PhantomMask
Star Wars - Episode III : The Revenge of the Sith
A long time ago in a cinema, far away...I saw Star Wars Episode 4. Now, almost 30 years later I was lucky enough to be among the first people to see this concluding chapter of the saga, Star Wars Episode 3: The Revenge of the Sith. This has been one movie that I have wanted to see for a very long time. Although I knew the basic story, the many facets of the plot were still a mystery to me. A mystery until I got a hold of the script last week! I read it just before I went to see the film and it did not spoil it for me one bit, in fact it enhanced my viewing pleasure as there is so much on-screen action and dialogue at any one time, you would be forgiven for easily missing it.
Other than the obvious, the story is more about how an obsessive love for one woman can destroy you, all those around you and in the case of the movie, an entire galaxy! Throughout the movie we see a naive young Anakin Skywalker being deceived and having to make difficult choices, each choice having catastrophic consequences. His descent in to the dark side was not an easy one but was something that was pre-planned perhaps hundreds of years ago. -It was indeed his destiny.
The film played well with view points, suggesting to the audience to look at "good" from the "evil's" perspective, when one does that, the "good" appears as "evil". At many times in movies, such as "The Phantom of the Opera" for example, we have all sympathised with the villain, so it's easy to see why weak minded but power hungry people are easily turned to the "dark side". The submissive young Skywalker is no exception.
On a personal note, I have to say I was a little disappointed with the movie since I had read the final script just before watching it. Almost 40 minutes of the movie was cut from it. I can see why it had to be done, to keep the action flowing and so forth. However, this final movie was made for the original fans and I know they all would have appreciated the additional scenes. I hope the DVD release contains the entire full director's cut.
The movie concludes by tying all the loose ends, linking this episode to episode 4, "A New Hope". You can really see that this movie has been 30 years in the making. I remember when I saw Episode 4 "A New Hope", I understood the title immediately, where we see a young boy rising to the challenge, defeating the evil and becoming the hero. However, I don't think I understood it better than I do now. Episode 3 is very grim. Very, very grim! We see all the Jedi killed off, we see the death of liberty and how a dictatorship rises from it "...with thunderous applause..." as put by Padme. The movie ends with Padme dieing during child birth and we feel the harrowing screams when Anakin (now dawning his Vader mask) learns of his beloved's death. As we know, the two twins are separated for their own protection. Leia is adopted by Queen Organa of Alderan and Luke is taken to Tatooine by Obi-Wan. In the grim darkness there is still hope...
Here is George Lucas's last footnote from the script:
Obi-Wan rides up to a moisture farm homestead on Tatooine. He dismounts, takes Luke Skywalker out of a papoose on his back, and walks toward Aunt Beru, who walks over to greet him. They talk for a moment, and Obi-Wan turns the baby over to the young homesteader. Aunt Beru walks to Uncle Owen who is standing on the ridge near the homestead. Obi-Wan leaves as Owen, Beru, and Luke watch the twin suns set. * IRIS OUT * END TITLES.
If you would like you can buy one of my Exclusive Press Cinema Tickets as a SW memorabilia item:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5195092055
A long time ago in a cinema, far away...I saw Star Wars Episode 4. Now, almost 30 years later I was lucky enough to be among the first people to see this concluding chapter of the saga, Star Wars Episode 3: The Revenge of the Sith. This has been one movie that I have wanted to see for a very long time. Although I knew the basic story, the many facets of the plot were still a mystery to me. A mystery until I got a hold of the script last week! I read it just before I went to see the film and it did not spoil it for me one bit, in fact it enhanced my viewing pleasure as there is so much on-screen action and dialogue at any one time, you would be forgiven for easily missing it.
Other than the obvious, the story is more about how an obsessive love for one woman can destroy you, all those around you and in the case of the movie, an entire galaxy! Throughout the movie we see a naive young Anakin Skywalker being deceived and having to make difficult choices, each choice having catastrophic consequences. His descent in to the dark side was not an easy one but was something that was pre-planned perhaps hundreds of years ago. -It was indeed his destiny.
The film played well with view points, suggesting to the audience to look at "good" from the "evil's" perspective, when one does that, the "good" appears as "evil". At many times in movies, such as "The Phantom of the Opera" for example, we have all sympathised with the villain, so it's easy to see why weak minded but power hungry people are easily turned to the "dark side". The submissive young Skywalker is no exception.
On a personal note, I have to say I was a little disappointed with the movie since I had read the final script just before watching it. Almost 40 minutes of the movie was cut from it. I can see why it had to be done, to keep the action flowing and so forth. However, this final movie was made for the original fans and I know they all would have appreciated the additional scenes. I hope the DVD release contains the entire full director's cut.
The movie concludes by tying all the loose ends, linking this episode to episode 4, "A New Hope". You can really see that this movie has been 30 years in the making. I remember when I saw Episode 4 "A New Hope", I understood the title immediately, where we see a young boy rising to the challenge, defeating the evil and becoming the hero. However, I don't think I understood it better than I do now. Episode 3 is very grim. Very, very grim! We see all the Jedi killed off, we see the death of liberty and how a dictatorship rises from it "...with thunderous applause..." as put by Padme. The movie ends with Padme dieing during child birth and we feel the harrowing screams when Anakin (now dawning his Vader mask) learns of his beloved's death. As we know, the two twins are separated for their own protection. Leia is adopted by Queen Organa of Alderan and Luke is taken to Tatooine by Obi-Wan. In the grim darkness there is still hope...
Here is George Lucas's last footnote from the script:
Obi-Wan rides up to a moisture farm homestead on Tatooine. He dismounts, takes Luke Skywalker out of a papoose on his back, and walks toward Aunt Beru, who walks over to greet him. They talk for a moment, and Obi-Wan turns the baby over to the young homesteader. Aunt Beru walks to Uncle Owen who is standing on the ridge near the homestead. Obi-Wan leaves as Owen, Beru, and Luke watch the twin suns set. * IRIS OUT * END TITLES.
If you would like you can buy one of my Exclusive Press Cinema Tickets as a SW memorabilia item:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5195092055
