Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace (1999) USA
Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace Image Cover
Additional Images
Director:George Lucas
Studio:20th Century Fox
Producer:George Lucas, Rick McCallum
Writer:George Lucas
Rating:3.5
Rated:PG
Date Added:2006-06-21
ASIN:B00003CX5P
UPC:0024543023913
Price:$19.98
Awards:Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 49 nominations
Genre:Star Wars
Release:2005-03-21
IMDb:0120915
Duration:133
Picture Format:Widescreen
Aspect Ratio:2.35:1
Sound:Dolby
Languages:English, Dolby Digital 5.1 EX, English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Spanish, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, Commentary by writer-director George Lucas, producer Rick McCallum, editor Ben Burtt, animation director Rob Coleman, and visual effects supervisors John Knoll, Dennis Muren, and Scott Squires, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Subtitles:English
Features:Dubbed
Subtitled
George Lucas  ...  (Director)
George Lucas  ...  (Writer)
 
Liam Neeson  ...  Qui-Gon Jinn
Ewan McGregor  ...  Obi-Wan Kenobi
Natalie Portman  ...  Queen Padmé Amidala
Jake Lloyd  ...  Anakin Skywalker
Pernilla August  ...  Shmi Skywalker
Frank Oz  ...  Yoda
Ian McDiarmid  ...  Senator Palpatine
Oliver Ford Davies  ...  Gov. Sio Bibble
Ray Park  ...  Darth Maul
Hugh Quarshie  ...  Capt. Panaka
Ahmed Best  ...  Jar Jar Binks
Anthony Daniels  ...  C-3PO
Kenny Baker  ...  R2-D2
Terence Stamp  ...  Supreme Chancellor Valorum
Brian Blessed  ...  Boss Nass
Andrew Secombe  ...  Watto
David Tattersall  ...  Cinematographer
Ben Burtt  ...  Editor
Paul Martin Smith  ...  Editor
Andy Secombe  ...  Watto (voice) (as Andrew Secombe)
Comments: Every generation has a legend. Every journey has a first step. Every saga has a beginning.

Summary: "I have a bad feeling about this," says the young Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Ewan McGregor) in Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace as he steps off a spaceship and into the most anticipated cinematic event... well, ever. He might as well be speaking for the legions of fans of the original episodes in the Star Wars saga who can't help but secretly ask themselves: Sure, this is Star Wars, but is it my Star Wars? The original elevated moviegoers' expectations so high that it would have been impossible for any subsequent film to meet them. And as with all the Star Wars movies, The Phantom Menace features inexplicable plot twists, a fistful of loose threads, and some cheek-chewing dialogue. Han Solo's swagger is sorely missed, as is the pervading menace of heavy-breather Darth Vader. There is still way too much quasi-mystical mumbo jumbo, and some of what was fresh about Star Wars 22 years earlier feels formulaic. Yet there's much to admire. The special effects are stupendous; three worlds are populated with a mélange of creatures, flora, and horizons rendered in absolute detail. The action and battle scenes are breathtaking in their complexity. And one particular sequence of the film--the adrenaline-infused pod race through the Tatooine desert--makes the chariot race in Ben-Hur look like a Sunday stroll through the park.
Among the host of new characters, there are a few familiar walk-ons. We witness the first meeting between R2-D2 and C-3PO, Jabba the Hutt looks younger and slimmer (but not young and slim), and Yoda is as crabby as ever. Natalie Portman's stately Queen Amidala sports hairdos that make Princess Leia look dowdy and wields a mean laser. We never bond with Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), and Obi-Wan's day is yet to come. Jar Jar Binks, a cross between a Muppet, a frog, and a hippie, provides many of the movie's lighter moments, while Sith Lord Darth Maul is a formidable force. Baby-faced Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) looks too young and innocent to command the powers of the Force or wield a lightsaber (much less transmute into the future Darth Vader), but his boyish exuberance wins over skeptics.
Near the end of the movie, Palpatine, the new leader of the Republic, may be speaking for fans eagerly awaiting Episode II when he pats young Anakin on the head and says, "We will watch your career with great interest." Indeed! --Tod Nelson