11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magic and Mayhem behind the scenes...., April 25, 2005
As thrilling as the movies themselves, these accounts of making them add to any hardcore "Star Wars" fan's enjoyment. Mishaps, inside jokes, the pressure of deadlines, meticulous attention to detail, the intricate choreography of the space battles and duels, and how those fabulous special effects are done are almost as exciting as the finished product. The demands placed upon the actors, who must "interact" convincingly with characters and weaponry that isn't even there (added later by special effects artists and computer animators) is astounding. The reader gains a new appreciation for the genius of George Lucas and crew...as well as a hope that this won't REALLY be the last of this magnificent saga. I also recommend the excellent "Once Upon a Galaxy" which is the making of "The Empire Strikes Back."
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A superb eyewitness account of a technological masterpiece, May 21, 2005
If you're the type of person who enjoys the behind-the-scenes documentaries of moviemaking, this book will make you feel like a Hollywood insider. Regardless of your opinion of the movie itself, most can successfully argue George Lucas has once again managed to raise the bar in the realm of visual effects and digital production.
You may be surprised to know the entire movie was shot in less than two months. The book is laid out like a diary, with day-by-day discussions of the various scenes and what the actors and crew were going through as the movie was being shot. Considering over half the movie was digitally animated, the book is also chock full of art and photographs from initial concept to finished product.
Beware, this book covers the movie inside and out, so there are plenty of spoilers. However, once you've seen the movie, this book will likely make you want to see it again to catch everything you missed.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For Casual and Die-Hard SW fans- -as well as Filmakers!!, April 6, 2005
Like everyone else has written, this book is just so full of great things related to Star Wars, not just Episode 3.
George Lucas will always be "The Man" who got me into filmaking(Robert Rodriguez is a close second), and its great to read about his thought process of concluding the Star Wars saga and the saga as a whole. I love the excerpt when he said something to the extent of Hollywood would never let Episode I be Episode I, but Episode I be made like Episode III for 3 WHOLE MOVIES. As much as unpopular Episode I was, he stood by his conviction of telling the first 3 stories the way they had to be told, arm-chair quarterbacks and critics who will never have 1/1000th of his success, be damned.
Written in logs, this book is a diary of the start to finish of making Episode 3, along with side notes, trivia, conceptual art, etc. What I like most about the book, is that I learned more about filmaking from an on-set insider POV with all parties involved(Lucas himself, Cinematographers, Producers, Assistants, Art Teams, Actors, Editors, etc.)than reading "filmaking" books or taking film classes.
I'm not really fickle about spoilers, but keep in mind this book has many. If you want to get the book AFTER watching the movie, by all means, do that, just get the book!! Just when you want to put the book down, you find something new and interesting!!
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