Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #272 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-09-20
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 127 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
"I have a bad feeling about this," says the young Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Ewan McGregor) in Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace as he steps off a spaceship and into the most anticipated cinematic event ... well, ever. He might as well be speaking for the legions of fans of the original episodes in the Star Wars saga who can't help but secretly ask themselves: sure, this is Star Wars, but it is my Star Wars? The original elevated moviegoers' expectations so high that it would have been impossible for any subsequent film to meet them. And as with all the Star Wars movies, The Phantom Menace features inexplicable plot twists, a fistful of loose threads and some cheek-chewing dialogue. Han Solo's swagger is sorely missed, as is the pervading menace of heavy-breathing Darth Vader. There is still way too much quasi-mystical mumbo jumbo and some of what was fresh about Star Wars 22 years earlier feels formulaic. Yet there's much to admire. The special effects are stupendous; three worlds are populated with a mélange of creatures, flora and horizons rendered in absolute detail. The action and battle scenes are breathtaking in their complexity. And one particular sequence of the film-the adrenaline-infused pod race through the Tatooine desert--makes the chariot race in Ben-Hur look like a Sunday stroll through the park. Among the host of new characters, there are a few familiar walk-ons. We witness the first meeting between R2-D2 and C-3PO, Jabba the Hutt looks younger and slimmer (but not young and slim) and Yoda is as crabby as ever. Natalie Portman's stately Queen Amidala sports hairdos that make Princess Leia look dowdy and wields a mean laser. We never bond with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's day is yet to come. Jar Jar Binks, a cross between a Muppet, a frog and a hippie, provides many of the movie's lighter moments, while Sith Lord Darth Maul is a formidable force. Baby-faced Anakin Skywalker looks too young and innocent to command the powers of the Force or wield a lightsaber (much less transmute into the future Darth Vader), but his boyish exuberance wins over sceptics. Near the end of the movie, Palpatine, the new leader of the Republic, may be speaking for fans eagerly awaiting Episode II when he pats young Anakin on the head and says, "We will watch your career with great interest." Indeed! --Tod Nelson

Amazon.co.uk Review
George Lucas transports audiences back to the future with Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace, the first instalment of a prequel trilogy in which the director imagines the foundation for the entire six-part saga. Reflecting the symbolic and mythological bases of at least five story arcs, The Phantom Menace wields a newly emerged, youthful vibrancy courtesy of Lucas' invigorating return to the director's chair and his healthy respect for the emotional sources of fantasy. Despite receiving a storm of adverse criticism (notably for Jar Jar Binks) Lucas continually fascinates with his ability to place his characters--some new, some old, some CGI--in the same dramatic situations posed in the original trilogy: whether it be the juxtaposition of primitives with technologically advanced societies or the timeless battle between good and evil, the very familiarity of these recurring scenarios and rhythms galvanises the viewer. Of course, the state-of-the-art visual effects contribute mightily to the final impact. Much has been written about the kinetic Pod Race sequence (compared favourably with the chariot race in Ben Hur) and the War and Peace-style military battles, but even these events are upstaged by the new planetary vistas: consider the Romanesque grandeur of Naboo, the underwater city of Otoh Gunga illuminated by Art Nouveau lamps, the decadent brio of Tatooine, or the dizzying skyscrapers of the city planet Coruscant (imagine Blade Runner in daylight). Despite the beauty of his iridescent images, Lucas exercises discipline, cutting fast within frames filled with rich detail and activity. As a result, The Phantom Menace lends itself to repeated viewings.

On the DVD: This spectacular two-disc DVD set was certainly worth the wait. Simply put, this is the most comprehensive packaging of supplementary materials so far assembled for DVD. Most importantly, Lucas film offers an anamorphic, 2.35:1 film transfer and a highly active Dolby 5.1 audio mix. Disc 1 includes an insightful commentary with Lucas--his first for DVD--and other key personnel, making for a great tour. The bulk of extra treasures can be found on Disc 2, including seven deleted scenes completed just for this set that possess the same quality as the film; in fact, some moments (the "Air Bus Taxi" and "Pod Race Grid" sequences) are so good that Lucas reincorporated them into the film proper. Viewers can also enjoy no less than 12 Web documentaries, five informative featurettes, the popular John Williams music video "Duel of the Fates" and numerous galleries of stills, trailers and television spots. Better yet, Lucas premieres "The Beginning," a 66-minute documentary edited from hundreds of hours of behind-the-scenes footage. This is not your standard-issue studio documentary, instead "The Beginning" is an Oscar-worthy, cinema verityé-style exploration of the creative process behind every aspect of the film's production. One of the most memorable moments involves a late-day visit to the set by Steven Spielberg: watching Lucas and Spielberg behave like kids in a candy store is one more reminder why the Star Wars saga remains enduringly popular. --Kevin Mulhall

DVD Description
DVD Special Features:

Over six hours of additional material, including: Audio commentary by George Lucas (Writer/Director), Rick McCallum (Producer), Ben Burtt (Co-Editor and Sound Designer), Scott Squires, John Knoll and Dennis Muren (Visual Effects Supervisors), Rob Coleman (Animation Supervisor)
Seven Never-Before-Seen Deleted Scenes with full visual effects completed solely for this DVD release
"The Beginning" - Documentary offering unprecedented access inside Lucasfilm and ILM during the making of the film (one hour)
Multi-angle storyboard to animatic to finished film feature
Five "Behind-The-Scenes" Featurettes--Storyline, Design, Costumes, Visual Effects, Fight Scenes
Music Video- "Duel of the Fates" (John Williams)
"Lynne's Diaries" - the 12 part documentaries
Three Image Galleries--Theatrical Posters, Print Campaign, Never-Before-Seen Production Photos
Original Theatrical Teaser and Launch Trailers
Seven TV Spots--including the legendary "Tone Poems" Subtitles: English for the hearing impaired, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish

Customer Reviews

Quite possibly the worst film ever made!!!
OK where to start on this truly horrific crime of a film?

Jar Jar Binks may actually be the worst character in the history of cinema - all those animators and actors who worked to realise this affront to human decency should find a revolver and do the decent thing.

Why do all American kids have problems talking properly? Do they think that speaking like a cutesy 3 year old makes them endearing? Jake whatshisname (Anakin) should never ever be allowed in front of a camera again.

Who came up with the 'story'? My ship is broken, want to come with us, Kid? Seems to be about it.

Also,Why is it that in 'attack of the clones' Anakin has aged about ten years, but Padme is (amazingly) about 3 years older than she was in TPM surely they should have made Padme the same age as Anakin in ep.1 (or was two cutesy kids too much, even for Lucas).

Really, don't bother with this wilful destruction of the Star Wars heritage.

oh dear
charging money for this film is just insulting i won't even watch it if i'm being payed. ok maybe i'm being a little bit harsh but then again lets be a little bit objective i remember seeing this film for the first time and the little history bit at the beginning came up and the music was going and i was loving every moment of it the first fight scene seemed good and then george lucas took a steaming turd over what could have been so brilliant. the pod racing was ok but the commentators did my head in and im sorry i've been trying not mention jar jar binks because he was the steaming turd in question i was talking about. now this review is a bit long winded just to say its a bad film but i have to say darth maul was pretty cool. this being said i think there is only one way for star wars episodes 1, 2 and 3 to go which is in the bin classed as being non canonical and then start again but with a slight twist i.e. keeping lucas and speilburg away as they have obviously lost the plot and should be executed for this outrage that was called a film. ARG what do you mean rate it i have i gave it no stars thats how bad it is

Looks Like A Cartoon..
We waited a long time for this and the major feeling was of huge dissapointment. Having given it a good 5 or 6 years Im currently giving it another go and I have to say, the main weakness is that it looks like a cartoon. I dont think the overly complicated plot or the hugely irritating JarJar Binks(who actually gets harder to like with each view)ruin this film so much as the ridiculous use of cgi for every scene. Can someone explain to me why if in 1977 George Lucas could afford to fly to Tunisia and other "real" locations he couldn't have done that 20 years later? I mean, imagine how great this could have looked with NO CGI!? It may have been fairly good. I take it Lucas is either too lazy and unnspired or has no idea what his loyal fanbase would have actually wanted. Star Wars films are meant to look like the original trilogy. I know a lot of the ships models were tiny toys but at least they were real! One thing good about this is the pod chase, and the fact that attack of the clones and especially revenge of the sith were a lot better. Still, I cant watch Hayden or Natalie Portman without laughing or cringing. They truly are the most wooden uninspiring actors i have ever seen. Respect to Ewan Mcgregor must be given, it must have been a dream come true for him, and he put his all into the OB1 role. Anyhow, watch Empire again and again instead....You wont be dissapointed.