Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Question: When Mace Windu deflected the sith lightning, did Palpatine fake being weak or in agony? Was it a test to see if Anakin would save him? If so, what did he mean when he shouted unlimited power?

Answer: It may not have been entirely faked, although it does seem somewhat unlikely that a Sith Lord would be affected in any serious way by his own Force lightning, but Palpatine was certainly not remotely as endangered as he made out. It does seem that it was a test, designed to finally ensnare Anakin in the Sith web, by forcing him to turn on another Jedi. His shout of 'unlimited power' seems to have been a final taunt to the suddenly helpless Mace Windu.

Tailkinker

Question: On disc 2 of the DVD version of Star Wars Revenge Of The Sith, i noticed as i watched the trailers that, in some of them, when Darth Vader's platform that he is lying on is being lifted up, that in some trailers his hands are bolted down pointing upwards, but in the film they are pointing downwards, would this be a deliberate mistake or just something they hoped people won't notice?

Answer: It's something that was changed from the time the trailer was made until the time the film was released. Since the shot with his arms up was not in the actual movie, it is not a mistake.

K.C. Sierra

Question: This is a general Star Wars question: Do Luke and/or Leia ever come into contact with their family on Naboo - Padme's family? This may have happened in the novels.

Answer: So far, they haven't. In fact, until recently, they didn't even know their mother's name. However, it is not impossible that this may happen in the future. In the novel "Dark Nest 1: The Joiner King" (published in July 2005), which takes place 35 years after Episode IV, they finally discover their mother's first name, which could perhaps lead to further investigation. We'll just have to wait and see.

Question: I am just curious as to how they make the lightsaber clashing sound. It's the sound made when General Grevious turns on his lightsabers, in Ep. II right before Obi Wan is cut by Dooku's lightsaber, and in Ep. IV whenever Darth Vader and Obi Wan clash their lightsabers and hold it together. It's a shhhhh, clickity, clickity, clack, clack. I just was wondering.

Answer: It is metal on dry ice and the ignition of carbon arc lamps used in old movie projectors (sounds strange but true!).

Question: Why does the Emperor bother to rescue Anakin? After all, he has been defeated, lost most of his limbs and is near death. The Emperor has reached his goal and if he can take Yoda on like that, surely any remaining Jedi shouldn't be a problem for them?

Answer: The Emperor has not quite reached his goal of ruling the galaxy. In addition, a Sith Lord needs an apprentice. Since Anakin is EXTREMELY powerful with the Force, a broken Anakin (that the Emperor knows can be repaired back to a useful state) is better than trying to find another apprentice powerful enough to help him begin his conquest of the galaxy.

Damian Torres

Question: The end of the movie, where Luke is brought to Tatooine, is often jokingly referred to as "The Harry Potter scene." However, every time I hear the tunes played at the exact moment Obi-Wan hands the baby to Beru, I can't help thinking about the Harry Potter theme. Was this done on purpose by John Williams, who also composed the music of the Harry Potter movies?

Answer: According to IMDb: "Composer John Williams included a small 11-tone musical cue in the scene reminiscent of his score for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001). It can be heard when Obi-Wan arrives at Owen and Beru's house."

Chosen answer: The film takes place over a considerable period of time, as Palpatine works on turning Anakin, Anakin grows increasingly dissatisfied with the Jedi Council, the search for Grevious goes on and so forth. There's enough time for Padme to have only had a relatively small pregnancy bump in the early scenes.

Tailkinker

Question: Why are the tips of the lightsabers in this movie pointed? In the original trilogy and the other prequels, they've always had rounded tips.

Answer: They've always been pointed, it just depends on what angle you view the blade from.

Question: Obi-Wan says to Anakin- "Only a Sith deals in absolutes." Isn't this line an "absolute" as well?

Answer: Not really - it's just a factual statement. The term 'absolute' tends to mean things like good and evil, life and death, that sort of thing, rather than simple facts like what Obi-wan says.

Tailkinker

Question: Who is exactly in charge? In ANH it seemed that GM Tarkin was Darth Vader's superior, but in Episode III, Darth Vader seemed to be above Tarkin. Who has been mentioned to be a General at this time?

Answer: Vader's military rank is unclear - it may be that he has no official rank and is therefore not technically part of the command structure. However, as the personal representative of the Emperor, he holds an enormous amount of personal power within the Empire and, as we see, can have military units assigned to do his bidding. Most officers will respect that power (plus his tendency to kill those who displease him) and will show him the proper subservience - just as we see the younger Tarkin show deference to the Emperor and Vader in Episode 3. By the time of Episode 4, however, Tarkin has advanced to become one of the most highly-ranked officers in the Empire, has acquired considerable personal power of his own and is held in high esteem by the Emperor himself. All of which serves to put him on the same sort of level as Vader himself, allowing him to skip the fawning and grovelling. In Episode 4, Vader is on the Death Star, Tarkin's command, so the Grand Moff has the ultimate say in what goes on there, although, as we see, he does follow Vader's suggestions, even when he has his own misgivings.

Tailkinker

Chosen answer: We have no particularly accurate way of telling how long Maul was his apprentice, although it's stated that Maul was trained as a Sith from a very young age, so it was probably some considerable time. As far as we know, Tyranus became the apprentice after Maul's death, so he held the position for roughly thirteen years. Vader then took over, holding the position until the events of Return of the Jedi, a period of about twenty-two years.

Tailkinker

Question: Considering that only Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Bail Organa knew the truth about Luke and Leia's existence, do we know if Bail told his wife about the truth of Leia's background? Also, in episode IV, when Owen says, "That's what I'm afraid of," in response to Beru's comment that Luke has too much of his father in him, it seems to imply that he knows that Anakin is Vader, and that Vader is Luke's father. So how much of Luke's background did Obi-Wan reveal to Owen and Beru?

Answer: I think it's fairly unlikely that Obi-Wan told Owen and Beru everything - had he told them the truth, they might well have refused to take Luke. Owen is obviously aware that Anakin was a Jedi Knight, from their encounter in Episode 2, and he's also aware that the Jedi have been hunted down and exterminated. With this in mind, a more likely interpretation of his statement is that he worries that Luke will learn about his true heritage somehow and start learning about the Force. This could easily have the effect of bringing him to the attention of the Empire, which would probably end with his death. Owen's simply concerned that he'll get himself killed on some adventure or other, which is probably what he thinks happened to Anakin.

Tailkinker

Question: We've only seen Sith like Dooku and Palpatine generate force lightning. We've also seen Jedi like Yoda, Mace Windu, and Obi-Wan repel it, but not generate force lightning, so is force lightning a weapon used only by the Sith?

Answer: Yes force lightning is a dark side power. Dark side powers are aggressive in nature (like the choke hold or force lightning) while light side powers are defensive.

Andreas[DK]

Answer: No. Anakin was aware of only one child. The first time he learns about Leia's relationship to Luke (and thus to himself) is during his lightsaber battle with Luke in "Return of the Jedi."

Cubs Fan

Question: Why did Senator Organa want to wipe away C-3PO's memory? Was it to further ensure that Luke and Leia's existence would be kept a secret?

Matty Blast

Chosen answer: I would say it was mostly done to fill a plot hole with the original Star Wars. If his memory wasn't erased then C3PO would have recognized Owen Lars and Aunt Beru in the original Star Wars. Plot-wise, I'm sure the justification is safety.

William Bergquist

Question: If I wanted to read about the events that took place between III and IV, what would be the most accurate and authorized book or series of books to read?

Matty Blast

Chosen answer: There aren't any at the moment, as the books have been under orders to stay away from that time period. There will, however, be books coming out in the near future that deal with that timeframe.

Tailkinker

Question: Does anyone know what all the buttons on Darth Vader's suit are for and what they do?

Answer: The buttons are a console for all of the life support systems inside Vader's suit - breathing, air regulation, vocabulator, and temperature control. They are specially protected, however, such that hitting the console in a lightsaber fight won't deactivate any systems.

Question: Why is "1138" supposedly hidden as a uniform number?

Answer: The number 1138 appears in five of the six Star Wars films - it's only missing from Return of the Jedi. It's a reference to an early film directed by Lucas, entitled THX-1138.

Tailkinker

Chosen answer: It's suggested in the books that Yoda settled on Dagobah because of the Dark Side cave near his home. The presence of a nearby source of Dark Side energy effectively camouflaged his own presence, preventing the Emperor and Vader from locating him.

Tailkinker

Additionally, in the Clone Wars show Dagobah is where Yoda must travel to begin his force-ghost training with Qui Gon's disembodied spirit, which is presumably part of the reason he returns.

Question: When Yoda and Sidious are fighting in the Senate, is the song that is playing the Phantom Menace theme song?

Answer: Well, it's not really the "theme song" for "The Phantom Menace," but it *is* "Duel of the Fates," which is the song that plays over the duel between Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan and Darth Maul in Episode I.

Cubs Fan

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Obi-Wan meets Anakin on the landing bay of the volcanic planet, Obi-Wan comes down the ramp from the ship and removes his cloak. It lays across the end of the ramp. The shot changes, then comes back, and the cloak is now bunched off to one side. (01:42:30)

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Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith trivia picture

Trivia: In the scene where Darth Vader and the Emperor are looking out onto the unfinished first Death Star, keep an eye out for a young Grand Moff Tarkin (played by Peter Cushing in "Star Wars").

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Answer: Darth Vader has a special chamber in which parts of the suit can be removed for comfort. When he is not in the chamber he must wear it at all times in order to survive.

Answer: Darth Vader does have his own personal chamber made to assist him with the equipment /suit he wears as well as, I'm sure, for resting/meditation purposes. Also keep in mind that Jedi/Sith, especially those trained to use the force (particularly those having mastered it), don't need the same sleep requirements regular folks need. They can "sleep" sitting straight up, on top of much harder elements and they can even "draw" energy from the force to help them stay awake. The expanded universe, via the books, gives more examples of Jedi/Sith sleeping or measures they take.

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