Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace
(1999)
Rated: 
Starring: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor.
Director: George Lucas
Edition Details:
Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
Color, Closed-captioned, THX, Widescreen
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
Exclusive deleted-scenes documentary features seven new sequences completed
just for this DVD release: Complete Podrace Grid Sequence, Extended Podrace Lap
Two, The Waterfall Sequence, The Air Taxi Sequence, Dawn Before the Race,
Anakin's Scuffle with Greedo, Farewell to Jira
"The Beginning: Making Episode I," an all-new hour-long documentary
film culled from over 600 hours of footage, including an insider's look at
Lucasfilm and ILM during the production
Multi-angle storyboard to animatic to film segment featuring the Submarine
and Podrace Lap 1 sequences
Five featurettes explore the storyline, design, costumes, visual effects, and
fight sequences
Award-winning twelve-part Web documentary series that chronicles the
production
"Duel of the Fates" music video featuring John Williams
Never-before-seen production photo gallery with special caption feature
Theatrical posters and print campaign from around the world
Theatrical teaser and launch trailers, and seven TV spots
"Star Wars: Starfighter - The Making of a Game" featurette from
LucasArts
DVD-ROM weblink to exclusive Star Wars content
Widescreen anamorphic format
Number of discs: 2
Editorial
Reviews
"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-breathing 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 mιlange 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 --