 28 2012 Retrieved November 22 2012 Focusing on Episode VII Lucasfilm Postpones Episodes II and III 3D StarWars com January 28 2013 Archived from the original on May 22 2013 Retrieved May 19 2013 Eisenberg Eric January 28 2013 Star Wars Attack Of The Clones And Revenge Of The Sith Won t Be Getting 3D Re Releases Cinema Blend Archived from the original on January 30 2013 Retrieved January 28 2013 Finke Nikki January 28 2013 EXCLUSIVE No More Star Wars 3D Prequel Releases Lucasfilm Passes To Focus On New Trilogy Deadline Hollywood Archived from the original on January 30 2013 Retrieved January 28 2013 World Premiere of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith in 3D Souvenir Glasses Included Archived from the original on February 24 2015 Retrieved April 6 2015 Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith 2005 Rotten Tomatoes Fandango Archived from the original on December 25 2020 Retrieved November 29 2022 Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith reviews Metacritic Archived from the original on January 30 2010 Retrieved December 16 2015 Gina Carbone December 21 2019 Yep Rise Of Skywalker s CinemaScore Matches My Theater s Reaction To Star Wars Movie CinemaBlend Archived from the original on January 26 2021 Retrieved December 25 2020 a b Star Wars Episode III The New Yorker Archived from the original on May 16 2008 Retrieved May 17 2008 Some Surprises in That Galaxy Far Far Away The New York Times Archived from the original on November 8 2016 Retrieved July 16 2016 Jones J R May 19 2005 Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith Chicago Reader Archived from the original on December 1 2020 Retrieved March 7 2021 Ebert Roger May 19 2005 Dark side shadows Sith Chicago Sun Times Archived from the original on February 16 2013 Retrieved March 8 2013 a b Travers Peter May 19 2005 Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith Rolling Stone Archived from the original on June 9 2019 Retrieved January 28 2021 a b George Lucas admits he s no great writer Canadian Broadcasting Corporation June 10 2005 Archived from the original on April 16 2009 Retrieved May 17 2008 Fifteen years on how does Star Wars Revenge of the Sith stand up The Guardian May 21 2020 Archived from the original on November 30 2020 Retrieved January 28 2021 Chaney Jen December 15 2017 In Defense of Hayden Christensen s Performance in the Star Wars Prequels Vulture Archived from the original on November 9 2020 Retrieved January 28 2021 Robinson Joanna April 16 2017 Watch Hayden Christensen Cleverly Mock His Worst Star Wars Line Vanity Fair Archived from the original on November 11 2020 Retrieved January 28 2021 Dockterman Eliana May 20 2022 It s Time to Forgive Hayden Christensen for the Star Wars Prequels Time Archived from the original on June 23 2022 Retrieved July 13 2022 Nicholson Max November 29 2012 Is Star Wars Revenge of the Sith a Work of Art Famed art critic calls Episode III the greatest artwork in 30 years IGN Archived from the original on November 7 2015 Retrieved November 30 2012 Sean Craig November 28 2012 Critic Camille Paglia Thinks Revenge of the Sith Is Our Generation s Greatest Work of Art Vice com Interview Archived from the original on January 11 2023 Retrieved April 19 2021 Paglia Camille Glittering Images A Journey through Art from Egypt to Star Wars Archived January 11 2023 at the Wayback Machine Pantheon Books 2012 pp 185 189 Caitlin Chappell January 9 2020 Star Wars Gen Z Has Turned Revenge of the Sith Into a Cult Classic CBR Archived from the original on January 11 2023 Retrieved March 31 2021 a b Soriano Cesar G May 17 2005 Politics creates a disturbance in the Force USA Today Archived from the original on May 5 2008 Retrieved May 17 2008 2005 Worldwide Grosses Archived from the original on October 19 2013 Retrieved December 20 2015 a b Sith Destroys Single Day Record Box Office Mojo May 20 2005 Archived from the original on December 16 2008 Retrieved August 4 2008 Top Single Day Grosses By Day Of The Week Box Office Mojo Archived from the original on January 31 2021 Retrieved November 2 2020 a b Pirates Breaks Opening Day Record Coming Soon Archived from the original on July 18 2006 Retrieved May 17 2008 Dark Knight Beats Spider Man Guinness World Records July 21 2008 Archived from the original on August 5 2008 Retrieved August 4 2008 Deadpool shatters box office records with 135 million weekend Archived from the original on May 11 2022 Retrieved March 26 2022 Mendelson Scott July 12 2015 Box Office Minions Nabs Despicable 115M Weekend For Stunning 395M Worldwide Cume Forbes Archived from the original on January 17 2021 Retrieved August 26 2021 Star Wars breaks box office records Archived from the original on May 6 2022 Retrieved May 6 2022 Gray Brandon Star Wars Edges Out Computerized Critters and Secondhand Convicts Box Office Mojo Archived from the original on May 6 2022 Retrieved May 6 2022 Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith Box Office Mojo June 3 2016 Archived from the original on March 4 2016 Retrieved June 3 2016 Star Wars Episode III International Box Office Results Box Office Mojo Archived from the original on February 1 2010 Retrieved April 8 2010 Spidey sets a new standard for movie openings rule the world Los Angeles Times May 7 2007 Archived from the original on March 11 2022 Retrieved March 11 2022 2005 George Lucas American Film Institute June 9 2005 Archived from the original on March 28 2014 Retrieved May 15 2014 Nominees and Winners 78th Annual Academy Awards AMPAS Archived from the original on July 3 2008 Retrieved August 4 2008 Past Winners 2006 People s Choice Awards Archived from the original on June 22 2008 Retrieved August 4 2008 2005 Hollywood Movie Awards Hollywood Festival Archived from the original on March 2 2010 Retrieved March 24 2010 Sony Ericsson Empire Awards 2006 Best Sci Fi Fantasy Empire Archived from the original on June 16 2013 Retrieved August 4 2008 The Teen Choice Awards 2005 Fox Archived from the original on March 8 2008 Retrieved August 4 2008 2006 Saturn Awards Locus Magazine Archived from the original on August 29 2008 Retrieved August 4 2008 Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith IMDb IMDb Retrieved April 14 2022 Razzies c 2006 Nominees for Worst Supporting Actor Golden Raspberry Foundation Archived from the original on June 23 2011 Retrieved August 4 2008 26th Annual Golden Raspberry Razzie c Award Winners Golden Raspberry Foundation Archived from the original on July 5 2008 Retrieved August 4 2008 2006 MTV Movie Awards MTV Archived from the original on April 23 2008 Retrieved August 4 2008 2005 Stinkers Awards Announced Rotten Tomatoes Archived from the original on December 20 2016 Retrieved September 23 2019 Rahner Mark May 18 2005 The Force is with Lucas in his Star Wars finale The Seattle Times Archived from the original on May 22 2008 Retrieved May 17 2008 Lucas interview on CBS s 60 Minutes Transcript Archived July 6 2008 at the Wayback Machine March 13 2005 Star Wars III Titanic in Space Today com April 11 2005 Archived from the original on September 27 2020 Retrieved July 30 2008 Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith Novelization 1st edition hardcover 2005 Matthew Woodring Stover George Lucas ISBN 0 7126 8427 1 Revenge of the Sith The Goods Part II Beyond The Movie IGN April 28 2005 Archived from the original on December 16 2008 Retrieved July 7 2008 a b c Revenge of the Sith The Goods IGN April 28 2005 Archived from the original on January 31 2021 Retrieved July 7 2008 Star Wars The Clone Wars meets Revenge of the Sith in final episodes Archived from the original on July 16 2020 Retrieved October 31 2020 Obi Wan Kenobi disney com Archived from the original on August 19 2022 Retrieved August 18 2022 Sources Edit Kaminski Michael 2008 The Secret History of Star Wars Kingston Ontario Legacy Books Press ISBN 978 0 9784652 3 0 Rinzler Jonathan W 2005 The Making of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith New York City Del Ray ISBN 0 345 43139 1 Slavicsek Bill 1994 A Guide to the Star Wars Universe 2nd ed Del Rey p 117 ISBN 0 345 38625 6 External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith at StarWars com Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith at Lucasfilm com Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith on Wookieepedia a Star Wars wiki Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith at IMDb Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith at the TCM Movie Database Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith at AllMovie Portals Film United States Speculative fiction Science fiction Space Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith amp oldid 1138142080, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.