Five Weeks From Star Wars: The Force Awakens – More contests and Staff Picks for Episode III
The countdown continues as we are now only five weeks from the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Things are finally starting to move. We have TV spots and magazine articles. The mystery box is starting to creek open as that grasp on spoilers loosens a bit. The weather where I am is starting to chill as we approach the holiday season and it is all starting to feel real. New Star Wars is happening. It is within our grasp. In just over 34 days, most of us will be sitting in theaters getting our fist glimpse of the saga in its new form.
So, what do we do to pass the time? Free stuff of course.
Last week we asked what your favorite action sequences from Attack of the Clones were with the best responses to receive some fun free stuff.
The winners are:
– T-Shirt from FifthSun
– The Art of Attack of the Clones
– The Making of Attack of the Clones
This week we’re moving on to Revenge of the Sith. Revenge of the Sith has no shortage of action. It is arguably the most action packed of the 6 existing movies. For our part, here is Trevor with his favorite action sequence from Revenge of the Sith.
Trevor – Revenge of the Sith – Duel on Mustafar
This scene between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker was one of, if not the most pivotal scenes in the Star Wars saga as it was the culmination of Anakin’s slide and final plummet to the dark side which results in the transformation and emergence of the Darth Vader that we feared in the original trilogy.
When Anakin warns Obi-Wan with the “Don’t make me kill you” line, I knew at that moment that Anakins fall would be complete as he was going to attack, and we were witness to his final and emotionally devastating transition.
I’ve always felt that the duel itself was the most riveting physical action sequence of the trilogy as it was ultra-fast paced and visually stunning. Nick Gillard worked with Ewan and Hayden training primarily for this sequence for nearly 2 months, and in my opinion, is the finest lightsaber duel in all of the saga. While watching the duel, one cannot help but be mesmerized by the saber combat as is undoubtedly the finest visual example of lightsaber training and execution by the Jedi. I’ve always felt like Bob Anderson’s Kendo style approach to lightsaber combat in the original trilogy was slow and somewhat clunky, especially while watching scenes of Luke swinging his blade like a heavy two-handed broadsword. Given that lightsabers have a blade composed of pure plasma, we have to remember that with the exception of the hilt, they are theoretically weightless and should be wielded with minor effort.
As I watch the Mustafar scene unfold, I cannot help but feel painful remorse for Obi-Wan as he pays witness to the disappearance of his friend into a void of darkness that been against everything they’d ever learned…and he could not stop it, and would fight for his own life. In the end, Obi-Wan is emotionally dismantled as he tells Anakin that he had loved him, retrieves Anakin’s lightsaber, and walks away while Anakin apparently burned to death. This scene was the most heart wrenching of the saga, as it was the final chapter of everything we knew of the Jedi…their end was complete, and Obi-wan would carry the weight of Anakins fall to the darkside in his mind for the rest of his life.
Don’t forget to let us know in the comments what your favorite action sequences from Revenge of the Sith are. Do you like Dooku Dismemberment? Clone Betrayal? Or maybe you like watching Grievous burn from the inside out? So uncivilized. Let us know in the comments below and you might win one of the following prizes.
1. The Making of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith:
2. The Art of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith:
3. Star Wars T-Shirt from FifthSun:
I wonder what they’re going to do to top that final duel, I’ve watched it a thousand times and I’m still blown away by it. I always felt like this was the finale to Star Wars, which is why this duel was so grand in scale. Who knew we were going to get three more movies?! Makes me wonder if they’re going to incorporate the lightsaber combat of the PT or the OT, or maybe even a blend of both.
I don’t like the duel from Episode 3. It goes on for way too long and they were trying too hard. All they have to do to top it is create a short but emotionally charged lightsaber fight that keeps our attention and actually makes us care about what’s going on.
Cool! It’s nice to hear everyone’s opinions on these movies that’s why this website is the best place for the Star Wars community. LET’S SEE WHAT THEY HAVE IN STORE FOR US NOW!!!!!!! I believe that If they could capture the emotion of the duel between Vader and Luke in ROTJ along with the pace of the one from ROS it will make one hell of a scene that will leave us all passed out in the theater.
I think it had to be long, because they were pretty evenly matched. I loved that duel, although a couple of the things (like swinging on ropes) were a bit over the top.
As a kid, the lightsaber battles in the OT were always my favourite parts of the movies, closely followed by the attacks on the Death Stars. I can’t wait to see the lightsaber duels in this one – I’m sure there will be at least two, and hopefully one of them involves Luke!
Luke Vs Kylo please. He needs to remind the galaxy who the real badass is lol.
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS!!! 🙂
My favorite action sequence was actually Yoda v. Sideus. We knew for almost 2 decades that there would eventually be an Obi-Wan v. Anakin/Vader fight – but we had NO idea until just a year or so prior to Episode III’s release that Yoda and Sideous would duke it out.
My favorite action sequence from Revenge of the Site was the Yoda/Palpatine duel. I always wondered how those two would do against each other and they both pretty much acted as I would expect. Yoda mustered the force as much as he could to have it fill his body to try and furiously overwhelm Palpatine, and Palpatine just rained destruction and did what a slimy toad would do; fought dirty. Once Yoda lost his lightsaber and his grip, I knew he couldn’t sustain the fight. He had to retreat and regroup.
I really loved Revenge of the Sith, not just for the many great action sequences. Visually, I liked the attack on the Wookiees on Kashyyyk, that battle looked amazing, really well done. The most moving action scene for me was Order 66, and seeing all of the Jedi killed was really sad, especially after watching the Clone Wars, and knowing all their names, plus knowing the clone troops like Cody. One of my favourite moments of the film (among many) was when Bail Organa shows up at the Jedi Temple, and the young Jedi pops up and nails a couple of clones before being taken out. After the depressing scenes of Jedi being murdered, a glimmer of hope sparks – then gets quickly crushed. What a great film!
The Kashyyk sequence was beyond greatness. Another thing the PT did which was really cool was the introduction of new planets. I hope we revisit some of them this time around. It’s always been a dream of mine after the PT to see Luke in Coruscant and visit the Jedi temple where his father spent most of his time.
I’m surprised that the six movies aren’t available on TV or to stream right now. Seems like the Disney PR machine would have these out in order to increase interest even more.
In Australia, we’ve just had all six episodes on free to air tv over the past six weeks.
I suppose they want people in the US to pay for them, but most fans have purchased the movie already. Not a good way to get new people into the series.
I agree that most fans would have bought the movies already. So why not put the movies on tv, and bring new fans to the cinema, who will then probably go and buy the original movies anyway?
In czech republic the six movies are every two years in different tv channels, not cable tv, the normal one…of course, with advertising every 30 minutes…
yep and I posted the ratings in the forum in case anyone was interested
TPM was on top flowed by
ROTJ
SW
ESB
AOTC
ROTS
and now replaying on 7mate
sometimes i find it a tad crazy that older OT fans hate on the prequels and/or the prequel fights and somehow find a way to justify the joke of a fight in episode IV. don’t get me wrong, i’m an equal fan of all 6 films, but i think it’s universally more exciting to watch something like the battle of muustafar as opposed to ben kenobi vs. vader. somehow 2 old cooks swinging lightsabers at 4 m.p.h. equates to “better acting, better practical effects, better acting, better dialogue, more emotion, etc. etc”. don’t get me wrong.. the OT has magic that the PT doesn’t, and vice versa.. but the episode III battle is full of emotion, and is an all around better duel.. regardless of the fact that it occasionally looked choreographed.
I´ve always seen the duels in the old trilogy (well, at least after I´ve seen the duels in the new trilogy) as a legend. It happened a long time ago, and someone is telling this story as audiovisual, and he choosed to describe it this way, whil the duel in fact could have been much faster, much more epic, but we will never see that, because it happened so long ago…this is how you easily can repair weak moments of each movie – it´s so old the story, almost a legend, that it possibly happened in a different way, we just don´t remember exactly how….
Mustafar duel is the number 1 pick for me also. People can argue about cheesy lines and the choreography all they want, but that level of rage and dueling skill from Anakin (or as I like to call him – Young Vader) i very real and true. That rage, that fury, those moves – tell us more about the character than many of the dialogues, and with the masterful music score – it is clear why it belongs among most iconic Star Wars movie scenes of all time.
Dooku battle was great, but the problem is – it is Dooku really, not Darth Tyrannus. Jokes, cowardice etc. Where is the fury, where is the hate, where is the SITH in that character? He was on the verge of tears at the end of the battle, why?? Is that how the “ruthless Sith” faces his demise? Really? At least he should’ve been furious at Sidious for the betrayal, and go in the last flash of rage.
Of Grevious battle I liked mostly the end. The over-the-top beginning without any real tension and the chase scenes are really not my cup of tea.
Sidious VS Council and Sidious VS Yoda battles are too cheesy and sloppy for me to take them seriously, and I REALLY wanted to take them seriously because they’ve should have been.
p.s. if in any case I get a reward I would REALLY like it to be an artbook. Nevertheless, all tree are awesome :] Cheers! MTFBWY
I always thought that Dooku is not a true Sith….he was almost his entire life a Jedi, and only the last 10 years he was on the dark side of the Force. He was ot completely evil, he learned the dark side, but there was still a bit of Jedi in him. This is why I´ve never seen him as a true Sith lord. He was old tired dissapointed Jedi…he was used just to politically lead the separatists, Sidious was waiting for a bigger fish.
WAR! The whole opening space battle scene. The two Jedi Starfighters gracefully picking there way through the battle to find Grievous’s ship. Tons of ships, Coruscant in the background, very cool looking. Could have lived without the buzz droids though.
My favorite action sequence is the light saber duel on Mustafar between Anakin and Obiwan. I also liked how the action scene was intercut with the Yoda and Darth Sidious battle in the senate. Revenge of the Sith is my second favorite Star Wars movie behind Empire Strikes Back.
The opening space battle over Coruscant was def. my favorite. I still remember going to the midnight premier with four of my buddies and just being blown away by that opening shot as my buddies all exclaimed ‘whoa!’. unlike the previous movies i really felt like the chemistry and banter actually worked well here and was engaging, it was definitely a pleasant surprise. Also seeing the capital ships blast at each other was just awesome
While all the action is great, my favorite is the opening sequence of the Jedi fighters on attack to rescue the Chancellor. you can see Anakin’s need to help the clone pilots and his angst over not being able to. I’ve always loved fighter battles and the Star Wars’ universe’s are the best.
The opening space battle. I’ve always liked the fighter scenes and space battles the most, and here we don’t just have fighters but also huge capital ships destroying each other. There are only two such battles in the saga. I also really liked the lightsaber fights, not just the Anakin vs Obi-van fight but the one including Yoda and Sidious as well. Basically I love the whole movie, for me it’s the best from the PT.
My favorite action scene from the movie was a close one between the Battle of the Heroes and the opening sequence. But I have to say the opening sequence still gives me the chills so it takes the cake..the war drums, that rendition of the force theme and those Jedi cruisers made the most memorable opening sequence of the Star Wars saga so far in my opinion.
YES ART BOOK I’M LOOKING AT YOU!!
I think Grievous is highly underrated. He collects lightsabers from fallen Jedi and can use 4 at once!? Badass. Sadly, He wasn’t even on the poster. The fight between him and Obi-Wan was pretty awesome.
My favourite scene in Revenge of the Sith is the turning point which is the duel between Mace Windu and Palpatine up to the point where Anakin screams “What have I done?!”. This is a scene which is rarely pointed out as one of the best when talking about ROTS but for me it has a lot of energy and is arguably the best duel (choreographed and otherwise) of the film. To see the malevolence channelled by McDiarmid and also a cool origin for those facial scars we see the Emperor bearing thereafter makes this a standout for me.
“Execute Order 66”. Not only was this one of the most memorable lines of the film, but it was during this sequence where the jedi are murdered that the viewer could sit back and witness the true brutality and almost genius of the Sith, that the republic has no chance. As the violence rises you can only wonder the amount of force Anakin himself was going to bring down on the Republic by the end of the film. Thank goodness this film had a PG-13 rating or else I don’t think the impact of the murders would have been as strong.
It’s a great montage that showed the potential for the movie. It should have really expanded on the slaughter of the Jedi.
My favourite scene is when clone soldier betrays without any hesitation Obi-Wan. He was friendly talking to the Jedi few moments later, but when order came – “blast him!” One shot, and it’s done. Jedi are betrayed, the best guardians of hope and peace in the galaxy, noble warriors, selfless, almost all undone.
I too love the final confrontation between Obi-Wan and Vader on Mustafar. It could have been a little shorter, in my opinion, but still a great visual sensation.
My favourite scene in Revenge of the Sith would be a toss up between Palpatine telling Anakin the story of Plagueis and Obi Wan vs Anakin
Palpatine telling Anakin the story of Plagueis is my favorite part of the movie. I’m not a huge fan of ROTS, but that scene was incredibly well done.
Agreed.
Such a good scene !!!
Mace vs Sidious. Every time i watch it i still root for Windu to somehow kill Palpatine and avoid total disaster. Every single time… and every single time that Skywalker kid comes in and messes up the fate of the galaxy. Also love the scene cause of its importance in the whole saga and how they repeat it in Return Of The Jedi ( only there Anakin makes a choice to come between out of compassion, not out of selfish reasons) Brilliant stuff.
I would say my favorite scene has to be the very opening shot. Sure, we saw a massive battle before, but the beginning throws us right into the several-years-long was very quickly and smoothly, before finishing with a bang as we enter the actual firefight.
Definitely the Duel of Fates / fight on Mustafar – it is without a doubt the most potent and stunning action sequence of the sextet, if not the best sequence (not just action) of all. Until TFA that is…
I found the Anakin/Obi-Wan duel to be an absolute letdown that began with the undeveloped jealousy/mistrust/hate that Anakin had for Obi-Wan when he disembarked from Padme’s ship. Lucas didn’t establish enough conflict between these characters to justify Anakin wanting to kill Obi-Wan. Things were alluded to, and diehard fans brought their own knowledge of the canon to fill in the blanks, but it was bad writing all around. The duel itself was marred by the horrendous red lava CGI that made most of it nearly impossible to watch. The extreme long shots detracted from the intensity of the duel as well. To me, it was a sequence that really summed up the failures of the entire prequel trilogy: bad writing, bad acting and overuse of CGI.
You might be surprised to know the lava scenes are a combination of loads of different elements only one of which is CG. Its actually very good how they did it, with a lot more practical elements than you might think. Heres a link to a video about it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldDrCMcYPUs
They used photographed elements but it was all
Wrong.
The man who couldn’t think of his own opinion…
Agreed, it was just awful on every level. That we’re supposed to imagine that whiny little crispy prick behind vaders mask in eps 4-5-6 is a goddamn desecration of films greatest villain.
The Battle of Coruscant, from the opening crawl to “Another happy landing.” It was the closest the prequels ever came to capturing the magic of the original trilogy. The chaotic space battle was a wonderful spectacle and remains the most energetic example of full fledged space combat seen as of now. The descent in the elevator was a good bit of fun and seeing half-a-ship crash land from orbit was amazing. Plus, throughout, there is some of the best music that John Williams ever put into a Star Wars film, including the two best renditions of the Force Theme (the war-like version after the opening crawl and when the Invisible Hand is crashing). The worst part (besides some of the acting and dialogue, though wasn’t nearly as bad as other parts of the trilogy as well as a bit of CG overkill inside the Invisible Hand) was the actual duel with Dooku, but that’s more of a combination of it being too quick as well as Dooku barely having actual screen time as a full-fledged, honestly evil character. Actually, he barely had screen time at all, but he never really felt like a Sith. The choreography was good (as it tends to be in the prequels…with the exception of spinning).
(On the Duel on Mustafar): It’s a good duel, but it is hardly the best duel in the films*, mostly due to the story being incredibly fumbled up to this point. Otherwise, it’s good. I’m still impressed with how fast both Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor were and they did a great job. And again, John Williams being amazing.
*For me, the best duel remains the Duel on the Second Death Star. The actual story makes it big, not the choreography.
The Birth Of Darth Vader – The part which really stood out for me and has stuck with me, was near the end of the film when we see the droids working on Anakins burnt body. Then the amazing masking of his head into the all important and instantly recognisable Mask. The moment the helmet goes on you hear the whine and high pitched whistle which then activates the earie and again totally recognised breathing..amazing cinematography, amazing sounds..freakin’ amazing film! Definately the best of the prequels.
The most beautiful part of ROTS was Yoda and Palpatine, inexplicably being elevated into the middle of the senate room locked in lightsaber combat. I loved previously, Yoda force pushing the Emperor after he send force lightning through him, those exchanging of blows had all of the thrill of a heavy weight fight ready to begin. As the senate room became a giant game of frisbee, I was surprised Yoda was defeated in the manner he was, but this makes Anakins redemption all the more important in ROTJ. I liked Yoda and Palpatine’s confrontation / action scene.
I´ve just seen Revenge – we do one film per week, and there´s a lot of thing I like, Jedi Purge, the last duel, “I have faild you Anakin”…….”You´re going to kill him, aren´t you?”…….but I always loved the most the beginning, the drums, the Republic destroyer…..it´s always so powerful entry….I loved the battle of the big ships, it remained me so much the battle of medieval ships with it´s cannons….really great.
The Order 66 scenes churned up so many emotions simultaneously for me! Anger, hatred, betrayal, fear, disappointment, sorrow…. Seeing such harrowing ends to some much-loved characters who had plenty of development and expansion in The Clone Wars animated series made it all the harder to watch. Yes – we all knew from the opening scenes of TPM that any Force-sensitive characters introduced into the trilogy that weren’t Obi-Wan or Anakin were definitely going to die before the tale was told, but that didn’t make it any easier to go through emotionally
Ki-Adi Mundi’s battle scene was very much reminiscent of the battle in The Clone Wars, but then to see his impotent battle charge and rousing cry to the very troopers who then gun him down in cold blood…. The brutality of the onslaught against Aayla Secura after she fell…. Plo Koon’s fiery death as he ploughed into a tower in his Starfighter…. Adi Gallia smashing into a pillar on her speederbike….And almost the loss of the mighty Yoda…. I can’t think of another movie where such total betrayal and destruction has ever taken place!
John Williams’ magical touch perfectly captured the impending doom for the heroes with the ominous hint at the Imperial March whilst drawing heavily on the military theme used back in TPM with the Battledroids, then swiftly moving into the full choral drama of the Force, followed by the sorrowful notes of the almost realisation of the consequences for the galaxy…. The man is a living legend, and the SW universe will not be the same without him.
So whilst probably not the most enjoyable part of the movie emotionally, for me in terms of storyline, there was no equivalent in the PT for drama, action and visuals, in my opinion.
How should the victors of these contests go about claiming their spoils?
One can not deny that RotS is the ultimate action packed movie of the saga, so much going on. But my favourite action sequence would probably be the Battle of Coruscant. I just love the music of John Williams. As the drums come, and then Jedi starfighters arrive, it’s visually and ear satisfying.
One can not deny that RotS is the ultimate action packed movie of the saga, so much going on. But my favourite would probably be the Order 66 scene. When you only think inside the movie, it may not make you so sad, but when you think about it as a story, think about how much the clones and their Jedi generals went through. How much they trusted each other, how much they helped each other. Think about the sadness a Jedi would feel when a clone under their command dies. And in the Order 66 sequence, the clones’ betrayal is greatly shown, they really obey their Master very well. Commander Cody, who said “when have I ever let you down” to its general, Obi-Wan Kenobi, let him down so bad. Before one second he helped him but then turned his back on him. That’s probably the greatest way of betrayal shown.
The best thing about Revenge of the Sith, is that we get to see a stroppy teenager burn to death.
This will be short and sweet but when Jett Lucas came in like a boss and went Jedi on the the stormtroopers. Yes…he ended up getting his ass handed to him but not before taking some with him
My fave seen is the padme funeral combined with vaders transformation cause i believe it sums up the original trilogy cause the funeral shows padme wearing that necklace that anakin gave her with the bump in her belly which suggests there is hope for anakin via there children but the transformation scene implies it will be extremely difficult because ‘hes more machine than man’.
I love when Vader arrives on Mustafar, when he closes the doors and starts to wipe out the trade federation. The pure evil in his eyes, brilliant.
I loved Obi-Wan riding the veractyl on Utapau. The whole Grievous chase was a great example of Star Wars leaning more towards fantasy than sci-fi. The sounds the creature made, and they way it moved came out great and extremely memorable. It’s just one example of why it’s my favorite episode of the saga.
How anyone can watch those films with any joy is beyond me. They are terrible films. To quote terry Gilliam they are dead things.
Move Grandad. No one cares about Ewoks
Shut up, Simon Pegg.
The Best scene in Revenge of the Sith or any Star wars film, is the delightfully interesting & vissually appealing Oprea scene. This scene is not only rich with offscreen exposition rich with poetic irony that really gives Anakin the sense of y
My personal best is the clash of Obi-Wan against Anakin. It’s the pivotal scene of the events to follow (in the OT), giving us the reason in the most intriguing question about Darth Vader: What happened to him? Why is he so disfigured, having to hide behind a suit and a mask?
These answers are provided in a breathtaking lightsaber combat between the former best friends. The terrain is magnificent, the music is compelling as always and the actors/stunts do their best in terms of movement and ferocity posture.
Surely the ending with the “high ground advantage” may seem a little poor, but the following Obi-Wan “speech” and the battle’s overall impression gave me the necessary background about Anakin’s physical and mental change, which defined him in the future.
The final duel in rots is pretty cool, but lacked the drama of the final duel in rotj. Vader stalking and intimidating Luke, the mental battle of him reading lukes feelings and pointing out his weakness, the music, and the teeter totter of Luke deciding what to do still makes for a better duel even with the lame, slow choreography of the sabers.