Lucas offered Coppola a role in the royal entourage, which she accepted because it "seemed like a good vantage point to watch without getting in the way". The gifts that the Jedi masters enjoy have a perfectly plausible scientific basis, even if its ways are mysterious: their bodily cells have a heavier than usual concentration of 'midi-chlorians'. The group land for repairs on the outlying desert planet of Tatooine, situated beyond the Republic's jurisdiction. [24], Throughout the 1980s, Lucas said he had no desire to return to Star Wars and had canceled his sequel trilogy by the time of Return of the Jedi. The Jedi fail to persuade the Gungan leader, Boss Nass, to help the planet's surface dwellers, but manage to obtain Jar Jar's guidance and underwater transport to Theed, the capital city of Naboo. Publication date Lucas and McCallum were so impressed with the test tape that they gave Park the role of Maul. [66], The Phantom Menace was the final Star Wars film to be shot on 35mm film until Episode VII (Star Wars: The Force Awakens). Jar Jar Binks Anthony Daniels. [106], A novelization was written by Terry Brooks, who met with Lucas before writing the book and received his approval and guidance. [148] Colin Kennedy of Empire magazine said that despite problems with pacing and writing, "there is still much pleasure to be had watching our full-blown Jedi guides in action". The effects and production design are stunning, but they always serve the story, not the other way around. Some scenes, mostly of elements filmed by the special effects team, were shot on high definition, digital video tapes to test the performance of digital recordings, which Lucas and McCallum considered the next logical step because of the amount of digitizing—an expensive process compared to recording directly on digital media—for the compositing of computer-generated effects. Ralph Brown plays Ric Olie, commander of the Naboo Royal Space Fighter Corps and chief pilot aboard Queen Amidala's starship, Matthew Wood appears as Twi'lek Bib Fortuna, alongside a CGI Jabba the Hutt who is voiced by an uncredited actor. McCallum stated that his experience with The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles led to many of his decisions on The Phantom Menace, such as long-term deals with actors and soundstages, the employment of recent graduates with no film experience, and the creation of sets and landscapes with digital technology. As with the original trilogy, Lucas intended The Phantom Menace to illustrate several themes throughout the narrative. In a 2018 Saturday Night Live comedy rap video, Natalie Portman reprised her appearance as Queen Amidala from The Phantom Menace and defended the prequel trilogy. Exiled from her home and spirited away by a pair of Jedi, Amidala will look upon every experience as a potential key to her world's problems. [43], Lucas decided to make elaborate costumes, because the film's society was more sophisticated than the one depicted in the original trilogy. [140] Drew Grant of Salon wrote, "Perhaps the absolute creative freedom director George Lucas enjoyed while dreaming up the flick's 'comic' relief—with no studio execs and not many an independently minded actor involved—is a path to the dark side."[141]. In Taoist philosophy, from The Way, yin and yang—the opposing but complementary aspects of reality or nature—are born. "[146] Susan Wloszczyna of USA Today said that the film did "plenty right" and praised the characters Darth Maul and Watto. This album featured the score, which Williams restructured as a listening experience; it is not presented in film order and omits many notable cues from the film because of the space restriction of the compact disc. "[135] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 51 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Lucas saw that there was still a large audience for his idea of a prequel trilogy, and with the development of special effects generated with computer-generated imagery (CGI), Lucas considered returning to his saga and directing the film. [30] The film's working title was The Beginning;[29] Lucas later revealed that its true title was The Phantom Menace; a reference to Palpatine hiding his true identity as an evil Sith Lord behind the facade of a well-intentioned public servant. [29] Anakin was first written as a twelve-year-old, but Lucas reduced his age to nine because he felt that the lower age would better fit the plot point of Anakin being affected by his mother's separation from him. [124] Prime Focus Limited did the conversion under the supervision of ILM. [59] The forest scenes on Naboo were filmed at Cassiobury Park in Watford, Hertfordshire. [32] The story ended with five simultaneous, ongoing plots, one leading to another. Lisa Stamp Unable to acquire the required hyperdrive parts with Republic currency, Qui-Gon wagers both the hyperdrive and Anakin's freedom with Watto in a podrace. These would be re-released in episode order, beginning with The Phantom Menace, which was released to cinemas on February 10, 2012. [166] Although in the intervening years, the film had lost some of its rankings in the lists of highest-grossing films, the 3D re-release returned it to the worldwide all-time Top 10 for several months. "[159] The greedy and corrupt Neimoidians of the Trade Federation speak with East Asian accents, and the unprincipled trader Watto has been interpreted as a Jewish stereotype reminiscent of Charles Dickens' character Fagin. [180], Darth Maul's lightsaber-fighting style served as the inspiration for the 2003 viral video Star Wars Kid. The set features the entire score as it is heard in the film, including all of the edits and loops that were made for the sound mix. Joined by Anakin Skywalker—a young slave with unusually strong natural powers of the Force—they simultaneously contend with the mysterious return of the Sith. [42] Because Gillard thought that the stunt jumps with the actors and stuntmen dangling from wires did not look realistic, air rams were used to propel them into the air instead. Anakin Skywalker Ian McDiarmid. Cover artist [183] The story continues a decade later with Anakin grown to adulthood, played by Hayden Christensen. Full Cast & Crew: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) Cast (120) Liam Neeson. His voice was considered "too squeaky" and was dubbed over in post-production by Peter Serafinowicz. [103] The next morning, the trailer was released on the film's official website and shortly afterwards the servers became overloaded. [82] The Star Wars film cycle features a similar Christian narrative involving Anakin Skywalker; he is the "Chosen One"—the individual prophesied to bring balance to the Force—who was conceived of a virgin birth. The sets were often built with the parts that would be required on screen; often they were built only up to the heights of the actors. Galen Showman [103], The teaser poster, featuring Anakin with his shadow forming Darth Vader's silhouette, was released on November 10, 1998. Captain Panaka Ahmed Best . 24 Sio Bibble Hugh Quarshie. Exiled from her home and spirited away by a pair of Jedi, Amidala will look upon every experience as a potential key to her world's problems. The story takes place on three planets, some with varied environments such as the human and Gungan cities of Naboo and three buildings in Coruscant. [142] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B" grade and complimented Liam Neeson's performance and the action scenes. [155] Some viewed it as a concept that negates the Force's spiritual quality. [76], To research for the podrace vehicles, the visual effects crew visited a jet aircraft junkyard outside Phoenix, Arizona and scavenged four Boeing 747 engines. Two versions were released in North America on April 4—a standard pan and scan version and a widescreen Collector's Edition version. [b], The Phantom Menace was released in theaters on May 19, 1999, almost 16 years after the premiere of the previous Star Wars film, Return of the Jedi. Knoll and his visual effects team wrote new computer software, including cloth simulators to allow a realistic depiction of the digital characters' clothing, to create certain shots. Again, many fans paid full theater admission to watch the new trailer. They also say "Amidala, in keeping with her status and character, has a number of highly formal outfits ... to go with hair sculpted into a curve that frames make-up of a Japanese cast".

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