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

Director:

George Lucas

Writer:

George Lucas (written by)

Release Date:

19 May 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Every generation has a legend. Every journey has a first step. Every saga has a beginning.

Plot:

The evil Trade Federation, led by Nute Gunray is planning to take over the peaceful world of Naboo....

Plot Keywords:

Queen | Planet | Young Boy | Warrior | Apprentice

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 49 nominations

Cast

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 (voice)
Ian McDiarmid	...	Senator Palpatine
Oliver Ford Davies	...	Gov. Sio Bibble
Ray Park	...	Darth Maul
Hugh Quarshie	...	Capt. Panaka
Ahmed Best	...	Jar Jar Binks (voice)
Anthony Daniels	...	C-3PO
Kenny Baker	...	R2-D2
Terence Stamp	...	Supreme Chancellor Valorum
Brian Blessed	...	Boss Nass (voice)

Also Known As:

Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace (USA) (video box title)
Star Wars: Episode I (USA) (working title)
Star Wars: Episode I - The Beginning (USA) (working title)
The Phantom Menace (USA) (short title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for sci-fi action/violence.

Runtime:

133 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX | SDDS (8 channels) | DTS-ES

Certification:

Iceland:10 (original rating) | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Malaysia:U | Brazil:Livre | South Africa:PG | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Belgium:KT | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-11 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-12/9 (original rating) | France:U | Germany:6 (w) | Hong Kong:I | Ireland:PG | Italy:T | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:PG | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:All | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:U | USA:PG | Canada:G (British Columbia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Philippines:G

Filming Locations:

CTV Services, Tunisia

Company:

Lucasfilm

Trivia:

The core-plot of the movie came from George Lucas' first draft of Star Wars (1977), which he wrote in 1975.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Amidala's groups and the two Jedi approach the gate that leads to the hangar, while slaughtering battle droids, a laser can be seen hitting Obi-Wan, but he doesn't seems to feel it.

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.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in (T)Raumschiff Surprise - Periode 1 (2004)

Too many "Yes Men" around George Lucas

Of course this movie had a ton of hype and what movie can live up to all of that....yada yada yada. Even allowing for that, this movie is somewhat of a dissapointment. This movie proves that it wasn't just special FX that made "Star Wars" fun to watch. It was as if George Lucas was so thrilled with what he could do with CGI effects, he forgot what made the original trilogy so great, which is writing and characters. It's not a bad film but the problems are many.

-Many people have forgiven this movie for being lackluster as they say "It is only the first in another trilogy and it is just setting up everything to follow". WRONG WRONG WRONG, this film needed to be it's own movie first and foremost as the other three films were. It needed to have good characters and a somewhat interesting story....it didn't.

-The conflict in this story revolves around a trade dispute and the fate of the planet Naboo. Was anybody really caring about this? The details of the dispute are somewhat vague and what is revealed doesn't real generate enough interest for us to root for a particular side. The important conflict regarding Darth Sideous and his rise is kept far far in the background. We don't even know why Darth Maul hates the Jedi's so much....he just does. Possibly Lucas wanted Darth Maul to be somewhat like Boba Fett (silent and mysterious). It worked with Boba Fett because he was only a supporting character, not a main villian. This film really has no clear villian. I wish somebody would have had the courage and just told Lucas that his basic story was lousy.

-Nobody looks particularly happy in this film. Qui-gon is really the only character that can be related to and even he is rather distant. The queen acts like a mannequin in much of her scenes (and looks like one to). Obi-wan Kenobi wanders through the entire movie to no avail and never says anything interesting. The characters never seem to talk about anything besides the plot (unlike in the first film). C3PO and R2-D2 were pretty pointless. The Jedi council comes across as extremely cold and buracratic. And I will never understand WHY they wrote Annakin as a grade school kid in this film. He should have been a teenager. His scenes with the queen were awkward. We're not even going to discuss Jar Jar.

Various other things...

-The "midochlorians" thing seems to have just been tacked on. The humor falls flat unless you are an extremely small child. Annakin destroys the trade ship at the end and safves everyone, basically BY MISTAKE!!! ILM and George Lucas seem to be so happy with their new CGI toys that they spent 95% of their time perfecting them. Quite frankly I thought the FX in "Return of the Jedi" were sharper, more dimensional and less cartoonish. Nothing all that memorable seems to happen here. This movie may never have been as good as the hype, but it could have easily been much better than this. I waited so long for this film, yet the first time I saw this movie I was actually bored in the middle of it.

There are good moments. The pod race was fun, as was the light sabre battle at the end. There are some very nice special effects throughout.

Hopefully Lucas just had writers block when he wrote this one. Maybe he will remember what made the other films so good in time for "Episode II". Though he seems to have botched the title of it already.