Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

Two Jedi Knights escape a hostile blockade to find allies and come across a young boy who may bring balance to the Force, but the long dormant Sith resurface to reclaim their old glory.

Director:

George Lucas

Writer:

George Lucas

Stars:

Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 52 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Liam Neeson	...	Qui-Gon Jinn
Ewan McGregor	...	Obi-Wan Kenobi
Natalie Portman	...	Queen Amidala / Padmé
Jake Lloyd	...	Anakin Skywalker
Ian McDiarmid	...	Senator Palpatine
Pernilla August	...	Shmi Skywalker
Oliver Ford Davies	...	Sio Bibble
Hugh Quarshie	...	Captain Panaka
Ahmed Best	...	Jar Jar Binks (voice)
Anthony Daniels	...	C-3PO (voice)
Kenny Baker	...	R2-D2
Frank Oz	...	Yoda (voice)
Terence Stamp	...	Chancellor Valorum
Brian Blessed	...	Boss Nass (voice)
Andy Secombe	...	Watto (as Andrew Secombe)

Storyline

The evil Trade Federation, led by Nute Gunray is planning to take over the peaceful world of Naboo. Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi are sent to confront the leaders. But not everything goes to plan. The two Jedi escape, and along with their new Gungan friend, Jar Jar Binks head to Naboo to warn Queen Amidala, but droids have already started to capture Naboo and the Queen is not safe there. Eventually, they land on Tatooine, where they become friends with a young boy known as Anakin Skywalker. Qui-Gon is curious about the boy, and sees a bright future for him. The group must now find a way of getting to Coruscant and to finally solve this trade dispute, but there is someone else hiding in the shadows. Are the Sith really extinct? Is the Queen really who she says she is? And what's so special about this young boy?

---

Plot Keywords:

planet | queen | warrior | apprentice | alien | 

---

Taglines:

The Force Returns May 19th

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for sci-fi action/violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 May 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace

Filming Locations:

CTV Services, Tunisia

Box Office

Budget:

$115,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$210,600,000 (Non-US) (6 August 1999)

Gross:

$474,544,677 (USA) (1 June 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lucasfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX SDDS (8 channels) DTS-ES

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ron Magid commented that "it's easier to spot the few hundred shots that don't feature any CG work at all than the nearly 2,000 shots that do."

---

Goofs

The droid army is entering the city it cuts to the scene where the Queen is looking out of the window in her palace. As it shows her approach the window you can clearly see a large ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) sign written in what looks like red spray paint at the bottom right hand corner of the screen.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Qui-Gon Jinn: Captain.
Radiant VII captain: Yes, sir?
Qui-Gon Jinn: Tell them we wish to board at once.
Radiant VII captain: [to communication device] With all due respect, the ambassadors for the Supreme Chancellor wish to board immediately.
Nute Gunray: [on view screen] Yes, of course. As you know, our blockade is perfectly legal and we'd be happy to receive the ambassadors.

---

Crazy Credits

Greg Proops' and Scott Capurro's credits are reversed. Proops plays Beed Annodue, the red, English-speaking pod-race announcer, and Capurro plays Fode Annodue, the green, Huttese-speaking announcer.

---

Connections

Referenced in How It Should Have Ended: How Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Should Have Ended (2010)

User Reviews

TPM - Bashed for long enough?

Badly criticized by ..... critics who love to overintellectualize a film - you might find this worth watching if you already are a Star Wars fan. People say GL was saving the best for later (later prequel episodes) and its true that there are some juvenile sequences in the movie. But the backstory of Sidious pulling the strings to push the current Supreme Chancellor out of the picture as a devious prelude to his future schemes is what MAKES this movie. Only Star Wars fans can think something of this - even if you're not so keen. the story is THERE. The pacing is bad, but there are moments in this film that prove to be pure eye candy. The end duel with Darth Maul vs. Obi Wan and Qui Gon Jinn is one of the best fight scenes ever put on film despite this movie's imperfections. I rate this film an 8 out of 10. I certainly wish that this review is justified. Anyways, this could be a see and see again amongst Star Wars fans --- with fastforwards that is. (What I said about the pacing)