Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is the third episode of the Star Wars film series (but the sixth film to be produced). It was released on Thursday, May 19, 2005, and premiered (out of competition) on the 2005 Cannes Festival May 15th. The film was generally positively received by critics, especially in comparison to the two previous prequels. It broke several box office records in its opening week, and went on to earn over US$800 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing film of 2005 so far.

Three years after the onset of the Clone Wars, the noble Jedi Knights have been leading a massive clone army into a galaxy-wide battle against the Separatists. When the sinister Sith unveil a thousand-year-old plot to rule the galaxy, the Republic crumbles and from its ashes rises the evil Galactic Empire. Jedi hero Anakin Skywalker is seduced by the dark side of the Force to become the Emperor’s new apprentice – Darth Vader. The Jedi are decimated, as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Master Yoda are forced into hiding. The only hope for the galaxy is Anakin’s own offspring – the twin children born in secrecy who will grow up to become Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa. As the final film to be released in the series, it bridges the gap between the original trilogy and prequel trilogy of the Star Wars epic.

Opening crawl

 * Episode III


 * REVENGE OF THE SITH


 * War! The Republic is crumbling
 * under attacks by the ruthless
 * Sith Lord, Count Dooku.
 * There are heroes on both sides.
 * Evil is everywhere.


 * In a stunning move, the
 * fiendish droid leader, General
 * Grievous, has swept into the
 * Republic capital and kidnapped
 * Chancellor Palpatine, leader of
 * the Galactic Senate.


 * As the Separatist Droid Army
 * attempts to flee the besieged
 * capital with their valuable
 * hostage, two Jedi Knights lead a
 * desperate mission to rescue the
 * captive Chancellor....

Plot summary


The Galactic Republic is in the midst of an epic war with the Confederacy of Independent Systems under the leadership of the Sith Lord, Count Dooku. The Confederate cybernetic military leader General Grievous of the Confederate Droid-Military has infiltrated Coruscant and captured Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, leader of the Galactic Senate.

As the droid army attempts to escape Coruscant, a massive space battle erupts with Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi leading a mission to rescue the Chancellor. The Jedi fight through the Separatist armada. In the process, Obi-Wan's ship is damaged by buzz droids, R4 is killed, and Anakin, who tries to shoot them off, only makes it worse. Anakin manages to save Obi-Wan, and the two Jedi crash land into the hangar of the Trade Federation Cruiser Invisible Hand, the Separatist flagship.

Anakin and Obi-Wan make their way through the Federation Cruiser, fighting through an army of droids. Meanwhile, R2-D2 aids Obi-Wan and Anakin from the hangar bay while simultaneously fending off a pair of super battle droids. The Jedi reach the room where Count Dooku is holding Chancellor Palpatine captive. A lightsaber battle ensues, with the two Jedi teaming up against Dooku. During the battle, Obi-Wan is rendered unconscious when Dooku uses the Force to hold him in mid-air, then hurls him against a wall.

Anakin continues the battle, winning the duel by cutting off Dooku's hands and taking the Sith Lord's weapon. With Dooku on his knees, Anakin scissors the lightsabers to Dooku's neck, and, with much encouragement from Palpatine, beheads the helpless Count.

An explosion occurs deep in the ship, brought on by the attack of the Venator-class Star Destroyer Guarlara, causing the Invisible Hand to begin an uncontrolled descent into Coruscant. Despite Palpatine's persuasions that he should leave him, Anakin carries the unconscious Obi-Wan on his back, and maneuvers through the ship with Palpatine. Obi-Wan later regains consciousness.



After Grievous has the bridge regain control of his flagship by firing emergency booster engines, he makes certain the two Jedi and Supreme Chancellor are captured. The three are brought to the bridge under custody, but Artoo successfully creates a distraction, allowing the Jedi to retrieve their lightsabers and break free.

Then, Grievous sent his powerful IG-100 MagnaGuards after the Jedi. Obi-Wan quickly beheaded one of them, but the droid kept going. Obi-Wan struck it some more and the droid collapsed. Anakin finished off his guard and destroyed the battle droids taking away Palpatine. Then, the Jedi try to kill Grievous, but he smashed a window with his guard's electrostaff and is swept outside. Grievous manages to get back to the ship using a tow cable, and he escapes, in the process releasing all of the remaining escape pods. Once again, the ship begins to descend in a free-fall into Coruscant, but Anakin takes the controls and pilots the ship into a hard landing on one of Coruscant's industrial landing platforms.

On Coruscant, Anakin is praised for his heroics. He meets secretly with Padmé Amidala, and they share kisses in the shadows, keeping their love secret. She reveals to him that she is pregnant with their child. Anakin says that it is the happiest day of his life. Later, Anakin awakens in a panic, covered in sweat. He reveals to Padmé that he has been dreaming about her dying in childbirth, and he vows not to let this dream come true.

Chancellor Palpatine requests Anakin's presence, and they meet in the Chancellor's Coruscant apartment. The Senate has granted the Chancellor further emergency war powers, giving him direct control of the Jedi Council. Palpatine confides to Anakin his fear, distrust, and contempt of the Jedi. He appoints Anakin to be his personal representative on the Jedi Council.



The Jedi Council accepts Anakin's appointment, but does not grant him the rank of Master. Anakin reacts angrily, insisting he is more powerful than anyone else on the council. The council goes on to discuss matters concerning the war. It is decided that Anakin will be assigned to protect the Chancellor, and Yoda will take a battalion of clones to reinforce the Wookiees on Kashyyyk. Anakin is angry and disappointed.

Obi-Wan later tells Anakin that the Jedi Council wants Anakin to report on all the Chancellor's dealings, essentially spying on him. Anakin is outraged, but accepts the mission.

At the Galaxies Opera House in Coruscant, Anakin joins Palpatine in watching the Mon Calamari Ballet performing Squid Lake. Palpatine continues to seduce Anakin to the dark side, making him mistrust the Jedi by telling him that the Order wishes to overthrow the Republic. He also tells him of Darth Plagueis, a Sith Lord that used the Force to save people from death, and who was killed by his apprentice in his sleep. When Anakin asks if it's possible to learn the power to stop death, Palpatine simply replies with "Not from a Jedi", further alienating Anakin with the Jedi Order.

Palpatine also informs Anakin that his sources have discovered the location of General Grievous, the planet of Utapau. Anakin relays this info to the Jedi Council, who decide to send Obi-Wan to investigate. Anakin expresses his interest in going, but the Council insists that someone with more experience confront Grievous.



Obi-Wan arrives on Utapau and searches for General Grievous, riding a varactyl named Boga. He finds Grievous and the two engage in personal combat, with Grievous using four lightsabers at once. Obi-Wan quickly cuts off two of the General's hands, helping to even out the odds. During the battle, Obi-Wan's clone army arrives. Obi-Wan manages to catch Grievous off guard and Force-Pushes the fiendish droid general into the ceiling. Grievous drops his remaining two lightsabers and attempts to flee on a Wheel Bike, and Obi-Wan pursues on Boga. During the chase, Obi-Wan drops his lightsaber, which Commander Cody recollects during the battle, and later returns to Obi-Wan.

On Coruscant, Anakin tells Palpatine that General Grievous has been found on Utapau. Anakin insists he should be on Utapau as well. Their conversation shifts to Palpatine's knowledge of the force, and it is revealed that he is the Sith Lord, Darth Sidious. Upon realizing this, Anakin ignites his lightsaber and threatens to kill Palpatine, but then decides to expose him to the Jedi Council.

Obi-Wan continues to chase General Grievous on Utapau. He catches up with the general, and jumps onto his Wheel Bike. Using Grievous's electrostaff, he manages to destabilize the speeder, and it goes into a spin. Both Obi-Wan and Grievous are thrown off as the speeder topples over the edge of the platform, falling to its destruction. Then, Grievous grabs a blaster, and starts to shoot at Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan picks up the electrostaff and knocks away the blaster. Then, he attacks Grievous with it. He knocks Grievous down, and tears open the General's stomach plates, but gets kicked away and drops the weapon. Then, Grievous picks up the helpless Jedi and throws him over the edge. Obi-Wan manages to hang on to the edge, while Grievous is approaching him with the charged electrostaff. Obi-Wan uses the Force to retrieve the General's blaster, and fires at Grievous's organs. They are hit, and burst into flames. The General growls heavily, before his organs explode, killing the mighty Separatist warlord.

Anakin tells Mace Windu that Chancellor Palpatine is the Sith Lord they had been looking for. Anakin offers to help in Palpatine's arrest, but Windu urges him to stay out of it. Masters Windu, Fisto, Kolar, and Tiin board a gunship and head to Palpatine's office.

Sitting in the Council Chambers, remembering Palpatine's promise of stopping death and the dreams of Padmé dying in childbirth, Anakin rushes after the four Jedi.



Mace Windu and the three other Jedi Masters arrive at Chancellor Palpatine's office to have the Chancellor arrested.

Palpatine pulls a lightsaber out of his sleeve and lunges towards the Jedi Masters. Agen Kolar is distracted and gets stabbed through his stomach. Saesee Tiin tries to attack Palpatine, but Palpatine is quicker and kills the Iktotchi Jedi. The two Jedi drop to the floor, dead. Mace Windu and Kit Fisto witnessed this and turned defensive. Palpatine attacked the two remaining Jedi, and managed to outmaneuver Kit. The Nautolan Jedi Master dies when he is cut on his waist.

Palpatine and Mace continue to fight up to the window ledge. Meanwhile, Anakin arrives at the scene and watches the duel. During the duel, the Sith Lord's Force-lightning is deflected back onto him by Mace Windu, distorting Palpatine's face. Just as Mace is about to kill Palpatine, Anakin intervenes and cuts off Mace's hand. Mace is caught off guard and hit by the full blast of Palpatine's Force-lightning. He is flung out the window and falls hundreds of stories to his death. Anakin is horrified by his actions, yet he knows that there is no turning back. Palpatine takes Anakin as his Sith apprentice. Anakin kneels before Palpatine, and Palpatine bestows him with the Sith name Darth Vader. Darth Sidious then gives the order to Vader and all the Clone troopers of the Army of the Republic around the Galaxy to execute Order 66&mdash;the Great Jedi Purge, the start of the Galactic Civil War.

Vader assaults the Jedi Temple at the head of a battalion of 501st Legion Clone Stormtroopers. Anakin brutally makes his way through the temple, striking down every Jedi that crosses his path, including the younglings.



Across the Galaxy, the Clone Troopers turn against their Jedi Generals. On Utapau, Obi-Wan Kenobi is flung off a cliff when a blast from an AT-TE hits the rock wall near him. On Mygeeto, Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi is leading the attack, when his clone troopers stop firing at the droids. Then he notices they are firing at him! Ki-Adi-Mundi manages to block some shots, but gets hit in the chest and dies. On the lush tropical planet of Felucia, Jedi Knight Aayla Secura is scouting the area with some clone troopers. As a native bird flew away, it distracted her, and then the clone troopers shot her down. On Cato Neimoidia, Plo Koon's Jedi Starfighter was attacked by his ARC-170 wingmen. The right wing was hit, and the fighter went spinning. Plo Koon died of internal explosions. The fighter, with the Jedi Master's dead body inside, crashed down on a bridge-city, instantly disintegrating. And on Saleucami, Stass Allie is patrolling on her speeder bike. Her clone wingmen, riding BARC speeders, fall back and blast the surprised Jedi Master. She dies, and her speeder bike turns into flaming wreckage. On Kashyyyk, Yoda is overlooking the battle as Commander Gree and a clone trooper try to sneak up to Yoda, but Yoda senses it and beheads both clones.

Bail Organa arrives at the Temple to witness the slaughter of a young Padawan named Zett Jukassa by a squad of the troopers and manages to escape from the Clone troopers. He leaves Coruscant in the Tantive IV in an attempt to make contact with any surviving Jedi.

Obi-Wan on Utapau and Yoda on Kashyyyk barely manage to escape and are picked up by Senator Organa's ship, the Tantive IV. Obi-Wan and Yoda decide to return to Coruscant to recalibrate a signal emanating from the Jedi Temple calling for all Jedi to return to Coruscant, instead having it warn them to stay away.

Later, Vader goes to Padmé, who sees the smoke rising from the Jedi Temple but does not know what is happening. He tells her the Jedi have tried to take over the Republic, and there are traitors in the Senate. He tells her that he will go to the Mustafar system, where the remaining Separatists have gathered, and he will end the war.

On Mustafar, Vader slaughters the Confederate Separatist leaders in cold blood. You can see the first physical manifestation of the Dark Side in Vader at this point. He turns his head and we see his eyes, now a sickly yellow encircled in red with dark rings below them.

The Senate holds a special session where Palpatine tells them of the "plot of the Jedi to overthrow the Senate". Amidst thunderous applause, he announces that the Republic will be reorganized as the first Galactic Empire. Padmé Amidala and Bail Organa are not fooled, however.



In the meantime, Obi-Wan and Yoda go to the Jedi Temple, slaying Clone Troopers and walking in disbelief through the carnage. They recalibrate the Temple's signal to warn all Jedi to keep away from the Temple. At the Temple's control center, Obi-Wan looks into the security recordings. In disbelief, he watches Vader's slaughter of the Jedi. Yoda says they have no choice but to destroy the Sith&mdash;including Vader. Obi-Wan begs Yoda to let him take the Emperor, however, Yoda refuses, stating that Obi-Wan cannot win that fight&mdash;that Obi-Wan must fight his former apprentice, his "brother".

Obi-Wan goes to Padmé's apartment, looking for Anakin. He meets Padmé and tells her that Anakin has turned to the dark side and killed the younglings in the Jedi Temple. But Padmé will not reveal where Anakin has gone, as he is the father of her child, a fact Obi-Wan reveals his knowledge of before he leaves.

Later, Padmé leaves Coruscant in her Naboo Skiff, departing to Mustafar to see Anakin. Unknown to her, Obi-Wan secretly boarded the ship just before it took off.

The Naboo Skiff lands on Mustafar. Vader and Padmé embrace. Padmé reveals her conversation with Obi-Wan. When she begs him to run away with her to raise their child in peace, Vader tells Padmé that he has brought peace to the Republic, and he can overthrow Palpatine so the two of them can rule the galaxy together. Backing away in horror and sorrow, Padmé tells him he is breaking her heart and he is going down a path she cannot follow.

Vader sees Obi-Wan emerge from the Naboo Skiff. Enraged, he Force-chokes Padmé, thinking she brought the Jedi to kill him. She loses consciousness and Anakin releases his grip on her. Obi-Wan and Anakin break out into a ferocious duel.



In the Senate building, Yoda confronts Darth Sidious. They engage in an intense battle using their Force abilities. The duel brings them to the deserted main area of the Senate chamber. Sidious hurls Senate pods at Yoda, and the effort to avoid them exhausts the Jedi Master. After shooting Force lighting at him, Yoda falls to the depths of the chamber. With Bail Organa's help, Yoda manages to escape.

The epic duel between Obi-Wan and Vader brings them to many locations on Mustafar. Though on the defensive throughout the fight, Obi-Wan eventually gains the high ground and in doing so, the upper-hand. Snarling with rage, Vader foolishly leaps up to meet his old master, but in the blink of an eye Obi-Wan cuts of both of Vader's legs at the knees, as well as Vader's left arm. Vader tumbles down the embankment and rolls to a stop at the edge of the lava. As Vader's robes and flesh begin to smoke, he sinks deeper into the dark side, his eyes blazing yellow in his hate and rage.



As Obi-Wan watches in despair, Vader tries in vain to pull what is left of himself up the embankment with his remaining mechanical hand. When his clothing comes in contact with the lava, he bursts into flames, causing him to lose most, if not all of his skin. Obi-Wan stares for a moment then takes Anakin's lightsaber and turns away, unable to watch his former friend die. He then leaves with the badly injured Padmé and the droids on the Naboo Skiff.

Darth Sidious arrives at Mustafar with a battalion of Clone Stormtroopers. They rescue Darth Vader from the edge of death using a stasis-pod and Sith medicines that Sidious has with him.

On the isolated asteroid world of Polis Massa, Yoda meditates and hears the spirit voice of Qui-Gon Jinn. The voice tells him that there is a way to merge with the Force and retain consciousness after death. In order to learn this power, Yoda declares himself an apprentice of the spirit of Qui-Gon Jinn. 1

Obi-Wan arrives at Polis Massa and Padmé is brought to medical assistance. She is dying, having lost the will to live. The medical droids work to save her babies&mdash;she has twins, much to the surprise of Bail Organa, Obi-Wan, and Yoda. A boy and a girl are born. In her last few dying breaths, Padmé gives them the names "Luke" and "Leia."



Yet as his children are born, Vader is placed into his suit. At the Emperor Palpatine Surgical Reconstruction Center on Coruscant, Vader is given new legs, a new arm, mechanized lungs, and other "replacement parts". He is dressed in black armor, a face mask is sealed tightly, and his helmet is fitted. Darth Vader begins to breathe through his mask. Most, if not the entire surgery is carried out with Vader wide-awake, and with no apparent anesthesia, making him moan, scream and writhe in excruciating agony.

With Padmé's final breath, she maintains that there is still good in Vader. She dies still believing in the man she loved.

Darth Vader begins to speak through his voice amplifier. He asks what happened to Padmé. Darth Sidious tells him that in his anger, Vader killed her. In Vader's rage he calls upon the Force to destroy everything around him, including Palpatine, though he can no longer touch the Force the way he once did&mdash;only droids and equipment implode around him as he cries "Nooo!"

On the Tantive IV cruiser, Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Bail Organa sit at a conference table. They agree to keep Padmé appearing pregnant, thus faking the children's deaths. For their own safety, Luke and Leia will be split up in hopes that the Sith would not sense their presence. Leia will be adopted by Bail Organa and Luke would be sent to his father's step family on Tatooine. Obi-Wan and Yoda will watch and wait until the time is ready for the Skywalker children to do their part. Yoda tells Obi-Wan to study the technique Qui-Gon learned to achieve immortality.



Bail Organa leaves R2-D2 and C-3PO in the care of Captain Antilles of the Tantive IV. He orders a memory wipe of the protocol droid.

On Naboo, Padmé's funeral takes place in a solemn ceremony. As her body moves through the precession, she clutches a small pendant made by Anakin, who gave it to her when he was a small child.



Yoda heads to Dagobah to begin his self-imposed exile, which he partly owes as penance for his failure to defeat Sidious.1

On Alderaan, the infant Leia is brought by Bail Organa to his wife, Queen Breha of Alderaan. She takes her and rocks her.

On the bridge of a Venator-class Star Destroyer, the Emperor and Governor Tarkin are joined by Darth Vader, and gaze upon a partially completed battlestation, which might be the Great Weapon, the Death Star Prototype, or first Death Star. Since they are on the bridge of a Venator-class Star Destroyer, Governor Tarkin is young and this scene comes before the last scene, the Death Star is probably the Great Weapon.

On Tatooine, Obi-Wan brings Luke Skywalker to his new family: his uncle, Owen, and his aunt, Beru. Obi-Wan leaves on an eopie, heading to his exile in the Jundland Wastes. Owen and Beru, holding the infant Luke, look out to the horizon and watch the setting of Tatooine's twin suns.

Endnotes
1This scene not featured in the theatrical release of Episode III, or any video games.

Cast

 * Obi-Wan Kenobi .... Ewan McGregor
 * Padmé Amidala .... Natalie Portman
 * Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader .... Hayden Christensen and James Earl Jones (voice) (uncredited)
 * Supreme Chancellor Palpatine .... Ian McDiarmid
 * Mace Windu .... Samuel L. Jackson
 * Senator Bail Organa .... Jimmy Smits
 * Yoda .... Frank Oz
 * C-3PO .... Anthony Daniels
 * Count Dooku .... Christopher Lee
 * Queen Apailana .... Keisha Castle-Hughes
 * Ki-Adi-Mundi/Nute Gunray .... Silas Carson
 * Captain Typho .... Jay Laga'aia
 * Tion Medon .... Bruce Spence
 * Governor Tarkin .... Wayne Pygram
 * Commander Cody .... Temuera Morrison
 * Mas Amedda .... David Bowers
 * Sio Bibble .... Oliver Ford Davies
 * Jar Jar Binks .... Ahmed Best
 * Captain Antilles .... Rohan Nichol
 * Captain Colton .... Jeremy Bulloch
 * Terr Taneel .... Amanda Lucas
 * R2-D2 .... Kenny Baker
 * Plo Koon .... Matt Sloan
 * Chewbacca .... Peter Mayhew
 * Queen of Alderaan .... Rebecca Jackson Mendoza
 * Owen Lars .... Joel Edgerton
 * Beru Lars .... Bonnie Maree Piesse
 * Zett Jukassa .... Jett Lucas
 * Agen Kolar .... Tux Akindoyeni
 * Senator Orn Free Taa .... Matt Rowan
 * Saesee Tiin .... Kenji Oates
 * Aayla Secura .... Amy Allen
 * Clone Trooper .... Bodie 'Tihoi' Taylor
 * Ruwee Naberrie .... Graeme Blundell
 * Jobal Naberrie .... Trisha Noble
 * Sola Naberrie .... Claudia Karvan
 * Ryoo Naberrie .... Keria Wingate
 * Pooja Naberrie .... Hayley Mooy
 * Sly Moore .... Sandy Finlay
 * Chi Eekway .... Katie Lucas
 * Mon Mothma .... Genevieve O'Reilly
 * Fang Zar .... Warren Owens
 * Malé-Dee .... Kee Chan
 * Nee Alavar .... Rena Owen
 * Giddean Danu .... Christopher Kirby
 * General Grievous .... Matthew Wood (voice)
 * Moteé .... Kristy Wright
 * Whie .... Coinneach Alexander
 * Bene .... Mousy McCallum
 * Wookiees .... Michael Kingma, James Rowland, Axel Dench, David Stiff, Steven Foy, Robert Cope, Julian Khazzouh

Release and box office performance
Revenge of the Sith premiered at the Cannes Film Festival (out of competition) on May 15, 2005. It was released in most other countries on May 19. It was predicted that the premiere of Revenge of the Sith would cost the US economy approximately $627 million USD because of employees who would take the day off or report in sick.

A copy of the movie leaked into p2p file sharing networks just hours after opening in theaters. The movie was a time-stamped workprint, along with a much higher fidelity Internal Xvid rip version nearly a month later (although it was still pre-telecined and was flawed with vibrations and frame-skips) suggesting it may have come from within the industry rather than from someone who videotaped an advance screening. It is widely spread and available in popular p2p networks.



The film earned an estimated $16.5 million from 2,900 midnight screenings in North America upon its release. In total, it earned a record $50 million on its opening day. This broke several box office records:
 * Midnight screenings. Previously held by The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, which earned $8 million from 2,100 midnight screenings.
 * Opening day gross. Previously held by Spider-Man 2 with $40.4 million.
 * Single day gross. Previously held by Shrek 2 with $44.8 million.
 * Thursday gross. Previously held by The Matrix Reloaded with $37.5 million.

It added another $35.5 million on the second day from 3,661 theaters. That number in itself is the eighth biggest day ever. The movie, overall, has already grossed $85.5 million in two days. If the estimates are close to the true number, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith would surpass Spider-Man's $83 million as the biggest two-day total ever.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith crossed $100 million and tied Spider-Man and The Matrix Reloaded as the only movies to make $100 million in three days.

It totaled $158.5 million in its first four day period, surpassing the previous four day record held by The Matrix Reloaded ($134.3 million) and making it the second highest grossing movie of 2005 after just four days in release (Hitch, $177.6 million)

In its second week of release in the UK, the film was still incredibly popular, selling more tickets than the next twenty films combined.

International figures have not been released yet. "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" was released in over 100 countries.

As of October 16, 2005, the movie had grossed $380,249,594 in the US and $848,150,232 worldwide.

Critical reaction
The film garnered mostly positive reviews, especially in comparison to the last two prequels. Many critics have noted that they view it to be the best of the prequels, and some critics have said the same that they said about earlier prequels.


 * Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times recommends the movie because he claims it to be a successful entertainment, with its point being the visuals, imagination, and action. This is contrary to Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, where Roger Ebert claimed the point of the movie to be the dialogue and love scenes, which he wrote were flat and banal.
 * Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times hailed it as the best since Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
 * A.O. Scott of the New York Times hailed it as even better than Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

While many critics noted George Lucas' continued weakness with dialogue, Hayden Christensen's depiction of a more mature Anakin Skywalker and his slow descent to the Dark Side was praised. Various critics have made note that they feel that actors did a better job in general; though they, like in earlier prequels, have been displeased with Natalie Portman's performance.

Ratings
Due to its dark undertones and violent nature, Revenge of the Sith is the first and only Star Wars film to receive a PG-13 rating from the MPAA. All previously released films in the series were rated PG. In contrast, A New Hope was originally rated G, but its rating was deliberately pushed up in order to attract a broader audience.

This is a listing of existing ratings for the film:

Political connotations
Since early viewings, many have stated that there is a critique of President George W. Bush in the film. Examples cited included Darth Vader's line to Obi-Wan Kenobi "If you're not with me, then you're my enemy!", mirroring a quote Bush made about terrorism after the September 11, 2001 attacks (although Vader had a similar line in The Empire Strikes Back). Kenobi's reply is an accusation that "Only a Sith deals in absolutes."

But in interviews, George Lucas said that Bush was no influence in writing the movie. Rather, he wrote the basic story outline in the 1970s during the Vietnam War, thinking of President Richard Nixon. He stated at Cannes, "The parallels between what we did in Vietnam and what we're doing in Iraq now are unbelievable." Lucas added that in more general terms, his story represents how any democracy can turn into a dictatorship with the consent of the people, like Caesar Augustus and Napoleon I of France. ,  It could also be likened to how democratic freedom can be taken away using fear, much like Adolf Hitler and the War Against Terror. A line given by Senator Amidala upon Chancellor Palpatine's reorganization of the Republic as the First Galactic Empire reflects Lucas' observation: "So this is how liberty dies - with thunderous applause."

Mirroring from other Star Wars films
As the last theatrical Star Wars film, Revenge of the Sith contains many elements that make reference to the original film trilogy and George Lucas' earlier script treatments.


 * The title is a reprise of one of the potential titles for Episode VI. Lucas was given this name as a suggestion and for a while had the title changed to "Revenge of the Jedi". However, weeks before the premier, Lucas decided to change the name back, using the defense that Jedi do not take revenge. (It is also believed that the name was too similar to that of the film "Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan", which opened in 1982.)
 * Revenge of the Sith opens with a space battle between Republic and Confederacy navies, the first time in a Star Wars film since Episode IV.
 * The first line spoken in Episode IV is "Did you hear that?" by C-3PO (Anthony Daniels), on Bail Organa's ship. The last line spoken in Episode III is "Oh no!", also by C-3PO, played by the same actor, also in the same corridor of that ship. Also, these two scenes were filmed in the same stage at Elstree Studios, England.
 * Anakin and Obi-Wan fly their fighter craft through tight obstacles in an enemy ship, similar to Episodes I, IV and VI.
 * Anakin and Obi-Wan are sent on a daring rescue mission against an enemy fortress but all is not as it appears (Episode IV).
 * The Invisible Hand plumetting down to Coruscant mirrors the Executor crashing to the Death Star II.
 * The planet name Utapau was Lucas' original name for Tatooine. Also, in an early draft of Episode I, Utapau was the original name for Naboo.
 * In the original Star Wars script treatment, the climatic battle was between Wookiees and Imperial forces as in Revenge of the Sith. This was adapted for Episode VI as the battle on Endor between Ewoks and Imperial Stormtroopers.
 * Anakin/Vader's offer to Padmé to join him and rule the Empire mirrors Vader's offer to Luke in Episode V.
 * Anakin's prophetic vision leads him on a path to the dark side. Luke's vision in Episode V tempts him to take a similar path, though he resists the temptation.
 * Palpatine/Sidious watches in his chamber as his current apprentice (Count Dooku) and his intended new apprentice (Anakin) duel to the death, while behind them can be seen a massive space fleet battle (Episode VI).
 * Anakin is conflicted to choose between Palpatine/Sidious and a fellow Jedi (Episode VI).
 * Anakin says, "From my point of view, the Jedi are evil." In Episode VI, Obi-Wan seems to have taken the idea on board, telling Luke, "You're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view."
 * Anakin's arm is cut off by Obi-Wan. A character has an arm or a portion of an arm cut off in II, III, IV, V and VI. There has been an amputation in every film, except Episode I was a whole body in half.
 * Obi-Wan and Anakin duel in front of a window with a striking resemblance to the window seen behind Luke and Vader in their duel on Cloud City (Episode V).
 * The final shot of Owen and Beru Lars holding Luke and looking into the Tatooine twin sunset mirrors a similar scene with Luke in Episode IV. The music is also the same in both cases (the Force Theme).
 * The opening scene is in space, and the camera features an Old Republic Star Destroyer, mirroring the openings of the original trilogy, all of which featured Imperial Star Destroyers.
 * When Darth Vader and the Emperor survey what looks like the partially built Death Star, we can see a slightly younger Grand Moff Tarkin. The presence of Grand Moff Tarkin means that this scene is probably about ~10 BBY at the construction of the proving platform for the Death Star or about ~2 BBY during the initial construction of the first Death Star.  Since Grand Moff Tarkin appears about a decade younger than he does in episode four, this is probably the experimental testbed for the concept of Death Stars.
 * The Millennium Falcon is seen just as one of the ships touch down on Coruscant.
 * During the rescue of Palpatine he dangles perilously over a seemingly endless chasm, foreshadowing his death in Episode VI
 * The line "This is where the fun begins" can be heard in both Episodes III and IV, spoken while there is danger while flying in space. Anakin says it in Revenge of the Sith and Han Solo utters it in Episode IV, while being hunted by two Imperial Star Destroyers upon leaving Tatooine.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack to the film was released by Sony Classical on May 3, 2005, more than two weeks before the release of the film. The music was composed and conducted by John Williams, and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices. John Williams was also composer and conductor of the score for the other five films in the Star Wars saga. A music video titled A Hero Falls was created for the film's theme, Battle of the Heroes, featuring footage from the film.

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

Track listing

 * 1) "Star Wars and The Revenge of the Sith" (7:31)
 * 2) "Anakin's Dream" (4:46)
 * 3) "Battle of the Heroes" (3:42)
 * 4) "Anakin's Betrayal" (4:03)
 * 5) "General Grievous" (4:07)
 * 6) "Palpatine's Teachings" (5:25)
 * 7) "Grievous and the Droids" (3:27)
 * 8) "Padmé's Ruminations" (3:16)
 * 9) "Anakin vs. Obi-Wan" (3:57)
 * 10) "Anakin's Dark Deeds" (4:05)
 * 11) "Enter Lord Vader" (4:14)
 * 12) "The Immolation Scene" (2:41)
 * 13) "Grievous Speaks to Lord Sidious" (2:49)
 * 14) "The Birth of the Twins and Padmé's Destiny" (3:37)
 * 15) "A New Hope and End Credits" (13:05)

Novelization
A book version of the movie was written by Matthew Stover. The novelization includes much more dialogue than the movie. The duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin is lengthened and is much more exaggerated. It also tells you how Shaak Ti really dies.

Video game
A video game, based on the film, was released on May 5, 2005, two weeks before the film. The game followed the movie's storyline, for the most part, integrating scenes from the movie. However, many sections of the game featured cut scenes from the movie, or entirely new scenes for the game. The style of the game was mostly lightsaber combat and fighting as Obi-Wan or Anakin. One unique and popular aspect of the game was that it included an alternate ending, which functioned as such to both the game and the movie, which involved Anakin killing Obi-Wan, instead of Obi-Wan defeating Anakin as in the movie. After the death of Obi-Wan, Anakin proceeds to kill Palpatine, and take over the galaxy.

Trivia

 * This is the only time you see two lightsabers of the same color (blue) battle (Anakin and Obi-Wan's). One could also consider the lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan and Grievous, the latter wielding green and blue lightsabers.
 * During the opening space battle, a Republic Star Destroyer is hit by laser fire, sending clone troopers flying. One of them utters the classic "Wilhelm scream - heard in all Star Wars movies".
 * The Revenge of the Sith video game closely follows the film, but for reasons of gameplay greatly expands a number of the action sequences. After the completion of the movie plotline the game unlocks a level that allows the player to go back and replay the final duel from Skywalker's point of view. Its completion then unlocks an alternate short ending where the uninjured Darth Vader kills the Emperor and usurps control of the Galaxy. Plot elements shown in the game include Vader activating the Jedi beacon, killing the librarian Jocasta Nu, and dueling with Cin Drallig and his Padawan Serra Keto (see Cameo appearances above).
 * The Darth Vader costume used in the film was created specifically to fit Hayden Christensen, rather than use the old one from the original trilogy. The new costume featured shoe lifts and a muscle suit . It also required Christensen (who is six-foot-one or 1.85 metres, while David Prowse is six-foot-seven or 2 metres) to look through the mouthpiece of the helmet . The helmet is also the first totally symmetrical helmet constructed for Vader in the saga.
 * Revenge of the Sith has the world record for most special effects used in a single film&mdash;over 3500.
 * One of the scenes deleted from the film was Yoda's arrival on Dagobah. Even though it didn't make it into the film, it is available on the bonus disc of the Revenge of the Sith DVD as one of the deleted scenes.
 * When the film is released on home video in November 2005, it will only be available on DVD. This will be the first film in the Star Wars Saga not to be available on VHS. (VHS copies have already been sent to stores in the United Kingdom however (22-10-2005))
 * On the call sheets, Natalie Portman was listed as "Debbie Gibson."
 * Ewan McGregor's stunt double was Nash Edgerton (the brother of Joel Edgerton, who plays Owen Lars). Coincidentally, the Return of the Jedi novelization erroneously refers to Obi-Wan Kenobi as Owen's brother.
 * The film's working title was Rise of the Empire.
 * In the first scene between Anakin and Padmé, Padmé has her hair styled in the infamous Princess Leia Danish buns over her ears.
 * The limestone mountains depicting Kashyyyk were filmed in Phuket, Thailand (which was later damaged by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami). One of the planets - Utapau - is named after a coastal city in Thailand within 50 miles of Bangkok. Lucas originally intended this name for Tatooine.
 * This is the only Star Wars film in which the opening crawl has an exclamation point in it. (War!)
 * Yoda rubs his head while deep in thought. George Lucas requested this of the animators as an homage to Takashi Shimura's signature gesture in Shichinin no samurai (1954)
 * The hot rod speeder car driven by Sen. Bail Organa (Jimmy Smits) is based on the front of a Tucker that is parked at Skywalker Ranch.
 * General Grievous' breathing problems in this film are caused by his brief encounter with Mace Windu in "Star Wars: Clone Wars" (2003). Mace Windu "force-gripped" Grievous as the General was making off with Palpatine, crushing the cyborg's chest panel.
 * Composer John Williams added to his opening score an homage to composer Joel McNeely's work from the score to "Shadows of the Empire", a book written to take place between Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi. It can be heard briefly during the battle scene over Coruscant.
 * Hayden Christensen was quoted in Playboy stating that Tom Stoppard had rewritten George Lucas' dialog to give it a more "human" dimension.
 * Bail Organa's ship at the end is a real set. No blue screen work was used for those scenes.
 * George Lucas originally intended to have Peter Cushing reprise his role as Tarkin, years after his death, through the use of stock footage and digital technology. Unfortunately, the footage of Cushing was deemed unusable, and the idea was scrapped. Eventually, however, the film's casting director was able to find a very close look-alike, Wayne Pygram.
 * The final scene on Tatooine, where Obi-Wan Kenobi delivers the infant Luke to his aunt and uncle, is often referred to as the "Harry Potter scene". Composer John Williams included a small 11-tone musical cue in the scene reminiscent of his score for Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone (2001). It can be heard when Obi-Wan arrives at Owen and Beru's house.
 * Famous characters from the original trilogy that make their first chronological appearance in this movie include Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Grand Moff Tarkin and Darth Vader. Scenes with Mon Mothma and Lorth Needa were unfortunately deleted.
 * In the scene where Darth Vader and the Emperor are looking out onto what looks like an unfinished  Death Star, a younger Grand Moff Tarkin can be seen.
 * Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) and Kenny Baker (R2-D2) are the only actors to participate in all six Star Wars films.
 * Playwright Tom Stoppard reportedly did an uncredited re-write or dialogue polish on the script. Hayden Christensen confirmed this in an interview for Playboy magazine.
 * Bai Ling filmed minor scenes for the film playing the role of a senator, but her role was cut during editing. She claimed that this was because she posed for the June 2005 issue of Playboy magazine, whose appearance on newsstands coincided with the movie's May release, but George Lucas denied this, stating that the cut had been made more than a year earlier, and that he had cut out his own daughter's scenes as well.
 * Grauman's Chinese Theatre a traditional venue for the Star Wars films is not showing it this year. However, a line of people have stood there for more than a month hoping to convince someone to change this.  So far, this Star Wars Line has been unsuccessful.
 * In Episode VI, Princess Leia tells Luke that she remembers her "real" mother being sad when she was very young. In Episode III, Padmé dies almost immediately after childbirth, so either Leia is misremembering her "real" mother (Bail Organa's wife) or as a force-sensitive, she remembers Padmé from the few seconds both were alive at the same time.
 * Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, C-3PO and R2-D2 are the only characters to appear in all six Star Wars films. The droids are the only two played by the same actors in all six (Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker respectively).
 * Gary Oldman was originally supposed to provide the voice of General Grievous, but he backed out after learning the film was to be made outside of the Screen Actor's Guild, of which he is a member.
 * George Lucas confirmed in an interview that Steven Spielberg tinkered with several action sequences in ROTS. This happened when a project of his fell through and he had some spare time. Lucas sent over an animatics artist to assist him. It is rumored that the scenes he worked on included the Yoda/Sidious battle and a part of the Mustafar duel.
 * Count Dooku indirectly saved Anakin's life by cutting off his hand in Episode II. If both of Anakin's hands had been organic instead of a mechanic prosthesis, they would have burned away when Anakin fell into the lava on Mustafar, and he would never have been able to drag himself to a safe enough place to survive for the few minutes he had to wait until he was rescued by Palpatine's troops.
 * Yoda can be seen dancing in a hidden feature on the second disk.

Cameo appearances
George Lucas makes a cameo appearance at the Coruscant Opera House. He is the blue faced being, named Baron Papanoida, that can be seen outside Palpatine's box. It marks Lucas' first and only appearance in any of the Star Wars films. His three children also play cameos: Jett as a young Jedi-in-training called Zett Jukassa at the Jedi Temple, his daughter Amanda as a senator called Terr Taneel, and Katie as blue-skinned alien senator called Chi Eekway, visible when Palpatine arrives at the Senate after being saved by the Jedi.

Much of the crew make cameos in the film, for example Nick Gillard, the stunt coordinator, plays a character named Cin Drallig (his name spelled backwards). Rick McCallum's daughter Mousy plays one of the Padawans killed by Darth Vader, named Bene. Also in the movie was Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett in the Original Trilogy), who played Captain Colton, the pilot of the Rebel Blockade Runner Tantive IV. This was a speaking role.

DVD release
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was released on DVD on November 1, 2005 (in Canada and the United States). The DVD is a two-disc set that has picture and sound mastered from the original digital source material. It includes 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 movie's stunts. The 15-part web documentary series, "Making Episode III", and a playable Xbox demo of Star Wars Battlefront II are also included in the set. A trailer which previews the DVD's features can be downloaded here.

Notable firsts

 * Unlike every other release of a Star Wars film, Revenge of the Sith was released without any noticeable [upon first viewing] alterations by George Lucas from the film's digital theatrical cut.
 * The DVD cover art is the only cover of the six films not to include a central character brandishing a lightsaber with evident lens flare on the blade itself shining towards the viewer.
 * This release is notable because, due to marketing issues, it was the first Star Wars film (and the first major film of all time) never to be released on VHS. This caused some backlash from fans collecting both the DVD and VHS versions, who complained that their VHS set was not complete without Episode III.

DVD features (USA)
Disc 1 Disc 2
 * Available subtitles: English
 * Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1 EX), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
 * Commentary by writer-director George Lucas, producer Rick McCallum, animation director Rob Coleman, and ILM visual effects supervisors John Knoll and Roger Guyett
 * Exclusive deleted scenes with introductions by George Lucas and Rick McCallum
 * "Within a Minute" documentary film about the making of the Mustafar battle
 * "The Chosen One" featurette: George Lucas traces the myth of Darth Vader through episodes 1-6
 * "It's All for Real: The Stunts of Episode III"
 * A 15-part collection of Lucasfilm's Web documentaries
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II trailer and Xbox game demo
 * Star Wars: Empire at War PC game trailer
 * "A Hero Falls" music video
 * Poster and print campaign
 * Trailers and TV spots
 * Production photo gallery
 * DVD-ROM content includes a free trial of Hyperspace

Deleted scenes
There are six deleted scenes included with Disc 2 of the DVD and are as follows:
 * The Death of Shaak Ti by General Grievous onboard the Invisible Hand
 * Deleted due to time contraints
 * The First Meeting of the Rebel Alliance
 * The Second Meeting of the Rebel Alliance
 * The Presentation of the Delegation of 2,000 to Palpatine
 * All three deleted because they took away from the central plot of Anakin Skywalker
 * Mace Windu senses the destruction of the Jedi Order
 * Deleted due to time contraints, point already known
 * Yoda lands on Dagobah
 * Deleted for fear it would clutter up the endings instead of making it just "father, mother, and the kids"
 * Rick McCallum is stated as saying that this was the biggest loss for him to the film and he hopes to see it on a future edition.

Other Deleted Scenes
Not all deleted scenes are included on the DVD Bonus Disk. Here are a few more scenes cut from the movie but not released to the public.
 * Obi-Wan selects Boga from the other varactyls
 * The Deaths of Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee
 * The Order 66 death of Quinlan Vos
 * Shaak Ti's real Death, alaborated in the novelization: Ti is stabbed in the back by Darth Vader during his raid on the Jedi Temple while she is meditating. She asks Anakin what happened to Windu, Fisto, Kolar, and Tiin. Skywalker replies by stabbing her in the back.
 * Obi-Wan eluding a natural predator after falling into the sinkhole on Utapau.