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)
Star wars: Episodio I - La amenaza fantasma (Argentina) (Mexico) (Panama) (Peru) (Spain) [es]
Star Wars: Episódio I - A Ameaça Fantasma (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Star Wars: Episode I - Die dunkle Bedrohung (Austria) (Germany) (poster title) [de]
Star wars - det mörka hotet (Finland: Swedish title) (Sweden) [sv]
Звёздные войны: Эпизод 1 - Скрытая угроза (Russia) [ru]
Csillagok háborúja I. - Baljós árnyak (Hungary) [hu]
Guerra nas Estrelas - A Ameaça Fantasma (Brazil) [pt]
Guerre stellari: Episodio I (Italy) (promotional title) [it]
Gwiezdne wojny: Czesc I - Mroczne widmo (Poland) [pl]
La amenaza fantasma (Spain) (working title) [es]
La guerra de las galaxias: Episodio I - La amenaza fantasma (Venezuela) [es]
Ratovi zvezda - Fantomska pretnja (Serbia) [sr]
Razboiul stelelor - Amenintarea fantomei (Romania) [ro]
Star Wars: Bölüm I - Gizli tehlike (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Star wars episodi I: Pimeä uhka (Finland) [fi]
Star wars: Épisode 1 - La menace fantôme (France) [fr]
Star wars: Épisode I - La menace fantôme (Canada: French title) [fr]
Star wars: Episode I - Den skjulte trussel (Norway) [no]
Star wars: Episode I - Den usynlige fjende (Denmark) (poster title) [da]
Star wars: Episodi I - Pimeä uhka (Finland) [fi]
Star wars: Episodio I - La minaccia fantasma (Italy) [it]
Star wars: H aorath apeilh (Greece) [el]
Sutâ wôzu: Fantomu menasu (Japan) [ja]
Tähtien sota: Episodi I - Pimeä uhka (Finland) (TV title) [fi]

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 first Star Wars film to be released on DVD (more than a year after it's release on VHS).

Goofs:

Continuity: Several times, during the fight scene in the Theed Hangar, the Droidekas are shown shooting, but no lasers are coming out of their guns.

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:

Referenced in Building a Better Mummy (1999) (V)

A Different Take

I love the original films, probably ANH most of all. If you saw it on it's original release you had a cinema experience unlike any other. There just weren't films like this being made. Sure, it drew on films and books of the past, but nothing had looked or sounded like this.

You have to remember the world we lived in then. Video games were very rudimentary. Even ASTEROIDS was several years in our future. And 2001 was one of the few films to show us convincing views of space travel.

STAR WARS was something new with a capital "N". Audiences loved it. And it changed movies.

By 1999, we'd seen numerous Science Fiction movies, lots of space battles, lots of special effects. And video games had developed a realism that was shocking compared to what we'd had in 1977.

Enter THE PHANTOM MENACE. Not only did this film have to live up to memories of the originals, it also had to compete in an entertainment world that had caught up. Lucas could never create an experience as mind-blowing as he had in the original.

But he was going to try. And he was also going to try to do a few other different things. The nexus of this new thought was Jar Jar Binks. A CGI creation that was also a character. And a type of character never before seen in the SW Universe, a comic relief character. But more than that, a slapstick comic relief character.

In many of the movies that inspired STAR WARS there are such characters. And Lucas wanted to try one in his films.

Well, for most, he failed. Many, or at least the most vocal, hated Jar Jar Binks. And few of these people even credited him for trying something new. They didn't want Lucas' STAR WARS. They wanted their STAR WARS. A STAR WARS, it is important to note, that only exists in their minds.

In addition, he decided to make Anakin a small boy. Another new decision. STAR WARS had never featured a boy character. Again, the fans whined. They didn't like it. They didn't want Lucas to try new things.

But he also gave them what they came to expect. A truly great action set-piece: The pod race. One of the best action set-pieces in the entire series. And he gave them a lightsaber duel unlike any they'd ever seen. But that wasn't enough.

Sadly, had Lucas made a film that was little more than a remake of STAR WARS with Anakin in the Luke role, fans would have been happy. And I think that says more about the limited scope of STAR WARS fans than it does about the talents of George Lucas.

THE PHANTOM MENACE, like all the films in the series, has it's own unique tone and flavor. And though these flavors may not be to everyone's taste, I think in the coming years more and more fans will come to appreciate this film for what it is, rather than what they wish it would be.