Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith

(dir. George Lucas, 2005)

Part One: Description of Film Clip

In this clip, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and Yoda (Frank Oz) discuss the premonitions that Anakin is having about the birth of his child and the safety of his wife. The discussion then turns to the nature of life and death, the dangers of jealousy, and the proper attitude of a Jedi Knight. The viewer sees the two from different angles in a dimly lit, shadow-filled room as the camera angle switches throughout the clip.

Total Length: 00:01:14

Total Number of Shots: 15

Begins: 00:33:26

Ends: 00:34:40

Victor Holder

Part Two: Shot by Shot Description

Shot / Image Captured / Movie Time / Length of Shot / Description of Shot / Annotation
1 / / 33:24 / 5 sec. / The shot begins with a long-shot of Yoda and Anakin Skywalker sitting on round, futuristic love seats. The view is from above the two, and moves from right to left and down over the course of the shot. The lighting is low-key, with lots of shadows. The light comes from a window behind the two through vertical blinds. There is very soft non-diegetic music underneath the dialogue. The two are in focus, though the light is low. Yoda is created digitally. / Lucas sets the characters’ discussion about Anakin’s premonitions over the course of the clip in a dim, shadowy room. This signifies the confusion that Anakin feels, and the mysteriousness that surrounds his future. The mixture of light and dark in the room parallels the mixture of the Force and the Dark Side in Anakin.
2 / / 33:30 / 3 sec. / The next shot is a medium close-up, from just over Anakin’s left shoulder. Anakin is in the foreground, Yoda in the background. The window is to their right, and the light now cuts across Yoda’s face, leaving half his face in shadow. We see only the back of Anakin’s head and the upper part of his back. The focus is deep, so that Yoda is in focus. / The focus is on Yoda as he questions Anakin. We cannot see Anakin’s facial expressions and we do not know what is going through his head. Yoda’s face is partly obscured by shadow. This is symbolic because Anakin feels that Yoda isn’t telling him the whole truth. He doesn’t know if he can trust him.
3 / / 33:34 / 3 sec. / The next shot is a reverse of the previous shot. The medium close-up view is from over Yoda’s right shoulder. This time it is Anakin’s face that is partially obscured in shadow, and Yoda’s back facing the camera. The light coming through the window now comes from the left. The focus is deep. / Basically the reverse of the previous shot. The partially obscured face of Anakin, when seen from Yoda’s view, tells the viewer that Yoda does not completely trust Anakin in the same way that Anakin does not completely trust Yoda. Yoda knows he is holding information back: his secret marriage.
4 / / 33:38 / 2 sec. / This shot is a close-up of Anakin. Only one of his eyes is in the light. The rest of his face is in shadow. The only two words he speaks in the shot are “suffering” and “death”. The scar on his face, next to his eye, is also exposed to the light. The focus is shallow. It looks as if he is right up against the window. / This close-up allows the viewer to really see Anakin’s anguish over the premonitions. The words he speaks and the scar on his face emphasize pain and tragedy in this shot. By putting one of his eyes in darkness and one in the light, Lucas is referencing the struggle between good and evil that is taking place inside of him.
5 / / 33:41 / 4 sec. / The medium close-up view is once again from over Anakin’s left shoulder. He is a little closer to the center of the shot this time. Yoda is in the foreground, a little to the left. The focus is deep. Yoda asks Anakin whether his premonitions are about himself or someone close to him. / During this mysterious conversation the room has stayed shadow filled, but where the bands of light fall on the characters’ faces continue to change. The light is across both of Yoda’s eyes as he questions Anakin, as if he is trying to search out the truth. Both of Yoda’s eyes in the light may also tell the viewer that he has nothing to hide and that he is good, as the eyes are the windows to the soul.

6 / / 33:46 / 2 sec. / Reverse of the previous shot. Another medium close-up from over Yoda’s right shoulder. Very short shot. Anakin only says, “Someone,” in response to Yoda’s question. Anakin’s body is silhouetted against the window. The focus is deep. / Anakin’s body and face are striped by shadow. His features are hard to make out. His answer is evasive. He is trying to keep Yoda in the dark, just as his body and face are covered by the dark.
7 / / 33:49 / 9 sec. / This shot is the longest of the clips. This is a medium close-up taken from the side of Yoda and Anakin. We are at their seated level. We see the window in the middle of the screen, framed by Yoda and Anakin on either side. Yoda tells Anakin that he must be careful when sensing the future. Most of the light coming through the window is reflected on the floor. / Here the two are positioned on equal footing, directly across from each other. Student and teacher are juxtaposed, with the window allowing light between them. This light between them signifies understanding that is developing between them. Yoda is sensing that Anakin is truly concerned for the person in his dreams.
8 / / 33:59 / 3 sec. / This shot is a close-up of Yoda, positioned slightly left of center. The light comes through the window on the right side and cuts across Yoda’s face. The focus is shallow. Though he moves his head, forward and backward as he speaks of the fear of loss and the Dark Side, his eyes always remain in the light. / This shot is a close-up of Yoda, meant to emphasize to the audience the importance of his words. He foreshadows Anakin’s defection to the Dark Side when he speaks of the path to the Dark Side that the audience can see Anakin on. Anakin will go down that path, in an effort to save his wife.
9 / / 34:03 / 8 sec. / This shot is a close-up of Anakin as he vows not to let the visions come true. He starts with his head bowed and raises it as he makes his vow. The light is only on his right eye and his scar. The focus is shallow. Yoda’s voice is heard in response to Anakin’s vow: “Death is a natural part of life.” / Here, Anakin makes his intention to stop the visions from becoming a reality clear, though how he will do it is not clear. The audience knows the Dark Side is probably in his future, but the light that remains across his one eye suggests that there is still good in him. He may still have a chance. Both Yoda’s subject matter and his voice coming from off-screen give his words a very philosophical, almost religious, tone.
10 / / 34:12 / 7 sec. / This shot is taken from the same angle as shots 2 and 5. Again, in this medium close-up, all we see of Anakin is the back of his head and the upper part of his back. The light cuts from right to left across the screen. Yoda’s tells Anakin to rejoice for those who die, and not to mourn or miss them. As he says this, Anakin drops his head. The focus is deep. / Yoda is basically telling Anakin to let his wife die. Anakin drops his head and the viewer knows this is not what Anakin wants to hear. Yoda is expressionless as he tells Anakin this, indicating an almost callous attitude toward Anakin’s earthly attachments.
11 / / 34:20 / 2 sec. / This medium close-up is taken from behind Yoda and to his right. Anakin is to the right of center, set in front of the window. The light cuts from left to right across the scene. The focus is deep. Yoda continues to speak about attachment and jealousy. As he does, Anakin’s eyes look from side to side, but never at Yoda. Both of Anakin’s eyes remain obscured by shadow. / As Yoda speaks, Anakin’s eyes move from side to side, indicating he is questioning Yoda’s advice. Throughout the shot Anakin’s eyes remain covered in shadow, and the audience can see that he is rejecting the teachings of the Force. He is questioning the Force, and the Dark Side seems to be a viable possibility.
12 / / 34:23 / 3 sec. / This shot is a close-up of Yoda with a shallow focus. The window is to his right, but only one ray of light cuts through the shot. It illuminates both of Yoda’s eyes and his mouth. He says that jealousy and greed are closely linked. / The illumination of Yoda’s mouth and the fact that the shot is a close-up tells us that Lucas is trying to emphasize Yoda’s warning. We can deduce that the emphasis on this warning means that Anakin will exhibit jealousy, then greed as a result of his attachments.
13 / / 34:27 / 2 sec. / Now we have a close-up on Anakin, silhouetted against the window. The focus is shallow. The only part of his body that is in the light is his right eye and the scar that runs vertically through his right eye. He asks, “What must I do, Master Yoda?” / Anakin seems to be putting himself in his teacher’s hands, agreeing to do what ever he must, but the viewer should be wary of his commitment, as most of his face including one of his eyes and mouth is obscured by shadow. The visibility of his scar, the remnant of past pain and suffering caused in service of the Force, is another reason to believe that Anakin will be leery of trusting Yoda.
14 / / 34:30 / 5 sec. / This close-up of Yoda is taken from the same angle as shot 12. Same ray of light coming from right to left, same shallow focus. Once again his eyes and mouth are fully illuminated. Yoda tells Anakin to let go of the things he cares about. / The illumination of his face is in contrast to the close-ups we have seen of Anakin in this clip and we will continue to see. Yoda’s intentions are clear and he knows what Anakin needs to do. The covering of Anakin’s face with shadows continues to cast doubt on his intentions and course of action.
15 / / 34:36 / 4 sec. / This shot starts as a close-up and moves toward Anakin and toward an extreme close-up. As Anakin’s head and face becomes the only thing in the shot the background music that has been playing at the same level throughout the entire scene gets louder, and the scene comes to an end. As he realizes what Yoda has said to him in the previous shot, he drops his head. Before he bows his head, his right eye is in the light. After he drops his head his face is covered completely by shadow. / This is the most important shot in the scene. Upon realizing that Yoda is telling Anakin to let his wife die, Anakin drops his head in despair. His eyes and face descend completely into shadow, signifying his descent into the Dark Side of the Force. The viewer knows that he will not accept Yoda’s advice, and that he is lost to the Dark Side. The increase in the volume of the music is another signifier of the importance of the shot and the mo

Part Three: Film Clip Analysis

Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (dir. George Lucas, 2005) is a story of the choice between good and evil and the fulfillment of one’s destiny. Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is the main character who must make these choices. Skywalker begins to have premonitions that his wife will die during childbirth and goes to Yoda (Frank Oz) to seek his advice on the situation. However, Yoda’s advice, meant to be a caution against the path to the Dark Side, serves to start Skywalker on his way down that very path. During this scene, viewers are able to witness the foreshadowing of Skywalker’s turn toward the Dark Side of the Force, gain insight into the struggle between the ideas of free will and predestination that takes place in the film, and see the elements of Christianity and Buddhism that are present in the Jedi beliefs.

Skywalker, distraught over the possible death of his wife and child, seeks Yoda’s advice, but the advice Yoda gives him is unacceptable. Yoda tells him that by fearing the loss of someone or something, he is embarking on a path to the Dark Side. He tells Skywalker to accept death as a natural part of life. Obviously no husband and father would accept the death of his wife and child without even putting up a fight. The viewer then knows that if the Jedi beliefs and the good side of the Force cannot help him, he will probably turn to the Dark Side to save his family. At the end of the scene, after listening to Yoda’s explanation, Skywalker bows his head and the scene ends with his face obscured by shadow. He will turn to the Dark Side of the Force. But the foreshadowing of Skywalker’s turn to the Dark Side raises questions of free will and predestination and whether or not one can alter one’s destiny.

“There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will.” (Hamlet)

From Macbeth to The Matrix (dir. Andy and Larry Wachowski, 1999), it seems that in many stories in which the main character has visions of the future it is the character’s attempts to avoid the future reality presented by the vision that actually brings about that reality. The advice that Yoda gives him in this scene combined with his visions of the pain and suffering of his wife during childbirth cause a chain reaction that brings about the death of his wife. The visions and Yoda’s recommendation to accept death drive him to the Dark Side in an attempt to save his wife. Ironically, his turn to the Dark Side is what actually kills his wife, not the childbirth, as his visions had led him to believe. Therefore, this scene and this film as a whole seem to support the paradoxical idea that free will and predestination exist together and complement each other. This is similar to the Christian idea that God is omniscient and therefore knows what each person is going to do, but the actions of each person are his or her own choice.

There are several other religious elements in this film, and more specifically, in this scene. Yoda describes several Jedi beliefs that correspond with the teachings of both Christianity and Buddhism. After Skywalker tells Yoda that he will not let the visions come true, Yoda says, “Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them do not, miss them do not.” This is very similar to the beliefs of Christianity. Upon death, a person’s soul may pass to Heaven and spend eternity in the presence of God. Assuming that the Force is comparable to Heaven, then the ideas are quite similar. In fact, the thought that death and the subsequent transformation or ascension of the soul is something to rejoice over is common to both the Jedi and Christian religions. Yoda later says, “Attachment leads to jealousy. The shadow of greed that is.” This corresponds with the Christian idea that greed is the root of evil, but it also sounds very similar to the Buddhist dogma that in order to achieve inner peace and enlightenment a person must give up his or her worldly possessions. This idea is reinforced when Yoda advises Skywalker to “train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.” The Jedi beliefs expressed in this scene seem to incorporate several Christian and Buddhist principles and serve to clarify the path of the Jedi throughout the rest of the film.

This scene is an important one in the film because it foreshadows Skywalker’s turn to the Dark Side in an effort to save his wife, reaffirms the complementary relationship between free will and predestination found throughout the rest of the film, and sheds light on the roots of the Jedi beliefs found in Christianity and Buddhism.