Title: The Making of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
Author: J.W. Rinzler
ISBN: 0-091-89737-8
Publisher: Random House
Copyright: 2005
Reviewed by Sarah the Nerd
Chances are, if you're a Star Wars fan you've already heard of or own this book -- my own copy was bought from Tesco's, after all. It does exactly what it says on the tin: talks about the film Revenge of the Sith and how it was made. Chances also are that you'll find this book a good read, because it's packed with information and there's something for everyone -- costumes, vehicles, quotes and lots of pretty pictures.
First and foremost are all the tidbits about character and plot -- for example, a 10-year-old Han Solo was originally going to appear on Kashyyyk, and Count Dooku was supposed to be behind Shmi's death; there's still concept art and script drafts left over from these ideas as well. If you like studying the evolution of the story and character motivations, this book will probably be a great help to you. There's definately a lot about Anakin written in there, for a start and seeing as Revenge of the Sith is his story, that can only be a good thing. For example, from page 167: "A new theme illustrates how Anakin relies heavily on droids and computers to target the enemy (the opposite of his son, Luke, who will use the Force)." If you want to read about the characters from the point of view of the people who created them, this is probably a good place to start.
Also featured is concept art -- this book would probably be worth buying for the concept art alone, if not for the fact that The Art Of Revenge of the Sith was released by the same author at the same time -- and details about deleted scenes. Hopefully some of them will be seen on the DVD, but for others this might be the only offical source that mentions them.
Then of course there's the documentary aspect, like "The Beginning" on The Phantom Menace DVD, you're taken behind the scenes. There's lots of information on the technical part of it all, as you'd expect from a book like this -- how it was filmed with the greenscreen, how the lightsabre duels are done (not that everyone doesn't know that by now), ILM's work, and much more. And Steven Spielberg comes to visit again. Admittedly, not everyone will find backstage on a Star Wars film interesting, but a great many will. There are stills to look at, as well, from both the movie and from behind the camera.
Aside from anything else, this book really makes you appreciate the amount of work that goes into making a film -- especially when that film is one of the most anticipated blockbusters of all time. The technology of it all is one thing, and then there's the story, and this book understands them both. You might well feel quite disappointed by the end of it, knowing that there'll never be a film quite like Star Wars again.
