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

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

George Lucas

Writer:

George Lucas (written by)

Release Date:

19 May 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The saga is complete.

Plot:

After three years of fighting in the Clone Wars, Anakin Skywalker concludes his journey towards the Dark Side of the Force, putting his friendship with Obi Wan Kenobi and his marriage at risk.

Plot Keywords:

Chancellor | General | Jedi Knight | Rescue | Pregnant

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 13 wins & 26 nominations

Cast

Ewan McGregor	...	Obi-Wan Kenobi
Natalie Portman	...	Padmé
Hayden Christensen	...	Anakin Skywalker
Ian McDiarmid	...	Supreme Chancellor Palpatine
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Mace Windu
Jimmy Smits	...	Senator Bail Organa
Frank Oz	...	Yoda (voice)
Anthony Daniels	...	C-3PO
Christopher Lee	...	Count Dooku
Keisha Castle-Hughes	...	Queen of Naboo
Silas Carson	...	Ki-Adi-Mundi / Nute Gunray
Jay Laga'aia	...	Captain Typho
Bruce Spence	...	Tion Medon
Wayne Pygram	...	Governor Tarkin
Temuera Morrison	...	Commander Cody

Also Known As:

Revenge of the Sith (USA) (short title)
Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith (USA) (DVD box title)
Star Wars: Episode III (USA) (working title)
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (USA) (promotional title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

140 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.81 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:12 (video rating) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #41633) | Iceland:10 (original rating) | Taiwan:PG-12 | Malaysia:U | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | South Korea:All | South Africa:10V | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Chile:TE | Czech Republic:12 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:PG | Italy:T | Japan:U | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Philippines:G | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | Brazil:10 | New Zealand:M | Indonesia:Dewasa

Filming Locations:

Chott el Djerid, Nefta, Tunisia

Company:

Lucasfilm

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [George Lucas]The sound of General Grievous' coughing is George Lucas's own coughing. After developing a bad cough during production, Lucas had it recorded and used as Grievous' own cough.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Palpatine takes out his lightsaber during the battle with Mace Windu, the unique design of the handle can clearly be seen. When he engages Mace and the Jedi, although the blade is still red, the handle of his lightsaber suddenly changes to Anakin's large clunky handle.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[R2-D2 bleeps]
Anakin Skywalker: Lock on to him R2.
[R2-D2 responds with more bleeping]
Anakin Skywalker: Master, General Grievous's ship is directly ahead. The one crawling with Vulture droids.
Obi-Wan: Oh, I see it. Oh, this is going to be easy.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in An Old Hope (2009)

Lucas Redeemed!

When I asked the reviewer sitting next to me to sum up Revenge of the Sith, he simply said "great!" That seemed to basically be the consensus of virtually everyone in attendance at an advance press screening of the final chapter in the Star Wars saga.

There was an exuberant mood leaving the theater, as if everyone was in collective agreement that Lucas had finally done it. That he had gone out on top, with a stunning, rock-solid coup de grace. And from all the feedback I've heard from that screening, my sense of that collective mood was right.

There are no real spoilers in ROTS. Everyone basically knows what happens in Episode 4: A New Hope. We all know Anakin becomes Vader. We know Obi Wan lives and we know Luke and Leia are born. What we don't know is how Lucas weaves those story lines into the large, six-part opus and better yet, why?

No, it's not a perfect movie. There are those moments that make us cringe. Bad dialog and High School drama class acting make for a few awkward moments where you can hear audible moans and giggles in the audience, but we have come to expect this from modern Star Wars films. The upside is that these moments are rare in Episode III.

OK, get ready. Take a deep breath. No Jar Jar! Yes, you read that right. You can let out that deep breath now.

Fortunately, we have one savior to rely on for stellar acting. Mr. Ian McDiarmid as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. McDiarmid brings the elegance of an Alec Guiness back to the franchise in a knockout performance that leaves the audience riveted and exhausted. He is the lifeblood of the film.

As someone who saw the original 30 times in it's first month of release at the age of 13, I currently consider myself a Star Wars moderate. I don't have volumes of SW merchandise, nor can I debate whether or not carbonite contains enough oxygen to make it float. All I know is that magical feeling Star Wars gave me in the original 1977 release and that I'm happy to say, after a disappointing pair of prequels, has been finally restored and reinvigorated.

Here's to Mr. Lucas for giving us all something spectacular to remember for our entire lives that embodies the whole point of going to the movies in the first place, to escape and lose ourselves in another world.