Product Details

• Actors: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian McDiarmid
• Directors: George Lucas
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Studio: Lucasfilm Ltd.
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2,709 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000MVZYJO
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #557,499 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

First chapter of the Star Wars saga, set 30 years before the original Star Wars film.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

112 of 137 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Suffers from lack of developed characters and plot, May 26, 2005

By 

M. Chambers - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (Widescreen Edition) (DVD)

I saw this film on theatrical release in and was very disappointed. Of course, alot of the disappointment initially had to do with the incredible hype build-up that accompanied the new trilogy. Nothing could have lived up to the public's expectations.

That having been said, The Phantom Menace is disappointing not so much because it stinks, but because, I felt, with some additional tweaking, it could have been much much better. Its almost as if Lucas got the plot ideas and character concepts developed to a schematic level and then sort of lost interest in them and did not develop them any further.

Specific gripes:

1. We never really bond with or understand Qui-Gon's character or his relationship with young Anakin. He states that he thinks Anakin may be the chosen one, but that is not really sufficient. We need to see an emotional bond or some kind of identification between the two, but it just isn't there.

2. Not to pick on Jake Lloyd (he's probably a great kid), but Lucas or whoever just did not get a good performance out of him. Plus, there is no hint in young Anakin at this point of character traits or flaws that might later foreshadow his fall. Yoda says he sees anger and fear in Anakin and the Jedi Council make vague predications that he may eventually be dangerous, but we as audience members just don't see it. We are supposed to infer that Anakin is somehow damaged by his life as as slave and subsequent separation from his mother, but again, we don't see any of this. His life as a slave doesn't seem to indicate any hardship; his big scene saying goodbye to his mom is not particularly moving (mainly due to wooden acting by Lloyd; Pernilla August as his mom does a good job thought). Also, if he's a slave, how does he have time/resources to build robots and pod racers? Just not very true to life.

Perhaps if we had seen Anakin and/or his mom subjected to some sort of abuse or exploitation we would have a better indication both of the fear and anger in Anakin and also a potential emotional reason for why Qui-Gon wants to rescue Anakin. When I reflected on it, I thought it would almost be better if Anakin were like the feral boy in Road Warrior II: an unkempt, unclean, and agressive character that had to be somewhat tamed and civilized by his Jedi rescuers. We don't see any character flaws, any little hints of selfishness, anger, fear or frustration. As is, young Anakin is just an average cute kid; we don't see any depth to why he wants to escape his life as a slave or run off to join the Jedi so we don't really care.

3. Source of humor: The original series had a mix of humor based upon the droids 3PO and R2D2 and also with the human characters (primarily interactions between Solo, Leia, and Luke). In TPM, the primary source of humor is generated from droids and Jar Jar Binks with little or no humorous banter or interaction between human characters. This has two effects: 1)relying on computer-generated characters for humor means the primary form of humor becomes physical slapstick, which is one of the main complaints about the Jar Jar charcter; and 2)the interactions between the human main characters, when deprived of humor, makes their relationships seem dry and mechanical, another source of the shallow characterizations.

The one humorous moment that stands out is when, after being ambushed by the Trade Feds at the beginning, Obi-Won says to Qui-Gon with a wry smile: "Well, you were right about one thing Master....the negotiations were short!" This one moment stands out because it is one of the few jokes between human characters and it works and expresses some of Obi-Won's personality. It also effectively echoes some of the banter and attitude that made Solo's character so liekable and crucial to the original films, an attitude and sensibility that is lacking in TPM. As is, we are stuck with Jar Jar's pratfalls for yuks, and it just doesn't work unless you are 5 years old.

4. The shallowness of Darth Maul: Similar to other problems with character depth, we don't know enough about Maul. He says early in the film that at last he will have revenge on the Jedi. Revenge for what? We never know beyond vague notions that the Sith and Jedi are ancient enemies. That is not enough. We either need to be shown more back story on this or have some reason for Maul's motivation. His fight scenes with the Jedi at the end are dynamite and clearly the actor is very skilled in martial arts and projects a menacing attitude with only minimal dialog or screen time, but we never really know anything about him other than "he is a bad guy" and that is not enough.

5. Plot goofiness. As others have pointed out, all the midi-chlorian business is a red herring of mumbo-jumbo that takes the mystical mystery out of the Force and reduces it to a medical condition. The Jedi are supposed to be wise, powerful seers, but them seem oblivious to the presence and intentions of the bad guys over and over again. Having young Anakin build C3PO is silly and seems like a forced "circle closer". Further, having Anakin start out on Tatooine doesn't seem right and seems like another circle closer that is forced. Wouldn't he remember all this years later as Darth Vader in Episode 4? Wouldn't there be some result of this coincidence? As noted above, having a slave that doesn't seem to be deprived or suffering and has the time/resources to build robots and pod racers as a hobby seems goofy too.

Again, it seemed to me like Lucas got the plot and characters to a certain point and then quit on them. With only a little extra effort or different emphasis on certain elements, the movie could have been much improved and the audience would have had more insight into the characters and identified with them more. As is, the lack of character development combined with wooden acting makes it hard for the audience to care. The special effects set pieces are spectacular, and the computer generated elements are pioneering and well executed, but without a reason to care about or like the characters, its hard to get too excited.

Again, not a horrid movie, but frustrating because with just a few changes or extra effort, it could have been so much better.

POSTSCRIPT (2011)to my original year 2005 review:

This movie does not get better with time or repeated viewings. Further, the contention of some fans who like this movie and claim it should be viewed in the context of the other films (now complete) is not only a misguided apologist stance, but outright doesn't hold water. Why? Because if you compare TPM to any of the 5 other SW films, it is clearly the idiot bastard son of the bunch, wheezing and drooling in the corner.

In review, I give credence to a theory that a lot of other reviewers have given: in essence, Lucas was boiling everything down in this film to aim at the 5-year-old to 8-year-old demographic (probably to sell toys and mechandise, the real unexpected treasure that the original trilogy coughed up back in the 70's and 80's) and, as a result, bored everyone else to tears and/or made older fans hopping mad. However, huge stretches of this movie are so slow-moving that I bet a lot of the the target audience squirmed around in their seats anyway.

The second theory that other viewers have posed that seems to ring true with me as well is that Lucas is in a position now where he's THE MAN and, as a result, has no one around him that is willing to bring up constructive criticism to him or challenge weaknesses in the plot, script, or characters. Back in the day, while the original SW was certainly his vision, that film had to rely on a far more collaborative process to get made and address the many challenges its making entailed. With TPM, Lucas had total personal control and it seems like no one around Lucas had the guts to say: "George, we need a good kid actor to play a central character like Anakin, not some cutesy wooden mop-topped kid from TV commericals" or "Damn, George, that Jar Jar is irritating as hell!" or "George, did you realize all the aliens seem to be stand-ins for offensive real-life planet Earth racial / cultural stereotypes?" or "All the scenes with Kabuki-Natalie are boring boring boring" or "This movie is all-CGI and no plot and no character depth!" or "This movie is full of jumbled-up crap that makes no sense!". Further, modern movie technology further consolidated control with Lucas in that the 1970's technology required many people's input to solve technical problems and was far less malleable; modern CGI allows Lucas to personally review, tweak, and endlessly revise every aspect of the film just the way he wants it.

In a nutshell, there is a reason that the Irvin Kerschner (R.I.P.)- directed "Empire" is widely viewed as the best of the 6 films. How Lucas could see dailies of some of the performances he got out of his actors in TPM and not realize things stank or, at the very least, weren't working is beyond me, unless he was constantly surrounded by lackeys and toadies saying "That's great, Mr. Lucas! Not explaining anything about Darth Maul makes him sooooo mysterious! Having Jar Jar be a moron who speaks like Stepin Fetchit is really cool! He needs more screen time! You're a genius!". In retrospect, I wish that Lucas had handed over all the remaining films from "Return" all the way thru the newer Pre-Quel trilogy to others with Lucas only having an overall story arc / consulting role.

I know that Lucas is irritated by fans who act as if he "owes them" to handle all these movies a certain way (its HIS vision, as I'm sure he'd point out), and maybe it is unfair to whine about how Lucas could have / should have directed the story a different way. But the fact is that TPM is not a very good movie, and regardless of quibbles about overall direction of the story... Read more ›

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, June 19, 2000

By 

Earl Hazell (New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace (Widescreen Edition Boxed Set) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Take a deep breath and repeat after me: This is not STAR WARS... this is not STAR WARS... Om... this is not STAR WARS....

Okay, now try these also: this is not EMPIRE STRIKES BACK... Om... this is not RETURN OF THE JEDI...

So many people have come to this movie with the most irrational expectations imaginable, from the shameless marketing of the products disappearing that is as synonymous with George Lucas as freakin' RONCO, to it having a DUTY to outdo not just one of the greatest movies of its kind of all time, but in the context of people who had not only seen it 128 times but have studied it as much as Lucas himself. Why do this? I knew at the outset that nothing could ever possibly outdo the emotions of the nine year old boy I was in 1977, who sat in a movie theater watching a movie influenced by the mythological perspective of Joseph Campbell unfolding with special effects that changed the course of movie history forever. For starters, I'm not nine anymore; it's like comparing your Grandmother's Thanksgiving day turkey when you were six to your wife's on your first one together as a couple!

With that said, perhaps that's why I enjoyed it so much more than so many others. Not to say there weren't holes in the plot, particularly around the evolution of the young Darth Vader's relationship with the Jedi, and yes, Jajar Binks (sp?) was annoying. But the movie was so much fun, and all and all, once I released the expectations of a fashionably cynical, oh so experienced adult, and took on the open mindedness of MY son (who ironically enough, was nine years old when I first took him), I enjoyed it immensely. The story and the entire anthology is well served. the special effects are (what do you expect?) dazzling. It is worth owning. Complete your collection, and just have a ball.

26 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Remember, this is the set-up movie for the rest of the Saga., March 5, 2000

By 

T. Mark - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace [VHS] (VHS Tape)

When I first heard about these prequel stories back in 1980, I have waited since for this movie to come out. And now...here it is-here it is, indeed... Well, I must confess this Star Wars installment dose not have that same "edge" if you will, that the Classical Trilogy has. The acting by Jake LLoyd and Natalie Portman was not up to par-hardly. I think much more screen time should have been given to the evil Darth Sidious and Darth Maul- and less screen time given to Jar Jar Binks. Truth be told, this movie has more of a Disney look (shudder) than being a Lucasfilm. Now, with that said, there are redeeming factors to this motion picture as well. Clearly, the Pod Race scene was fantastic, cut straight from the grandiose cloth of Ben-Hur. The Lightsaber scenes-Federation Trade battle droids, Tatoonie desert, and finally Darth Maul on Naboo-were Magnificent. Also, the underlying plot with Senator Palpatine subtly manipulating the circumstnaces so he can position himself to become Chancellor was also impressive-an area which Mr. Lucas should of have greatly focused on. Finally, the scenes with Jedi Master Yoda(Frank Oz returning as Yoda's voice) were very welcoming. With those redeeming characteristics, I give The Phantom Menace 4 stars in the overall sense. And it must also be kept in mind that this movie is the set-up movie for the rest of the Star Wars Saga. Now as we go into Episode II, everything is now in place: Palpatine (aka Darth Sidious, if you ask me)is Chancellor. Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi are starting a friendship while the seedlings of romance with Anakin and Amidala have been planted. Just as the trailer pitch said "Every Saga Has a Beginning..." That is exactly how one should look at this movie-A beginning; a set-up story for something larger to come. Yes, Episode I dosen't own up to the substantial quality of the Classical Trilogy, that is certain. However, with everything taken into account, it does serve it's foundational purpose for those movies and the coming Episodes. Watch it as it is-the opening story to a larger saga-and enjoy.