Post by Captain Hawke on Oct 8, 2005 17:30:57 GMT -6
Inside the DVD: Revenge of the Sith
October 06, 2005
Disc Two: The Extras
After enjoying the movie, viewers can delve deeper into the Episode III experience with Disc Two, where all the bonus features reside. Known as "value-added material" in the industry, Lucasfilm has taken care to make bonus material engaging, insightful and entertaining. While some other DVDs load their value-added discs with playable interactive gimmicks and games, Lucasfilm has instead concentrated on making the material illuminate the filmmaking process and serve as a sort of abbreviated "mini film school."
[ Inside the DVD: Revenge of the Sith ]
Disc Two content is also introduced through a series of animated menus that transform familiar Episode III settings. The tight production deadlines of the Episode III DVD meant that Producer Van Ling and his team only developed the concepts for the Disc Two menus, but the actual execution of these designs fell to The Studio at New Wave Entertainment. "They have a very different style and feel from my menus, which were very interesting to see," says Ling. Producing for New Wave was Paul Miles Schneider, with art direction by Mike Romey. Environments include the bridge of General Grievous' cruiser, the Jedi Temple computer rooms, and Darth Vader's rehabilitation chamber.
The centerpiece of the bonus material is the 78-minute documentary Within a Minute. It is an unusual format for a documentary, with a specific and challenging story to tell. "It truly is mind-boggling how many people, how many thousands of hours it takes to make just one sequence," says Rick McCallum. "An interesting experiment is to actually take a sequence of shots, and analyze how many people were involved in the making of that sequence. Within this brief moment of the film you really have a window into the entire process it took to make Episode III."
To that end, Within a Minute takes a 49-second sequence from the Mustafar lightsaber duel and looks at its development from start to finish. "There are hundreds of names and jobs in the end credits, but hardly anyone understands just what all of those people do and what an enormous contribution they make to the movie," says Tippy Bushkin, director of Within a Minute. "By focusing on less than 60 seconds of the movie, Rick McCallum aInd George Lucas examine the entire process of making Episode III in a fun and fascinating way."
There are two other documentaries provided by Bushkin and her crew within the same section of Disc Two. The Chosen One is a 14-minute look at Hayden Christensen's role as Anakin Skywalker and the transformation of the character into Darth Vader.It's All For Real is an 11-minute documentary about Nick Gillard, Stunt Coordinator and Sword Master for Episode III, and his crew's development of the amazing action and swordplay in Revenge of the Sith. Hyperspace members, for more information about the making of these documentaries, see this story here.
Fans who have been tracking the making of Episode III online since the earliest days of production are already familiar with the Making Episode III web doc series. First debuted on Hyperspace, the best 15 chapters of the 18-chapter series are included on the disc. Watch the following in full screen resolution without having to log onto the website to see them:
* "Two Worlds, One Movie"
* "...One World, Two Movies"
* "We Still Do A Little Bit"
* "Creating General Grievous"
* "This Weapon Is Your Life"
* "Video Village"
* "Epic Designs for an Expanding Universe"
* "C-3PO: His Moment to Shine"
* "Pick-ups & Reshoots"
* "Becoming Obi-Wan"
* "The Wookiees are Back!"
* "B-107: The Life of an HD-Tape"
* "The Creatures of Episode III"
* "Endlessly Compelling: The Music of Episode III"
* "Becoming Sidious"
[ Inside the DVD: Revenge of the Sith ]
[ Inside the DVD: Revenge of the Sith ]
[ Inside the DVD: Revenge of the Sith ]
The Episode III DVD also contains a collection of deleted scenes. As in previous DVD releases, some of these scenes have been completed, with finished visual effects, sound and score.
The first one, however, in a mix of complete and incomplete footage, serving more as an animatic to a story-point cut from Episode III. "General Grievous Slaughters a Jedi; Escape From The General" has the evil cyborg general kill Shaak Ti before a helpless Obi-Wan and Anakin. The two Jedi escape Grievous' grasp by cutting their way through the cruiser's floor, from the proverbial frying pan into the proverbial fire by landing into a chamber filled with volatile starship fuel.
The next three deleted scenes follow the cut Rebel Alliance storyline cut from Episode III. Padmé Amidala would conspire with Senators Bail Organa, Mon Mothma and others to create worst-case contingencies to Palpatine's growing powers. In "A Stirring in the Senate," the Senators gather in Bail Organa's office to start the discussion. In "Seeds of Rebellion," the conversation picks up in Padmé's apartment. In "Confronting the Chancellor," diplomacy is given once last chance as Padmé voices her concerns to Palpatine with Anakin standing nearby.
The next deleted scene, "A Plot to Destroy the Jedi?" is a quiet scene with Yoda, Mace Windu and Obi-Wan in Yoda's apartment. They discuss the imbalance in the Force and the danger of Palpatine's rule. Finally, there's "Exiled to Dagobah," the long-anticipated scene where Yoda arrives on the bog planet where he will live out the rest of his life. These deleted scenes are playable with optional introductions by George Lucas and Rick McCallum.
Marketing and promotional material developed for the release of Episode III is also included on the disc, including the theatrical teaser and release trailer, as well as the "A Hero Falls" music video, which features John Williams' epic "Battle of the Heroes" score. There are 15 television spots, ranging from action-packed commercials for younger audiences, longer emotional spots for older audiences, and even the review spots that showcase the overwhelmingly positive critical response to Episode III. Disc Two also features poster galleries and dozens of photos from production, including some never before published.
By now, gaming fans should know that November 1st is not only the release date for the Episode III DVD, but also the day the sequel to the most successful Star Wars videogame of all time comes out. Star Wars Battlefront II is coming out for Xbox, PlayStation 2, PC and Sony PSP. The open-ended battlefield play of the original that let you control the troops, vehicles and weapons you wanted against multiple players, is back and better than before. It now features playable Jedi characters, space combat, and new Episode III content. For those wanting a taste of Battlefront II, the DVD contains a fully playable Xbox demo of the game. The trailer for the game, as well as the trailer for Star Wars Empire at War is also on the DVD.
There's more. The DVD is your gateway to online exclusives. With the Episode III DVD, an Internet connection, a web browser with Flash 7 or higher, and a system running Microsoft Windows 2000 or higher*, dvd.starwars.com is your source for exclusive text-based commentaries. Find out a wealth of behind-the-scenes trivia, hard-to-spot visual details, and expanded universe lore as in the Depth Commentary. Compare the differences between the movie on paper and the movie in action with the Script-to-Screen commentary, and get a whole new and decidedly strange interpretation of Episode III with the "Busted Protocol Droid" Commentary. That's just the start. There are more online commentaries and unique viewing experiences in the works for Episode III and the entire Star Wars DVD library.
October 06, 2005
Disc Two: The Extras
After enjoying the movie, viewers can delve deeper into the Episode III experience with Disc Two, where all the bonus features reside. Known as "value-added material" in the industry, Lucasfilm has taken care to make bonus material engaging, insightful and entertaining. While some other DVDs load their value-added discs with playable interactive gimmicks and games, Lucasfilm has instead concentrated on making the material illuminate the filmmaking process and serve as a sort of abbreviated "mini film school."
[ Inside the DVD: Revenge of the Sith ]
Disc Two content is also introduced through a series of animated menus that transform familiar Episode III settings. The tight production deadlines of the Episode III DVD meant that Producer Van Ling and his team only developed the concepts for the Disc Two menus, but the actual execution of these designs fell to The Studio at New Wave Entertainment. "They have a very different style and feel from my menus, which were very interesting to see," says Ling. Producing for New Wave was Paul Miles Schneider, with art direction by Mike Romey. Environments include the bridge of General Grievous' cruiser, the Jedi Temple computer rooms, and Darth Vader's rehabilitation chamber.
The centerpiece of the bonus material is the 78-minute documentary Within a Minute. It is an unusual format for a documentary, with a specific and challenging story to tell. "It truly is mind-boggling how many people, how many thousands of hours it takes to make just one sequence," says Rick McCallum. "An interesting experiment is to actually take a sequence of shots, and analyze how many people were involved in the making of that sequence. Within this brief moment of the film you really have a window into the entire process it took to make Episode III."
To that end, Within a Minute takes a 49-second sequence from the Mustafar lightsaber duel and looks at its development from start to finish. "There are hundreds of names and jobs in the end credits, but hardly anyone understands just what all of those people do and what an enormous contribution they make to the movie," says Tippy Bushkin, director of Within a Minute. "By focusing on less than 60 seconds of the movie, Rick McCallum aInd George Lucas examine the entire process of making Episode III in a fun and fascinating way."
There are two other documentaries provided by Bushkin and her crew within the same section of Disc Two. The Chosen One is a 14-minute look at Hayden Christensen's role as Anakin Skywalker and the transformation of the character into Darth Vader.It's All For Real is an 11-minute documentary about Nick Gillard, Stunt Coordinator and Sword Master for Episode III, and his crew's development of the amazing action and swordplay in Revenge of the Sith. Hyperspace members, for more information about the making of these documentaries, see this story here.
Fans who have been tracking the making of Episode III online since the earliest days of production are already familiar with the Making Episode III web doc series. First debuted on Hyperspace, the best 15 chapters of the 18-chapter series are included on the disc. Watch the following in full screen resolution without having to log onto the website to see them:
* "Two Worlds, One Movie"
* "...One World, Two Movies"
* "We Still Do A Little Bit"
* "Creating General Grievous"
* "This Weapon Is Your Life"
* "Video Village"
* "Epic Designs for an Expanding Universe"
* "C-3PO: His Moment to Shine"
* "Pick-ups & Reshoots"
* "Becoming Obi-Wan"
* "The Wookiees are Back!"
* "B-107: The Life of an HD-Tape"
* "The Creatures of Episode III"
* "Endlessly Compelling: The Music of Episode III"
* "Becoming Sidious"
[ Inside the DVD: Revenge of the Sith ]
[ Inside the DVD: Revenge of the Sith ]
[ Inside the DVD: Revenge of the Sith ]
The Episode III DVD also contains a collection of deleted scenes. As in previous DVD releases, some of these scenes have been completed, with finished visual effects, sound and score.
The first one, however, in a mix of complete and incomplete footage, serving more as an animatic to a story-point cut from Episode III. "General Grievous Slaughters a Jedi; Escape From The General" has the evil cyborg general kill Shaak Ti before a helpless Obi-Wan and Anakin. The two Jedi escape Grievous' grasp by cutting their way through the cruiser's floor, from the proverbial frying pan into the proverbial fire by landing into a chamber filled with volatile starship fuel.
The next three deleted scenes follow the cut Rebel Alliance storyline cut from Episode III. Padmé Amidala would conspire with Senators Bail Organa, Mon Mothma and others to create worst-case contingencies to Palpatine's growing powers. In "A Stirring in the Senate," the Senators gather in Bail Organa's office to start the discussion. In "Seeds of Rebellion," the conversation picks up in Padmé's apartment. In "Confronting the Chancellor," diplomacy is given once last chance as Padmé voices her concerns to Palpatine with Anakin standing nearby.
The next deleted scene, "A Plot to Destroy the Jedi?" is a quiet scene with Yoda, Mace Windu and Obi-Wan in Yoda's apartment. They discuss the imbalance in the Force and the danger of Palpatine's rule. Finally, there's "Exiled to Dagobah," the long-anticipated scene where Yoda arrives on the bog planet where he will live out the rest of his life. These deleted scenes are playable with optional introductions by George Lucas and Rick McCallum.
Marketing and promotional material developed for the release of Episode III is also included on the disc, including the theatrical teaser and release trailer, as well as the "A Hero Falls" music video, which features John Williams' epic "Battle of the Heroes" score. There are 15 television spots, ranging from action-packed commercials for younger audiences, longer emotional spots for older audiences, and even the review spots that showcase the overwhelmingly positive critical response to Episode III. Disc Two also features poster galleries and dozens of photos from production, including some never before published.
By now, gaming fans should know that November 1st is not only the release date for the Episode III DVD, but also the day the sequel to the most successful Star Wars videogame of all time comes out. Star Wars Battlefront II is coming out for Xbox, PlayStation 2, PC and Sony PSP. The open-ended battlefield play of the original that let you control the troops, vehicles and weapons you wanted against multiple players, is back and better than before. It now features playable Jedi characters, space combat, and new Episode III content. For those wanting a taste of Battlefront II, the DVD contains a fully playable Xbox demo of the game. The trailer for the game, as well as the trailer for Star Wars Empire at War is also on the DVD.
There's more. The DVD is your gateway to online exclusives. With the Episode III DVD, an Internet connection, a web browser with Flash 7 or higher, and a system running Microsoft Windows 2000 or higher*, dvd.starwars.com is your source for exclusive text-based commentaries. Find out a wealth of behind-the-scenes trivia, hard-to-spot visual details, and expanded universe lore as in the Depth Commentary. Compare the differences between the movie on paper and the movie in action with the Script-to-Screen commentary, and get a whole new and decidedly strange interpretation of Episode III with the "Busted Protocol Droid" Commentary. That's just the start. There are more online commentaries and unique viewing experiences in the works for Episode III and the entire Star Wars DVD library.
