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Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Ending the most popular film epic in history, Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the Sith is an exciting, uneven, but ultimately satisfying journey. Picking up the action from Episode II, Attack of the Clones as well as the animated Clone Wars series, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), pursue General Grievous into space after the droid has kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). It's just the latest manoeuvre in the on-going Clone Wars between the Republic and the Separatist forces led by former Jedi turned Sith Lord Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). On another front, Master Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) leads the Republic's clone troops against a droid attack on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. All this is in the first half of Episode III, which feels a lot like Episodes I and II. That means spectacular scenery, dazzling dogfights in space, a new fearsome villain (the CGI-created Grievous can't match up to either Darth Maul or the original Darth Vader, though), lightsaber duels, groan-worthy romantic dialogue, goofy humor (but at least it's left to the droids instead of Jar-Jar Binks), and hordes of faceless clone troopers fighting hordes of faceless battle droids.

But then it all changes.

After setting up characters and situations for the first two and a half movies, Episode III finally comes to life. The Sith Lord in hiding unleashes his long-simmering plot to take over the Republic, and an integral part of that plan is to turn Anakin away from the Jedi and toward the Dark Side of the Force. Unless you've been living under a rock the last 10 years, you know that Anakin will transform into the dreaded Darth Vader and face an ultimate showdown with his mentor, but that doesn't matter. In fact, a great part of the fun is knowing where things will wind up but finding out how they'll get there. The end of this prequel trilogy also should inspire fans to want to see the original movies again, but this time not out of frustration at the new ones. Rather, because Episode III is a beginning as well as an end, it will trigger fond memories as it ties up threads to the originals in tidy little ways. But best of all, it seems like for the first time we actually care about what happens and who it happens to.

Episode III is easily the best of the new trilogy--OK, so that's not saying much, but it might even jockey for third place among the six Star Wars films. It's also the first one to be rated PG-13 for the intense battles and darker plot. It was probably impossible to live up to the decades' worth of pent-up hype George Lucas faced for the Star Wars prequel trilogy (and he tried to lower it with the first two movies), but Episode III makes us once again glad to be "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away." --David Horiuchi, Amazon.com

Arghhh Lucas you bloody idiot
Review date: 2008-06-19 Rating: 2 out of 10

Stop Anakin I have the higher ground yes but earlier we were jumping around like computer animated demented fleas!!!!!!!

Not my only complaint he killed a load of kids because he loved someone? hmm yes that didn't work

Yoda being a pansy who couldn't kill crap dracula Count Dooku then he got his arse kicked and ran away.

Forgive me but no wonder he started with episode four if the quality of writing on his previous efforts was this bad.

Suffice to say very disapointed also to say I bought the bloody thing still shame on me!!

Reviews

the best star wars movie since empire strikes back
Review date: 2008-06-06 Rating: 10 out of 10

better than the boring phamtom menace and the simply awful attack of the clones director george lucas has at last delivered a star wars movie the fans can shout about.

Well its Star Wars...what more can i say?
Review date: 2008-06-05 Rating: 10 out of 10

My dad gave me the Star Wars Trilogy 4, 5 and 6 and I fell in love with them immediately. Just fantastic films! In fact they are so good that I could watch them over and over and over and still not get bored!!

The Phantom Menace was good but not as good as its predecessors. However in this movie, more than any of the others, you get to see the true power of the Jedi. I mean at the beginning when Obi Won and Qui gon(i think that's how its spelt!) have come to talk to the Ambassodors. The Ambassodors panic, they panic!! There's only two jedi! They've got thousands of droids adn stuff and they are frightened by TWO Jedis!! That for me shows the true power of the Jedi.

The second, Attack of the Clones, was brilliant, as all the movies are anyway.

Right, Im now going to get on with the review for THIS movie now!! Heres me babbling on about the other movies and you wanted to read about this one!

Right...Revenge of the Sith:

It was amazing but not without faults. I don't really like Christian Hayden as an actor, but I feel he did a better job in this movie. Athough this movie was faulted, I still gave it 5 stars, because its Star Wars...it deserves five stars even if the film was filled with tu-tu wearing Jedis dancing around singing songs of the force!
On a more serious note, this movie was brilliant, especially the fight scene between Obi Won and Anakin, and I really enjoyed it and felt it did a good job at 'completing the circle' and I would recommend it to anyone. But it was quite a sinister movie in parts, so I would watch it first before you let any young children watch it.
However, this movie still doesn't beat the films 4, 5 and 6 and I remember thinking efore seeing this movie, that it wouldn't - no COULDN'T - anyway!

The acting was pretty good in this, as I said Christian Hayden was better in this movie, and The Emperor was excellent. Padme/Natalie Portman however was a bit whiny and I can't believe how much her charater has changed over the series.

All I can say now is Star Wars is a truly brilliant saga and I would give them five stars every time I watched them!

Lives up to expectations... unfortunately
Review date: 2008-06-05 Rating: 6 out of 10

Revenge of the Sith is undoubtedly the best of the 'prequel' movies, but that's like saying that cabbage tastes nicer than sprouts. There is still a mammoth gulf between this film and the original Star Wars movies.
There is, however, much here to enjoy. The tone is much darker than any of the other five Star Wars movie, and includes numerous dismemberings by lightsabre. Indeed it's a surprise that it wasn't slapped with a 15-certificiate. The visual effects are also an improvement over the previous two instalments, with the CG spaceships and characters actually looking almost real (although that creature that Obi Wan rides looks utterly ridiculous). There are some good lightsabre duels and action sequences, and it's great to see the Wookiees again, although their involvement is disappointingly brief. The acting is also a notch better, with Ewan McGregor and Ian McDiarmid both in good form. Natalie Portman is also more convincing this time around, although Samuel Jackson is spectacularly wooden. The movie also sounds great, thanks to another brilliant John Williams score and Ben Burtt's sound department.

But then there are the flaws. For one thing the plot is far too busy. The original Star Wars movies were beautifully simple, but Revenge of the Sith, as with its predecessors, is a mess. The characters spend the movie darting about from one planet to another, with the result that the film feels awkward and disjointed. If the original films might be described as taking a trip on a recently resurfaced motorway, Revenge of the Sith feels like driving on a concrete road in a council estate that hasn't been repaired in years.

The movie also suffers from too many silly moments. I've already mentioned the ridiculous creature that Obi Wan rides, but there are plenty of other examples. Personally the sight of Yoda engaged in a lightsabre duel cracks me up every time, and for me the epic scrap between Obi Wan and Anakin is ruined by the sequence with them battling it out while perched precariously on pieces of metal junk floating on the lava river (actually I thought the backdrop to the duel was totally unconvincing anyway).

While the dialogue is better than in the previous two movies, there are still plenty of clunky moments, notably whenever Anakin and Padme get touchy-feely. However what I also found annoying was the inclusion of catchphrases from previous movies (e.g. "Here's where the fun begins"). This was totally unnecessary and I can't help wondering whether this was a desperate attempt by Lucas to make the audience connect with the original trilogy.

There are also countless plot holes. Why doesn't Obi Wan remember the droids? Why erase C-3PO's memory but not R2's? And why leave Luke with Owen and Beru - wouldn't that be the first place Vader would look for him?

However, the biggest problem with Revenge of the Sith is Hayden Christensen. He is undoubtedly better here than in Episode II, but most of the time he still comes across as a sulky teenager, and his fall from grace fails to convince. It is impossible to believe that this bland youth becomes one of the most memorable and menacing screen villains in screen history. And considering that is what this trilogy is all about, that's a fairly major flaw!

The final few scenes of Episode III, though, are great, with Vader and the Emperor on the bridge of the star destroyer looking out at the Death Star, followed by the scenes on Alderaan and Tatooine with Leia and Luke delivered into the care of the Organa and Lars families. And the very last moment, with Owen and Beru watching the twin suns of Tatooine setting behind the horizon, really make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. If only the rest of the prequel trilogy had been like this...

AN EMPIRE RISES!!
Review date: 2008-05-03 Rating: 10 out of 10

Id have to say that this is my favourite of the saga.
Darker & more intense than the other episodes, this is light years beyond the simplistic narrative of the 1977 original.
Main highlight for me is the career defining performance of Ian McDiarmid as the evil Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine. Absoluteley OWNS this film!!
Hayden Christiansen is a very average actor but there was major improvement from Attack Of The Clones and the scenes with him & McDiarmid sparkle.
The plot is brilliant and the FX are superb. John Williams's score may just be the finest of all 6 movies!
My favourite scenes are Order 66, where in true Night Of The Long Knives style, Palpatine eliminates the Jedi & consolidates his Empire and the final scenes where Palpatine, Vader and Tarkin oversee the construction of The Death Star from the bridge of an Imperial Star Destroyer. Class!
I absoluteley love the music to this scene too!
And lets not forget the graphic scenes of Vader's immolation & the extreme surgery as Palpatine's medical droids rebuild this tragic character into The Dark Lord...
There's some stunning lightsaber duels that are second only to The Phantom Menace in intensity. And the CGI work is way better than episodes 1 & 2.
2 things id recommend - read the novelisation, it offers some fascinating insights into the relationships of the Sith protagonists, Palpatine/Sidious, Dooku/Tyrannus & Skywalker/Vader that were not as detailed in the movie.
Also, any Metal/Rock fans might enjoy a video that i found on YouTube which is Metallica's Master Of Puppets set to a montage of scenes from Star Wars (mostly episode 3) featuring Palpatine/Sidious. It goes really, really well, the lyrics and all. The True Master Of Puppets!!

Product Details/Specifications

Actor(s):
Kenny Baker
Graeme Blundell
Oliver Ford Davies
Jeremy Bulloch
Anthony Daniels

Creators:
David Franco (Cinematographer)
Ron Fricke (Cinematographer)

Recording label: 20th Century Fox
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
EAN: 0024543203094
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Colour, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC,
Release date: 2005-11-01
Universal product code (UPC): 024543203094
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Region code: 1
Running time: 140 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2005-05-19
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: English (Dubbed)
Language: French (Dubbed)
Language: Spanish (Dubbed)

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Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

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