NEW
YORK (SONY Classical) - Could you use a little refresher course before
you run out to see Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith?
You'll
find it in Sony Classical's original soundtrack recording, in stores
this week, which includes an exclusive collector's DVD - Star Wars: A
Musical
Journey - an unprecedented bonus that may be the most
entertaining "crib sheet" in film history. The DVD delivers a dazzling,
70-minute recap of the massively popular Star Wars saga to prepare you
for all the excitement of the new film.
Narrating the DVD is
actor Ian McDiarmid, who plays the mesmerizing villain Supreme
Chancellor Palpatine. The New York Times writes that McDiarmid
"transforms from a rancid political hack into a ruthless totalitarian
before our eyes" and delivers "the most powerful performance" in the
film.
The most anticipated movie of the year, Star Wars: Episode
III Revenge of the Sith, written and directed by
George Lucas, opens
this week.
With
action footage from the films and McDiarmid's narration, the DVD brings
viewers up to "light speed" on the entire saga since the release of the
previous episode - Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones - in
2002. Critics have called the DVD "a must-have for any die-hard fan of
the series" that "brilliantly highlights the relationship between the
music and storytelling."
"This is by far the best film in the
more recent trilogy, and also the best of the four episodes Mr. Lucas
has directed," The New York Times proclaimed in its May 16 review of
Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. Critic A.O. Scott hails it
as being even better than the first film, released in 1977, and ranks
it with Star Wars: Episode V The
Empire Strikes Back "as the richest
and most challenging film in the cycle."
The review continues,
"It comes closer than any of the other episodes to realizing Mr.
Lucas's frequently reiterated dream of bringing the combination of
vigorous spectacle and mythic resonance he found in the films of Akira
Kurosawa into commercial American cinema ... The sheer beauty, energy
and visual coherence of Revenge of the Sith is nothing short of
breathtaking."
USA Today's review concurs, stating, "The Force
is definitely with it this time," adding that it "fulfills the promise
of the series and rises far above the two most recent predecessors.
It's the darkest of the six-film opus, but it just may be the best of
the lot."
