Star Wars Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
October 11, 2005
- Dan Ramer,
DVDFile.com
I purchased my front projection system in 1994 and that’s
when I stopped going to the motion picture theater. I made one
exception: Star Wars. I’m a fan and simply
couldn’t wait for the films to be released on DVD. I
sought out a THX certified theater for the best experience and settled
in for a great time. I discovered, as I suspect many of you
have, that the entertainment value of the prequels is directly
proportional to the episode number. Attack of the
Clones is twice the movie that The Phantom Menace is,
and Revenge of the Sith is easily three times the film that
Episode I is. I saw the film theatrically only once,
and with its incredibly dense visuals, it deserves multiple
viewings. So I was really looking forward to this DVD release,
and it did not disappoint.
George Lucas has fashioned
a film that nicely fills in the blanks and answers previously
unanswered questions. The fundamental question is the most
obvious. How and why did Anakin Skywalker fall, succumbing to
the dark side to become the dreaded Lord of the Sith, Darth
Vader?
Anakin (Hayden Christensen) is a tragic
figure . . . damaged goods. Separated from his beloved mother at
a tender age, he soon lost his mentor, Qui-Gon Jinn, to Darth Maul, a
Sith. He became Padawan to Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), who
promised his dying master that he would complete Anakin’s Jedi
training. But that training did not help Anakin prevent his
mother’s dying in his arms, despite troubling premonitions of
her being in great danger. Perhaps his pathologically ambition
spurs from an intense need to be in control, to be in a position that
might allow him to prevent further loss. And now his greatest
fear has become the loss of Padme (Natalie Portman); he’s having
some very disturbing dreams about the fate of his secret bride.
Vulnerable and growing desperate to prevent what he feels will be her
imminent death, Anakin finds himself all too receptive to the evil
manipulations of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid).
Anakin and Padme’s story plays out against the
backdrop of the Clone War. Palpatine manipulates the conflict
and warfare, creating one crisis after another. And with each
calamity, he manages to have the Senate grant ever increasing special
powers. And when he’s secured his power base and seduced
Anakin, he moves to destroy any remaining enemy who might challenge
him. This is by far the darkest of the six films in the series
and the only episode to have garnered a PG-13 rating, one that Lucas
did not question or challenge. The tragedy portrayed in
Revenge of the Sith is Shakespearian in its scope.
Fans of the series will find explanations for
Anakin’s immaculate birth, the Genesis of Jedi immortality, how
Luke and Leia were separated, how the Republic was transformed into an
Empire, how Palpatine came to be so disfigured, and why a terribly
scarred Anakin was encased in Vader’s armor.
The film is stunningly complex in its visuals. With each
succeeding film, Lucasfilm and ILM become more and more
sophisticated. CGI characters appear more natural, but are given
away by impossible feats. And the opening battle in the high
atmosphere of the Republic home world is quite remarkable. The
dialog continues to be stilted and affected, but the style is
consistent throughout the series. And despite there being less
humor in this film than any other in the series, I rather suspect that
Lucas had tongue firmly thrust in cheek with many of his
concepts. If a guided missile is able to home in on a target
spacecraft, wouldn’t a rather hefty explosion be more effective
than little droids that jump onboard to disassemble the target?
On reflection, the victims of Palpatine’s lethal plots are more
vulnerable than one might expect. And as in all Star
Wars films, don’t be concerned with the reality of
physics. This is first and foremost a fantasy film set in a
futuristic society, and allowances must be made.
Ewan
McGregor and Ian McDiarmid are particularly good in this
episode. McGregor really sells his regret that Anakin cannot be
pulled back from the dark side and his regret over what he is forced
to do. McDiarmid is remarkably slimy, outrageously
manipulative. Hayden Christensen has improved somewhat since
Attack of the Clones, but I find his range somewhat
limited. Natalie Portman has been growing rapidly as an
accomplished actress; no stranger to the Golden Globes, she also
earned an Academy Award nomination for her 2004 performance in
Closer. Her character has been relegated to the
unfortunate role of being reactive rather than proactive. We
learn in the supplements (and the deleted scenes) that there was an
entire plotline that had to be abandoned in which we experience the
birth of the rebellion. Alas, that was dropped; this is most
regretful, since its inclusion would have transformed Padme’s
role in this film from a brooding, worrying wife to a brooding,
worrying wife who was an activist.
But I pick at
nits. In my effort to appear analytical rather than a gushing
fan, perhaps I’m being unnecessarily critical. This is a
splendid entertainment that I would easily rank among the top three
films in the six-film series. This is a must see DVD.
The Video: How Does The Disc Look?
The film’s theatrical aspect ratio of
2.35:1 is presented in fabulous anamorphic video. The feature
was again shot in 1080p24, but the cameras used for Episode
III are more advanced than those used for Episode
II. The newer cameras have a higher chroma sampling rate,
so although the spatial resolution is identical, finely grained detail
appears to be improved. Of course, differentiating between the
two films with DVD’s standard resolution is quite impossible,
but I can say that this DVD deserves a rare top score. No edge
halos mar the images. Small object detail - like spacecraft or
faces or figures at a distance - is exceptional. And finely
grained detail - like the weaves of fabrics and the textures of skin -
is also beyond reproach. Colors are vivid, noise-free, and never
smear. Flesh tones are very natural. Blacks are deep and
noiseless. There are many scenes that are lit to provoke the
dark mood of the film, and in those scenes there is a slight black
crush. But that does not in any way detract from the visual
experience. I noticed no macroblaocking or mosquito noise.
This very much resembles what I recall of the theatrical experience,
only slightly softer.
It has been reported elsewhere
that for Episode I Yoda in puppet form is being replaced by
CGI Yoda (Lucas assures us that Yoda will remain as is in The
Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi). If
you’ll recall, the Episode I DVD is soft and
contaminated with halos. Yoda’s replacement holds out the
hope that Episode I may be re-released with the same
outstanding visual quality found in the other five episodes.
The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?
The Dolby Digital 5.1 EX track is superb.
The surrounds are very active. The viewer is uniformly enveloped
in a complex sound field that emanates from every direction.
Discrete sounds, complex pans, sounds from appropriate static
locations, and environmental noises all inundate the viewer without
being overwhelming. Exceptionally deep, sphincter-stimulating
bass will rattle your walls if you have a substantial subwoofer and
conventional construction. The sound effects have a terrific
dynamic range; in fact, I found the dialog to be about 3 dB lower than
found on most DVDs, which leaves that much more headroom for the sound
effects. John Williams wonderful score is conveyed with pleasing
fidelity across a broad soundstage that likely was widened with leaks
into the surround channels. Dialog is undistorted throughout and
has a nice sense of presence. The fine audio is an appropriate
companion to the exceptional visuals, but I can’t help wonder
how much better it might have been in DTS. Then again, I think
the video needs the bit budget more than the audio.
The alternate languages are in French and Spanish, each presented in
Dolby Surround 2.0. There’s also an English track in Dolby
Surround 2.0. Optional subtitles are in English, for which
Closed Captions are also included.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
We have a new THX certified DVD trailer to begin the show - new to
me, anyway.
Disc one offers a feature-length, screen-
specific commentary by writer/executive
producer/director George Lucas, producer Rick McCallum, ILM animation
director Rob Coleman, visual effects supervisor John Knoll, and visual
effects supervisor Roger Guyett. This is a pleasant blend of the
artistic and the technical. Lucas spends perhaps a bit too much
time explaining the motivations of the characters, but is at his best
when he reveals the evolution of a scene or story arc. McCallum
offers his take, predominantly the logistics of the shoot and the
experience of working with the director and the creative support
teams. The special effects guys are, at least for me, the most
interesting. As a generous documentary will demonstrate, this
show was a remarkably complex effort executed by a vast army of the
skilled. Interesting stuff.
The rest of the
supplements are on disc two, and almost all are in very respectable
anamorphic video. First is It’s All For Real:
The Stunts of Episode III (11:04), a featurette that
places the spotlight on stunt coordinator Nick Gillard, the stunt
people, and the performers who did most of their own stunts.
It’s here that I learned that when stunt doubles are used, the
actors’ faces are digitally substituted, a technique I seem to
recall was developed on Jurassic Park.
Within a Minute: The Making of Episode III
(1:18:26 and organized into 34 chapters), is a remarkably
comprehensive analysis of how a forty-eight second sequence in the
film was created, from concept to final cut. Did you read my
review of Battlestar Galactica? I mentioned that its
documentary covered every aspect of that show but the catering.
Well, even the caterers get due credit here. Rick McCallum is
the narrator, and he takes us through the serial but frequently non-
linear process of creating the fight sequence on the lava
planet. You’ve seen documentaries on the art of film and
special effects before, but this deconstruction is special.
The Chosen One (14:37)
explores the mystique of Darth Vader and the character’s
arc. Hayden Christensen makes a substantive contribution.
The short traces Anakin’s fall and redemption, clarifying what
you have already realized: Star Wars is more about Anakin
than Luke.
There is a delightful collection of a half
dozen deleted scenes, each available with or without
an optional introduction. Use the “Play All with
Introduction” option for the most comprehensive
experience. It’s here that I discovered the abandoned
story line that would have elevated Padme’s contribution from an
emotional wreck to an advocate for reason and liberty. I’m
reluctant to name the other scene names for fear of giving away a plot
point to the four of you who haven’t yet seen the film.
As the film was being produced, those who paid for
a subscription to Hyperspace premium content on the Star Wars
website were treated to a series of production diaries. Fifteen
Web Documentaries are presented: Two Worlds, One
Movie (5:29); One World, Two Movies (5:43); We Still Do Little Bit
(5:33); Creating General Grievous (5:40); This Weapon is Your Life
(6:22); Video Village (6:33); Epic Designs for an Expanding Universe
(5:43); C-3PO: His Moment to Shine (7:03); Pick-ups and Re-shoots
(6:18); Becoming Obi-Wan (7:45); The Wookiees Are Back (5:57); B-107:
The Life of an HD Tape (4:48); The Creatures of Episode III (7:14);
Endlessly Compelling: The Music of Episode III (8:43); and, Becoming
Sidious (7:08). These are uniformly interesting and only
partially replicate information found in other
supplements.
On the Video Games and Still Galleries
page, you’ll find a Star Wars Battlefront II
demo that requires an Xbox to enjoy, but for those
without, there is a game trailer (2:00).
There’s also a game trailer for Star Wars
Empire at War (2:13). Exclusive Production
Photos is a collection of over 200 captioned photos.
Sometimes informative, sometimes witty, these are well worth the huge
investment in time to view in their entirety. One-sheet
Posters offers a group of nearly two-dozen international
versions of the film’s one-sheet. The Outdoor
Print Campaign would appear to be a collection of about seven
billboard creations. Finally, Trailers and TV Spots
includes a teaser (1:42), a theatrical trailer (2:28),
“A Hero Falls” Music Video (3:42), and fifteen 30-second
TV spots.
Since this is a TXH certified DVD,
you’ll also find the THX Optimizer to adjust
your system for this particular disc.
The 140-minute
film is organized into fifty chapters.
Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop
the disc into your PC?
An applet provides
access to exclusive content for DVD owners, a free Hyperspace trial
membership for the Star Wars website’s premium content, the Star
Wars Shop for all manner of things Star Wars, and a LucasArts
website promo for the sequel of a popular game entitled Star Wars
Battlefront.
Alas, I received an error message
when I clicked on the DVD owners’ exclusive content link;
apparently the website didn’t like my browser’s video
plug-in.
Final
Thoughts
The darkest and most brutal
of the Star Wars canon, Revenge of the Sith is a
notable climax to George Lucas’ decades-old effort to bring the
saga to the big screen. This compelling episode is a must see
and a must own for Star Wars fans. A state-of-the-art
visual presentation, a terrific audio track, and a wonderful set of
generous supplements make this DVD release highly recommended.
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