Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Directed by	George Lucas
Written by	George Lucas
Produced by	Rick McCallum George Lucas
Starring	Liam Neeson Ewan McGregor Natalie Portman Jake Lloyd Ian McDiarmid
Music by	John Williams
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Running time	133 min.
Language	English
Budget	$115,000,000

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 science fantasy film written and directed by George Lucas. It was the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, and the first in terms of chronology. Among fans, the title is sometimes abbreviated as "TPM".

Stranded on the desert planet Tatooine after rescuing young Queen Amidala from the impending invasion of Naboo by the Trade Federation, Jedi apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, discover nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker, a young slave unusually strong in the Force. Anakin wins his freedom in a podrace and leaves home to be trained as a Jedi. The heroes return to Naboo where Anakin and the Queen face massive invasion forces while the two Jedi contend with a deadly foe named Darth Maul. Only then do they realize the invasion is merely the first step in a sinister scheme by the re-emergent forces of darkness, known as the Sith.

Its release on May 19, 1999 came almost 16 years after the previous film released in the series, Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. The film's release was accompanied by extensive media coverage and high anticipation. Though given mixed reviews by critics, it was extremely financially successful, grossing US$ 924.3 million worldwide on a budget of US$115 million. The Phantom Menace was the highest grossing film of 1999, and the fourth highest grossing film of all-time after its release. It is the highest grossing Star Wars film ever, without adjustment for inflation.

Production

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 for the Tatooine scenes and the Italian palace Palazzo Reale, Caserta for the Theed City Naboo Palace interior. 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.

Synopsis

File:Jinn and Kenobi.jpg

Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn.

The opening crawl reveals that a galactic trade dispute leads the Trade Federation to blockade the planet of Naboo in hopes of achieving a resolution. Chancellor Valorum of the Galactic Republic secretly sends two Jedi Knights, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn, to meet with Trade Federation Viceroy Nute Gunray to resolve the dispute. Unbeknownst to them, the Trade Federation is in league with the mysterious Sith Lord Darth Sidious, who secretly orders Gunray to invade Naboo with their immense battle droid army and kill the two Jedi who are awaiting an audience with the viceroy. 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 Padmé 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’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.

However, during the attack, the ship's hyperdrive is damaged and the party is forced to land on the desert planet of Tatooine for repairs. While searching for needed parts, they befriend young Anakin Skywalker, a nine-year-old human slave, whose master is Watto, a curmudgeonly Toydarian junk dealer. Anakin is a child prodigy gifted in mathematics, 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, Shmi, in the bargain) will be released from slavery and they will win the needed parts for their ship. On the night before the Podrace, Qui-Gon conducts a blood test on Anakin to determine his midi-chlorian count in which he sends the DNA make-up of Anakin to Obi-Wan at their startship via his comlink. Obi-Wan tells Qui-Gon that the boy's midi-chlorian count is higher than any other Jedi, even Yoda. The day of the race arrives. After some stiff competition, 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 has sent his apprentice, Darth Maul, to kill the two Jedi and capture the Queen. Maul appears just as the group is leaving the Tatooine, and fights Qui-Gon, who then escapes on the ship.

On Coruscant, Qui-Gon Jinn informs the Jedi Council of the mysterious attacker he encountered on Tatooine. Because of the attacker's mastery of the Force, the Council becomes concerned that this may indicate the reappearance of the Sith, a 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 the Jedi Code. They are also concerned because they feel that Anakin harbors a great deal of fear and anger, clouding his future. 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 will be nominated as the new Chancellor. After doing so, the Queen decides to return to her home planet to repel the invasion of the Trade Federation. 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.

File:Duelmaulkenobijinn.jpg

Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi battle Darth Maul on Naboo.

After returning to Naboo, Queen Amidala forms an alliance with the Gungans, uniting the two groups in battle against the Trade Federation. Nute Gunray is ordered by Darth Sidious to wipe out the Gungans and the Naboo. The Gungans march into battle to provide a distraction, which will allow a small team consisting of the Jedi, Queen Amidala, a cadre of Naboo troops, and Anakin (because Qui-Gon feels the boy will be safest with the Jedi) to infiltrate the palace complex and capture the Viceroy. A number of pilots also accompany them, intending to commandeer their starfighters from the palace hangar so that they can mount an assault on the Federation ship that is remotely controlling the entire robotic army. Once inside the hangar, the infiltration team is confronted by Maul, who is determined to dispatch the Jedi. They engage him while the others move on; Anakin hides inside a fighter cockpit. In an attempt to help his comrades, Anakin activates the fighter, expecting only to use its guns against the droids inside the hangar, but the autopilot kicks in and takes Anakin toward the space battle. Luckily, R2-D2 is with him. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan duel with the fierce Sith Lord, moving amongst the catwalks of a massive power-generating reactor core. Obi-Wan is briefly delayed, which allows the other two combatants to get ahead of him; he is thus separated from his master and their enemy by a series of cycling energy-field doors. Anakin, once he has inadvertently joined the dogfight in space, uses his piloting skills to help take down the droid-control ship. His fighter is hit and careens into the Federation vessel's hangar, where Anakin proceeds to destroy the ship's generators with well-placed proton torpedos. This causes the droid army, which had forced the Gungans into a full-scale retreat, to power down in the midst of taking prisoners. Meanwhile, Queen Amidala and her forces fight their way into the palace and capture Nute Gunray. In the reactor core, Qui-Gon reengages Darth Maul singlehandedly, but is slain. Obi-Wan flies into a rage (coming dangerously close to the dark side) and launches a fierce assault on his adversary, but the Sith Lord almost kills him when he Force-pushes him over the edge of a deep ventillation shaft. Obi-Wan clings to the ledge while Maul taunts him; using the Force, Obi-Wan makes a tremendous vertical leap, flips over Maul's head while telekinetically recovering Qui-Gon's lightsaber, and slices the Sith Lord in half. With his final breath, Qui-Gon instructs Obi-Wan to train Anakin to become a Jedi. The newly elected Chancellor Palpatine arrives to congratulate Queen Amidala on her victory, as Nute Gunray is sent away to stand trial for his crimes.

After the battle, the Jedi Council names Obi-Wan a Jedi Knight. Kenobi conveys his master’s wish regarding Anakin Skywalker to Yoda, who reluctantly allows Anakin to become Obi-Wan’s apprentice. Qui-Gon is cremated, and Mace Windu and Yoda agree that he was killed 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. In celebration of the liberation of Naboo, and the allience between Queen Amidala and the Gunguns, a large celebration is held in the city of Theed. Queen Amidala presents a gift of appreciation, friendship, and peace to Boss Nass. Anakin looks at Queen Amidala, and Queen Amidala smiles.

Reaction

The Phantom Menace enjoyed (or suffered from) more media-created hype than any film in history, which made Lucasfilm's modest $20 million advertising campaign, with the distinctive artwork of Star Wars series artist Drew Struzan gracing the movie poster and other advertising, almost unnecessary because of the 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 were groundbreaking in their sheer scope (roughly 2,000 effects shots) and in their quality and innovation, such as co-starring computer graphics characters, completely computer-generated environments, and entire armies of CGI droids. Despite the impressive effects, The Matrix captivated Academy Award voters, winning the visual effects Academy Award for 1999 over the Star Wars film. It was the first time a Star Wars film did not win that Oscar competition category.

Some aspects of the scripting were also criticized. Special venom was directed at the character of Jar Jar Binks, who many members of the older fan community regarded as purely a merchandising opportunity rather than a serious character in the film. The idea that Anakin built C-3PO was also regarded by some as far fetched. In addition, the introduction of "midichlorians" (microscopic organisms that allow communication with the Force) in the film has been controversial. Those against it have seen it as a concept that negates the numinous quality of the Force. On the other hand, the epic fight scene between Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul, showcasing astounding choreography and Ray Park's martial arts skills, is considered by many fans and critics to be a high point of and one of the best lightsaber duels in the entire Star Wars saga.

There was additional controversy over whether several alien characters reflected racial stereotypes, notably: the oafish, slow-witted Jar-Jar Binks spoke with what many perceived as a Caribbean patois (particularly Jamaican Creole); the greedy and corrupt Neimodians of the Trade Federation spoke with Asian accents; and the unprincipled desert trader Watto fit the caricature of the Semitic peoples. Lucas has categorically denied all of these implications, and in latter films (Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith) these characters appeared less often and without as strong characterizations as in The Phantom Menace.

Another criticism of The Phantom Menace was the belief that if viewers had no background information about the Star Wars universe then they most likely would have no idea what is going on. Despite being the first Star Wars film chronologically, it did not explain what a Jedi Knight, lightsaber, the Force, etc. was. Some have claimed that all of the exposition was in A New Hope. However, the same could be argued against A New Hope, as, if one were to view it as the first film, all aspects of Luke's father's life and the story of the fall of the Old Republic and the Jedi would not be explained. Lucas defended this in the DVD commentary for A New Hope, stating that this style of filmaking is what he prefers, where the viewer can jump ahead of exposition and get to the "heart" of the story.

Box office performance

Despite facing much criticism, Episode I was easily 1999's most successful movie, earning $431.1 million in North America and more than $493 million overseas, making the film the second highest grossing of all-time worldwide after its first release. Summer 1999 saw 45 movies open with a new film occupying the number one position at the box office almost every week. A then-record 11 films grossed at least $100 million during the season, when moviegoers spent $3 billion watching movies in theaters, a record at the time.

Academy Awards

Award	Person
Nominated:
Best Sound Effects	Ben Burtt Tom Bellfort
Best Visual Effects	John Knoll Dennis Muren Scott Squires Rob Coleman
Best Sound	Gary Rydstrom Tom Johnson Shawn Murphy John Midgley

Cast

Actor	Role(s)
Liam Neeson	Qui-Gon Jinn
Ewan McGregor	Obi-Wan Kenobi
Natalie Portman	Queen Padmé Amidala
Jake Lloyd	Anakin Skywalker
Ian McDiarmid	Senator/Supreme Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious
Ahmed Best	Jar Jar Binks
Pernilla August	Shmi Skywalker
Kenny Baker	R2-D2
Ray Park Peter Serafinowicz (voice)	Darth Maul
Silas Carson	Viceroy Nute Gunray Ki-Adi-Mundi Lott Dod Co-pilot of the Radiant VII
Andy Secombe	Watto
Hugh Quarshie	Captain Panaka
Anthony Daniels	C-3PO
Oliver Ford Davies	Sio Bibble
Frank Oz	puppeteer and voice of Yoda
Samuel L. Jackson	Mace Windu
Terence Stamp	Chancellor Finis Valorum

Sources and inspirations

See also: Star Wars sources and analogues

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 podrace 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. A common criticism against the entire podrace sequence were the Indycar engine sound samples which were very recogniseable.

The appearance of Darth Maul draws heavily from traditional depictions of the Judeo-Christian Devil, complete with red skin and horns. These aspects, however, also slyly refer to Jesus, as Maul's red and black face bears a strong resemblance to the abstract opening sequence of Martin Scorcese's film adaptation of The Last Temptation of Christ, whose red and black images are evocative of Christ's crown of thorns. Similarly, the arrangement of horns around Maul's head can be seen as analogous to a crown, creating a dark mirror image of Christ's crown of thorns. These references are especially meaningful, as The Last Temptation of Christ tells an alternate, speculative history of Jesus in which the Devil tempts him to give up his duty as messiah to die upon the cross in order to live out his life with the love of Mary Magdalene. The Star Wars film cycle features a similar narrative with Anakin, a virgin birth messiah who is tempted out of fulfilling his duty as "The Chosen One" to destroy the Sith in order to save the life of his love, Padmé. In both cases, the love for whom the tempted messiah abandoned his responsibilities dies, and the messiah must eventually reclaim his destiny in self-sacrifice.

Starting with this episode, the Star Wars saga, especially the first three episodes and even more specifically the third episode, 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 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.

The Phantom Menace may also be the most politically charged 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". In addition, his colleague Lott Dod can be seen as a combination of the names of two other prominent U.S. politicians: Trent Lott and Christopher Dodd.

The key political decisions in this film revolve around the impeachment of a chief executive (Chancellor Valorum) in order to elect a new leader of supposedly stronger moral principles P(Palpatine), echoing the attempts of the Republicans to oust President Bill Clinton from office in 1998. (It should be pointed out, however, that the movie was filmed in 1997 and the impeachment process against Clinton began in 1998.) 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 1980s and the World Trade Organization, famously protested in the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 in Seattle, Washington, which occurred 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. Despite all these parallels, the Trade Federation forces are not the true threat; they are merely a tool for the true villain, Darth Sidious.

Title

In contrast to the more self-explanatory titles of the other films, the title, "The Phantom Menace," is unusually ambiguous. It is usually suggested that the title refers to Darth Sidious 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 ‘menace’ to the meaning of the name 'Sidious.'

Another possible meaning of the title is the perceived threat posed by Darth Maul, who was indeed a menace but appeared and disappeared within a short period of time.

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, implying that while the Trade Federation (and later the Separatists) were the "Phantom Menace", Palpatine was the true menace to the Republic, as indeed he turned out to be. 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 dark conspiracy of far greater scope.

A fourth interpretation is that the title foreshadows Anakin's eventual transformation into Darth Vader. This was illustrated in a movie poster which showed young Anakin casting a shadow in the shape of Darth Vader. Within the story, few (other than Sidious) could have foreseen the monumental menace Anakin would eventually pose.

Soundtrack

Main article: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (soundtrack)

Novelization

Main article: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (novel)

A book version of the movie was written by Terry Brooks. It includes three 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.

DVD release

File:PhantomDVD.jpg

Front cover of the DVD release.

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace was released on DVD in 2001. It was the first Star Wars film to be officially released on DVD. The DVD version of the film had 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 added to the film.

There are different variants for the DVD packaging for Episode I. The first, which was done for the original 2001 DVD release, has the film's tag line "EVERY SAGA HAS A BEGINNING" at the top of the front cover of the DVD. When the film was reissued to concide with the DVD release of "Attack of the Clones" in 2002, the tagline was removed and replaced with "WIDESCREEN" for the Widescreen reissue, and "FULL SCREEN" in white lettering for the full screen edition.

Features (USA):

Disc 1

• Available Subtitles: English
• Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1 EX), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Commentary by: writer-director George Lucas, producer Rick McCallum, editor Ben Burtt, animation director Rob Coleman, and visual effects supervisors John Knoll, Dennis Muren, and Scott Squires (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)

Disc 2

• Exclusive deleted-scenes documentary features seven new sequences completed just for this DVD release: Complete Podrace Grid Sequence, Extended Podrace Lap Two, The Waterfall Sequence, The Air Taxi Sequence, Dawn Before the Race, Anakin's Scuffle with Greedo, Farewell to Jira
• "The Beginning: Making Episode I," an all-new hour-long documentary film culled from over 600 hours of footage, including an insider's look at Lucasfilm and ILM during the production
• Multi-angle storyboard to animatic to film segment featuring the Submarine and Podrace Lap 1 sequences
• Five featurettes explore the storyline, design, costumes, visual effects, and fight sequences
• Award-winning twelve-part Web documentary series that chronicles the production
• "Duel of the Fates" music video featuring John Williams
• Never-before-seen production photo gallery with special caption feature
• Theatrical posters and print campaign from around the world
• Theatrical teaser and launch trailers, and seven TV spots
• "Star Wars: Starfighter - The Making of a Game" featurette from LucasArts
• DVD-ROM weblink to exclusive Star Wars content

References

• Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, 1st edition paperback, 1999. Terry Brooks, George Lucas, ISBN 0-345-43411-0

External links

• The official site of The Phantom Menace
• The Phantom Menace at IMDb
• Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace on Wookieepedia, a Star Wars wiki