Wookieepedia

READ MORE

Wookieepedia
Register
Advertisement
Wookieepedia
Leia holo

Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope.

This article is in need of referencing per Wookieepedia's sourcing guidelines.

This article needs appropriate citations. Help us improve this article by referencing valid resource material. Remove this notice when finished.

"Every saga has a beginning…"
―Tagline[3]

Star Wars: 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.

The Phantom Menace 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.

The film was the catalyst for fifteen years of Star Wars storytelling that would primarily take place around the time of the prequel storyline. The success of the film allowed for the next two chapters of the prequel trilogy, as well as the Star Wars: The Clone Wars film and television series.

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[]

"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 — (audio) Listen (file info)[3]
Dioxis

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan prepare to fight their way out of the Trade Federation flagship.

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.

Back in the command deck, Queen Amidala contacts Gunray to express her disapproval of their blockade, with Gunray explaining that they wouldn't have done it without the approval of the Senate. When she asks about the ambassadors sent by the Chancellor, Gunray claims that they have received no such ambassadors, leaving Amidala startled and suspicious. Gunray ends communications with her and informs his aide that they should disable all communications on the planet.

Meanwhile, Amidala is conversing with Senator Sheev Palpatine regarding the recent attempt at negotiations and how Gunray claimed that they did not receive any ambassadors. Surprised, Palpatine states that he had assurances from the Chancellor that his ambassadors did arrive. However, Palpatine is unable to finish his sentence as his hologram flickers out. Naboo Governor Sio Bibble suspects that an interruption of communications is a sign that an invasion from the Trade Federation is imminent.

TPM Cast

The Jedi liberate the queen and her guards from the battle-droid invasion.

On the planet's surface, Qui-Gon saves native outcast Jar Jar Binks from being crushed by a Trade Federation MTT. Kenobi appears, pursued by STAPs, which are destroyed by Qui-Gon. Jar Jar Binks shows the two Jedi the way to an underwater Gungan settlement, Otoh Gunga. Meanwhile, the Trade Federation occupies Theed, the capital city of Naboo, and captures Queen Amidala along with the rest of the government. In Otoh Gunga, the Jedi meet the Gungan leader, Boss Nass, and ask him to help the people of Naboo, but Nass refuses due to hate of the people of Naboo and sends them off in a bongo submarine. They are attacked by an opee sea killer and a colo claw fish but both fish are eaten by a sando aqua monster. The Jedi, with Binks in tow, arrive in Theed and rescue Queen Amidala. They depart for Coruscant, the Galactic Republic's capital planet, to ask for help from the Senate. As they attempt to run the blockade, the queen's starship is damaged by Federation battleships, but an astromech droid named R2-D2 manages to repair it and they narrowly escape.

Due to the damage to the ship's hyperdrive sustained in the attack, the Jedi decide to land on the nearby planet Tatooine for repairs. While searching for a new hyperdrive generator, they befriend young Anakin Skywalker, a slave boy, whose master is Watto, a Toydarian junk dealer. Watto has the required parts in stock, but Qui-Gon is unable to purchase them, as Republic credits are worthless on Tatooine.

Anakin Pod

Anakin races ahead of Sebulba during the Boonta Eve Podrace.

Anakin is gifted with piloting and mechanical abilities, and has built an almost-complete droid named C-3PO. Qui-Gon senses a strong presence of the Force in Anakin, and feels that he may be the Chosen One—the one who will fulfill a prophecy by bringing balance to the Force. By entering Anakin into a podrace, Qui-Gon orchestrates a gamble with Watto's chance cube in which "fate" decided that the boy (alone, since Qui-Gon was unable to include the youth's mother in the bargain) will be released from slavery while also acquiring the parts needed for their ship. The night before the race, Qui-Gon does a blood test on Anakin and discovers that the boy's midi-chlorian reading is off the chart.

Anakin wins the race (defeating his rival, Sebulba) and joins the team as they prepare to leave for Coruscant, where Qui-Gon plans to seek permission from the Jedi High Council to train Anakin 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 duels with Qui-Gon. The fight is cut short when Qui-Gon escapes his black-robed assailant by jumping on board the Naboo Royal Starship as it takes off.

Amidalabeforesenate

Amidala and Palpatine plead before the Senate to intervene with Naboo's crisis.

On Coruscant, Qui-Gon informs the Jedi Council of the mysterious attacker he encountered on Tatooine, coming to the conclusion that his attacker is a Sith, the latter being a religious order who were followers of the dark side of the Force and thought to have been extinct for over a millennium, much to the shock of the Jedi Council. 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 that they sense much fear in the boy, and that he has a clouded future.

Meanwhile, Senator Palpatine meets with Queen Amidala to warn of corruption in the Senate and advises that she may have to call for a Vote of No Confidence in Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum. When their petition to the Senate is refused, Amidala sees no alternative but to do just that. Palpatine is among the candidates to become the new Supreme Chancellor. The queen later announces to Palpatine that she will return to their home planet to repel the invasion of her people by herself. She is frustrated by the Senate's deliberation and lack of action, and feels that even if Palpatine is elected Chancellor, it will be too late. The Jedi Council sends the two Jedi to accompany the queen back to Naboo, hoping to shed light on any Sith involvement.

Nass on Sacred Place

Boss Nass at the Gungan Sacred Place

Amidala, back on Naboo, attempts to locate the Gungans at Otoh Gunga, but Jar-Jar, after searching the city, informs them that it has been abandoned. He then leads them to the Gungan Sacred Place, where he is certain the Gungans will be. The Gungans are initially distrustful, until the "handmaiden" Padmé reveals herself as the true queen and humbly begs for their help. She negotiates with Boss Nass to form an alliance and unite their peoples in battle against the Trade Federation. Captain Panaka and several other security forces were also dispatched to rescue anyone imprisoned in the Trade Federation's prison camps, although they were only able to successfully extract a handful.

Next, Amidala informs Qui-Gon and Nass of her battle strategy: with the Grand Gungan Army acting as a distraction to the bulk of the main Trade Federation forces, the Naboo resistance led by herself, Captain Panaka and the Jedi will infiltrate Theed via a secret entrance located inside one of the waterfalls. Nute Gunray, hearing reports of the Grand Army's assembly, informs Darth Sidious; Sidious orders Gunray to wipe out both the Gungans and the Naboo as the Trade Federation prepares for battle.

Captain Roos Tarpals orders the Gungan Grand Army to activate their shield, which protects them from ranged attack. OOM-9 has his tanks fire first, but seeing them fail to penetrate the powerful shield, orders them to cease fire. Daultay Dofine gives the command to activate the battle droids. These droids march through the shield and open fire on the Grand Army, soon destroying the shield generator. As the tanks cause heavy casualties among the Gungans, defeat for the alliance seems imminent.

However, victory comes when young Anakin Skywalker accidentally takes control of an N-1 starfighter and goes on to destroy the Federation's Droid Control Ship from the inside, killing Daultay Dofine and rendering the droid army useless. Meanwhile, Amidala and her force fight their way back into the royal palace and capture Nute Gunray.

DotF TPM

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan fight Darth Maul during the Battle of Naboo.

At the same time, in a Theed hangar bay, Darth Maul engages in combat with the two Jedi, using his double-bladed lightsaber. The battle moves from the hangar, across a series of catwalks, to the Theed Generator Complex. During the fight, Obi-Wan is separated from his master by being kicked off of a catwalk. He grabs the edge of another catwalk below and jumps back up to where Qui-Gon and Maul continue to fight. By this time, Qui-Gon and Maul have become separated by a force field in the entrance to the Generator Room. Obi-Wan catches up to them, but is divided from his master by four force fields. When the force fields deactivate, Jinn and Maul continue their battle while Kenobi remains divided from the battle by one force field when they all reactivate.

After a lengthy duel, Maul suddenly stuns Qui-Gon by hitting him on the chin with his lightsaber handle, then rams his blade straight into Qui-Gon's torso, mortally wounding him. Devastated and angered, Obi-Wan redoubles his assault upon Maul and chops the Sith's lightsaber in half, but Maul eventually overpowers and nearly kills Kenobi by Force pushing him over the edge of a seemingly bottomless reactor shaft. Obi-Wan saves himself from falling when he manages to grab onto a pipe protruding from the wall of the shaft. Maul kicks the Jedi's lightsaber into the pit and prepares to finish him off. After Obi-Wan calms himself, he uses the Force to leap out of the shaft and over Maul's head while summoning his fallen master's lightsaber to his hand. He lands behind the surprised Maul and cuts him in half; Maul's upper and lower body fall into the shaft.

Obi-Wan reaches Qui-Gon moments before he dies, as Qui-Gon instructs Obi-Wan to train Anakin to become a Jedi, reiterating that Anakin is the Chosen One. Obi-Wan gives his word that he will. Qui-Gon dies, leading to Obi-Wan to grieve for his deceased master. The newly elected Chancellor Palpatine arrives to congratulate Queen Amidala on her victory, as Nute Gunray is sent to stand trial for his crimes.

Naboo celebration

The Gungans and the Naboo celebrate their victory.

Later, in a room in the queen's palace, Yoda confers upon Obi-Wan the rank of Jedi Knight. Kenobi argues with Yoda about his promise to Qui-Gon regarding Anakin's training. Yoda is convinced it is dangerous to train the boy, but tells Kenobi the Jedi Council has allowed Skywalker to become Kenobi's apprentice. Later that evening, in a temple in Theed, Qui-Gon's body is cremated, and Mace Windu and Yoda agree that the Sith are definitely to blame for the tragedy. As there are only ever two Sith at any given time (a Master and an apprentice), both Masters believe that one must still remain.

The Naboo and Gungans organize a great victory celebration on the streets of Theed, in front on the palace. Obi-Wan and Anakin are present, the younger now wearing formal Jedi attire, and in his hair is a special braid: the mark of a Jedi Padawan. Palpatine meets Anakin personally assuring the kid that he will be watching his career with 'great interest'. The film ends with Queen Amidala presenting a gift of appreciation and friendship to Boss Nass and the Gungan people.

Development[]

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.[4] The first draft of the script was begun November 1994.[5]

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."[6] 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.[7]

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.[5]

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?]

Release[]

The Phantom Menace 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.[8] 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.[9] Many fans began waiting outside cinema theaters as early as a month in advance of ticket sales.[10]

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.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] Servers at the film's official website became gridlocked soon after the release of the first teaser trailer,[15] 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.[16] 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.[17] 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.[18]

Despite worries about whether the film would be finished in time, two weeks prior to its debut Lucasfilm pushed the release date up from May 21 to May 19 of 1999. At the ShoWest Convention, Lucas stated that the change was to give the fans a "head start" by allowing them to view it over the week and allowing families the chance to view on the weekends. In a nod toward his future with digital technology, Lucas stated that the film would be released on four digital projectors on June 18, 1999.[19] Eleven charity premieres were staged across the United States on May 16, 1999; proceeds from the Los Angeles event were given to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation with corporate packages available for $5,000–$25,000.[20] Other charity premieres included the Dallas premiere for Children's Medical Center, the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research at the Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York, the Big Brother/Sister Assn. of the Philadelphia premiere, and the Children's National Medical Centre in Washington D.C. A statement said that tickets were sold at $500 apiece and that certain sections were set aside for disadvantaged children.[21]

Merchandise[]

Soundtrack[]

Two separate soundtracks were released for The Phantom Menace. One, a traditional soundtrack, contained seventeen tracks of selections from the score. The second, an Ultimate Collector's Edition Soundtrack, compiled the score as it was presented in the film (with several minor alterations) in sixty-eight tracks.

Major musical themes and leitmotifs were introduced in the film, including the droid march, "Duel of the Fates," Qui-Gon's Theme, "The Adventures of Jar Jar," Darth Maul's Motif, Anakin's Theme, Shmi's motif, "The Flag Parade," "Escape from Naboo," and the "Symponik Nabooalla."

During the credits at the end of the film, young Anakin's theme is heard playing, but during the last moments of the film, this theme morphs into the first few notes of the Darth Vader theme during the Imperial March, and, as the last logos of THX are scrolling by, three rasping breaths from Vader's respirator can be heard, referencing Anakin's eventual change into Darth Vader.

Novelization[]

A novelization 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, including Darth Bane. 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 might derive from Lucas himself. The novelization is also the first mention of the Stark Hyperspace War.

Brooks devotes an entire chapter of Sometimes the Magic Works to the writing of the Episode I novelization, which he claims to have been an extremely happy and fulfilling experience.

Home video[]

The film was first released on VHS on April 4, 2000. There was a normal fullscreen release, and a widescreen collector's box set. The widescreen VHS contains an exclusive documentary titled "Filmmaking Has Turned A Corner." In addition the collector's set contains an excerpted version of The Art of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and a set of film cells from a scene in the film.

Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace was the first Star Wars film to be officially released on DVD. This two-disc DVD was released on October 16, 2001.

The DVD features a commentary track by Lucas, producer Rick McCallum, editor Ben Burtt, animation director Rob Coleman, and visual effects supervisors John Knoll, Dennis Muren, and Scott Squires. It includes seven deleted scenes completed specifically for the DVD, and The Beginning: Making Episode I, an hour-long documentary film drawn from more than 600 hours of footage, including an insider's look at Lucasfilm and ILM during the production. The viewer can access a multi-angle storyboard-to-animatic-to-film segment featuring the submarine and podrace lap 1 sequences. The DVD includes two documentary sources, five featurettes exploring the storyline, design, costumes, visual effects, and fight sequences in the film, and an award-winning twelve-part web documentary series chronicling the production. The Duel of the Fates music video featuring John Williams was included on the DVD as well. The final special features included are a never-before-seen production photo gallery with a special caption feature, theatrical posters and print campaigns from around the world, a theatrical teaser and launch trailers, seven TV spots, Star Wars: Starfighter - The Making of a Game featurette from LucasArts, and a DVD-ROM weblink to exclusive Star Wars content.

The DVD became the fastest-selling DVD ever in the US, after 2.2 million copies were sold in its first week after release.[22] However, some reviewers criticized the DVD for the excessive use of edge enhancement that degraded the DVD's picture quality.[23]

At the DVD press conference for Revenge of the Sith, prequel trilogy animation director Rob Coleman confirmed that the animation department at Lucasfilm had 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 that was released on November 1, 2005. The clip is included as part of "The Chosen One" featurette. However, when Coleman announced the change, he didn't specify when the revised version of The Phantom Menace would be released.[24]

The Phantom Menace was re-released along with Episodes II–VI on Blu-ray in September 2011.[25] For this release, the film went through a restoration process which restored the picture to its full frame (offering around 8% more picture than its DVD release). The Blu-ray release was also marked by the replacement of the puppet for the CGI model of Yoda used in Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, as well as a few corrections of visual effects and technical errors.

On April 7, 2015, the Walt Disney Studios, 20th Century Fox, and Lucasfilm jointly announced the digital releases of the six released Star Wars films. As Lucasfilm had retained digital distribution rights to Episodes I thru III and V thru VI, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released The Phantom Menace for digital download on April 10, 2015.[26]

Despite the Walt Disney Company's 2012 purchase of Lucasfilm Ltd. and the release rights to all future Star Wars films, Fox was to retain original distribution rights to Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, which they co-produced and co-financed, in perpetuity in all media worldwide. Fox was also to retain theatrical, nontheatrical, and home video rights worldwide for the franchise's five subsequent films, which Lucasfilm produced and financed independently, through May 2020, at which time ownership was to transfer to Disney. This complex relationship between Fox and Disney, particularly in regards to Fox's perpetual rights to Episode IV, was to create an obstacle for any future boxed set comprising all nine films.[27] On December 14, 2017, The Walt Disney Company announced that it was acquiring most of Fox's parent company, 21st Century Fox, including the film studio and all distribution rights to A New Hope.[28] On March 20, 2019, the deal was officially completed.[29] On April 12, 2019, a Blu-ray box set containing the nine main instalments of the Star Wars saga remastered in 4K was reportedly announced to be in development for a 2020 release.[30]

3D re-release[]

On September 28, 2010, StarWars.com and Lucasfilm announced that the entire Star Wars saga would be converted to stereoscopic 3D and re-released in theaters and IMAX 3D, beginning with Episode I. John Knoll and Industrial Light & Magic are supervising the conversion.[31] The stereo conversion process has been in the works for several years, however, with George Lucas showing tests of the Episode II speeder chase scene and a reel from Episode IV in 3D during 2005's ShoWest in Las Vegas, and the speeder chase scene was demoed again by Texas Instruments as an emerging technology at SIGGRAPH 2007 in San Diego.

Episode I's 3D release date, as announced by Lucasfilm on March 3, 2011, was February 10, 2012.[32]

On January 28, 2013, Lucasfilm announced that the 3D releases of Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith were postponed.[33]

Reception[]

"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[34]

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.[35] David Cornelius of efilmcritic.com remarked that the better moments of the film "don't merely balance out the weaker ones- they topple them."[36] 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."[37] 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.[38]

The film was nominated for three Academy Awards—Best Visual Effects, Best Sound, and Best Sound Effects; however, it lost to The Matrix in all three categories. The film won Best Motion Picture at the People's Choice Awards. It was also nominated for the Saturn Awards on the categories of Best Science Fiction Film, Best Director (George Lucas), Best Actor (Liam Neeson), Best Supporting Actor (Ewan McGregor), Best Young Actor (Jake Lloyd), Best Young Actress (Natalie Portman), Best Supporting Actress (Pernilla August), Best Screenplay (George Lucas), Best Music (John Williams), Best Special Effects and Best Makeup. It won on the categories of Best Costume Design (Trisha Biggar) and Best Special Effects.[39]

Deleted scenes[]

  • The Waterfall Sequence—As Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan and Jar Jar arrive in the waterways of Theed, in the bongo, they surface just in front of a huge waterfall and have to vacate the vehicle in a hurry.
  • Dawn Before the Podrace—Anakin gets up early to prepare the pod for the race and has a brief chat with Padmé.
  • Complete Podrace Grid Sequence—This scene shows more of the participating racers and creatures in the crowd, later added on DVD.
  • Extended Podrace Lap Two—This lap shows some more of Sebulba's "creative interpretation of the rules" and further proof of just how special Anakin is, later added on DVD.
  • Anakin's Scuffle With Greedo—This was due to follow the podrace, to show Anakin's potential for aggression, but George Lucas cut it because he wanted Anakin to be shown as a genuinely good character who turns evil later in adulthood.
  • Farewell to Jira—This occurs as Qui-Gon and Anakin are leaving Mos Espa and Anakin stops briefly to say goodbye to Jira. One of Darth Maul's probe droids follows them for some time until Qui-Gon finally notices and destroys it before passing by the Dusty Duck.
  • The Air Taxi Sequence—The taxi ride shows us about ten more seconds of Coruscant, later added on DVD.

Media[]

Poster gallery[]

Credits[]

By type
Cast Uncredited cast Crew Uncredited crew Special thanks

Cast

Crew

  • Supervising Art Director — Peter Russell
  • Art Directors — Fred Hole, John King, Rob Mclean, Phil Harvey
  • Art Director (Tunisia) — Ben Scott
  • Draftsmen — Paul Cross, Neil Morfitt, Gary Tomkins, Toad Tozer, Julie Philpott, Jane Clark Pearce, Philip Elton, Mike Bishop, Lucy Richardson
  • Scenic Artist — James Gemmill
  • UK Concept Artist — Tony Wright, Kun Chang
  • UK Art Department Coordinator — Laura Burrows
  • Junior Draftsmen — Helen Xenopoulos, Remo Tozzi
  • Sculptors — Eddie Butler, Tessa Harrison, Richard Mills, Keith Short, Richard Smith
  • US Concept Artists — Iain McCaig, Terryl Whitlatch, Jay Shuster, Ed Natividad, Kurt Kaufman, Marc Gabbana
  • Storyboard Artist — Benton Jew
  • Concept Sculptors — Tony McVey, Mark Siegel, Richard Miller, Robert Barnes
  • Concept Model Makers — John Goodson, John Duncan, Ellen Lee
  • 3-D Computer Modelers — Caine Dickinson, Simon Dunsdon
  • US Art Department Coordinators — Jill Jurkowitz, Blake Tucker
  • US Art Department Assistant — Tom Barratt
  • UK Art Department Assistant — Christopher Challoner, Iain McFadyen, Claire Nia Richards, Emma Tauber
  • Conceptual Researchers — David Craig, Jonathan Bresman, Koichi Kurisu
  • Pre-Visualization / Effects Supervisor — David Dozoretz
  • Pre-Visualization / Effects Artists — Evan Pontoriero, Kevin Baillie, Ryan Tudhope, Jeff Wozniak
  • Production Manager — Jo Burn
  • Production Manager (Tunisia) — Peter Heslop
  • Unit Manager (Tunisia) — Jeremy Johns
  • Script Supervisor — Jayne-Ann Tenggren
  • Assistant to Rick McCallum (UK) — Isobel Thomas
  • Assistants to RIck McCallum (US) — Janet Nielsen, Sophie Milton
  • Executive Assistant to George Lucas — Jane Bay
  • Secretary to George Lucas — Anne Merrifield
  • Production Coordinators — Lisa Parker, Hermione Ninnim
  • Production Coordinator (Tunisia) — Tori Parry
  • Production Coordinator (Italy) — Winnie Wishart
  • Production Coordinator (Travel) — Mel Claus
  • Assistant Production Coordinator — Leo Martin
  • Unit Nurse — Jeanie Udall
  • Location Managers — Robert Jordan, Richard Sharkey
  • Extras Casting — Sally Millson
  • Casting Assistant — Kirsten Hampton
  • Artists' Assistants — Kate Jones, Jemma Kearney
  • Crowd Assistant Director — Paul Higgins
  • Floor Runners — Tamana Bleasdale, Nathan Holmes
  • Studio Runners — Melissa Leigh, Henry Forsyth, Joe Halford, Marc Wilton, Martin Brown
  • Production Network Engineer — Paul Matwiy
  • Fire Safety Officer — David Deane
  • Production Controller — Kathryn Farrar
  • Production Accountant — Michele Tandy
  • Set Cost Accountant — Betty Williams
  • Accounting Manager — Wendy Gorman
  • Location Accountant (Tunisia) — Dean Hood
  • Location Accountant (Italy) — Val Sunderland
  • Assistant Accountant (Tunisia) — Clare Plummer
  • Assistant Accountants — Rajeshree Patel, Penelope Powell, Barbara Harley
  • Accounts Assistant — Jean Simmons
  • Accounts Runner — Sarah-Jane Wheale
  • Assistant to Controller — Ardees Rabang Jundis
  • Camera Operator — Trevor Coop
  • Aerial Cameraman — Adam Dale
  • Helicopter Pilot — Mark Wolfe
  • Focus Pullers — Graham Hall, Ben Butler
  • Clapper / Loaders — Jason Coop, Shaun Evans
  • Steadicam Operator — Keith Sewell
  • Key Grip — Peter Myslowski
  • Sound Recordist — John Midgley
  • Boom Operator — June Prinz
  • Sound Assistant — Craig Burns
  • Location Matchmove Supervisor — Jack Haye
  • Matchmover — Edward Cotton
  • Video Playback — Lester Dunton, Andrew Haddock
  • Video Playback Assistant — Dathi Sveinbjarnarson
  • Effects Video Engineer — Clark Higgins
  • Set Decorator — Peter Walpole
  • Assistant Set Director — Amanda Bernstein
  • Production Buyer — Deborah Stokely
  • Supervising Dressing Propman — Martin Kingsley
  • Chargehand Dressing Propmen — Peter Watson, Keith Pitt
  • Dressing Propmen — Brian Aldridge, Wesley Peppiatt, Bruce Cheesman, Nick Turnbull, Peter Looby, Grant Tarbox, Terry Toohill, Paul Hearn, Matthew Foster
  • Property Master — Ty Teiger
  • Chargehand Propmaker — Oliver Hodge
  • Senior Propmaker — Toby Hawkes
  • Propmakers — Howard Munford, John Weller, Pierre Bohanna, Jim Barr, Sander Ellers, Lee Reeder, Jeff Knight
  • Prop Storeman — Jonathan Hurst
  • Drapesmen — Colin Fox, Frank Howe
  • Supervising Stand-By Propman — Bernard Hearn
  • Stand-By Propman — Daniel Hearn
  • Assistant Costume Designer — Ann Maskrey
  • Wardrobe Supervisor — Sharon Long
  • Crowd Pre-Fit Supervisor — Sarah Jane Touaibi
  • Wardrobe Master — Anthony Brookman
  • Wardrobe Mistress — Lou Durkin
  • Wardrobe Assistants — Helen Mattocks, Neil Murphy, Natalie Rodgers
  • Costume Painters — John Cowell, Steven Gell
  • Textile Assistants — Martin McShane, Emma Walker
  • Costume Prop Assistants — Reuben Hart, Peter Thompson
  • Costume Accessories — Karen Shannon, Emma Fryer
  • Costume Runners — Karn Webster, Amber Smit
  • Costume Workroom Supervisor — Nicole Young
  • Costume Assistant — Michael Mooney
  • Cutters — Kay Coveney, Sharon McCormack, Debbie Marchant
  • Costume Props Modeler — Ivo Coveney
  • Workroom Assistants — Anne Matheson, Marnie Ormiston, Arabella Dean, Roslyn Tiddy, Angela Creasor, Julie Nethercoat, Rachel Turner, Ruth Matheson, Andrea Moon, Caroline Mirfin, Rosaria Coppola
  • Armor Makers — FBFX
  • Construction Manager — David Bubb
  • Assistant Construction Manager — Leon Apsey
  • Chief Scaffolding Engineer — Steve Sansom
  • H.O.D. Carpenter — Robert Sutton
  • H.O.D. Plasterer — Ken Barley
  • H.O.D. Painter — John Davey
  • H.O.D. Stagehand — Keith Muir
  • Supervising Carpenters — Karl Apsey, Brian Blues
  • Supervising Plasterer — Michael Gardiner
  • Supervising Painter — Paul Whitelock
  • Supervising Scenic Painter — Michael Guyett
  • Supervising Wood Machinist — Stephen Weston
  • Chargehand Carpenters — Wayne Day, Jim Kerr, John Kirsop, Simon Marjoram, Tom McCarthy
  • Chargehand Painter — David Carter
  • Chargehand Riggers — Peter Connolly, John Harris, Paul Mills, Bill Sansom, Wolfgang Walther
  • Chargehand Plasterers — Ettore Venturini, Steve Court, Patrick Laho
  • Chargehand Paint Sprayer — Stan Lattimore
  • Stand-By Carpenter — Jason Phelps
  • Stand-By Rigger — Jason Curtis
  • Stand-By Painter — Kevin McCarthy
  • Stand-By Stagehand — James Muir
  • Construction Secretaries — Charlotte Biggs, Sarah Bubb, Michelle Hudd
  • Construction Nurses — Nicky Jarvis, Marcia Bamgboye
  • Creature Effects Coordinator — Lyn Nicholson
  • Animatronic Model Design Supervisor — Chris Barton
  • Key Sculptor — Gary Pollard
  • Creature Mold Shop Supervisor — Ray Tricker
  • Key Animatronic Model Designers — Monique Brown, Mark Coulier, Michelle Taylor
  • Animatronic Model Designers — Malcom Evans, John Coppinger, Shirley Cooper, Maria Boggi, Kate Murray, Terry Jones, Steve Wright, Tamzine Hanks
  • Animatronic Model Designers — Jenny Phelps, Julie Wright
  • Key Animatronic Mold Design — Jonathan Abbas-Klahr
  • Molding Technician — Matthew Smith
  • Sculptors — Paul Spateri, Kate Hill, Howard Swindell, Shaune Harrison
  • Creatures Mold Filler — Darren Robinson
  • Art Finisher — Astrig Akseralian
  • Supervising Plasterer — Ken Clarke
  • Chargehand Plasterer — Val Vasic
  • Plasterer — Ray Staples
  • Creature Production Assistant — Louisa Rawlins
  • Make-Up Artists — Meg Speirs, Melissa Lackersteen
  • Make-Up Artist to Liam Neeson — Morag Ross
  • Make-Up Supplies by — Screenface
  • Wigs by — Wig Specialties
  • Chief Hairdresser — Sue Love
  • Hairdressers — Sarah Love, Darlene Forrester
  • Hairdresser to Liam Neeson — Jan Archibald
  • Assistant Hairdresser — Helen Taylor
  • Gaffer — Eddie Knight
  • Best Boy — Stewart Monteith
  • Electricians — Gary Colkett, Vernon Connolly, Adam Lee, Mark Thomas, George White
  • Generator Operators — Tim Wiley, Stuart Hurst
  • Electrical Storeman — Colin Coughlin
  • Rigging Gaffer — Mark Evans
  • Rigging Electricians — Keith Kirkum, Larry Meehan, Roy Rowlands, Jack White
  • Electrical Riggers — Simon Dutton, Garry Ridgewell
  • Practical Electricians — John Barry, Ronald Lyons, Mickey O'Connell
  • First Assistant Editor — Marypat Plottner
  • Avid Assistant — Joseph Jett Sally
  • Visual Effects Editorial Coordinator — Paul Cichocki
  • Assistant Film Editors — Aura Gilge, David Suther
  • UK Assistant Editors — Julian Pryce, Jamie Martin
  • Post Production Assistant — Kerry Bailey
  • Color Timer — Jim Passon
  • Negative Cutter — Gary Burritt
  • Post Production Supervisors — Michael Blanchard, Jamie Forester
  • Special Visual Effects and Animation by — Industrial Light & Magic, A Division of Lucas Digital Ltd. Marin County, California
  • Visual Effects Executive Producer — Chrissie England
  • Visual Effects Producers — Ned Gorman, Jeff Olson, Heather Smith, Ginger Theisen, Judith Weaver
  • Digital Modeling Supervisor — Geoff Campbell
  • Viewpaint Supervisor — Jean Bolte
  • Creature Development Supervisor — Tim McLaughlin
  • Lead Animators — Linda Bel, Peter Daulton, Lou Dellarosa, Miguel Fuertes, Hal Hickel, Paul Kavanagh, Kim Thompson, Marjolaine Tremblay
  • Visual Effects Production Designer — Doug Chiang
  • Lead Computer Graphics Supervisor — Kevin Rafferty
  • Associate Visual Effects Supervisor — Brry Armour
  • Visual Effects Art Director — David Nakabayashi
  • Ground Battle Animation Supervisor — Tom Bertino
  • Technical Animation Supervisor — James Tooley
  • Additional Visual Effects Supervision — Scott Farrar
  • Computer Graphics Supervisors — Jon Alexander, Tim Alexander, Christophe Hery, Tom Hutchinson, Euan Macdonald, Greg Maloney, Patrick T. Myers, Doug Smythe, Habib Zargarpour
  • Sequence Supervisors and Development Leads — Kevin Barnhill, Samir Hoon, Stuart Maschwitz, Steve Molin, Douglas Sutton, Michael Di Como, Dorne Huebler, Terrence Masson, Hiromi Ono, Chad Taylor, Howard Gersh, Michael Ludlam, David Meny, Amanda Ronai-Dahle, Christopher Townsend, Dan Goldman, Robert Marinic, Curt Miyashiro, Sean Schur, Christopher White
  • Digital Effects Artists — Shadi Almassizadeh, Will Anielewicz, Joakim Arnesson, Okan Ataman, Al Bailey, Michael Baltazar, Eran Barnea, Maurice Bastian, Kathleen Beeler, Jeffrey Benedict, Leila Ben-Joseph, Aron Bonar, Matthew Bouchard, Stella Bogh, Gregory Brauer, Patrick Brennan, Billy Brooks, Cathy Burrow, Don Butler, Mario Caperllari, Tamala Carter, Ian Christie, Paul Churchill, Brian Conlon, Patrick Conran, Michael Conte, Caitlin Content, Vincent de Quattro, David Deuber, Jeff Doran, Russell Earl, Eric Enderton, Jeff Ertl, Gonzalo Escudero, Leandro Estebecorena, Tom Fejes, Dean Foster, Christian Foucher, David Fuhrer, Todd Fulford, Jennifer German, Jeremy Goldman, John K. Goodman, Adrian Graham, Matthieu Grospirion, Andrew Hardaway, Pablo Helman, John Helms, Neil Herzinger, Kela Hicks, Christina Hills, David Hisanaga, David Horsley, Christopher Horvath, Peg Hunter, Polly Ing, Erich Ippen, Sandra Karpman, Louis Katz, Steve Kennedy, Russell Koonce, Mitch Kopelman, Ed Kramer, Brian la France, Jeroen Lapre, Mohen Leo, Joshua Levine, Lyndon Li, Alex Lindsay, Craig Lyn, Simon Maddocks, Tia Marshall, Kevin May, Jennifer McKnew, Kerry Miller, Michael Min, Daryl Munton, Julie Neary, Patrick Neary, Kenneth Nielsen, Khatsho Orfali, David Parrish, Edward Pasquarello, Mary Payne, Ellen Poon, Scott Prior, Ricardo Ramos, Philippe Rebours, Kevin Reuter, Max Rocchetti, Alan Rosenfield, Tom Rosseter, Jonathan Rothbart, Barry Safley, Frederic Schmidt, Durant Schoon, Dan Shumaker, Jeff Shank, Paul Sharpe, Linda Siegel, Douglas J. Smith, Brian Sorbo, Christa Starr, David Stephens, Chris Stillman, John Stillman, Russ Sueyoshi, Catherine Tate, Tim Teramoto, Eric Texier, Marc Toscano, Alex Tropiec, Hans Uhlig, Eric Voegels, John Walker, Andy Wang, Robert Weaver, Susan Weeks, David Weitzberg, Colie Wertz, Ken Wesley, Melva Young, Dean Yurke, Ken Ziegler, Rita Zimmerman
  • Character Animators — Philip Alex, Chris Armstrong, Patrick Bonneau, Susan Campbell, Marc Chu, Chi Chung Tse, Kyle Clark, Bruce Dahl, Andrew Doucette, Andrew Grant, Paul Griffin, Kent Hammerstrom, Tim Harrington, Jason Ivimey, Shawn Kelly, Ken King, Steve Lee, Martin L'Heureux, Victoria Livingstone, Kevin Martel, Glen McIntosh, Neil Michka, Christopher Minos, Christopher Mitchell, Jacques Muller, Julie Nelson, Steve Nichols, Dana O'Conner, Rick O'Connor, David Parsons, Steve Rawlins, Jay Rennie, Magali Rigaudias, Trish Schutz, Tom St. Amand, Glen Sylvester, Si Tran, Scott Wirtz, Andy Wong, William R. Wright
  • Digital Model Development and Construction Artists — Stephen Aplin, Donna Beard, Dugan Beach, Scott Bonnefant, Robert Bruce, Ken Bryan, Andew Cawrse, Simon Cheung, Catherine Craig, Aaron Ferguson, Paul Giacoppo, Derek Gillingham, Rebecca Heskes, Jean-Claude Langer, Lenny Lee, Sunny Li-Hsien Wei, Alyson Markell, Russell Paul, Aaron Pfau, Corey Rosen, David Saccheri, Tony Sommers, Howie Weed, Ron Woodall, Elbert Yeb
  • Digital Matte Artist — Ronn Brown, Brian Flora, Caroleen Green, Jonathan Harb, Paul Huston, Bill Mather, Rick Rische, Mark Sullivan, Yusei Uesugi, Wei Zheng
  • Rotoscope / Paint Supervisors — Susan Kelly-Andrews, Jack Mongovan
  • Lead Visual Effects Coordinator — Lisa Todd
  • Visual Effects Production Accountant — Joshua Marks
  • Projectionist — Kenn Moynihan
  • Motion Capture Supervisor — Jeff Light
  • Digital Color Timing Supervisors — Bruce Vecchitto, Kenneth Smith
  • 3-D Matchmove Supervisors — Keith Johnson, David Washburn
  • Research & Development Supervisor — Chirstian Rouet
  • Addtional Matte Paintings — Bill George
  • Visual Effects Editors — Scott Balcerek, David Tanaka, Greg Hyman, John Bartle
  • Visual Effects Coordinators — Alexandra Altrocchi, Lori Arnold, Liz Brown, Michaela Calanchini, David Dranitzke, Vicki Engel, Monique Gougeon, David Gray, Susan Greenhow, Amanda Montgomery, Luke O'Bryne, Christine Owens, Peny Runge, Robin Saxen, David Valentin
  • Digital Rotoscope / Paint Artists — Trang Bach, Katharine Baird, Lance Baetkey, Chris Bayz, Rene Binkowski, Beth D'Amato, Scott David, Kate Elsen, Kelly Fischer, Dawn Gates, Susan Goldsmith, Cam Griffin, Jiri Jacknowitz, Patrick Jarvis, Regan McGee, Katie Morris, Aaron Muszalski, Andrew Nelson, Elsa Rodriguez, Joe Salazar, Zachary Sherman, David Sullivan, James Valentine, MIke Van Eps, Erin West
  • 3-D Matchmore Artists — Alia Agha, Jim Hagedorn, David Hanks, Luke Longin, David Manos Morris, Jospeh Metten, Dani Morrow, Melissa Mullin, Talmage Watson, R.D. Wegener
  • Motion Capture Group — Alexandre Frazao, Douglas Griffin, Ann McColgan, Seth Rosenthal, Michael Sanders
  • Visual Effects Storyboard / Conceptual Artists — Brice Cox Jr., Warren Fu, Jules Mann, Noel Rubin
  • Film Scanning and Recording — Randall Bean, Earl Beyer, Andrea Biklian, Michael Cordova, Michael Ellis, George Gambetta, Tim Geideman, Lydia Greenfield, Nancy Jencks, Doug Jones, James Lim, Todd Mitchell, Josh Pines, Stephanie Taubert, Alan Travis
  • Visual Effects Editorial Staff — Nic Anastassiou, Carey Burens, Edwin Dunkley, Natalle Djokovic, Dawn Martin, Ian McCamey, Jim Milton, Mike Morgan, Ellen Schade, Anthony Pitone
  • Software Development — John Anderson, David Benson, Rod Bogart, Tommy Burnette, John Horn, Jim Hourihan, Zoran Kacic-Alesic, Florian Kainz, Cary Phillips, Nicolas Popravka, Vishwa Ranjan, Eric Schafer, Vincent Toscano, Alan Trombla, Jeffery Yost
  • Visual Effects Production and Technical Support — Noel Brevick, Sean Casey, Mei Ming Casino, Fay David, Tom Firestone, Douglas Applewhite, Cedrick Chan, Brian Gee, Kathy Gardner, Diana Gazdik, Sam Granat, Kaleem Karman, Brian Kasper, Todd Krish, Bill Grinder, Sean Hoessli, John Levin, Kimberly Lashbrook, Jonathan Litt, Daniel Lobl, Dana Masino, Jennifer Nona, Marisa Pearl, David Owen, Don Rottiers, Masayori Oka, Kim Orla-Bukowski, Mike Peters, Marc Sadeghi, Leslie Safley, Damian Steel, Bill Tlusty, Anthony Shafer, Marc Wilhite, Carrie Wolberg
  • Digital Operations and Technology Group — Brian Brecht, Endla Burrows, Kipp Aldrich, Ken Beyer, Stewart Birnam, Gail Currey, Vicki Dobbs Beck, Russell Darling, Greg Dunn, Scott Grenier, Shannon Henry, Jay Johnson, Mary Hinman, Jeff King, Dan Lee, Nacy Luckoff, Ken Maruyama, Raleigh Mann, Garrick Meeker, Will Melick, Cliff Plumer, Beth Sasseen, Gary Meyer, Fred Meyers, Joe Takai
Minature Construction and Photography Unit
  • Model Supervisor — Steve Gawley
  • Chief Model Makers — William Beck, Barbara Affonso, Brian Gernand, Keith London, Lorne Peterson, Steve Walton, Charlie Bailey, Giovanni Donovan, Ira Keeler, Michael Lynch
  • Model Makers — Lauren Abrams, Carl Assmus, Carol Bauman, Salvatore Belleci, Don Bies, Nick Blake, Nick Bogle, Jeff Brewer, Phil Brotherton, Mark Buck, Nick d'Abo, Fon Davis, Brian Dewe, Robert Edwards, Mark Fiorenza, David Fogler, Jon Foreman, Chris Goehe, Jon Guidinger, Peggy Hrastar, Aaron Haye, Grant Imahara, Erik Jensen, Michael Jobe, Kelly Lepkowski, Victoria Lewis, Todd Lookinland, Alan Lynch, Scott McNamara, Amy Miller, Rodeny Morgan, Wendy Morton, Dave Murphy, Randy Ottenberg, Alan Peterson, Tony Preciado, Tom Proost, R. Kim Smith, Michael Steffe, Eben Stromquist, Larry Tan, Trevor Tuttle, Lauren Vogt, Danny Wagner, Mark Walas, Kevin Wallace, Chuck Wiley, Julie Woodbridge, Eran Yachdav
  • Effects Directors of Photography — Marty Rosenberg, Patrick Sweeney, Pat Turner, Ray Gilberti
  • Camera Operators — Carl Miller, Vance Piper
  • Assistant Camera Operators — Bob Hill, John Gazdik, Michael Bienstock
  • Gaffers — Michael Olague, Tim Morgan
  • Key Grips — Bill Barr, Bernie Demolski
  • Chief Costumer — Annie Polland
  • Camera Engineering — Greg Beaumonte, Mike Mackenzie, Duncan Sutherland
  • Stage Coordinator — Megan Carlson
  • Grip and Electric Crew — Joe Allen, Ron Diggory, Danny Michalske, Chuck Ray, Dave Watson, Tom Cloutier, Dennis Gehringer, Craig Mohagen, John Siler
Special Effects Pyrotechnics Crew
  • Special Effects Supervisor — Geoff Heron
  • Special Effects Best Boy — Robbie Clot
  • Special Effects Technician — Dave Heron
  • Data Capture System Supplied by — Arri Media, Munich
  • Visual Effects Processing & Prints by Monaco Laboratories, San Francisco
  • Visual Effects Crew Fueled by — Michael Smith of Javva the Hutt
  • Post Production Sound Services Provided by — Skywalker Sound, a Division of Lucas Digital Ltd. Marin County, California
  • Re-Recording Mixers — Gary Rydstrom, Tom Johnson, Shawn Murphy
  • ADR Recordist — Matthew Wood
  • ADR Recorded at Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas; Magmasters
  • Foley Mixer — Tony Eckert
  • Foley Recordist — Frank 'Pepe' Merel
  • Foley Artists — Dennie Thorpe, Jana Vance
  • Re-Recordist — Ronald G. Roumas
  • Mix Technicians — Tony Sereno, Jurgen Scharpf, Kent Sparling
  • Machine Room Operators — Brandon Proctor, Stephen Romanko, Jennifer Barin
  • Supervising Sound Editors — Ben Burtt, Tom Bellfort, Matthew Wood
  • Sound Effect Editors — Teresa Eckton, Chris Scarabosio
  • Dialogue / ADR Editors — Sara Bolder, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle
  • Foley Editors — Bruce Lacey, Marian Wilde
  • Assistant Sounds Editors — Kevin Sellers, Steve Slanec
  • Assistant Dialogue / ADR Editor — Jessica Bellfort
  • Digital Audio Transfer Supervisor — Jonathan Greber
  • Digital Audio Transfer — Dee Selby, Christopher Barron
  • Video Services — Christian von Burkleo, Christian Torrijos
  • Projectionist — Scott Brewer
  • Music Editor — Ken Wannberg
  • Assistant Music Editor — Peter Myles
  • Orchestrations — John Neufeld, Conrad Pope
  • Music Recorded at — Abbey Road Studios
  • Scoring Engineer — Shawn Murphy
  • Scoring Assistants — Jonathan Allen, Andrew Dudman
  • Music Preparation — Dakota Music Service, Jo Ann Kane Music Service
  • Music Performed by — London Symphony Orchestra
  • Orchestra Loader — Gordan Nikolitch
  • Choirs — London Voices, New London Children's Choir
  • Chorus Directors — Terry Edwards, Ronald Corp
  • Director of Publicity — Lynne Hale
  • Unit Publicist — Kate Campbell
  • Chief Stills Photographer — Keith Hamshere
  • Stills Photographer — Giles Keyte, Jonathan Fisher
  • Photography Assistant — Derek Boyes
  • Stills Processing by — Pinewood Studios
  • Documentary Cinematographer — Jonathan Shenk
  • Documentary Sound Recordists — Mark Becker, Guy Hake
  • Image Archivist — Tina Mills
  • Researchers — Jo Donaldson, Cheryl Edwards, Jenny Craik
Second Unit
  • Second Unit Director — Roger Christian
  • Director of Photography — Giles Nuttgens
  • First Assistant Director — Nick Heckstall Smith
  • Second Assistant Director — George Walker
  • Third Assistant Director — Janet Nielsen
  • Script Supervisor — Lisa Vick
  • Focus Puller — Steven Halll
  • Clapper / Loaders — Edward Meredydd Jones, Ian Coffey
  • Grip — Mark Binnall
  • Wardrobe Assistants — Day Murch, Jane Petrie, Nigel Egerton
  • Art Director — Ricky Eyres
  • Gaffer — David Smith
  • Charhand Stand-By Propman — Paul Turner
  • Stand-By Propman — Robert Thorne
  • Stand-By Carpenter — Paul Nott-Macaire
  • Stand-By Rigger — Steve Sansom Jr.
  • Make-Up Artist — Trefor Proud
  • Hairdresser — Hilary Haines
  • Matchmover — Catrin Meredydd
  • Video Playback — Lucien Nunes Vaz
  • Best Boy — DAve Ridout
  • Electricians — Sonny Burdis, Richard Oxley
  • Stand-In for Liam Neeson — Gavin Hale
  • Stand-In for Ewan McGregor — Steve Ricard
  • Stand-In for Natalie Portman — Joan Field
  • Stand-In for Jake LLoyd — Raymond Griffiths
  • Utility Stand-Ins — Paul Kite, Christian Simpson
  • Special Effects Supervisor — Peter Hutchinson
  • Senior Special Effects Technicians — Terry Glass, Digby Bettison-Milner, Anthony Phelan, Les Wheeler, Andy Bunce
  • Special Effects Coordinator — Brenda Hutchinson
  • R2-D2 Operator — Jolyon Bambridge
  • Special Effects Technicians — Jim Crockett, Stephen Hutchinson, Barry Angus, Mark Howard, Sean McConville, Graham Riddell
Tunisia Shoot
  • Production Services Provided by — CTV Services, Tunis, Tunisia
  • Production Supervisor — Abdelaziz Ben Mlouka
  • Unit Managers — Meimoun Mahbouli, Philippa Day
  • Production Coordinator — Amel Becharina
  • Location Manager — Moslah Kraiem
  • Transport Manager — Lassaad Mejri
  • Production Accountant — Abdallah Balouche
  • Art Director — Taieb Jallouli
  • First Assistant Director — Moez Kamoun
  • Prop Master / Buyer — Mohamed Bargaoui
  • Grip — Hassen Tebbi
  • Gaffer — Lotfi Siala
  • Make-Up Assistant — Hager Bouhaouala
  • Wardrobe Supervisor — Naama Jazi Mejri
Italy Shoot
  • Production Services Provided by — Mestiere Cinema, Venice, Italy
  • Production Supervisor — Guido Cerasuolo
  • Unit Manager — Enrico Ballarin
  • Production Coordinator — Laura Cappato
  • Production Assistant — Nicola Rosada
  • First Assistant Director — David Turchi
  • Second Assistant Director — Dario Cioni
  • Third Assistant Director — Andrea Boni
  • Location Manager — Franco Rapa
  • Location Assistant — Ugo Criscuolo
  • Art Director — Livia Borgononi
  • Transport Captain — Fabio Manchini
  • Accountant — Carla Zacchia
  • Payroll — Marilena la Ferrara
  • Cashier — Claudia Bravin
  • Transport Captain — Phil Allchin
  • Unit Drivers — George Andrews, Nigel Birtchnell, Garry Clark, Peter Collins, Mark Davies, Brian Esterbrook, Peter Graovac, John Hollywood, Chris Streeter, Steve Timms
  • Catering by — Hollywood Catering Services
  • Catering Manager — Tim De'ath
  • Artists' Chef — Mark Reynolds
  • Craft Service — Sophie Mellor
  • Special Thanks to:
    • Tunis Air
    • People of Tozeur, Tatouine & Medenine, Tunisa
    • Tunisian Ministry of the Interior
    • Italian Minsistry of Art and Culture
    • Superintendent of the Heritage of Caserta & Benevento
    • Italian Air Force Training School for Non-Commissioned Officers
    • Governor and City of Caserta
    • Police & Carabinieri of Caserta
    • Italian Air Force - Airfield Capodichino, Naples
    • Herts Film Link
    • British Musicians Union
    • Framestore, London
    • Aztec Models
    • Electrohome Projection Systems
    • Gallery Software
    • Sony Corporation of America
    • Jim Morris
    • Gloria Borders
    • Patricia Blau
    • Steve Smith
    • Simon Tay
    • Daniel Dark
    • Ted Gagliano
    • Kurt Schwenk
    • Ted Costas
    • Sally Bullock
    • Maxxiom Limited
    • Runco Video International
    • Chapeau Atelier
    • Anna Bies
    • Khris Brown
    • Don Post
    • Doremi Labs, Inc.
  • Filmed at Leavesden Studios, Leavesden, England and on location in Caserta, Italy and Tozeur, Tataouine & Medenine, Tunisia
  • Mixed & Recorded in a THX Certified Facility
  • Color by — Rank (Deluxe) Film Laboratories, UK
  • Prints by — Deluxe Laboratories
  • Dailies Telecine by — Midnight Transfer, London
  • Edited on — Avid Film Composer System
  • End Credits by — Pacific Title/Mirage
  • Negative Cutting by — Kona Cutting
  • Production Vehicles by — Micky Webb Transport
  • Production Speaker Systems by M & K Sound
  • Location Projection Facilities by — Digital Projection
  • Wescam Camera by — Flying Pictures UK Ltd.
  • Underwater Tank by — Action Underwater Studios Ltd.
  • Production Software by — Columbus Entertainment
  • Communications Equipment by — Wavevend Ltd.
  • Animation Software by — Softimage
  • Production Legal Services by — Billy Hinshelwood, Marriott Harrison
  • Insurance Services by — David Havard, Peter Robey, Aon / Albert G. Ruben
  • European Travel Services by — Sue Roberts, The Travel Company
  • US Travel Services by — Cathy Nilsen, Direct Access
  • UK Shipping Services by — Dynamic International Freight Services
  • US Shipping Services by — International Cargo Services
  • De-Hiss Processing by — Cedar Dh-1, Hhb Communications Inc.
  • On-Line & Telecine Services by — Western Images, San Francisco
  • Scripts by — Sapex Scripts
  • Commotion Visual Effects Software by — Puffin Designs
  • Digital Storage by — Hammer Storage Solutions
  • Pre-Visulization Computes by — Apple
  • Maya Software by — Alias / Wavefront
  • Lighting Equipment by — AFM Lighting
  • ARRIFLEX cameras & Hawk anamorphic lenses supplied by — Arri Media
  • Soundtrack Available on — Sony Classics
  • Shot on — Kodak Motion Picture Film
  • Read the Novel from Del Rey
  • Dolby Digital in select theatres
  • Sony Dynamic Digital Sound in select theatres
  • Digital dts Sound in select theatres
  • Lucasfilm THX in select theatres
  • No. 36705 Motion Picture Association of America
  • Computers by SiliconGraphics Computer Systems
  • Released by Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation


Appearances[]

By type
Characters Organisms Droid models Events Locations
Organizations and titles Sentient species Vehicles and vessels Weapons and technology Miscellanea

Characters

Canon characters

Legends characters

Organisms

Canon organisms

Legends organisms

Droid models

Canon droids

Legends droids

Events

Canon events

Legends events

Locations

Canon locations

Legends locations

Organizations and titles

Canon organizations and titles

Legends organizations and titles

Sentient species

Canon species

Legends species

Vehicles and vessels

Canon vehicles

Legends vehicles

Weapons and technology

Canon technology

Legends technology

Miscellanea

Canon miscellanea

Legends miscellanea

Sources[]

Wiki-shrinkable
Explore all of Wookieepedia's media for this article subject:
Audio · Images

Notes and references[]

  1. Star Wars Year By Year: A Visual History, Updated and Expanded Edition
  2. Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
  3. 3.0 3.1 Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace
  4. LFCMlogo "George Lucas: The Future of the Force" — The Lucasfilm Fan Club Magazine 17
  5. 5.0 5.1 StarWars "All Films Are Personal": An Oral History of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace on StarWars.com (backup link)
  6. Ron Howard on Turning Down 'Star Wars' Prequel: "Too Daunting" by Washington, Arlene on The Hollywood Reporter] (November 29, 2015) (archived from the original on February 23, 2016)
  7. StarWars Fully Operational Fandom: Visiting Star Wars Filming Locations on StarWars.com (backup link)
  8. IMDb favicon Un-Menaced at the Internet Movie Database (backup link)
  9. IMDb favicon May 19th: A "Cultural Holiday?" at the Internet Movie Database (backup link)
  10. IMDb favicon When Will They Start Lining Up? at the Internet Movie Database (backup link)
  11. IMDb favicon Force Of Feet at the Internet Movie Database (backup link)
  12. IMDb favicon The Wait Gets Shorter at the Internet Movie Database (backup link)
  13. IMDb favicon Scalpers Cleaning Up On The Internet at the Internet Movie Database (backup link)
  14. IMDb favicon Lucas Calls The Shots at the Internet Movie Database (backup link)
  15. IMDb favicon Gridlock At Star Wars Site at the Internet Movie Database (backup link)
  16. IMDb favicon Star Wars Hits Hollywood at the Internet Movie Database (backup link)
  17. IMDb favicon Lucas: Fox Won't Use New Star Wars Trailer To Hype New Movie at the Internet Movie Database (backup link)
  18. IMDb favicon Lucas Planning Unusual Star Wars Strategy In UK at the Internet Movie Database (backup link)
  19. IMDb favicon Not So Far Away at the Internet Movie Database (backup link)
  20. IMDb favicon L.A. Premiere For Episode 1 Set at the Internet Movie Database (backup link)
  21. IMDb favicon Kids Causes To Host Star Wars Debut at the Internet Movie Database (backup link)
  22. Star Wars breaks DVD records on BBC News (October 24, 2001) (archived from the original on November 13, 2019)
  23. 'Star Wars: The Phantom Manace' R1 by Bjoern Roy on www.videophile.info (October 24, 2001) (archived from the original on November 19, 2016)
  24. HyperspaceIcon Episode III Set Diary - A Shifting in the Force on Hyperspace (content removed from StarWars.com and unavailable)
  25. StarWars Bring the Complete Collection Home: Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-Ray on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
  26. StarWars The Star Wars Digital Movie Collection Coming April 10 on StarWars.com (backup link)
  27. Tangled Rights Could Tie Up Ultimate 'Star Wars' Box Set (Analysis) by Masters, Kim on The Hollywood Reporter (October 30, 2012) (archived from the original on February 15, 2020)
  28. DisneyCompany-favicon The Walt Disney Company To Acquire Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., After Spinoff Of Certain Businesses, For $52.4 Billion In Stock on The Walt Disney Company official website (backup link)
  29. Disney Closes $71.3 Billion Fox Deal, Creating Global Content Powerhouse by Georg Szalai, Paul Bond on The Hollywood Reporter (March 19, 2019) (archived from the original on June 11, 2020)
  30. Exclusive: Disney are working on a 4K Blu-ray box set for Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (updated) on The Digital Fix: Film (April 12, 2019) (archived from the original on May 6, 2019)
  31. StarWars The Star Wars Saga in 3D! on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
  32. The Phantom Menace 3D Gets A Release Date by Eric on TheForce.Net (March 3, 2011) (archived from the original on July 30, 2019)
  33. Prioritizing Episode VII, LFL Postpones 3D Re-Releases on TheForce.Net (January 28, 2013) (archived from the original on July 30, 2019)
  34. The Epic Saga on www.condenaststore.com (content now obsolete; archived from the original on March 20, 2016)
  35. 'Episode I': Avoid the hype, just go enjoy the movie by William, Arnold on seattlepi.nwsource.com (May 14, 1999) (archived from the original on February 24, 2002)
  36. Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace on www.rottentomatoes.com (archived from the original on July 31, 2020)
  37. Star Wars -- Episode I: The Phantom Menace by Ebert, Roger on rogerebert.suntimes.com (May 17, 1999) (archived from the original on August 8, 2006)
  38. The Phantom Menace by Kevin, RidolFi on www.renaissancemag.com (archived from the original on December 15, 2018)
  39. Saturn Awards on www.saturnawards.org (archived from the original on February 10, 2005)

External links[]

Wikiquote logo
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Advertisement