DJ_Tet said:One small detail I've noticed in the newer clips that I haven't seen discussed is the reveal of Darth Vader. He no longer has his arms held in place over his head. I always thought that shot made Vader's arms look short and it kind of looked stupid. I'm glad the arms are gone, the focus of that shot should be the mask, not two midget arms clamped to the table.
I assume they just removed them digitally. Good call, whomever did that.
DJ_Tet said:I assume they just removed them digitally.
I assume they just removed them digitally.
J2 Cool said:Ah yeah, it looked more bad ass but didn't give it a second though. Definetly looked stupid, and led to a parody already.
DJ_Tet said:They didn't remove the arms digitally? Did they re-shoot the scene?
ManaByte said:No, they reshot it on an ILM stage last month.
suaveric said:Wow, they were reshooting things as late as April? Anything else get changed? Why'd they change that?
J2 Cool said:
Mace Windu said:Why don't you just throw some cotton balls on the ground and have me practice for you Massa Yoda!
Obi Wan and Yoda said:Obi: That boy was our last hope. Yoda: Good job Obi
Mifune said:There's some clunkiness hinted at in the various trailers and TV spots. But I gotta say I'm starting to get the feeling this movie might not completely suck. In fact, it might be pretty good. At least I'm hoping.
Mifune said:It can't be worse than Attack of the Clones, at any rate. That one is BY FAR the worst Star Wars movie.
J2 Cool said:
...Lucas is a masterful storyteller. That aspect of his creativity is in evidence here as he spins a tale as compelling as any Greek or Shakespearean tragedy: a man who attains power only after sacrificing everything dear to him, including his soul. There is bitter irony in Anakin's situation: by embracing the dark side of the Force, he loses the very thing he seeks to protect.
It will not be possible to watch the original trilogy in the same way again. Revenge of the Sith changes everything. It invests so much else in the light saber duel between Obi-Wan and Vader in A New Hope and shifts the dynamic surrounding the Emperor's attempted seduction of Luke in Return of the Jedi. It's during that titanic struggle that Anakin finally emerges as the Chosen One and returns balance to the Force.
It's necessary to say a word or two about Darth Vader. After all, Revenge of the Sith shows us the birth of one of the 20th century's most iconic villains. By avoiding excessive reverence, Lucas makes the first appearance of the black mask and costume a moment of profound sadness. In that moment, we aren't so much experiencing the emergence of Vader as we are seeing the final death throes of Anakin. And, while there's an admitted thrill to hearing the voice of James Earl Jones, the content of some of Jones' lines is unlike anything we have previously heard from the voice-box of Vader. Not all eyes will be dry by the end of Revenge of the Sith. It has an emotional kick that no Star Wars film other than The Empire Strikes Back has achieved.
It has been said that George Lucas is not a great director of actors, yet Revenge of the Sith contains some fine performances. First and foremost is Hayden Christensen, who was maligned in some circles for his petulant interpretation of Anakin in the previous film. This time around, he essays his character as an introspective, tormented man torn between loyalty to his friends and his beliefs and an overwhelming desire to embrace power. Christensen is not daunted by the task of playing an increasingly twisted character, and he makes the transformation to Vader work.
Also impressive is Ian McDiarmid, who never gets enough credit as the frighteningly evil Emperor. Ewan McGregor and Natalie Portman are more solid than in previous films - they have grown into their roles. Portman, who occasionally seemed uncomfortable as Padme in Episodes I and II, is now at home in the role, even though her screen time in this installment is limited. And it's always nice to see old friends like Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), and Frank Oz. Jimmy Smits (as Senator Bail Organa) and Samuel L. Jackson have significant supporting roles.
The movie's tone grows grimmer as the film wears on. This is not a happy movie. Even the victories are tinged with bitterness. There is an element of catharsis at the end, but it's only a taste. Salvation is left for the next chapter. How many people, I wonder, will return from seeing Revenge of the Sith and immediately pop A New Hope into the DVD player. It's almost a necessity. Revenge of the Sith offers little in the way of optimism. I applaud Lucas for taking this route and having the courage to believe that Star Wars fans can accept all of this darkness.
Regardless of how Revenge of the Sith is received at the box office, it represents the conclusion to an unparalleled cinematic achievement. Finally, after 28 long years of waiting that were only occasionally punctuated by the appearance of new story fragments, Lucas has ended with an exclamation point. The tale of a galaxy long ago and far away is complete. Only now can we truly step back and admire the full tapestry that it has taken George Lucas and his ILM wizards nearly three decades to weave.
GaimeGuy said:What does palpatine say in that trailer in his speech to the senate? I can't understand it clearly.
Lucas closes the 'Star Wars' saga with 'Revenge of the Sith.' As Anakin finally gets bad, the director finally gets good.
Lucas manages to turn the audience's familiarity to his advantage: like a jigsaw puzzle whose final form has always been known, the fun is in discovering how the last pieces fit. When that massive, menacing black Vader helmet clamps down on the deformed head of the boy we used to know as Anakin, the frisson has a mythic kick
This is the most savage and despairing of the "Star Wars" movies. The surviving Jedi knights are forced into exile, and the Empire consolidates its evil power. This glimpse of intergalactic hell inspires moments of epic grandeur that haven't been felt since "The Empire Strikes Back.
Twenty-eight years after "Star Wars," the curtain finally falls. Lucas started by remixing myriad old Hollywood formulas into a hyperspace hybrid that felt new. Now, at the end, his own formula has inevitably become old-fashioned itself. For all the technological changes Lucas has embraced, his wide-eyed, childlike approach to storytellingcute robots, scary villains, selfless heroics, fortune-cookie wisdom and wild roller-coaster rides through spacehas remained the same. You can argue whether it's for better or worse. What you can't argue with is that he's stayed true to his vision, and that that vision has changed the cultural landscape irrevocably.
The fans who have been camping out for weeks in front of cinemas across America will not be disappointed. Lucas has created an eminently satisfying, albeit surprisingly violent, final instalment that brings the story back full circle to the first film.
It contains all the ingredients that fans have come to expect: aerial dog-fights, swirling light-sabres, Jedi battles, evil droids -and it packs an emotional wallop.
The first two prequels, Episode I The Phantom Menace and Episode II Attack of the Clones, were disappointments - the first featuring the goofy Jar Jar Binks and the second notable for the wooden acting of Hayden Christensen as the young Anakin Skywalker.
Now, with Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, Lucas has come up with a masterly conclusion to the complex tale of treachery, heroism and intrigue, although it is considerably darker than anything previously seen in the Skywalker soap opera.
The acting from the human cast is superior to previous films, with a mature Hayden Christensen switching from hero to psychopath with apparent ease and Ewan McGregor appearing more comfortable with his occasionally trite dialogue.
It is a fitting finale to a saga that has enraptured a generation.
Prine said:It that pretty close to episode 3? I think i just spoiled the whole fucking movie :/
Laughed my ass off though.
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xabre said:This is in your opinion and I don't agree. I don't think AOTC is too bad, yes the love angle was a bit gut-wrenching and many of the technical aspects like acting and pacing left much to be desired, but besides that I can't so what is really SO bad about that movie. IMO the worst one is TPM, but I don't think it is really THAT bad. Sure it had plenty of shit (as all Star Wars have bar the first two) like Jar Jar in particular but it also had its redeeming factors such as the pod race and the final duel with Maul.
Almost thirty years later, Lucas pays off the most elaborate setup in film history. He succeeds so completely that anybody who doesn't just love movies but the movies will find reason for celebrationwith or without Ewoks.
From the opening breathneck action sequence that dwarfs any space battle seen before and could happily serve as the climax for a half dozen lesser movies, "Revenge of the Sith" rewards all of the exposition that slowed down the Episodes I and II. Finally, the story reaches fever pitch. In retrospect, this final act makes both "The Phantom Menace" and "Attack of the Clones" better films, and rewatching them is now a much more satisfying experience.
It might not be overreaching to call "Star Wars" our first global myth. Anybody who's been born within the last 40 years and has access to a TV or movie screen is familiar with the story. The films' endless sense of wonder is among the best cinema has to offer. With "Revenge of the Sith", the series culminates in its most mature and powerful installment. George Lucas has constructed an extraordinarily sturdy fable that speaks loud and clear to our present situation. The movies don't get much better than that.
ManaByte said:Reviews counted: 16
Fresh: 14 Rotten: 2
Prine said:you dont know how hard it is waiting for this fucking movie. I only get excited like this when im anticipating games like Halo, MGS and Zelda. This is the first time any movie has made me this desperate
SPIELBERG WEEPS AT STAR WARS SCREENING
Director STEVEN SPIELBERG wept at a premiere of pal GEORGE LUCAS' final STAR WARS movie EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH.
JURASSIC PARK film-maker, Spielberg was so moved by the eagerly-awaited conclusion of the sci-fi saga, he burst into tears at its screening last week (begs29APR05).
But he's unashamed by his tears, insisting fans will also cry at the end of the film, because its moving conclusion marks the end of Lucas' epic story.
Spielberg says, "I saw it about a week ago, and it's absolutely amazing.
"It's the best of the last three episodes. It's the best way you could possibly imagine for George to finish it off, it has a tremendous ending and it's very dark. You'll cry at the end, it's wonderful."
ManaByte said:
"Will be remembered as one of the greatest movies ever made. 'Classic' isn't kind enough a word for this gem. The best film to be unleashed onto the public in 25 years!"
lol.. umm.. yeah.. having seen what I have and knowing the story, while it will be great, and while it is a spectacular "ending" to unquestionably THE greatest saga of the past 25 years (yeah, I'm looking at LOTR with that statement), know, I can't see Ep3 being the greatest movie of the last 25 years (clearly that would be Ghostbusters).Manics said:Now, granted I haven't seen this movie yet, but 'the best film to be unleashed onto the public in 25 years'???? I seriously doubt that will be the case.
this is really interesting, and I agree with you NOW, but before the PT, Vader WAS the ultimate villain. He was the main bad guy for 2 of the movies, and even when ROTJ came into being, while the emperor was truly evil, he was always just this sort of side character who was the catalyst of pitting vader and luke against each other for luke to finally turn his father back. but the emperor for the past 28 years has hardly been the ultimate evil. Even the first two movies of the PT he was more shadowy figure than ultimate evil. Heck, Sidious only appeared in AOTC for like 2 minutes tops.The most interesting aspect of Star Wars for me isn't Vader, but Palpatine. I find it stupid that Vader is always thought of as the ultimate movie bad guy when he's nothing more than Palpatine's puppet (the end of ROTJ notwithstanding). Palpatine's the real power player.
the "hype" definitely comes from growing up with the saga. the PT haters INSIST that nostalgia doesn't come into play when comparing the two trilogies, but that is just flat out denial. We were blown away again and again and again by the OT. Each movies building on more of what we never saw before. It had a huge impact on anyone who saw the movies when they first came out. but yeah, there are some flaws in the movies. Unfortunately most of us "there at the time" fans only watch them once a year or so, so we aren't really at all critical of their flaws.. but yeah, when the SE trilogy was released in the theaters I saw ANH 6 times... and by around the 4th time it's flaws (like the entire first half of the movie) started glaring REALLY badly. Actually the last two times I saw it I went with friends.. and after the SE theatrical releases I didn't watch any of them again until a few months before Ep1 was released.The OT
I don't have a lot to say here, since I'm a bit hazy on the details (I only watched each movie once and it was 6 months ago), except that they're very good movies. Nothing mind-blowingly great like the hype could lead one to believe, but good, fun movies. The storylines and action were nice and the acting wasn't bad, especially from Harrison Ford (the best performer IMO). There were some corny/stupid moments, but nothing too bad. ESB is the best of the 3, ROTJ the worst w/ the lame ass Ewoks.
IAWTP I mean really, this is exactly how I feel. Only I am clouded by nostalgi and still feel this way. Well, except for AOTC. I would say it is just barely in last place behind ROTJ.Overall, the OT is kind of overrated and the prequels somewhat underrated. I don't have the nostalgia issue clouding my judgment, which is why I think I feel this way. As a group, EpIV/V/VI are better than EpI/II, but not by a lot since I like TPM better than RotJ and don't think it's too far from ANH. My rankings after seeing each movie once are ESB>ANH>TPM>RotJ>>AotC.
SteveMeister said:Palpatine's been my favorite character in the saga since Return of the Jedi.
And I resent the accusations that people who love the original trilogy are victims of their judgement being "clouded by nostalgia". The first movie was absolutely groundbreaking when it was released. There'd been nothing else like it, ever. It was an epic tale of mythic proportions that captured the imaginations of millions. A New Hope defined the Summer Blockbuster. It pretty much invented merchandising tie-ins. It was and remains a cultural phenomenon. And it was really, really GOOD. I still love watching the original trilogy, even having seen them countless times before. I was 12 when Star Wars was first released, and I saw the movie 14 times in theaters that year. I saw it another dozen times when it was re-released. I saw The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi on opening day.
There is nostalgia, yes -- but it's there not because I have some hazy memory of seeing these movies when I was 2 or 3, but because I have vivid memories of drinking in every aspect of these movies as a teenager. My judgement is not clouded by nostalgia.![]()
Bauer Action Hour said:Steve, good for you. I didn't actually mean that everyone who is crazy about the OT is being nostalgic. People have a lot of different reasons for liking certain things. The only place where I really feel nostalgia is clouding people is for the prequels. I don't think they're as bad as people make them out to be, nowhere near it. That's all I really mean.
as an overall story, I still like TPM as a movie better than ROTJ. The only two things ROTJ has to speak up with is only two thirds of the last part of the movie. The space battle and throne room scenes (and celebration in SE) are some of the best scenes of the saga. but really the rest of the movie is just bad. TPM had so much more going for it. and as far as machanics go, the only grating performances for me in Ep1 are Jar Jar, Anakin, and Queen Amidala (note not Padme who I think was done decently).SteveMeister said:Neither film is as good as anything in the OT, but I still like them.
ManaByte said:Reviews counted: 18
Fresh: 16 Rotten: 2