“Revenge of the Sith” has existed in infamy since its release. While it was the most well-received of the “Star Wars” prequels, many people remember the memes and jokes made about the movie rather than the movie itself. But what many people may not realize is how much the “Star Wars” prequels, and “Revenge of the Sith”, impacted the film community.
The prequel era of “Star Wars” was a problematic time, both for George Lucas, the film’s director, and the trilogy’s cast. Actors such as Jake Lloyd, who played the role of young Anakin in “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace”, received immense backlash from fans for his performance. Similarly, Hayden Christensen, who played Anakin in the latter two movies, quit acting for several years after filming “Revenge of the Sith” after facing harassment, only returning to “Star Wars” 17 years later. However, amid all the controversies, the “Star Wars” prequels managed to make an impact on Hollywood, just like the original trilogy.
“Revenge of the Sith” was made with a heavy mix of practical effects and computer-generated imagery (CGI) and required an immense amount of manpower and computing power to create. Mustafar, one of the settings in the film, took 910 artists and over 70,000 man-hours just to animate 49 seconds of it. The film utilized blue screen technology to create and animate a variety of settings and characters, many of whom were fully CGI. While computer-generated imaging had existed for some time, the prequel trilogy made massive leaps with what filmmakers could do with it. Additionally, the film used a surprising amount of practical effects, with the miniature for the planet Mustafar being the largest miniature created for a film at the time. The lava used on that set was also created with practical effects, as the production team used a lookalike to create flowing “lava” to further enhance the set. Anakin’s transformation into Darth Vader was created with practical effects as well, with the lowering of the iconic helmet being created through practical effects and not CGI.
What “Revenge of the Sith” is most known for, besides the memes, was its fight choreography. Many fans consider the climactic duel between Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi to be the best in the entire series. Actors Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor, who played Obi-Wan, rehearsed extensively with stunt coordinator Nick Gillard and ultimately performed the duel without the use of stunt doubles. It is an infamously known fact among fans of the film that the two actors performed the duel at nearly the same speed as it’s shown in the film due to their extensive training and rehearsal.
While “Revenge of the Sith” is a flawed movie, it has endured as a cult classic, with many fans still appreciating the film to this day. The amount of time and energy put into the film, along with the rest of the trilogy, has impacted how movies would be made for decades to come. As many Jedi have said before, may the force be with you.
