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The Making of Star Wars #3
The Making of Star Wars, Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
This is it–the climax of the greatest science fiction movie epic of all time, and Star Wars fans can venture behind the scenes for all the fascinating details. From the first story discussions to the final stages of post production , The Making of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith is an exclusive, unprecedented look at the crafting of the most anticipated and perhaps the most important Star Wars film ever.
Packed with hundreds of never-before-seen photos and interviews with the visual-effects teams, cast, and crew–including writer/director George Lucas and producer Rick McCallum–this outstanding volume offers a rare insider’s look at the complete creative process. Granted unprecedented access to all those involved at every stage of the film, author and Lucasfilm senior editor J. W. Rinzler captures in riveting detail the intense drama and cliffhangers that occurred as production worked day and night for three years to bring their monumental undertaking to conclusion. Readers will uncover
• details on how the art and animatics departments teamed up with ILM to create the spectacular opening sequence, perhaps the greatest Star Wars space battle ever produced
• revelations on the genesis of archvillain General Grievous within the Episode III art department
• accounts of how George Lucas and Rick McCallum reached critical decisions in often pressure-laden situations
• exclusive interviews with Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor on how they prepared for their thrilling lightsaber duel as Anakin and Obi-Wan
• An eyewitness account of the reappearance of Darth Vader on the set in Sydney, Australia
Finally, there’s the film editing–Lucas’s favorite part of the moviemaking process. This portrait of the legendary director captures the down-to-the-wire tension encountered in getting to the final cut.
Fueled by his imagination and his beginnings as a documentary filmmaker, Lucas makes films the way some painters create canvases, building layer upon layer in each frame of the film. And this book takes the reader along for the ride.
Packed with hundreds of never-before-seen photos and interviews with the visual-effects teams, cast, and crew–including writer/director George Lucas and producer Rick McCallum–this outstanding volume offers a rare insider’s look at the complete creative process. Granted unprecedented access to all those involved at every stage of the film, author and Lucasfilm senior editor J. W. Rinzler captures in riveting detail the intense drama and cliffhangers that occurred as production worked day and night for three years to bring their monumental undertaking to conclusion. Readers will uncover
• details on how the art and animatics departments teamed up with ILM to create the spectacular opening sequence, perhaps the greatest Star Wars space battle ever produced
• revelations on the genesis of archvillain General Grievous within the Episode III art department
• accounts of how George Lucas and Rick McCallum reached critical decisions in often pressure-laden situations
• exclusive interviews with Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor on how they prepared for their thrilling lightsaber duel as Anakin and Obi-Wan
• An eyewitness account of the reappearance of Darth Vader on the set in Sydney, Australia
Finally, there’s the film editing–Lucas’s favorite part of the moviemaking process. This portrait of the legendary director captures the down-to-the-wire tension encountered in getting to the final cut.
Fueled by his imagination and his beginnings as a documentary filmmaker, Lucas makes films the way some painters create canvases, building layer upon layer in each frame of the film. And this book takes the reader along for the ride.
224 pages, Paperback
Published April 2, 2005
7 people are currently reading
373 people want to read
About the author
J.W. Rinzler
64 books103 followersJ. W. Rinzler has authored over 20 books including two New York Times bestsellers and a #1 best-selling graphic novel. With more than 600,000 copies in print, his books have been translated into seven languages.
J. W. Rinzler grew up in Manhattan, New York City, and then in Berkeley, California. He fell in love with old monster films, such as Dracula and Frankenstein, as well as Robin Hood and other adventure movies. He was an avid comic-book and novel reader, an intrepid moviegoer, and had his mind blown by The Beatles, Star Trek, Bruce Lee, Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, Frank Frazetta, Michelangelo, and Mad Magazine.
Rinzler drew his own comic books (badly), then, in his 20s, moved onto figurative oil painting (okay-ly, but self-taught). He lived in France for almost 10 years, where he began writing. Back in the USA, he worked as executive editor at Lucasfilm for fifteen years, chronicling the work of George Lucas and his genial collaborators in a series of books about Star Wars and Indiana Jones.
During this time, Rinzler also directed and wrote an animated short Riddle of the Black Cat, based on an Edgar Allan Poe story, which was accepted into several festivals, including the Montreal World Film Festival.
His latest book is an epic historical fiction thriller called ALL UP, an epic about the first Space Age, published in July 2020. The sequel will be out in a year or two...
Meanwhile his book on Howard Kazanjian, producer, is due in May 2021; and on Kubrick's The Shining in fall 2021.
Rinzler is married and has two daughters and one grandson. He lives on the northern California coast.
J. W. Rinzler grew up in Manhattan, New York City, and then in Berkeley, California. He fell in love with old monster films, such as Dracula and Frankenstein, as well as Robin Hood and other adventure movies. He was an avid comic-book and novel reader, an intrepid moviegoer, and had his mind blown by The Beatles, Star Trek, Bruce Lee, Sherlock Holmes, James Bond, Frank Frazetta, Michelangelo, and Mad Magazine.
Rinzler drew his own comic books (badly), then, in his 20s, moved onto figurative oil painting (okay-ly, but self-taught). He lived in France for almost 10 years, where he began writing. Back in the USA, he worked as executive editor at Lucasfilm for fifteen years, chronicling the work of George Lucas and his genial collaborators in a series of books about Star Wars and Indiana Jones.
During this time, Rinzler also directed and wrote an animated short Riddle of the Black Cat, based on an Edgar Allan Poe story, which was accepted into several festivals, including the Montreal World Film Festival.
His latest book is an epic historical fiction thriller called ALL UP, an epic about the first Space Age, published in July 2020. The sequel will be out in a year or two...
Meanwhile his book on Howard Kazanjian, producer, is due in May 2021; and on Kubrick's The Shining in fall 2021.
Rinzler is married and has two daughters and one grandson. He lives on the northern California coast.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 10, 2013
One of the things that is immediately striking about Making of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith is how this book is unlike many of the other Making of books out there. I think it really tries to capture the drama that is inherent in making a movie. This does come at the expense of not having a lot of information on how special effects or difficult shots were done. The book also doesn't have that overly positive tone where everyone who worked on this movie is a genius which is meant to appeal to fans. I love Star Wars, but I still found this to be a nice change of pace. This format also works well for Star Wars because of George Lucas's process which leaves a lot of uncertainty in the movie, especially until post production starts. The beginning of the book is also particularly interesting because it shows how the amazing art/visual aspects of the movies are created.
The Making of Revenge of the Sith has a nice mix of images as well. Many of them are set photos which have a lot of green screen backgrounds, but there is some concept art too. The only area where this book could be improved is that it tries to capture the monotony of the mid to late shoots. Everyone knows what they're doing and are just trying to power through it. The book dwells too much on this less interesting part. While it certainly captures how those on set feel, much less time and space could have been devoted to this subject. I've been reading quite a few Making of and Art books lately and this is one book that I think anybody interested in how films are made will like. It really shows the process and potential pitfalls of making a movie. Of course, Star Wars fans will also love seeing how the best of the prequels was made too.
The Making of Revenge of the Sith has a nice mix of images as well. Many of them are set photos which have a lot of green screen backgrounds, but there is some concept art too. The only area where this book could be improved is that it tries to capture the monotony of the mid to late shoots. Everyone knows what they're doing and are just trying to power through it. The book dwells too much on this less interesting part. While it certainly captures how those on set feel, much less time and space could have been devoted to this subject. I've been reading quite a few Making of and Art books lately and this is one book that I think anybody interested in how films are made will like. It really shows the process and potential pitfalls of making a movie. Of course, Star Wars fans will also love seeing how the best of the prequels was made too.
November 30, 2014
The process behind Revenge of the Sith is both fascinating and concerning. Fascinating, in the level of detail and freedom and incredible world-building that went into making these movies. (Did you know over 50% of the film was digitally drawn?!) Concerning, in the way George Lucas seems to crowd-source... well, basically everything. Dude didn't even have a script until like two weeks before shooting. Everyone seems to love working for him, all-bow-to-the-god-of-the-Force, but then he takes all the credit for a world the concept artists basically designed for him.
But hey, it's George Lucas, and he was somewhat behind the invention of the Pixar technology, and, you know, the invention of Star Wars. So I guess it all comes back to him anyway, and now he's a billionaire however many times over because he sold the franchise to Disney. He had a vision, and dozens of other people helped him achieve it. Props, dude. Your films changed the world.
I love these movies, no matter the gritty reality behind production. Reading an in-depth, firsthand look at the process behind a film that seriously altered my life was entertaining, intriguing, and thoroughly rewarding. Still waiting for Episode III in 3D, George. Or do I appeal to Disney, to whom I've already sold my soul? JUST GIVE ME THE OBI-WAN/ANAKIN BATTLE IN THE THIRD DIMENSION. PLEASE.
But hey, it's George Lucas, and he was somewhat behind the invention of the Pixar technology, and, you know, the invention of Star Wars. So I guess it all comes back to him anyway, and now he's a billionaire however many times over because he sold the franchise to Disney. He had a vision, and dozens of other people helped him achieve it. Props, dude. Your films changed the world.
I love these movies, no matter the gritty reality behind production. Reading an in-depth, firsthand look at the process behind a film that seriously altered my life was entertaining, intriguing, and thoroughly rewarding. Still waiting for Episode III in 3D, George. Or do I appeal to Disney, to whom I've already sold my soul? JUST GIVE ME THE OBI-WAN/ANAKIN BATTLE IN THE THIRD DIMENSION. PLEASE.
March 22, 2014
I've read through this once but have flicked through it a few times looking at the illustrations and photos, and I like this just as much for all the photos as the writing. It has pictures from the other star wars time as well. There's lots of info on the actors and the stunts and all the special effects and what it took to make the film. Its a pretty awesome book. If you want to know just a bit more about the film then its worth getting hold of a copy.
March 1, 2025
A fascinating deep dive into the making of Revenge of the Sith - George Lucas style. The process starts in absolute chaos, with designers churning out concept art based on little more than vague prompts from Lucas. There’s no script (and won’t be for a worryingly long time), making me wonder how the producer didn’t develop multiple ulcers from the sheer stress of this approach.
I loved the artwork and the detailed day-by-day shooting diary, which gives great insight into the filming process, the order of scenes, and just how much effort went into capturing an average of 2–3 minutes of footage per day.
One odd quirk: instead of a final chapter, there’s just a notice directing readers to readstarwars.com for the conclusion. Of course, nearly 20 years later, that link is useless - but thankfully, a quick Google search led me to a PDF of the missing 56 pages. It’s well worth tracking down, as it covers the sound design and John Williams’ composition and recording process for the score.
Overall, this is a must-read for Star Wars fans, offering a fascinating look at the behind-the-scenes madness. Highly recommended!
I loved the artwork and the detailed day-by-day shooting diary, which gives great insight into the filming process, the order of scenes, and just how much effort went into capturing an average of 2–3 minutes of footage per day.
One odd quirk: instead of a final chapter, there’s just a notice directing readers to readstarwars.com for the conclusion. Of course, nearly 20 years later, that link is useless - but thankfully, a quick Google search led me to a PDF of the missing 56 pages. It’s well worth tracking down, as it covers the sound design and John Williams’ composition and recording process for the score.
Overall, this is a must-read for Star Wars fans, offering a fascinating look at the behind-the-scenes madness. Highly recommended!
October 24, 2025
Exactly what you want
March 3, 2012
This is another of the making of books - as with the making of the phantom menace it tells the story through illustrations production shots and candid interviews the trials and challenges that went in to making the last of the new trilogy. There is a lot of additional information in here since the on going saga (no pun intended) had moved on from the events explained in the making of the phantom menace. One issue i have with this book is that there are references to going online to read additional information and even the last chapter goes on to say that the story is not finished go to this web address to read more - now i am all for adding in at the last moment but one day that web site will be switched off or removed - and then that chapter will be lost - never good since it means the book will outlive it and what then to all the references. all the same this an interesting book and shows how hard working and dedicated people are in the film industry - all praise where it is due.
February 20, 2017
A thorough and detailed look at the process of making the film - which was burdened by the fact that it capped a poor trilogy and most of us knew what was going to happen at the end - which manages to become boring since a big bulk of the film was CGI. Reading about and seeing pictures of the model crew working is excellent, watching anonymous bods sitting in front of computers is dreary. And Rob Coleman comes across as a thoroughly obnoxious bloke too, which doesn't help. For completists only, I think.
May 19, 2015
Chock-full of insider information and exclusive interviews, this book is very funny and meticulously put together from day-to-day experiences on set. The anecdotes that Rinzler gathers are golden, including his interactions with befuddled crew and cast.
February 18, 2011
I always enjoy reading "the making of" books that feature my favorite movies/movie series.
April 12, 2016
I re-read this over and over again
October 22, 2019
A good look at production in this book is presented. The book was very informative, so it still warrants the five-star rating from me, although some parts of the book feel uncomfortable to me.
June 17, 2023
Good stuff
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews