Product Details

• Actors: Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Pernilla August
• Directors: George Lucas
• Writers: George Lucas
• Producers: George Lucas, Rick McCallum
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, THX, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• VHS Release Date: April 4, 2000
• Run Time: 133 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2,692 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 630575067X
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,962 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

"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 is it 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 Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), 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 (Jake Lloyd) 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 skeptics.

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

From The New Yorker

It has been more than twenty years since George Lucas directed a movie. Amid the fuss that has attended his return to the fray, no one seems to have wondered whether he was up to the task. With this film, Lucas demonstrates two facts: one, that he has kept abreast of the recent leaps in special effects, and two, that he hasn't a clue what to do with all the nondigital figures, otherwise known as "people." The movie is the first of three prequels to the original "Star Wars" trilogy, the intention being to explain everything that happened in that slightly dreary galaxy before Harrison Ford turned up. In this opening installment, the clash is between the Federation, which wants to take over the planet Naboo and build condos, and the local residents, who kick up a stink with a little help from the Jedi. Halfway through we meet Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd)-savior of the galaxy, or, from another point of view, a precocious little creep. Three fine actors were lured into this farrago: Ewan McGregor plays the young Obi-Wan Kenobi, Liam Neeson is his Jedi mentor, Natalie Portman plays a teen-age queen, and all of them look as if they were recently abused by robots. Everyone on planet Earth is being encouraged to see this movie; why don't we follow the good citizens of Naboo and mount a spirited resistance? -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 39 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 fell, 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 "cricle closer". Further, having Anakin start out on Tatooine doesn't seem right and seems liek 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.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars -->Money comes in | Innovation goes out-->, May 23, 2001

By	CaptainComic (Denmark) - See all my reviews

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

Int. evening - A dimly lit room.

George: The movie must have a child-friendly comic relief, and we also need some clever doll to sell afterwards... hmmmmm... Jar Jar Binks!

George: Wait it can't be too child-friendly or we'll loose the fans! Throw Maul into the ring, oooooh he's scary... hmmmm... we'll cut his dialogue down to three lines so the action figure can contain them all!

George: Liam Neeson is starting to complain about his lame character and dialogue... hmmmm... let's just give him a noble death at the end of the movie... wait we've already done that.. aaah what the hell! Everybody loves a cliché!

George: Wait! The script is a little thin... hmmmmmmm... Wait I own this cool Special FX company they'll fill out the holes!

George: All the cool authors have expanded my universe making it diverse and colorful... but let's just focus on places we know... like Tatooine!

George: Anakin is really smart... we'll let him build C-3PO... wait why doesn't Vader recognize him later? Oh yes... he's just been ignoring him... heh heh...

George: Oh yeah I've also invented these midiclorieans... which they for some weird reason haven't heard about in the original episodes... well the knowledge has just been lost in the huge Jedi massacres later on!

*George continues like this for months*

Actually I'm a Star Wars fan... and I like Episode I because of the cool action scenes, spectacular special FX and I actually don't think that the acting is so bad, and Jar Jar is pretty funny at times. I just have this love/hate thing for this episode. The whole Star Wars spirit, the innovation behind the old trilogy has been replaced by some kind of Disney oriented commercial family pack! To much money (minus 1 star)too little creativity (minus 1 star)... and George you better clone Darth Maul in Episode II and make it bloody and horrible for Anakin, and realease the original episodes on DVD (and not make 6000 special editions), or I'll cut off that beard of yours while you sleep! (can you get sued for this?)

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Two-Hour Commercial For The New SW Doll Line..., June 7, 2000

By	j. scott brown (Beverly, MA) - See all my reviews

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

After watching the devoid-of-any-charm-sleep-inducing-travesty-of-a-movie known as the 'The Phantom Menace', I dropped to my knees and prayed to God and every saint that I could remember that Mr. George "Quasi-Genius Turned Marketing Whore" Lucas hands the writing and directing duties of the next two films to another party (dramatic-overstating,but I'm just making a point here, folks). Maybe in the hands of people like Lawrence Kazden (who wrote the script for 'Empire'-the best of the orinal trilogy) and Frank Darabont, we'll get some inspired film-making. Something that the Star Wars myth legacy deserves (even though the trilogy didn't deserve 'Jedi' either, but...). But if it stays in Lucas' hands?...YEESH! Do we really need ANOTHER "VILLIAN TUMBLES DOWN A BOTTOMLESS CHASM" scene, or ANOTHER "BIG-BAM-BOOM SPACE STATION" scene, or even ANOTHER "CELEBRATION FINALE" scene? THere is no doubt, to me anyways, that Mr. George is a great 'Idea Guy', and he used to be an inspired all-around filmmaker. But with 'Phantom', all he seemed inspired to do was show some ILM muscle and create a two- hour commercial for the new line of Star Wars Dolls.