Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 film by George Lucas starring Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, and Jake Lloyd. It is the first in a trilogy of films that function as a prequel to the original classic end trilogy of Star Wars films and, in chronological story order, the first in what formed a six-part saga with the completion of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in May 2005.

Opening crawl

 * Episode I


 * THE PHANTOM MENACE


 * Turmoil has engulfed the
 * Galactic Republic. The taxation
 * of trade routes to outlying star
 * systems is in dispute.


 * Hoping to resolve the matter
 * with a blockade of deadly
 * battleships, the greedy Trade
 * Federation has stopped all
 * shipping to the small planet
 * of Naboo.


 * While the congress of the
 * Republic endlessly debates
 * this alarming chain of events,
 * the Supreme Chancellor has
 * secretly dispatched two Jedi
 * Knights, the guardians of
 * peace and justice in the
 * galaxy, to settle the conflict....

Plot summary


It is the year 32 BBY (or, 32 years prior to Episode IV), and a trade dispute between the Trade Federation and the planet of Naboo has led to a blockade of the planet. Chancellor Valorum of the Galactic Republic secretly sends two Jedi Knights, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn, as ambassadors to meet with Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray to resolve HAMSTERS the dispute. Unbeknownst to them, the Trade Federation is in league with the mysterious Darth Sidious, who secretly orders Gunray to invade Naboo and kill the two Jedi upon their arrival. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan escape the assassination attempt by the Federation and flee to the surface of Naboo.

On the planet's surface, the Jedi meet local native outcast Jar Jar Binks, who brings them to an underwater Gungan settlement to escape the Trade Federation army. Meanwhile, the Trade Federation invades Naboo and captures their leader, Queen Amidala. The Jedi meet the Gungan leader, Boss Nass, and ask him to help the people of Naboo, but Nass refuses and sends them off in a submarine. The Jedi, with Jar Jar Binks in tow, reach the capital of Naboo and rescue Queen Amidala from the Trade Federation droid army. They depart for Coruscant, the Galactic Republic&#8217;s capital planet, to ask for help from the Senate. A droid named R2-D2 heroically repairs the Queen's starship as they narrowly escape an attack from the Federation base ship.



Due to the attack, however, the ship is forced to land on the desert planet of Tatooine for repairs. While searching for needed parts, they befriend young Anakin Skywalker, a slave boy, whose master is Watto, an alien junk dealer. Anakin is gifted with piloting and mechanics (he has built an almost-complete droid named C-3PO). Qui-Gon Jinn senses a strong presence of the Force in Anakin, and feels that he may be the Chosen One who will fulfill a prophecy by bringing balance to the Force. By entering Anakin into a podrace, Qui-Gon orchestrates a gamble in which the boy (alone, since he was unable to include the youth's mother in the bargain) will be released from slavery and they will win the needed parts for their ship. Anakin wins the race and joins the team as they head for Coruscant, where Qui-Gon plans to seek permission from the Jedi Council to train him to be a Jedi. Meanwhile, Darth Sidious sends his apprentice, Darth Maul, to kill the two Jedi and capture the Queen. Maul appears just as the group is leaving the planet, and fights Qui-Gon, who then manages to escape on the ship.



On Coruscant, Qui-Gon Jinn informs the Jedi Council of the mysterious attacker he encountered on Tatooine. Because of his mastery of the Jedi arts, the Council becomes concerned that this may indicate the reappearance of the Sith, a long-gone religious order who followed the Dark Side of the Force. Qui-Gon also informs the Council about Anakin, hoping that he can be trained as a Jedi. After testing the boy and deliberating with one another, the Council refuses, deeming him too old for training according to Jedi Code. They are also concerned due to their sense of what seems to be a clouded future and a strong presence of fear in the boy. Meanwhile, Senator Palpatine (of Naboo) uses Queen Amidala's situation to his advantage by persuading her to call a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum so that he can get himself nominated as the new Chancellor. After doing so, the Queen decides to return to her home planet to repel the invasion of her people. She is frustrated by the Senate's deliberation and lack of action, and feels that by the time Palpatine is elected Chancellor it will be too late. The two Jedi accompany the Queen back to Naboo.

Queen Amidala, back in Naboo, forms an alliance with the Gungan people, uniting in battle against the Trade Federation. Nute Gunray is ordered by Darth Sidious to wipe out the Gungans and the Naboo as the Trade Federation prepares for battle. After much fighting against the Federation's droid army, defeat for the alliance seems imminent. However, victory is won when young Anakin Skywalker commandeers a fighter and destroys the Federation's droid command ship, rendering the droid army useless. Meanwhile, Queen Amidala and her force fight their way back into the palace and capture Nute Gunray. At the same time, Darth Maul has been engaging in combat with the two Jedi. He kills Qui-Gon Jinn. Obi-Wan fights Darth Maul with raging anger, but Darth Maul almost kills him when he pushes him to the ledge in the hole. Obi-Wan jumps up and battles Darth Maul with Qui-Gon's lightsaber, then slays Darth Maul, cutting him in half. Just before passing away, Qui-Gon instructs Obi-Wan to train Anakin to become a Jedi. Obi-Wan gives his word that he will train the boy. The newly elected Chancellor Palpatine arrives to congratulate Queen Amidala on her victory, as Nute Gunray is sent to stand trial for his crimes.



After the battle, the Jedi Council names Obi-Wan a Jedi Knight. Kenobi conveys his master&#8217;s wish regarding Anakin Skywalker to Yoda, who reluctantly allows him to become Obi-Wan&#8217;s apprentice. Qui-Gon is cremated, and Mace Windu and Yoda agree that his death was caused by the Sith. Because there are only two Sith ever at any given time (a master and an apprentice), they believe that there is still another one out there.

The film closes with a large celebration of liberation from the Trade Federation on the planet of Naboo. Queen Amidala presents a gift of appreciation and friendship to Boss Nass.

Filming
The budget of Menace was US$115 million. Filming was primarily done at Leavesden Studios in England, with additional location shooting in the Tunisian desert and the Italian palace Palazzo Reale, Caserta. Filming started on June 26, 1997, and ended on September 30, 1997.

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.

Reaction
After an enormous marketing campaign, with the distinctive artwork of Star Wars series artist Drew Struzan gracing the movie poster and other advertising, there was almost unprecedented interest amongst both fans and the wider community in the return of one of the most successful movie series of all time. However, critical and fan reaction ranged from guarded 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 Star Wars film. It was the first time a Star Wars film lost in that Oscar competition category. Many critics heavily criticized the direction and the acting of Portman and especially Jake Lloyd as the young Anakin Skywalker. Some aspects of the scripting were also criticized. Extra venom was directed at the character of Jar-Jar Binks, who was regarded by most of the older fan community as purely a merchandising opportunity rather than a serious character in the film. It's worth noting however that the criticism of Jar Jar was always of his character, never of his digital integration into the movie, which was largely a success. Fan reaction was mixed, with some fans opposing the critics' views while others agreed with the negative opinions.

Another source of dissatisfaction comes from the decision to explain the Force in terms of hard science, hence the introduction of midi-chlorians. Many fans felt this was unnecessary and ruins an aspect of the saga which sets it apart from other popular sci-fi titles in which religion and spirituality are of little importance or totally absent.

A number of people anonymously re-edited the film and released their edited versions over the Internet. One, known as The Phantom Edit, is regarded as a superior version by many who have seen both.

Re-release
At the DVD press conference for Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars prequel trilogy animation director, Rob Coleman confirmed that the animation department at Lucasfilm has replaced the Yoda puppet from the original version of the film with a digital Yoda. This was done to better match up the look of the Yoda from The Phantom Menace with that of the other two films of the prequel trilogy, as well as with the Yoda from the original trilogy. This change has been, for the most part, welcomed by fans, in contrast to the original puppet Yoda as seen in The Phantom Menace.

A preview of these changes can be viewed on the Revenge of the Sith DVD when it is released on November 1st. The clip is included as part of "The Chosen One" featurette. When Coleman announced the change, he didn't, however, specify when the revised version of The Phantom Menace will be released. It is expected to be in an upcoming prequel trilogy box set, however.

Title
In contrast to the more self-explanatory titles of the other films, the title, "The Phantom Menace", is ambiguous. It is usually suggested that the title refers to Darth Sidious, Darth Maul, or the Sith in general. The title could also refer to the origin of Darth Sidious' name, which is the adjective 'insidious'. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the following definition:

''Full of wiles or plots; lying in wait or seeking to entrap or ensnare; proceeding or operating secretly or subtly so as not to excite suspicion; sly, treacherous, deceitful, underhand, artful, cunning, crafty, wily. (Of persons and things.)''

So the 'phantom' in the title of Episode I could be referring to the Dark Lord of the Sith and &#8216;menace&#8217; to the meaning of the name 'Sidious.' Another possible meaning of the title is a subtle indication at the ultimate outcome of the Saga--Anakin becomes Darth Vader. Or even that Darth Maul was a menace, to appear and disappear without a trace.

A further theory is based upon the understanding that the central menace of the movie, the Neimoidian dominated Trade Federation's blockade and invasion of Naboo, is itself nothing more than a phantom, a piece of political misdirection wrought by Darth Sidious as part of the machinations designed to bring about the ultimate victory of the Sith. In this sense, the key outcome of this movie is the elevation of Palpatine to the office of Chancellor - an outcome that would have resulted had the Trade Federation's gambit succeeded or failed. The keystone of the plot is the plight of the Naboo arousing a sympathy vote in the Senate. Whilst the heroes are focused on combating the threat to Naboo, they are unwitting pawns in a connivance of far greater scope.

Sources and inspirations
While Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress has often been seen as a source of inspiration for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, The Phantom Menace's middle section on Tatooine, with its series of non-violent bargaining and twists of chance, demonstrates the strongest correspondence to Japanese film in the Saga. Queen Amidala's escape from an invading enemy and posing as a handmaiden while visiting the lower classes on Tatooine also echoes Kurosawa's film, especially in its emphasis on social consciousness.

The pod race sequence on Tatooine appears heavily influenced, if not lifted wholesale, from the chariot race in Ben-Hur. Other films likely to have influenced the pod race are Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause, which featured actor James Dean, a partial inspiration for the Anakin character, and John Frankenheimer's Grand Prix, which not only features the Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune but also features camerawork done by Lucas himself.

Starting with this episode, the Star Wars Saga, especially the first three episodes and even more especially the third chapter, Revenge of the Sith, deal heavily with the character type of the mastermind typical to the multiple genres Lucas' work belongs to. The dual character of Palpatine/Darth Sidious is the mastermind of the Star Wars narrative, controlling and manipulating the events of the films, such as the invasion of Naboo and the impeachment of Valorum, from afar. This character has precedent in countless comic books, movies and novels, but is especially in debt to the arch-villains of serial fiction and films of the early 20th century. The two most relevant characters are Fantomas ("The Phantom") and Norbert Jacque's Dr. Mabuse, immortalized on screen by German director Fritz Lang. Lucas implicitly labels Palpatine, who like Mabuse uses mind control and secret identities to shape events on large political and economic scales, as the film's Phantom Menace, tying him to the French villain.

Politically, this film may be the most concretely complicated of all the Star Wars films in its references. Throughout the films there are various characters whose names and actions associate them with modern political figures and movements. The name of the Trade Federation's greedy leader Nute Gunray can be seen as an amalgam of two controversial Republican politicians of the latter half of the 20th century-- Newt Gingrich and Ronald Reagan, both in their actual names and in reference to Reagan's most famous film, Knute Rockne, All American, in which he plays "The Gipper".

The key political decisions in this film revolve around the impeachment of a chief executive-- Supreme Chancellor Valorum-- in order to elect a new leader of stronger moral principles-- eventual Emperor Palpatine-- echoing the attempts of the Republicans to oust President Clinton from office in the late 1990's. The motivations of the Trade Federation in the film, moreover, revolve around their refusal to cooperate with the Republic's taxes, tying their economic politics both to the Reaganomics of the 1980's and the World Trade Organization, famously protested in Seattle, Washington in the year of the film's release. Also, it is likely that Lucas included the satirical pun on Reagan's name as payback for the former President's use of key phrases from Star Wars to rally support for his controversial Missile Defense System, which even gained the nickname of Lucas' epic project.

Novelization
A book version of the movie was written by Terry Brooks. It includes three entire chapters of material created by Brooks and unique to the novel. The first two chapters of the book concern Anakin's next-to-last Podrace and its aftermath, while a later chapter describes an encounter between Anakin and a wounded Tusken Raider in the desert.

Brooks met with Lucas before writing the book and received his approval and guidance, including information about developments to come in Episodes II and III. This can be seen in such passages as the Tusken Raider scene, which ironically foreshadows the death of Anakin's mother in Episode II, and the passage leading up to Anakin's fight with the Rodian child (Greedo), indicating that Anakin's anger derives from his anguish at Padmé's impending departure (foreshadowing the plot of Episode III).

The novelization is especially well-known for a passage describing the history of the Sith. According to Terry Brooks' memoir, Sometimes the Magic Works, Lucas spent an hour on the telephone with him discussing the history of the Jedi and the Sith. Therefore, the information on this subject provided in Brooks' novelization can be presumed to derive from Lucas himself.

Brooks devotes an entire chapter of Sometimes the Magic Works to the writing of the Episode I novelization, which was an extremely happy and fulfilling experience for him.

Trivia

 * In on of the landing platforms on Coruscant, you can see a small cameo appearance by none other than Prince Xizor himself.
 * One of the more popular rumors was that Natalie Portman sprained her ankle while filming and her limp was corrected digitally in post-production.
 * When Queen Amidala calls for a vote of no confidence, a group of aliens that can be seen in the Galactic Senate resemble E.T.'s race from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Also visible are a group of Wookiees.  For the first time in 20+ years, the species was played by someone other than Peter Mayhew.
 * Famous characters from the original Trilogy that make their first chronological appearance in this movie include C-3PO, Bib Fortuna, Jabba the Hutt, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Palpatine, R2-D2, Anakin Skywalker, and Yoda. A Greedo scene was shot but deleted from the theatrical version of the film. The scene is included among the deleted scenes on the DVD release.
 * At the end of the credits, following the last notes of "Anakin's Theme", Darth Vader can be heard breathing in the background while the screen is pitch black.
 * Aside from The Empire Strikes Back, this is the only Star Wars film in which the final scene contains any form of dialogue or monologue. However, it is only a single word, uttered by Boss Nass: "Peace!"
 * Liam Neeson was so eager to be in the film, he didn't bother reading the script. Neeson, however, reportedly disliked working on the film once principal photography began. Neeson later made disparaging remarks regarding working with special effects that were linked to this film, though they were actually directed at The Haunting, which was released the same year.
 * The sound of Watto's wings flapping is a looped recording of sound designer Ben Burtt opening and closing an umbrella.
 * Darth Maul only blinks once, just after he is sliced in half by Obi-Wan.
 * The word "lightsaber" is never used. When Anakin talks to Qui-Gon, he calls it a "laser sword."
 * The film's working title was The Beginning.
 * Jar Jar Binks has been heavily criticized by members of the Afro-Caribbean community for portraying island culture as a caricature of incompetence and clumsiness. Around the turn of the millennium, a popular insult among Haitians was to call the victim a "jar-jar."
 * Natalie Portman had to miss the film's premiere to study for her high school final exams.
 * "Phantom Menace" was the name of a villain in the Flash Gordon serials.
 * The lightsaber duel between Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Darth Maul took nearly a month to film.
 * The opening title crawl uses the phrase "Two Jedi Knights," even though, technically, only one of them (Qui-Gon) is a Knight.
 * When Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan rescue Queen Amidala and company from the battle droids, Qui-Gon Force pushes one of the droids, and the droid lets out a yell that sounds like "D'oh!"
 * Before being cast as Queen Amidala, Natalie Portman had never seen the original trilogy.

Behind the Scenes
In October 2005, at the Revenge of the Sith DVD Press Conference, Animation Director Rob Coleman, confirmed rumors that the puppet Yoda seen in Episode I would be replaced with a CGI Yoda to match his appearances in the second two films of the prequel trilogy.

Cast

 * Qui-Gon Jinn .... Liam Neeson
 * Obi-Wan Kenobi .... Ewan McGregor
 * Queen Amidala/Padmé .... Natalie Portman
 * Anakin Skywalker .... Jake Lloyd
 * Palpatine .... Ian McDiarmid
 * Shmi Skywalker .... Pernilla August
 * Sio Bibble .... Oliver Ford Davies
 * Captain Panaka - Hugh Quarshie
 * Jar Jar Binks .... Ahmed Best
 * C-3PO .... Anthony Daniels
 * R2-D2 .... Kenny Baker
 * Yoda .... Frank Oz
 * Finis Valorum .... Terence Stamp
 * Boss Nass .... Brian Blessed
 * Watto .... Andy Secombe
 * Darth Maul .... Ray Park
 * Sebulba .... Lewis MacLeod
 * Wald .... Warwick Davis
 * Captain Tarpals .... Steven Speirs
 * Nute Gunray .... Silas Carson
 * Rune Haako .... Jerome Blake
 * Daultay Dofine .... Alan Ruscoe
 * Ric Olié .... Ralph Brown
 * Fighter Pilot Bravo 5 .... Celia Imrie
 * Fighter Pilot Bravo 2 .... Benedict Taylor
 * Fighter Pilot Bravo 3 .... Clarence Smith
 * Mace Windu .... Samuel L. Jackson
 * Palace Guard .... Dominic West
 * Rabé .... Cristina da Silva
 * Eirtaé .... Friday (Liz) Wilson
 * Yané .... Candice Orwell
 * Saché .... Sofia Coppola
 * Sabé .... Keira Knightley
 * Republic Cruiser Captain .... Bronagh Gallagher
 * Republic Cruiser Pilot .... Silas Carson
 * TC-14 .... John Fensom
 * Fode .... Greg Proops
 * Beed .... Scott Capurro
 * Jabba the Hutt .... Himself
 * Jira .... Margaret Towner
 * Kitster .... Dhruv Chanchani
 * Seek .... Oliver Walpole
 * Amee .... Jenna Green
 * Melee .... Megan Udall
 * Eeth Koth .... Hassani Shapi
 * Adi Gallia .... Gin
 * Saesee Tiin .... Khan Bonfils
 * Plo Koon .... Alan Ruscoe
 * Yarael Poof .... Michelle Taylor
 * Ki-Adi-Mundi .... Silas Carson
 * Even Piell .... Michaela Cottrell
 * Oppo Rancisis .... Jerome Blake
 * Depa Billaba .... Dipika O'Neill Joti
 * Yaddle .... Phil Eason
 * Mas Amedda .... Jerome Blake
 * Aks Moe .... Mark Coulier
 * Lott Dod .... Silas Carson
 * Yoda Puppeteers .... Kathy Smee, Don Austen, David Greenaway
 * Voice of TC-14 .... Lindsay Duncan
 * Voice of Darth Maul .... Peter Serafinowicz
 * Voice of Rune Haako .... James Taylor
 * Voice of Daultay Dofine .... Chris Sanders
 * Voice of Lott Dod .... Toby Longworth
 * Voice of Aks Moe .... Marc Silk
 * Voice of Tey How .... Tyger

Deleted Scenes

 * Dawn Before Podrace - Anakin gets up early to prepare the pod for the race and has a brief chat with Padmé.
 * Fight - This was due to be put in after the podrace just to show Anakin's dark side, but George Lucas cut it because he wanted Anakin to be shown as a 100% good kid that turned bad and was never born that way.
 * Podrace Intros - Quite interesting but you can see why this was cut, it is pretty fun just to see and hear a bit more of the various characters involved in the race, and see a few more strange creatures in the crowd.
 * Podrace Lap 2 - This is not just more high octane podrace action, although it does have plenty of that too. It also shows more of Sebulba's "creative interpretation of the rules" and more proof of just how special Anakin is.
 * Probe Droid - This occurs as Qui-Gon and Anakin are leaving Mos Espa and stop to let Anakin say goodbye to Jira. One of Darth Maul's probe droids follows them for some time until Qui-Gon finally notices and destroys it.
 *  Coruscant Sky Taxi - The taxi ride only lasts for about ten seconds, which shows ten more seconds of Coruscant.
 * Waterfall Scene - As Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Jar Jar arrive in the Bongo Sub in the waterways of Theed, they surface just in front of a huge waterfall. They escape, of course.

DVD release
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was released on DVD in 2001, with certain scenes and other elements edited and added in by George Lucas that make the DVD a slightly different version from its theatrical release. However, the changes made for the DVD release do not change the plot of the film in any sense. Some scenes were modified, and some scenes that were not finished by the date of release were put in the film.