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BOOK
Star Wars
The Art of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Author: J. W. Rinzler
Ebury Publishing
RRP £17.99
ISBN 0 091 89738 6
Available 02 April 2005


The wait is over. On 19 May this year (2005), all remaining questions will be answered when
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith hits our screens. Over a month before the event, The Art of... book of this movie arrives in bookshops to give fans an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the production of the film...

Revenge of the Sith is the Star Wars film that fans have been waiting to see, and with that in mind two books that any true fan should treat themselves to this year are being published (The Making of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and The Art of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith).

I love these coffee table books. The Art of... is a rich, sumptuous, book that you can dip into again and again, though I suggest you do so only after watching the film as the book contains the full script. It includes thousands of illustrations, matte paintings and conceptual art. The thick gloss paper on which the book is printed maintains all the detail of the original artwork.

The fascination of these books lies as much in what made it into the eventual look of the film as the ideas which were rejected. Clothing, interiors, craft, the evolution of all of these is demonstrated here. This book is different to the others in the series. Previously, the art work was set out to follow, as much as possible, the screenplay. This one however is presented in the chronological order that the paintings where created, which may confuse anyone who might just purchase this single volume. Most of the pages have the date when the art was created and the reasons for that become obvious when you buy this as well as The Making of...

Rinzler has cleverly linked the two books by this method, so if you're reading about what conceptual art was being created on a particular date you can pick up The Making of... to see what was happening on the movie's production at the same time.

So who is Rinzler, some lucky fan boy who got to follow the good and great for a couple of years? What makes these books so complete and fascinating is that he is in fact a senior editor at Lucasfilm. So, for once, this really is an insider's view of Revenge of the Sith, warts and all.

With their interconnectivity it really is worth getting both books, it would even be worth getting a coffee table, to display these heavy tomes on, just to make your friends jealous.

Charles Packer

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