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May 19, 1999 · Edit page. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace: Directed by George Lucas. With Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd. 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 original glory.
- (837K)
- Action, Adventure, Fantasy
- George Lucas
- 1999-05-19
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Pernilla August and Frank Oz.
- George Lucas
- George Lucas
May 19, 1999 · PG. Runtime: 2 hr 16min. Release Date: May 19, 1999. Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Live Action, Science Fiction. Experience the heroic action and unforgettable adventures of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. See the first fateful steps in the journey of Anakin Skywalker.
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"Every saga has a beginning…"
―Tagline
: Episode I The Phantom Menace is a 1999 film written and directed by George Lucas, produced by Rick McCallum and starring Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, and Ian McDiarmid. It is the first chapter of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, the fourth theatrical Star Wars release overall, and chronologically the first film in the Star Wars saga.
was released in theaters on May 19, 1999, becoming the first Star Wars film since Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, which was released sixteen years earlier. The release was accompanied by extensive media coverage and great fan anticipation. Despite mixed reviews from critics and fans, the film grossed $924.3 million worldwide, making it the second-highest-grossing Star Wars film when unadjusted for inflation. It was released on Blu-ray in September 2011, and was re-released in theaters in 3D on February 10, 2012.
"I have a bad feeling about this."
"I don't sense anything."
"It's not about the mission, Master. It's something…elsewhere…elusive."
―Obi-Wan Kenobi to Qui-Gon Jinn — Listen (file info)
Thirty-two years before the events of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope (thirteen years before the formation of the Galactic Empire), there is a trade dispute between the Trade Federation and the outlying systems of the Galactic Republic, which has led to a blockade of the Mid-Rim planet of Naboo. Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum, leader of the Galactic Senate, has secretly dispatched two Jedi, Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, to serve as "the ambassadors" to the Federation flagship, in order to meet with Viceroy Nute Gunray and resolve the dispute. Unknown to them, the Trade Federation is in league with the mysterious Darth Sidious, Dark Lord of the Sith, who secretly orders Gunray to invade Naboo and kill the two Jedi upon their arrival. When Gunray asked if that would be legal, Sidious says that he would ensure that it was.
The Viceroy locks the Jedi in the meeting room and attempts to kill them with poison gas while having their ship, the Radiant VII, destroyed in the hangar, but they escape. After battling through squads of battle droids, Jinn and Kenobi make their way to the command deck where Gunray is located, shielding himself behind blast doors. The Jedi are forced to flee upon the arrival of two Destroyer Droids and stow away aboard two separate Federation landing craft leaving for the surface of Naboo to begin the invasion.
Along the lines of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, all three prequel films were originally intended to be written and shot as one large production, and released back to back. The first draft of the script was begun November 1994.
The role of director was offered to Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, and Robert Zemeckis. According to Howard, Lucas didn't necessarily want to direct Episode I. He further commented that all three directors turned down the position as the film was Lucas's "baby." The budget of Menace was estimated $115 million. Shooting took place from June 26 to September 30, 1997. As with Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, Episode I's main exterior filming locations were in Tunisia. The podrace was filmed in a canyon near Sidi Bouhlel and Oung Jmel. A set was built near Oung Jmel to represent Mos Espa on Tatooine. The Slave Quarters Row were filmed in ksour's near Tataouine and Ksar Medenine. Small parts were filmed in Royal Caserta Palace in Italy and Whippendell Woods in the United Kingdom, but Hever Castle was later cut. Studio work was mainly done at Leavesden Studios in the United Kingdom.
Unlike the latter two films in the series which were shot on digital video, most of this film was shot in 35 mm, with a few scenes shot in digital video.
This episode was also the first of the saga to be referred to primarily by its number (Episode One) by media and fans, in contrast to the original trilogy the public already knew.[source?]
was the first Star Wars film in 16 years. As a result, there was almost unprecedented interest amongst both fans and the wider public in the revival of the franchise. The film received enormous media-created hype, which made Lucasfilm's $20 million advertising campaign—with the distinctive artwork of Star Wars series artist Drew Struzan gracing the movie poster and other advertising—seem modest and almost unnecessary. Few film studios released films during the same week as the release of The Phantom Menace; among the more courageous were DreamWorks and Universal Studios, with the releases of The Love Letter and Notting Hill respectively. The Love Letter was a box-office flop, whereas Notting Hill fared rather well and followed The Phantom Menace closely in second place. Challenger, Grey & Christmas of Chicago, a work-issues consulting firm, estimated that 2.2 million full-time employees did not appear for work to attend the film, resulting in $293 million in lost productivity. The Wall Street Journal reported that such a large number of workers announced plans to view premiere screenings that many companies shut down on the premiere day. Many fans began waiting outside cinema theaters as early as a month in advance of ticket sales.
More theatre lines appeared when it was announced that cinemas were not allowed to sell tickets in advance until two weeks into the release. This was done out of fear that family theatre-goers would either be unable to receive tickets or would be forced to pay higher prices. Tickets were instead to be sold on a traditional first-come-first-serve basis. However, after meetings with the National Association of Theatre Owners, Lucasfilm agreed to allow advance ticket sales on May 12, 1999, provided that there be a 12-ticket limit per customer. As a result, however, some advance tickets were sold by "scalpers" as high as $100 apiece, which a distribution chief called "horrible," stating it was exactly what they wanted to avoid. Daily Variety reported that theatre owners received strict instructions from Lucasfilm that the film could only play in the cinema's largest auditorium for the first 8–12 weeks; no honor passes were allowed for the first eight weeks, and they were obligated to send their payments to distributor 20th Century Fox within seven days. Servers at the film's official website became gridlocked soon after the release of the first teaser trailer, and many fans of the series paid full admission to see Meet Joe Black only to leave after the trailer had run. The same tradition followed months later when the theatrical trailer was featured in front of Wing Commander. The theatrical trailer caused even more notable media hype, because it not only premiered in theaters, but screened at the ShoWest Convention in Las Vegas, and was aired on television on Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood. An unusual marketing scheme was pursued across the United Kingdom, where the teaser trailer was released on December 2, 1998 and then pulled from theaters six weeks later.
"A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, people made movies with people in them, and some of those movies made sense. Then something happened, and the people started to vanish from the movies, along with most of the sense. For a while, the spectacle was fun to observe, but slowly the pictures tipped into insanity, or, at any rate, into the hypnotically bad. The joke was that the number of viewers willing to submit to such hypnosis went not down but through the roof. Historians of this phenomenon are now agreed that the change became irrevocable shortly before the end of the second millennium, with a George Lucas film entitled Star Wars: Episode I—The Phantom Menace. […] The Phantom Menace is at once childishly unknowing and rotten with cynicism. I would call it the disappointment of the decade except that, along with many other people, I had a sneaking fear that it would turn out this way. What is this? Crap. Say it out loud: Crap. And will it make the magic billion dollars? You bet."
―Film critic Anthony Lane's review of The Phantom Menace, from The New Yorker, May 24, 1999
Critical and fan reaction ranged from high praise to outright derision. The much-hyped special effects, while generally viewed as groundbreaking in their sheer scope, were perhaps less impressive than anticipated simply because of high expectations. This attitude was confirmed with the rival film, The Matrix, winning the visual effects Academy Award for that year over The Phantom Menace. It was the first time a Star Wars film lost in that Oscar competition category. Many critics heavily criticized the acting of Natalie Portman and especially Jake Lloyd as the young Anakin Skywalker. Some aspects of the scripting and direction were also criticized. Extra venom was directed at the character of Jar Jar Binks, who was regarded by some fans as purely a merchandising opportunity rather than a serious character in the film. Fan reaction was mixed too, with some fans praising the film while others having a negative opinion of it.
However, despite some of the negative criticisms leveled at the film, many others gave praise to The Phantom Menace. William Arnold, of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, commented that the massive of hype of the film may have caused much of the negative reaction to the film, saying "it built expectations that can't possibly be matched and scuttled element of storytelling surprise." He also felt "it's well made and entertaining" and believed it was much better than similar box-office fare released around that time period, such as The Mummy and The Matrix. David Cornelius of efilmcritic.com remarked that the better moments of the film "don't merely balance out the weaker ones- they topple them." Roger Ebert gave the film three and half out of four stars, calling it "an astonishing achievement in imaginative filmmaking," and stating that "Lucas tells a good story." Ebert comments that it was perfectly fine for the characters to be a bit less compelling, seeing that they were just being introduced, and stating to "give me transparent underwater cities and vast hollow senatorial spheres any day." Mark Dinning labels The Phantom Menace "A great work from a great director, and a blockbuster of quite the most swashbuckling kind." Many fans and critics also agree that the lightsaber duel between Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and Darth Maul—showcasing astounding choreography and Ray Park's martial arts skills—is a high point, and one of the best lightsaber duels in the Star Wars saga.
1.3K. YOUR RATING. Rate. Action Adventure Fantasy. A Jedi attempts to protect Naboo from the greedy Trade Federation and, as they soon learn, the Sith. Directors. Mike Ebert. Dean Sharpe. Writer. Haden Blackman. Stars. Jake Lloyd. Scott Cleverdon. Grey Griffin. See production info at IMDbPro. Add to Watchlist. 7 User reviews. 1 Critic review.
