Customer Reviews

The Making of Star Wars Revenge of the Sith. J.W. Rinzler (Star Wars Episode III)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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."

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.

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!!

you really have to give George Lucas a lot of credit. I mean maybe he's just looking at more dollar signs but he, and many other filmmakers, are doing a great job these days in documenting the making of their films from day one. Whether it be for a making of book like this or for extras on the eventual DVD release, I think it's wonderful that they are taking fans into consideration. This book isn't just some fluff piece like some others that's desgigned to make a few bucks. This is a comprehensive, daily journal book written by Mr. Rinzler who was along for the entire movie-making process from the creation of storyboards and animatics to post-production editing and final touches. Rinzler lets readers become a fly on the wall to watch the entire creative process unfold. You'll see first hand the hard work and incredible pressure placed on everyone involved to not only get the movie completed, but to get it done right since this will be the last chance (as far as we know). Throughout the book there are behind the scenes photographs and conceptual drawings showing the development of various characters from initial renderings to the final, on-screen look. This is just a fascinating look inside movie-making, well worth it for Star Wars fans or anyone interested in working in film.

A very exhaustive, orderly and fact-filled book. Handsomely designed and yet accessable. Much more information and better pictures than Episode One's Making of book and definitely more informative, yet less flashy than Episode Two's Making of book, Mythmaking. Highly reccommended, especially for spoiler hounds like myself.

I thought that this was a very well done book! I liked how it showed what they were doing each day while filming, and how they prepare for making the movie. I learned alot about making movies, and now know alot of what the technical terms mean. It also had a nice format, with behind the scenes pictures on most of the pages. I am a HUGE Star Wars fan, and I thought this was a great book. A must read for all fans, or "wanna be" movie makers.

If you are true, "older" generation Star Wars fan, you must own this book!

It has all the things that us true fans consider important and "must know."

Don't pass this up.

This book is everything i expected and MUCH MORE!

It gives a great insight into the making of Ep. III, and i gotta say i always wondered how everything comes about when making a Star Wars movie: this book details it!!

Amazing pictures, great stories and a lot of details into the movie making process.

I got this book with The Art of Episode III one, and they complement each other beautifully.

This book is a must for any Star Wars fan!!

I have all the making of Star Wars books and I'll say that this is the best of the three. It begins with the artists in the attic. A talented group of young people worked at Skywalker ranch to put George Lucas's visions to paper. Boga, the lizard, Alderaan and Mustafar were on Lucas's mind very early on and the imagination of the artists was put to the test. Next come the actors. The reader is already aquainted with McGregor, Portman and Christensen and so Jonathan Rinzler is free to write about the other cast and crew members and their impressions and various journies to Star Wars. The artist who did the stunning toasty Anakin makeup had actually been dreaming about this job since he was a teenager. Some of the stunt men and sword masters had pasts that were so intriguing that I would've loved to have read more.

The details of how hard Samuel L. Jackson (who looks like he had a ball) had to work to get that duel with Palpatine on film is very interesting as is the section of working with Christopher Lee. Finally, the book discusses the part that Lucas clearly loves the most: going back to the "lab" and adding the special effects, cutting and editing and tinkering with the film.

There are some wonderful photos in the book. In one Lucas is talking to two Jedis. They look real. He looks like a photoshop add in. The pictures of the sets and how certain things were done were fascinating. And in the middle of this huge production real life is going on. Lucas and McCallum have families who float in and out. The set nurse and the cafeteria workers play an important role and everyone knows that the set carpenters are geniuses.

If you specialize in Star Wars books your collection won't be complete without this one.

Spoilers all over the place in this one!! BEWARE! Other than the early spoilers in the book it's fantastic. Well written and organized in a concise manner. Tons of super images and quotes.