brijesh
17-08-05, 01:55 PM
A saga that began a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away ends this week. George Lucas’s Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge Of The Sith open this week with its worldwide release.
In one of the most eagerly awaited and widely hyped film releases in years, “Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith” gets its first official screening at the Cannes Film Festival in southern France.
Director and creator George Lucas will be in the glamorous Riviera resort on a whirlwind round of interviews, honours and promotional events, including one on an ocean liner moored just off the coast.
For Lucas, a lot is at stake. The first three released Star Wars films (Star Wars, The Em¬pire Strikes Back, Return Of The Jedi — which were Episodes IV, V and VI really, according to the narrative) were classics. The next two (The Phantom Menace and Attack Of The Clones — Episodes I and II) flattered to deceive. In an era when The Lord Of The Rings movies have redefined celluloid fantasy for new-gen moviegoers, Lucas knows he must pull all stops and end his epic with a bang.
For starters, he is on record as defining Episode III as “a Titanic in space". Comparing his film to the biggest hit of all times is of course a smart move to re-initiate Gen. Now to a series that revamped Hollywood rules way back in the seventies. Lucas has also said his new film is “more emotional; a real tearjerker".
Sith ends the cycle of three prequels, and explains the transformation of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader, the heavy-breathing, black-masked warlord who first loomed over audiences in the 1977 “Star Wars” original.
“I think these three films are about the evolution of who we know as Darth Vader, and I guess now looking back on the other films you also have a different view of who he is,” actor Samuel L. Jackson, who stars in the latest trilogy said.
“We used to see him as just pure evil, because we didn’t know that much about him. Now we know how he got to this particular place, so he seems more the tragic figure than an evil figure now.”
Lucas might as well have called his new film a “quasi Kill Bill in space", though. Early reviews indicate Episode III is darker and more violent than all other Star Wars movies put together. A reason why the film has been censored PG13 in the US. Clearly, Lucas targets the young adult this time. The number of special effects shots used in this film is 2151( the first film in 1977 had only 360)
Some say George Lucas has made Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, the last installment of his epic Star Wars, more like a video game than a motion picture. With 90 computer-generated minutes—20 more than Attack of the Clones—sensory overloaded Sith fizzles in a blaze of gore.
Director Paul Schrader once said the Lucas series “ate the heart and soul of Hollywood".
And if Lucas has been the God of movie promotion, merchandising reaches no-holds barred proportions. Forget Star Wars toys, light sabers and masks. Lucas this time has launched Darth Vader pyjamas and Revenge Of The Sith boxers and briefs in the US and the UK. With $115 million (plus $ 95 million by way of marketing and printing costs), he is in no mood to take risks. Lucas has earned 9 billion from the sale of Star Wars merchandise till date.
The essential facts:
The Jedi are the good guys in the Star Wars saga. The Jedi Council has 12 members and settles conflicts around the galaxy. They also protect the galaxy from forces of the Dark Side.
The Force, as Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi puts it, is “what gives the Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.”
The Dark Side of the Force represents the evil in the Star Wars movies.
The Sith is an ancient cult devoted to the Dark Side of the Force. The Sith has two secret members at a time, Sith Master Darth Sidious and his apprentice. In Episode III, Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader, the apprentice. The Sith wants to control power in the galaxy.
The Rebel Army is out to wrest back power from Darth Vader’s evil imperial reign in the Star Wars films.
In one of the most eagerly awaited and widely hyped film releases in years, “Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith” gets its first official screening at the Cannes Film Festival in southern France.
Director and creator George Lucas will be in the glamorous Riviera resort on a whirlwind round of interviews, honours and promotional events, including one on an ocean liner moored just off the coast.
For Lucas, a lot is at stake. The first three released Star Wars films (Star Wars, The Em¬pire Strikes Back, Return Of The Jedi — which were Episodes IV, V and VI really, according to the narrative) were classics. The next two (The Phantom Menace and Attack Of The Clones — Episodes I and II) flattered to deceive. In an era when The Lord Of The Rings movies have redefined celluloid fantasy for new-gen moviegoers, Lucas knows he must pull all stops and end his epic with a bang.
For starters, he is on record as defining Episode III as “a Titanic in space". Comparing his film to the biggest hit of all times is of course a smart move to re-initiate Gen. Now to a series that revamped Hollywood rules way back in the seventies. Lucas has also said his new film is “more emotional; a real tearjerker".
Sith ends the cycle of three prequels, and explains the transformation of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader, the heavy-breathing, black-masked warlord who first loomed over audiences in the 1977 “Star Wars” original.
“I think these three films are about the evolution of who we know as Darth Vader, and I guess now looking back on the other films you also have a different view of who he is,” actor Samuel L. Jackson, who stars in the latest trilogy said.
“We used to see him as just pure evil, because we didn’t know that much about him. Now we know how he got to this particular place, so he seems more the tragic figure than an evil figure now.”
Lucas might as well have called his new film a “quasi Kill Bill in space", though. Early reviews indicate Episode III is darker and more violent than all other Star Wars movies put together. A reason why the film has been censored PG13 in the US. Clearly, Lucas targets the young adult this time. The number of special effects shots used in this film is 2151( the first film in 1977 had only 360)
Some say George Lucas has made Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, the last installment of his epic Star Wars, more like a video game than a motion picture. With 90 computer-generated minutes—20 more than Attack of the Clones—sensory overloaded Sith fizzles in a blaze of gore.
Director Paul Schrader once said the Lucas series “ate the heart and soul of Hollywood".
And if Lucas has been the God of movie promotion, merchandising reaches no-holds barred proportions. Forget Star Wars toys, light sabers and masks. Lucas this time has launched Darth Vader pyjamas and Revenge Of The Sith boxers and briefs in the US and the UK. With $115 million (plus $ 95 million by way of marketing and printing costs), he is in no mood to take risks. Lucas has earned 9 billion from the sale of Star Wars merchandise till date.
The essential facts:
The Jedi are the good guys in the Star Wars saga. The Jedi Council has 12 members and settles conflicts around the galaxy. They also protect the galaxy from forces of the Dark Side.
The Force, as Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi puts it, is “what gives the Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.”
The Dark Side of the Force represents the evil in the Star Wars movies.
The Sith is an ancient cult devoted to the Dark Side of the Force. The Sith has two secret members at a time, Sith Master Darth Sidious and his apprentice. In Episode III, Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader, the apprentice. The Sith wants to control power in the galaxy.
The Rebel Army is out to wrest back power from Darth Vader’s evil imperial reign in the Star Wars films.