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

The American film Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (George Lucas, 2005) is the third part of the Star Wars saga. George Lucas who directed the film from his own screenplay comes full circle with the sixth - and allegedly but not necessarily the last - of the Star Wars films. It is a return to the classic space opera style that launched the series. In Episode III we learn how and why the brave and handsome Anakin was transformed into a dark, cloaked figure with a fearsome black metal face.


American postcard by Classico San Francisco, no. 106-136. Photo: Lucasfilm. Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker and Natalie Portman as Padmé Amidala in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (George Lucas, 2005).


American postcard by Classico San Francisco, no. 106-115. Photo: Lucasfilm. Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (George Lucas, 2005).


American postcard by Classico San Francisco, no. 106-117. Photo: Lucasfilm. Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (George Lucas, 2005).

Going the way of the dark side

The universe has changed after three years of devastating Clone Wars. Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) have become legendary heroes in their fight against the Separatists' Battle Droid. When the Separatists kidnap Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), Obi-Wan and Anakin go to free him in the spaceship Invisible Hand, which also involves a fierce space battle in space.

After Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) tosses Obi-Wan aside unconscious, he plays with Anakin, who chops off Dooku's hands and then grabs his light sabre. Chancellor Palpatine tells him to kill Dooku. When Anakin says that's not the Jedi way, Palpatine tells him to do it. Skywalker beheads the Sith Lord, taking another step towards the Dark Side.

Anakin and Obi-Wan rescue the Chancellor. However, the spaceship Invisible Hand crashes on the planet Coruscant. Anakin and Padmé Amidala, secretly married, have been separated by the war for months. When Anakin goes to the Jedi Temple, he is reunited with his wife Padmé (Natalie Portman). She is pregnant with Anakin. From then on, he is plagued by nightmares about Padmé's death during the birth of their child. He is determined to prevent this, as he has already lost his mother too.

Chancellor Palpatine tells Anakin that he will allow him to sit on the Jedi Council and become a Jedi Master. Anakin is allowed by the Jedi Council to belong to them but is not allowed to become a Jedi Master. Still, Anakin does get nightmares about Padmé every time and decides to visit the Chancellor again in the Galactic Opera House. Chancellor Palpatine tells Anakin that only the Dark Force can save his wife Padmé, and mentions the example of Darth Plagueis, a Sith master who could create life using the so-called midi-chlorians.

Palpatine also tells Anakin that General Grievous is on the planet Utapau. This, in turn, Anakin later tells Obi-Wan. Palpatine reveals to Anakin that he is the Sith Lord the Jedi were looking for, namely Darth Sidious. Only through the Dark Side can life be created, therefore Anakin must then become his apprentice and go the way of the Dark Side...


American postcard by Classico San Francisco, no. 106-118. Photo: Lucasfilm. Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (George Lucas, 2005).


American postcard by Classico San Francisco, no. 106-128. Photo: Lucasfilm. Natalie Portman as Padmé Amidala in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (George Lucas, 2005).


American postcard by Classico San Francisco, no. 106-129. Photo: Lucasfilm. Ian McDiarmid as Darth Sidious in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (George Lucas, 2005).


American postcard by Classico San Francisco, no. 106-130. Photo: Lucasfilm. Natalie Portman in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (George Lucas, 2005). Caption: Padmé Amidala in senate.

The Force is in a jollier mood this time

In 2003 and 2004, George Lucas began turning his original story, which he had already written in 1973, into a screenplay. Playwright Tom Stoppard also helped with the screenplay as a ghostwriter for Lucas. The title of the film was the subject of many rumours at the beginning such as 'Rise of the Empire', 'The Creeping Fear' and 'Birth of the Empire'.

Actors Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor practised together for months before their lightsaber duel. As in the previous film, the two actors did all their fighting themselves. Because of their training, the speed at which they are seen fighting in the film is actually the speed at which the scene was shot, and the action has not been sped up later. In fact, the final scene of the film had already been shot during the filming of Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones in 2000.

The film itself was shot almost entirely at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney. Revenge of the Sith is the first Star Wars film to feature both Darth Vader in his full costume, and his alter-ego Anakin Skywalker both, and also both played by the same actor. Initially, the plan was to just have a random actor wear the Darth Vader costume, but according to his own account, Christensen begged Lucas to play the role himself. The film score was again composed by John Williams. He also conducted the London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices when they performed the soundtrack.

Reactions to the film, especially compared to the previous two films, were relatively positive. 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". Some critics called the film the best of the prequels, and others called it the best Star Wars film since Star Wars: Episode V- The Empire Strikes Back.

One point that still drew criticism was the dialogue, especially in the romantic scenes with Anakin and Padmé. Roger Ebert: "The characters talk in what sounds like Basic English, without color, wit or verbal delight, as if they were channeling Berlitz." Star Wars: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith grossed $850 million worldwide, making it the second-best-grossing film of 2005. Ebert concludes in his review: "George Lucas has achieved what few artists do; he has created and populated a world of his own. His "Star Wars" movies are among the most influential, both technically and commercially, ever made. And they are fun."


American postcard by Classico San Francisco, no. 106-132. Photo: Lucasfilm. Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (George Lucas, 2005).


American postcard by Classico San Francisco, no. 106-134. Photo: Lucasfilm. Ian McDiarmid as Chancellor Palpatine in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (George Lucas, 2005).


American postcard by Classico San Francisco, no. 106-138. Photo: Lucasfilm. Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (George Lucas, 2005).


French postcard by Sonis, no. C 1611. Photo: Lucasfilm. Hayden Christensen in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (George Lucas, 2005).

Sources: Roger Ebert (Roger Ebert.com), Wikipedia (Dutch and English) and IMDb.