With Star Wars: The Complete Saga arriving on Blu-ray this month, Gary Collinson counts down his most memorable Star Wars moments (check out the previous entry here)…
STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH
“Once more the Sith will rule the galaxy, and we shall have peace… “
Having successfully turned Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) to the Dark Side of the Force, the Sith Lord Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid) sends his new apprentice to the Jedi Temple, marking the first stage of his diabolical plan to eliminate the guardians of peace and justice from the galaxy. Supported by a legion of clone troopers, Darth Vader descends upon the Jedi Temple as the Emperor enacts ‘Order 66’, turning the Grand Army of the Republic against their Jedi Generals – a betrayal that marks the beginning of the Great Jedi Purge and leads to the formation of the evil Galactic Empire.
From the moment that Star Wars received the subtitle “Episode IV – A New Hope” in 1978, the showdown between Anakin Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi had been the main selling point of the entire Prequel Trilogy. However, while the final duel was fairly impressive, for me the best part of Revenge of the Sith – and indeed the prequels as a whole – was the superb ‘Order 66′ montage sequence, which makes fine use of the varied locations of the Prequel Trilogy to highlight the wide-ranging implications of the Siths’ treachery and depicts the demise of Jedi Knight’s such as Ki-Adi-Mundi, Aayla Secura, Plo Koon and Stass Allie.
The Order 66 montage is rumoured to be one of a number of scenes from Revenge of the Sith that featured creative input from Steven Spielberg. Whether this is true or not, the sequence certainly highlights the potential that was there in George Lucas’ unrestricted vision of a galaxy far, far away, and it’s just a shame it took so long to get there.
“Execute Order 66…”
Proceed to the next memorable Star Wars moment here.
Originally published September 6, 2011. Updated April 12, 2018.
