Score:

I hadn't heard a note of ROTS before I walked into the cinema. First of all Battle of the Heroes cooked on screen - as soon as the duel started the score took it up a notch. Other great stuff I noticed was the female vocal from the quiet scene on Coruscant - I had heard that piece in the last TV ad and thought it was from some other score - very new and unlike anything else in the saga.

Also - the great Grievious music when he lands and gets off his ship, and great to hear Luke and Leia's theme intertwining at the end.

But on the other hand there were lengthy stretches of music which were note for note from the previous two films. I just hope that was Williams' decision not Lucas' cutting and pasting. They fit like a glove however.

The music during the 'Godfather' montage (order 66) was also great.

____________________________

The film:

Loved it. Really, really enjoyed every minute. I walked out of episodes 1 and 2 with mixed feelings, but tonight I walked out with an ear to ear smile. Everything about this film was brilliant, most of all the great feeling of everything falling into places. Everything leads up to ANH beautifully, even the tiny details like spaceships etc.

The acting was better, the flow was better, the plot was better, the politics was better, the drama was better - it was great. I loved it.

Off the top of my head some things I loved were:

R2-D2 stealing the show in the first 15 mins.
The way it continued seamlessly from the Clone Wars cartoons - glad I watched those beforehand.
Dooku's exit.
The great 'Godfather' style montage.
Yoda banging those 2 guards against the wall in the Emperor's chambers.
The simultaneous duels at the end, and the simultaneous 'medical' scenes after.
The Clonetroopers taking their helmets off.
Palpatine ageing during Windu's exit.
The tie-fighter sounds heard during the last scene before Vader looks out onto the Death Star.
The immolation scene - creepy but brilliant.
The explanation for Qui-Gon Jinn's voice being heard in AOTC, and possibly why he didn't disappear after dying.
Chewbacca.
C3P0's memory being erased to explain his actions in 3,4 and 5.
Jar-Jar's near totla absence
The duel between Yoda and Palpatine rising up into the senate.

plus loads, loads more... I'm just glad I remained spoiler-free, and glad I got to see this brilliant saga fall into place. Can;t wait to see it again...

Theres till tons and tons of special effects, but they look alot better than Ep 2. John Williams' scores worked really well with the action. Especially with some of the more emotional scenes like order 66.
Its an overall better movie than the first 2. And think people are going to like it.

It's a funny thing with Star Wars: people who have nothing to say critically about ANY other movie all of a sudden become and feel that they should become master "film critics," but again, only for Star Wars.

One of the most effective/affective music cues in the film is "Padmé's Ruminations." I hadn't been crazy about this track on CD, but now that I've seen how it is used, the piece takes on a whole new meaning. The music and the images of Anakin and Padmé staring off over the Crouscant cityscape at one another—Anakin from the Jedi Temple, and Padmé from her apartment tower—flows with high emotion and coveys their feelings awesomely well.

Also, the cut from Anakin and Padmé's reunion to General Grievous landing his ship ("Grievous Speaks to Lord Sidious") is really cool with his towering theme and whirling strings.

And "Battle of the Heroes / Anakin vs. Obi-Wan" ... WOW!

There are so many wonderful things to say about this movie. It's wicked that Grievous has that bad cough throughout the movie and I'm sure there were many people who had no idea why: Mace Windu messed him in the Clone Wars cartoon; watch 'em, it's wicked!

This is also the first prequel to have genuinely funny moments (R2 shocking the guard's hand, Yoda hitching a ride on Chewbacca's shoulder, Yoda crawling through an access tunnel!!), and genuine moments of emotion (Anakin: "I HATE YOU!!"). There were also moments where the film felt like pure art.

If you hated the first two films, or just didn't like them very much, this movie should salvage your passion for STAR WARS.

On Kashykk, when Yoda is taking off in his pod, they hold on Chewbacca and the other wookie for just a beat too long. Made me think of Billy Crystal and Carol Kane in THE PRINCESS BRIDE.

"Have fun storming the castle!"

quote:

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Originally posted by rkeaveney:
...and genuine moments of emotion (Anakin: "I HATE YOU!!"). There were also moments where the film felt like pure art.

---

A friend of mine thought that moment was very ineffective, but I honestly couldn't have disagreed with him more. It is a really uncomfortable moment, and I was really moved by it.

That was what I thought elevated this episode above the first two prequels. There are events and things going on which actually made me feel something. I can only imagine how much more powerful this film could have been if the relationship between Anakin and Padme was more well written.

Someone pointed out a great moment when (SPOILER) Anakin is being transformed into mechanical Vader and Padme is dying simultaneously. It wasn't as potent to as strong as I'd hoped, but the idea that these two people being torn away from each other so that one could die and the other could become a robot is quite tragic.(End Spoiler)

I thought the Jedi purge was great too. When Ki Adi Mundi runs forward and you just see the Stormtroopers' feet stop and hear their guns load is a great visual. My favorite though is when Anakin and Obi-Wan's lightsabers hit and a gigantic plume of lava erupts in the background in synch (a statement of Battle of the Heroes also finishes at the same time). I'll also give Lucas a little street cred for knowing that the first breath of Darth Vader would be a truly awesome moment.

Certainly the best prequel and will probably age much better than the first two episodes. As everyone has pointed out though, the sometimes stiff acting and writing really hold this film back.

quote:

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Originally posted by rkeaveney:
The Anakin/Padme scenes are still utter trash, but the action sequences are loose, feel dangerous, and look fantastic. Unlike the starched EPS 1 and 2, this movie feels like it has been informed by the LORD OF THE RINGS films -- but doesn't quite reach the lovely, dirty textures.

Ryan

---

This film does not "feel" like it has been "informed" by The Lord of the Rings in the least. Are you talking about lava or something? What "lovely" textures are you talking about? I didn't see Lucas on those Lord of the Rings DVDs talking about their influence, but I did see Peter Jackson on the 4th DVD on the Star Wars Trilogy set talking about the influence of Star Wars on himself.

And what makes the Anakin / Padmé scenes "utter trash"? They worked fine and the writing was so much better than the awkward love scenes in Attack of the Clones. So, was it "utter trash" when Anakin (Vader) starts choking Padmé before the battle of the heroes? I think not, they're scenes were perfect.

The kinetic action of the RINGS films is obviously the opposite of the static, clean action of the prequels. But EPS III feels different -- it at least tries to get dirty. Look at the opening space battle, the wookie battle, the cavern battle. These are conceptualized quite differently than any previous STAR WARS battle. It's clear the filmmakers had to step back and look at where the current state of action films are, particularly the big epics. The watershed mark are the RINGS films.

Sean it doesn't surprise me that you find the Anakin/Padme scenes effective. Only someone who has never had a girlfriend would watch and think this is how two young people -- madly in love with each other -- would talk and act.

Even positive reviews of the film cite the Anakin/Padme scenes as the films major weakness. So I'm not spinning here.

quote:

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Originally posted by rkeaveney:
it's obvious your lightsaber belt is on too tight.

---

HAHAHAHA..LOL
I drove by my theater thursday night at midnight and brought my camcorder. Oh yes what a sight it was to see grown people wearing Star Wars outfits to the movies.
I'll try to post the video soon for all to see when I get the time. You'll see two grown men banging their plastic lightsabers around with eachother. I believe one of them must have cut in line and so the other one challeneged him.

I was expecting to be entertained and suffer the gee-whiz effect from the visuals, but I found myself emotionally invested and the ride was that much more powerful thanks to it. Everything seems to work in this movie for me.

It is easy to dismiss the Anakin and Padme scenes as utter trash...but there are subtleties there (particularly in Hayden Christiansen's performance) that must be noted and appreciated. The acting was far superior to the previous two films (and better than ANH and ROTJ for that matter) as was the writing.

It is clear to me that Lucas had this piece of the story in his mind for more than two decades and it shows. I feel that he forced himself through the first two with a skeleton outline and limited passion. This film restores both his vision and excitement as a story teller.

While I will have to see it a couple more times to pass judgement, this may very well be my favorite Star Wars film...the impact alone is far greater than ESB. Time will tell.

Emotions of 'Sith,' Carried by Score
By ANTHONY TOMMASINI

Published: May 23, 2005

Though there are vocal dissenters, most film critics and "Star Wars" buffs seem pleased with the last installment of the epic, "Episode III - Revenge of the Sith." George Lucas has received his highest praise since the first "Star Wars" film in 1977. Some critics have even conceded significant improvement in the acting of the handsome Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker.

But the member of the creative team whose contributions are largely being taken for granted is the composer John Williams. Music plays almost throughout the entire movie, and much of the emotional resonance critics are finding is stoked by Mr. Williams's surprisingly subdued and murky score, especially during the scenes of intimate human drama, such as they are. If you get involved in the fretful exchanges between Anakin and his love-struck young wife, Padmé (Natalie Portman), or if you are hooked by the dilemma of the Jedi master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), who yearns to believe in his disciple Anakin but senses the young warrior's rebellion, Mr. Williams deserves much of the credit.

Although Mr. Williams became a household name for "Star Wars" in the late 1970's, many critics poked fun at him for the comic-book excess of his scores. True, he was no Bernard Herrmann or Elmer Bernstein. But even in Mr. Williams's pre-"Jaws" days, when he was churning out disaster-flick music ("The Towering Inferno"), his work was thoroughly professional. At a time when synthesized film music was ascendant, he re-embraced the symphonic film score. Still, with all their bombastic blather, the early "Star Wars" scores invited kidding.

Mr. Williams has grown since then. The score to "E. T." shifted mood effortlessly, from tenderness to wonderment to opulently lyrical and unabashed emotion.

In "A. I." Mr. Williams made savvy use of metrically fractured rhythmic writing and percussion instruments to evoke the android world. The music during the film's "Hide and Seek" sequence, when the robot boy David plays games with his adoptive mother, who at this early stage of the story is still smitten with him, is especially ingenious. Built from gentle melodic riffs, including children's piano-practice tunes, quizzical harmonies and asymmetrical phrases, the music is at once beguiling and unsettling.

The score to "Catch Me if You Can," in keeping with its story about an ingenious young charlatan, is like jazzy, elusive chamber music. Here Mr. Williams proves adept at the less-is-more approach to film scoring.

Mr. Williams, with his suction-cup ear, has always been better at evoking existing styles than at conveying an original voice - a voice like that of Thomas Newman, the classiest current film composer, whose richly harmonic and often quirky music ("The Shawshank Redemption," "Finding Nemo") is unmistakable. Still, evocation is one way to practice the film music craft, and in "Revenge of the Sith" Mr. Williams demonstrates his acute evocative skills.

The film begins, as it must, with his swashbuckling "Star Wars" theme playing as the credits roll by. But soon into the story (the second track on the Sony Classical recording of the score) you hear the haunting music for "Anakin's Dream." Seized with nightmarish premonitions that his pregnant wife will die in childbirth, Anakin sleeps fitfully while the quietly ominous music stirs primordially in the background.

There are hints of Ligeti-like atmospherics (surely Mr. Williams's homage to "2001") and echoes of Samuel Barber in the pungently chromatic harmony. A lacy theme is passed back and forth between solo string instruments. You may not remember this elusive melody when you leave the theater, but it conveys Anakin's inner doubts and longing for repose.

In an episode called "Battle of the Heroes," Mr. Williams has his "Carmina Burana" moment, complete with pummeling rhythms and a distant chorus intoning mournful ah's and ritualistic oh's - a hokey device. In "Palpatine's Teachings" he evokes, or so it seems, Tibetan Buddhist chanting, with sustained moans in low male voices, tinkling percussion (like finger cymbals) and ruminative string writing.

The whole "Star Wars" epic has been likened to Wagner's "Ring" cycle. In the earlier films Mr. Williams certainly adopted the Wagnerian technique of using identifying themes (leitmotifs) to mark the appearances of specific characters, symbols and plot lines, though in the most thumping and heavy-handed way.

In the new film, when Anakin is on the brink of becoming Darth Vader, you know what's coming, and it comes: the treading "Darth Vader" theme, as much a trademark of the "Star Wars" enterprise as Han Solo action figures. But in general, Mr. Williams uses the leitmotif technique with greater subtlety here. Hints of themes thread through the score - in inner voices, in wayward bass lines.

There is even an episode called "The Immolation Scene," an overt reference to Wagner's "Götterdämmerung." Having lost the ultimate light saber duel to Obi-Wan, Anakin starts slipping into a molten pool of volcanic muck. The Jedi master watches in despair as he allows the student he once loved, the chosen one who has turned to the dark side, to meet his fate (or so he assumes). Mr. Williams sensitively underplays this scene, writing wistful, aching music, a sort of sci-fi Sibelius.

The score is marred by formulaic bits. I wish Mr. Williams didn't signal every scene change with an orchestral crescendo. But since the story is told in innumerable scenes that come and go abruptly, Mr. Williams may be hoping that a sudden rush of intense orchestral music will make the constant scene shifts seem inevitable.

Some film composers command your attention - with sweeping grandeur (Maurice Jarre's score for "Lawrence of Arabia"), with wistful lyricism (Elmer Bernstein's melancholic music for "To Kill a Mockingbird"). Mr. Williams is at his best when he thinks no one is paying much attention.

His concert pieces, like "Soundings," composed for the opening of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, tend to be bustling, extroverted and eager to please. But film music can offer a composer an artful way to stay in the background. Mr. Williams practices that art admirably in "Revenge of the Sith."

Has the STAR WARS saga really ended? One critic felt that Lucas is done
with STAR WARS, but that there was always the possibility someone else
will take over. I would think that if that happened, Lucas would have to sell, err
ahh, sell, ahh, sell what? Is this saga copyrighted perhaps? If he did sell the
rights to Star Wars, more movies may arise like the Phoenix.

Because other card carrying PQHers (Prequel Haters) like me thought The Sith
was better, I dragged my kicking and snarling body to the movie last night.
Yes, I did find it better than the first two. My perceptions are similiar to some on
the board and very different from others.

The acting was a wee bit better, not great, but a little better. I still found the dialogue
wooden. The technical craftsmanship (setting details, CGI's) was brilliant, but sometimes
I felt overloaded with those details and a little like I was watching animation with
humans tossed in. The narrative was sometimes flawed, but it held my interest. I cared
more this time as this movie found more heart and pulse. (Yeah, Anakin's slide into
moral bankruptcy was a little too quick, but after he kills so many on the Lava planet,
it was interesting to see his face shaded in evil shadows while tears streamed down his
eyes. Nice dichotomy.)

What I found intriguing was the movie's effort towards making this a Shakespearean
Tragedy. Remember that Shakespeare's tragedies always have NOBLE heroes. They
must be noblity so that their descent or the slope of their fall is greater than an
everyman's fall; the loss must be more significant, and Anakin was "the chosen one."

Also, the tragic hero must have a fatal flaw. MacBeth's flaw was ambition, one similar to
Anakin's. Anakin wanted more than he had; he wanted to be a Master and rule the Republic.
He felt it was his right. Maybe he had other flaws. He wanted to save his wife, an honorable
feeling, but he didn't want to hear Yoda's statements about the naturalness of death, the natural
order of life which ends in death. (Portman was certainly NOT Lady MacBeth.) I think Lucas
was fairly successful in painting Anakin as a tragic, fallen hero, but I still believe a better
actor would have given Anakin's Shakespearean Fall greater tragic dimension. With the
descent of a tragic hero comes Chaos, the loss of the Rightful Ordained Order in the Universe.
Hence emerges the Death Star and the fleeing of goodness and order to the borders of the
Universe. Perfect Shakespeare Tragedy without his verbal poetry.

What really enhanced the tragic proportions of this story was Williams' music. In my
theater the music was clear and just plain loud. It was like listening to a grand
Wagernian Opera that underscored the huge loss of inherent Order. He captures the
wrongness of Order descending into Chaos. At other times, his music simply underscored
the disillusionment of a belief system or love for a few characters. I'm sure his music
emotionally manipulated me more than did the actors.

The ending me left me wanting to now rent the original Star Wars series. It has been
a while since I visited my three old friends. Time for a reunion!

quote:

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Originally posted by Luc:
Did anyone find any good piece in the film that didn't make it to the CD release? I was so into the movie that I wasn't out looking for missing cues. Those that stood out for me made it to the CD.

The only part that I would like is the opening right after the opening fanfare with war drum thump piece that didn't seem to be the same as the CD release.

---

I don't think the Order 66 cue was on the soundtrack. I could be mistaken though.

In my view each of the 6 movies not only has its own intrinsic weaknesses but tends to compromise the integrity of each film that preceded it. (Example: the better effects and bigger budget of Empire Strikes Back make the light-saber duel in A New Hope look pretty dumb. Or another: the revelation in Return of the Jedi that Leia is a Skywalker make Yoda's willingness to sacrifice her in Empire (so Luke can continue his training)look ridiculous.) The flaws in Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones were more severe than in the original trilogy, but otherwise each film's flaws and weaknesses generally exist on a low level of minor detail that only devoted fanboys care about.

I agree with Joan about the tragic elements of ROTS as emphasized by Williams' score. Although I need repeat viewings to isolate particular moments, I felt that the majority of the film was carried by Williams, similar to the way in which his music elevates the second half of Attack of the Clones above the insipid miasma that clogs the first half.

quote:

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Originally posted by rkeaveney:
Sean it doesn't surprise me that you find the Anakin/Padme scenes effective. Only someone who has never had a girlfriend would watch and think this is how two young people -- madly in love with each other -- would talk and act.

Ryan

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HAHA! Ryan, your personal attacks are always lame ... and I get more tail than you, you loser.

But to you other point, any dialogue in a film is almost never the way actual people talk, including love scenes, so what you're trying to say is that you weren't sold on the screenplay. I think that's a far more pleasant and intelligent way to get your point across, don't you?

NP: A New Hope (Williams) *****/*****

quote:

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Originally posted by Jeff78:

I don't think the Order 66 cue was on the soundtrack. I could be mistaken though.

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The "Order Sixty-Six" music is "Anakin's Betrayal" on the CD. In the film, it's slightly extended where Anakin faces the Younglings there's some emotional choral music: it'd be nice to hear the whole version.

quote:

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Originally posted by Luc:
Did anyone find any good piece in the film that didn't make it to the CD release? I was so into the movie that I wasn't out looking for missing cues. Those that stood out for me made it to the CD.

The only part that I would like is the opening right after the opening fanfare with war drum thump piece that didn't seem to be the same as the CD release.

---

Good missing cues:

- The Rebel Fanfare at the beginning where R2 defeats the Buzz Droid

- The love scene music that features "Anakin's Theme" right after his first nightmare

- The dramatic take-off cue where Obi-Wan's Star Destroyer moves to orbit Coruscant

- The Force theme for Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter leaving the Star Destroyer and making the jump to light speed

- Again, the driving Force theme for Ben's Jedi Starfighter jumping out of light speed and making his descent to the sink-hole planet

- The action music (link to the Force theme once more, and even to "Battle of the Heroes") for Anakin's rush from the Jedi Temple to the Chancellor's office as Mace Windu and Palpatine are dueling

- Similar to some of the material in "Enter Lord Vader," the dramatic music for Padmé's arrival at Mustafar

- And finally, the extended finale music and the performance of the Force theme for Yoda's revelations of Qui-Gon (awesome!)

movie = brilliant

A little busy sometimes in regards to the amount of activity (fighters, machines, long sequences, etc), but still brilliant. Almost no comic relief (understandable), but they did slip in a few things... of which Grevious's cough was my favorite.

And of course, John William's music was absolutely stupendous.

Will need to take my wife. Too good not to see on the BIG SCREEN.

quote:

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Originally posted by Scorro:
Almost no comic relief (understandable), but they did slip in a few things... of which Grevious's cough was my favorite.

And of course, John William's music was absolutely stupendous.

Will need to take my wife. Too good not to see on the BIG SCREEN.

One last thought... Hadyn Christensen pulled off the Anakin to Vader transition admirably (I hadn't given him much credit in episode 2). And... I left thinking that this movie deserves some academy award nominations, including (believe it or not) acting nods.

---

Hey Scorro, do you know why Grievous is coughing??? hehe ... In the Clone Wars cartoons Mace Windu tears apart his insides with the Force right before Grievous escapes from the surface of Coruscant to his battleship with his prisoner, Palpatine.

Definitely some Academy Awards for this film would be well-deserved. Hayden Christiensen, Ewan McGregor, and Ian McDiarmid all did an amazing job in this film; they'd get my nods. It'll be really crazy if this film does not win for sound, sound effects editing, and visual effects. Can Williams be nominated, or his unable to be so because of the use of themes from the other Star Wars films?

NP: Revenge of the Sith workprint DVD

When Anakin and Padme meet after rescuing Palpatine and also when Padme lands on Mustafar, that particular rendition actually brought tears to my eyes as she sat in the ship pondering what was to come.

As for the film I saw it twice, went to the midnight showing and then on Friday took my kids to see it. I admit to actually tearing up a few times but held it back since my wife was already in tears.

quote:

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Originally posted by Will:
I'm wondering why they editted out Qui Gon's "conversation" with Yoda. Perhaps the "Shaman of the Whills" doesn't sound to cool in the Star Wars lore... But then again, it should be kept in the movie as it really explains the disappearing Jedi trick. I'll bet that it will be in the deleted scenes in the DVD.

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A cut scene with Qui-Gon? Cool! It worked fine without it and that scene blew me away when Yoda tells Ben about him. Shaman? Are you sure it's not "Journal of the Wills" as in the 1977 novelization that describes Episodes 1, 2, and 3 and the Republic?

This superb standalone cue starts whilst Obi-Wan is falling into the water after being shot at by Cody's troops on Utapau. We then cut to shots of 2 other Jedi (? Ki-Adi-Mundi and Aayla Secura) being similarly turned upon by their troops.

The fanfare at 01:00 is heard when we see Yoda's walking stick fall to the ground as he clutches his chest, sensing something is going terribly wrong. The montage then continues with two more Jedi's being betrayed, before cutting back to the action on the beach of Yasyhkk (spelling?).

At around 2:35 the music quiets down as we see a trooper receiving the Emperor's orders via hologram, and then creeping up on Yoda, but the music cuts abruptly at 2:48 as Yoda swiftly decapitates him and his buddy.

There's some wordless choir in the film as Yoda climbs up onto Chewie and the scene cuts to the battle going on in the Jedi temple, but I think this isn't on the CD track.

The music on CD resumes (at around 2:52) just after the youngling asks Anakin 'Master Skywalker, what are we going to do?', and Anakin stares down at them before igniting his lightsaber. The wordless choir continues as we cut to Padme's chambers with 3PO trying to reassure Padme to little effect.

Padme bursts out crying and the music rises to a great choral climax as we cut to Bail Organa coming in to land on a platform at the Jedi temple, only to be turned away by clonetroopers. The track ends as he turns to leave, just before the youngling makes a last ditch attempt to take down some clonetroopers.
__________________________________________

quote:

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Originally posted by JohnHJohnson:
The B-I-G boxset will be the one I'm waiting for. Hopefully, Lucas won't see this as an excuse to 'add' additional scenes
to the original trilogy. One other thing, looks like the proposed tv series is finally going to get off the ground. Any ideas on who should score it? Maybe Lucas will just recycle the the music he already has.

---

Why shouldn't he add more? I don't want to buy movies I already own. He should put some more, more, and more "deleted" scenes on the upcoming box set; it'll be one that probably won't be released until 2008—2009.

Who should score the tv series? John Williams should write the main theme and Richard Gibbs and Bear McCreary should score the episodes. Or, John Williams should write the main theme and each episode should be scored by a major Hollywood film composer (Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard, Basil Poledouris, Howard Shore, John Debney, James Horner, Danny Elfman, etc.), like Tales of the Crypt. And the first episodes and season finales should be score specifically by John Williams.

Imagine the Super Star Destroyer crashing into the Death Star, skipping across its surface and breaking apart...rather than the cringe inducing plume of flame. As good as the end battle in RoTJ is...imagine it looking like RoTS!!

I'm not talking about adding a scream as Luke falls, new dance numbers or Han Solo shooting second...but revamping most of the exterior shots would be a great change (as it was for Death Star attack in ANH).

Only Liam Neeson's voice was heard. He did not appear in the spirit form like Old Obi-Wan did in the OT.

The conversation:
Yoda: Failed to stop the Sith Lord, I have. Still much to learn there is...
Qui Gon: Patience. You will have time. I did not. When I became one with the Force I made a great discovery. With my training, you will be able to merge with the Force at will. Your physical self will fade away, but you will still retain your consciousness. You will become more powerful than any Sith.
Yoda: Eternal consciousness.
Qui Gon: The ability to defy oblivion can be achieved, but only for oneself. It was accomplished by a Shaman of the Whills. It is a state acquired through compassion, not greed.
Yoda: ...to become one with the Force, and influence still have... A power greater than all, it is.
Qui Gon: You will learn to let go of everything. No attachment, no thought of self. No physical self.
Yoda: A great Jedi Master, you have become, Qui Gon Jinn. Your apprentice I gratefully become.

You can check it out in the screenplay or the comic adaptation.

quote:

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Originally posted by Quill:
I know I will be drawn and quartered for saying this -- but I actually hope that GL redoes every special effect shot from the original trilogy. I could care less about nostalgia or original creative vision...want I want is better technical continuity for the entire story.

Imagine the Super Star Destroyer crashing into the Death Star, skipping across its surface and breaking apart...rather than the cringe inducing plume of flame. As good as the end battle in RoTJ is...imagine it looking like RoTS!!

I'm not talking about adding a scream as Luke falls, new dance numbers or Han Solo shooting second...but revamping most of the exterior shots would be a great change (as it was for Death Star attack in ANH).

Unless such changes are made...I would be hard pressed to buy another set (unless there was a DTS ES mix.)

---

Hey Quill, did you ever see the OMNIMAX film on special effects? It came out in 1996 (and I've never been able to find it on video or DVD), I believe, before the Special Edition theatrical release of the original trilogy. Anyway, in the film they showed the boys at ILM re-doing, re-filming, and re-vamping the opening Rebel Blockade Runner sequence ... and DAMN! Did it ever look incredible! It was done with a combination of computer generated effects and models: the Star Destroyer had heat waves blasting from her engines, the laser blasts were completely re-done and each hit on the Star Destroyer exploded with flames! It was awesome, and they mentioned that they were doing this for the Special Edition trilogy and so when I saw it in the theatres I was expecting the scene to be completely re-done, but they had decided not use to use it for some reason. Perhaps they are saving it for the 2007 theatrical release? Whatever the reason, those visual effects that were shown (they showed the pan down from the opening crawl and the ensuing pursuit of the Blockade Runner) and was it ever incredible on the HUGE OMNIMAX screen, they were as good as anything in Revenge of the Sith.

NP: Steamboy (Steve Jablonsky) *****/*****

I'm confused. Should it have been some kind of surprise that Palpatine and Sidious are the same person? For me it wasn't a surprise, although I'm not a fan of the SW saga.

Yes, I decided to drag myself into the theatre and see Episode III. What an imbalanced movie.

The ending was great - and it's pasted all over the movie that the ending was really what Lucas wanted to share with us - but nearly everything else in the movie was uneven rubbish. And I'm not talking about the blank acting and the predictable plot, but the embarrassing imbalance of Lucas' storytelling. The opening battle and the following one emphasize that this is only a popcorn-movie that doesn't need to be taken seriously, and then out of the blue Lucas tries to mix here and there some "serious" drama, which ends up nearly every time simply ridiculous because of this clash of genres and the horrifying emptiness of the characters, the words, the situations and scenes. All the time with Anakin's and Padme's scenes I wished and prayed that Lucas would go DEEPER and be BOLDER - but no; Lucas appears to be content with his way of seeing everything black and white and incredibly light. Anakin's step to the dark side is another one of these things which in my opinion are treated too lightly in the movie. He just snaps and goes onto a killing-spree. Not much to care for.

Also a big problem in Episode III - as in the previous episodes - is the damned quick-paced editing which makes the movie seem more like a montage and not a story to be taken seriously. Just when you begin to almost feel for a character, Lucas cuts the scene. He doesn't give time to the things that NEED TIME and wastes huge amount of time in popcorn-battles that do nothing to the story. And, furthermore, the quick-paced editing also gives the movie a bizarre feeling that all of the story happens within two days at most. Two days!!?? Babies seem to happen very fast in space where time apparently means nothing -- because George Lucas doesn't give the time.

All in all, it's a pity that such good and powerful climax (starting from Anakin's feet being hacked off) is the ending to such a big pile of cinematic garbage.

Luckily, John Williams manages to conjure up some emotions to the scenes that seriously need them - and the climax and the finale are appropriately touching.

However, I think that I don't need to get the Episode III soundtrack. The score wasn't that great. I think I just dig up the STAR WARS ANTHOLOGY 4-DISC SET and listen to "Luke and Leia" for a bed-time lullaby.

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Originally posted by Ken S:
!!! SPOILERS AHEAD !!!

I'm not a fan of the SW saga.

-KEN-

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Gee, ya' think? And by the way, George Lucas never said that Star Wars was anything more than a popcorn movie. Your snobbish review and "critique" (which is about as deep as anything posted by that Sabbath-maniac Ryan Keveany) treats the movie as if it were supposed to be Hamlet, or King Lear. You won't even buy the score, either? Lame, dude, lame!

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Originally posted by Camillu:
Whilst driving home tonight I noticed a subdued statement of Luke's theme at around the 50 second mark in Track 7 - Grievious and the Droids. Anyone remember what happens on scrren at this point?

Thanks

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This piece wasn't featured in the film, but the cue 'Grievous and the Droids' syncs up to Anakin and Obi-wan's first meeting with Grievous. The Luke theme reference would have come on the glowering look Anakin gives when Grievous says of Anakin that he is 'younger than expected.'