The Art of Star Wars: Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith

I thought this was an excellent visual of the film. The color plates were outstanding and the text limited. Too much description can be boring and detract from the viewing. This book is a keeper. MKE/Huntingdon Valley, PA

I am a huge fan of the artists in this book. I've loved the other two books in this series and believe Sith is the best of the trilogy. The sheer scale and breath of alien worlds Lucas has conjured up for Revenge of the Sith is amazing. The drawings in this book have totally inspired me to work on my sketching more and have set the bar for industrial design. The drawings are something you can study and absorb for years. Many kudos. I'd give my eye teeth to study art with Church, Tiemens, Fu, McCaig, Frame, Zu... - Way to throw it down guys!

Packed with behind-the-scenes info, storyboards, early concepts, and the full shooting script, the "Art of" books have captivated Force Fans since the "episode 4" in 1977. The only flaw with this one is that there are script excerpts in this version and not the full version, as in other "Art Of" books. One hopes this will be rectified in future editions. Still, as captivating as the film version! Must-have for hardcore fans and film students!

I own the "Art of" ... Episode I and Episode II, so the "Art of Episode III" was a must purchase for me. These three books are very classy, being the pick of the Star Wars books for those who have an interest in how the movies develop through sketches and storyboards, hence the 'art' of Star Wars. While the art-books for the first two movies focused heavily on characters, the Art of Episode III focuses particularly on the worlds created for the movie, presumably as most characters have already been seen. I'm not interested in art, so I don't have a bias toward this type of product. I'm a Star Wars fan first and foremost. The art work is, however, of a high quality and shows diagrams, paintings, drawings and sketches of the characters, planet locations, vehicles and weapons - everything that was designed by Lucas' own art team for the movie. The book (this time) is arranged in chronological order, taking place over a period of two years where the author documented the development of the movie from preproduction to principal photography to digital shot creation. The author, Rinzler, was allowed to work with the artists and therefore had first-hand experience with Lucas and the team. Typically, the art team generate their own designs which are bounced off Lucas and then manipulated to his satisfaction. This is all documented with discussions with the artists themselves and Lucas as to why something is kept and another discarded. Not only do you find the items that made the final cut of the movies but concepts that didn't make the big screen. I don't want to give anything away about Episode III, so an example from the 'Art of Episode II' is the exciting concept of the Sith villain. Count Dooku was the eventual villain chosen by Lucas (reportedly due to Dooku's regal manner) but the character found in some alternative Star Wars literature called Asajj Ventress (the female dark jedi with the black and white martial arts appearance who carries two curved lightsabres) has a series of sketches and paintings attributed to her. So we see Lucas doesn't omit any ideas from his designers, and uses them in various side projects. It is fascinating seeing these characters etc pop-up in various side projects. Overall, all Star Wars fans should have the "Art of ..." books. They provide a classy addition to the bookshelf and provide hours of intriguing reading and dreaming of a galaxy far, far away.

When I entered the bookstore yesterday, I only planned on buying the novel, but then I saw the 'Art of' book and I just couldn't resist. Before even looking at the novel, I leafed through it and the images captured my imagination in every sense. If not a masterpiece of filmmaking, Episode III will be a masterstroke of visual effects and art. I got the paperback edition, although I would prefer the hardcover edition, however here in the UK the latter does not exist anyhow. Buy this book now, you will not regret any penny spent on it. Especially the digi-mattes are more than impressive. CGI has come a long way since Episode I and now we see why Lucas has kept using, despite bad reviews.