As the Clone Wars rage on, the rift between the Jedi Council and Chancellor Palpatine widens, leaving the young Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker caught in the middle. Plagued by visions of his pregnant wife Padmé dying in childbirth, Anakin is seduced by promises of power from the Dark Side that could save her. His fateful decision to turn against the Jedi Order leads to a galaxy-shattering duel with his former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and marks the birth of the Galactic Empire and the rise of Darth Vader.
Information |
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Language |
English |
Country |
United States |
Premiere date |
May 19, 2005 |
Running time |
140 minutes |
Genre |
Sci-Fi
Adventure Action |
Budget |
$113,000,000 |
Box Office |
$868,390,560 |
Crew |
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Directed by |
George Lucas |
Produced by |
Rick McCallum |
Written by |
George Lucas |
Music by |
John Williams |
Cinematography |
David Tattersall |
Edited by |
Roger Barton Ben Burtt |
Production Co. |
Lucasfilm Ltd. |
Distributed by |
20th Century Fox |
Top Cast |
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Official Trailer |
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Movie Collection |
Movie Order: #06 in Star Wars Collection
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The Plot
The Rescue of the Chancellor
Three years into the Clone Wars, the Galactic Republic is locked in a devastating conflict with the Confederacy of Independent Systems. General Grievous, the cyborg leader of the Separatist Droid Army, launches a daring assault on Coruscant and captures Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. As a massive space battle rages over the capital, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and his former Padawan, Anakin Skywalker, lead a mission to rescue the Chancellor. Fighting through swarms of buzz droids and enemy fighters, the Jedi crash-land their interceptors into the hangar bay of Grievous's flagship, the Invisible Hand.
Battling through the ship, the Jedi locate Palpatine in the observation spire but are confronted by Count Dooku. A fierce lightsaber duel ensues. Dooku incapacitates Obi-Wan, knocking him unconscious, leaving Anakin to fight alone. Fueled by Dooku’s taunts and tapping into his anger, Anakin overpowers the Sith Lord, severing both his hands. At Palpatine’s urging, Anakin decapitates the defenseless Dooku, taking a dark step toward his destiny. The ship, heavily damaged by Republic fire, begins to plummet toward Coruscant. Anakin carries the unconscious Obi-Wan, refusing to leave him behind.
Crash Landing and Grievous's Escape
The Jedi are captured by General Grievous and brought to the bridge, but R2-D2 creates a distraction, allowing them to break free. A skirmish erupts, and Grievous, realizing he is outmatched, shatters the bridge window and escapes into space, fleeing to an escape pod. With the ship breaking apart in the atmosphere, Anakin pilots the disintegrating vessel to a miraculous emergency landing on a Coruscant industrial platform. Obi-Wan wryly remarks, "Another happy landing."
Reunited with Padmé Amidala in the shadows of the Senate, Anakin learns she is pregnant. However, his joy is short-lived as he is plagued by visions of her dying in childbirth. Desperate to save her, he becomes vulnerable to Palpatine’s manipulation. The Chancellor, granted new emergency powers, appoints Anakin as his representative on the Jedi Council. The Council accepts Anakin but denies him the rank of Master, fueling his resentment. They also ask him to spy on Palpatine, tearing Anakin between his loyalty to the Jedi and his friendship with the Chancellor.
The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis
At the Galaxies Opera House, Palpatine reveals to Anakin that General Grievous has been located on Utapau. He then seduces Anakin with the legend of Darth Plagueis the Wise, a Sith Lord who could manipulate midi-chlorians to create life and prevent death. Palpatine suggests that the Jedi are dogmatic and power-hungry, claiming that the dark side offers abilities some consider "unnatural." When Anakin asks if he can learn this power to save Padmé, Palpatine chillingly replies, "Not from a Jedi."
The Jedi Council dispatches Obi-Wan to Utapau to engage Grievous, leaving a frustrated Anakin on Coruscant. Obi-Wan locates the General and engages him in combat. Grievous wields four lightsabers simultaneously, but Obi-Wan severs his hands and pursues him on a varactyl. The chase ends on a landing platform where Obi-Wan kills Grievous by shooting his exposed organic heart with a blaster.
The Sith Revealed
On Coruscant, Anakin informs Palpatine of Grievous's death. Palpatine then reveals his true identity: he is the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. He offers Anakin the knowledge to save Padmé in exchange for his loyalty. Conflicted, Anakin reports Palpatine to Mace Windu. Windu, along with Masters Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar, and Saesee Tiin, attempts to arrest the Chancellor. Sidious kills the three accompanying Masters instantly and engages Windu in a ferocious duel.
Windu disarms Sidious and corners him. Anakin arrives just as Sidious unleashes Force lightning, which Windu deflects, disfiguring the Chancellor's face. Windu prepares to strike the killing blow, but Anakin, desperate to save Padmé, intervenes and severs Windu’s hand. Sidious blasts the defenseless Jedi Master out the window to his death. Realizing he has crossed the point of no return, Anakin pledges himself to the Sith. Sidious dubs him Darth Vader.
Order 66 and the Fall of the Jedi
Sidious issues Order 66, declaring the Jedi traitors to the Republic. Across the galaxy, clone troopers turn on their Jedi Generals, slaughtering them in cold blood. Yoda and Obi-Wan barely survive the purge. Meanwhile, Vader leads the 501st Legion into the Jedi Temple, massacring everyone inside, including the younglings. He then travels to the volcanic planet Mustafar to wipe out the Separatist leaders, effectively ending the war.
In the Senate, Palpatine frames the Jedi as insurrectionists and reorganizes the Republic into the first Galactic Empire, receiving thunderous applause. Heartbroken by the fall of democracy, Padmé watches in horror. Obi-Wan and Yoda return to the devastated Jedi Temple and discover a recording of Anakin’s betrayal. Yoda tasks Obi-Wan with confronting his former apprentice, while Yoda prepares to face the Emperor.
Battle of the Heroes
Obi-Wan visits Padmé, revealing Anakin’s turn to the dark side. Distraught, she travels to Mustafar to find him, unaware that Obi-Wan has stowed away on her ship. On Mustafar, Padmé pleads with Anakin to leave with her, but he is consumed by power, ranting about ruling the galaxy. When he sees Obi-Wan, he accuses Padmé of betrayal and chokes her into unconsciousness. Obi-Wan intervenes, and a tragic duel between master and apprentice begins.
While Yoda fights the Emperor in the Senate chamber to a stalemate and is forced to flee into exile, Obi-Wan and Vader battle across the unstable mining facility on Mustafar. The duel ends on the banks of a lava river. Obi-Wan gains the high ground and pleads with Vader to stop. When Vader leaps to attack, Obi-Wan severs his legs and left arm. Vader slides near the lava, catching fire and burning horribly. Obi-Wan picks up Anakin’s lightsaber and walks away, leaving his former brother to die, heartbroken by his fall.
The Birth of Vader and the Twins
Palpatine rescues the maimed Vader and brings him to Coruscant, where he is encased in life-sustaining black armor. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan takes Padmé to the asteroid colony of Polis Massa. She dies giving birth to twins, naming them Luke and Leia, and insisting with her final breath that there is still good in Anakin. On Coruscant, Vader awakens in his suit and asks for Padmé. Palpatine lies, telling him that he killed her in his anger. Vader screams in despair, his transformation into a monster complete.
To protect the children from the Sith, Yoda and Obi-Wan decide to separate them. Leia is adopted by Bail Organa on Alderaan, while Obi-Wan delivers Luke to his step-family, Owen and Beru Lars, on Tatooine. As Obi-Wan disappears into the desert to watch over the boy, Owen and Beru stand before the twin suns, holding the galaxy’s new hope.
