REVENGE OF THE SITH, the last of the STAR WARS prequels, hits DVD shelves in a two-disc set Nov. 1, 2005 (Fox Home Ent., $29.98). EPISODE III, with stunning vfx from ILM 1,269 shots and more CGI than many animated features is a reference quality disc, thanks to its dense, beautiful, digital imagery.
The highlight of the extras is a feature-length doc, WITHIN A MINUTE, which interestingly focuses on the making of the climactic Mustafar battle between Anakin and Obi-Wan. Less than a minute in length, the complicated sequence is broken down, department by department, hosted by producer Rick McCallum.
George Lucas, McCallum, vfx supervisors John Knoll and Roger Guyett and animation director Rob Coleman supply the commentary track about various tidbits and some of the glorious imagery.
There are half a dozen deleted scenes, including Yoda first arriving at Dagobah, where we first met him in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and Anakin and Obi-Wan trying to rescue a captured Jedi from General Grievous.
Other bonus features include:
* "The Chosen One" featurette: Lucas traces the myth of Darth Vader through all six episodes* "It's All for Real: The Stunts of Episode III"* A 15-part collection of Lucasfilm's web docs* STAR WARS BATTLEFRONT II trailer and Xbox game demo* STAR WARS EMPIRE AT WAR PC game trailer* "A Hero Falls" music video* Poster and print campaign* Trailers and TV spots* Never-before-seen production photo gallery* DVD-ROM content includes a free trial of Hyperspace, the online STAR WARS experience
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
