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

Two Jedi 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 claim their old glory.

Director:

George Lucas

Writer:

George Lucas

Stars:

Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 26 wins & 65 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
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 (voice) (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?

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Plot Keywords:

saga | chosen one | nine year old | r2 d2 character | c 3po character | 

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Taglines:

At last we will reveal ourselves to the Jedi.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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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: Episode I - The Beginning

Filming Locations:

Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$115,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$64,820,970, 23 May 1999, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$474,544,677

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,027,044,677

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lucasfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX SDDS (8 channels) DTS-ES

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The sound of the underwater monsters growling near the beginning of the film was made by the main sound technician's three-year-old daughter. The sound of her crying was recorded, and the frequency lowered to obtain the sound heard in the film.

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Goofs

When the Queen and her guards are standing on the window ledge, the ledge is clean. When they are lifted up, the edge is covered with powder and debris from the window being blown out. There are also no foot prints in the powder after they are lifted up.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Qui-Gon Jinn: Captain.
Republic Cruiser Captain: Yes, sir?
Qui-Gon Jinn: Tell them we wish to board at once.
Republic Cruiser 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.

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Crazy Credits

The opening logo for 20th Century Fox is static (to match the opening of Episodes 4, 5 and 6), instead of the animated 3-D logo used in Fox films at the time. The Fox logo also fades out halfway through the fanfare, and the final flourish is played over the Lucasfilm logo. Modern Fox films keep the company logo on-screen throughout the entire fanfare.

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Alternate Versions

In the theatrical version, right after Sebulba's name is announced in the podrace opening, there is a shot of Watto, in his booth, cheering on Sebulba with joy. On the DVD, this scene has been omitted from the actual movie on disc 1, but is still present as part of the "extended podrace sequence" on disc 2.

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Connections

Referenced in Little Manhattan (2005)

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Soundtracks

The Arrival at Tatooine and The Flag Parade
Composed by John Williams

User Reviews

Despite Being A Let Down, It Does Have Some Plus Points To It

My eldest son recently bought the bluray steel books, so I'm going to be sat watching them for the first time in years. If I catch any of the prequels on TV, I will usually leave them in and then sit and watch the end, usually paying more attention to 3 than the previous 2.

After watching the much hated on first movie, I found 6 plus points of The Phantom Menace. Liam Neeson as Qui Gon, Duel Of Fates, Darth Maul and his Lightsabre, Natalie Portman gives her best performance in the trilogy, the end battle and even though it ran too long, and he never could have won with all that happened, the Pod Race.

I'm also surprised no other movie has hit on Natalie Portman and Kiera Knightley looking so alike too.

The negatives are some awful dialogue (OK all Star Wats movies have awful dialogue, but this takes the biscuit!!) "Are you an angel?" And in fact anything Anakin says, especially during the final battle are especially bad. It's not Jake Lloyds fault, I think he is fine. It's Lucas who have him the cringe worthy words. Speaking of the final battle.... An alleged experienced pilot like Anakin pressed two buttons (starting his spaceship and activating auto pilot) looking for the trigger to the gun, before he actually grabs the obvious control!! Most of the movie is about federation tax (Yawn) there are some serious plot holes (why is technology more advanced than in the previous three movies, which are set in the future?? What happened to the blockade of the planet?? Why were Qui Gon and Padme still with Anakin when they hear about the sand storm) we don't see the Jedi do anything except destroy droids till the end. Terrance Stamp is woefully underused, and it definitely needs some trimming here and there, do we really need all the repeated reaction shots (like when Padme reveals she is the Queen) and one of the biggest sins for me is, Darth Maul is a real bad ass, and they kill him off in the the first movie (and would he really just stand there and let Obi Wan flip over him, instead of slicing him in half??) What a waste.

I'll state here I don't hate Jar Jar, mainly because both of my kids were fans of his growing up. So my opinion of him has softened over the years.

Oh and Jar Jar actually shoots more droids accidentally, than all the stormtroopers added together in the previous 3 movies.