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| Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace |
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Introduction
The Phantom Menace was released in the summer of �99 to extraordinarily high public expectation. Before long this had become widespread public indifference. The years of anticipation that preceded its release had built the film up to such a degree that disappointment was almost inevitable. However, it wasn�t just the weight of expectation that caused the film to under perform, but rather a number of highly dubious character decisions and plot elements. Still, the film did become the second highest grossing movie of all time, behind Titanic (I�ll never understand how that happened), so someone must have been paying to see it.
This DVD provides the opportunity to re-visit the film a couple of years on without the marketing hysteria that surrounded the initial release. I have only seen the film a handful of times since �99, mostly because I have become such a DVD devotee that I find it objectionable to watch anything on VHS now. I hoped that this would afford me a more objective view of the film.
| | At last, Star Wars on DVD! |
Film
There can�t be many people out there who aren�t familiar with the film, but here�s a brief reminder. The credits outline the basic elements of the plot; the taxation of trade routes is in question and the greedy Trade Federation has set up a blockade around the peaceful planet of Naboo. The Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Senate has dispatched two of his ambassadors to resolve the dispute, and this is where the film begins.
Upon arriving on the Federation ship, the ambassadors are swiftly identified as Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace and justice throughout the galaxy for countless years. Unfortunately the Federation have no intention of negotiating and dispatch battle droids to kill the Jedi. After an intense lightsaber battle, the Jedi retreat, only to discover an entire invasion army poised to attack Naboo. Stowing away on a Federation landing craft, the pair head to the planet to seek out Amidala, the young queen of Naboo, who is sure to come under fire from the Federation.
The ensuing adventure takes you on a journey to many fantastical locations throughout the galaxy, introducing you to many weird and wonderful characters along the way. Chief among these are the Gungan Jar-Jar Binks (an annoyingly clumsy amphibian who just seems to cause trouble) and a young slave boy named Anakin. Anakin is very strong in the force, the mystical energy field that binds the galaxy together, and is able to help the Jedi in their quest to restore order to the galaxy.
It is clear after watching this film again that it does have some fairly major flaws. The biggest problem lies in George Lucas� use of comedy relief. There are a number of characters, most notably the CGI Jar-Jar Binks, who are just downright annoying, even two years on. If only they�d toned the character of Jar-Jar down just a little he would have been far more tolerable than he is here. Hopefully Lucas has something more than the role of slapstick sidekick in store for the character in Episode II, or he could seriously damage the series as a whole. One thing that does give me slight hope is that Jar-Jar appears to mature over the course of Episode I, and he will hopefully continue to do so in the next instalment. Please George.
The film also has a few pacing issues, with certain scenes being too protracted for my liking. To be fair to Lucas, he did warn us a few years back that the new Star Wars films were going to be more about political intrigue than all-out space battles, and the Phantom Menace is really all about the beginning of the Emperor�s rise to power. It�s a scene setting film, one that had to be made in order get from point A to point B as it were. I for one will be very interested to see where Lucas takes us in the next instalment of the series, the dubiously titled Episode II � Attack of the Clones.
My final moan has to be about some of the wooden acting and appalling dialogue. Sure, the original trilogy wasn�t Shakespeare, but some of the lines in this film will make you cringe. Jar-Jar Binks is a heavy offender, with much of his dialogue being either incomprehensible or just down right irritating. Jake Lloyd (who plays Anakin) is also irritating and I could have gone the entire film without hearing his yelps of �yippee�!
Much was made at the time of the supposed racist overtones of Jar-Jar Binks, but I�m surprised that more people didn�t take offence to the blatant oriental accents that the Neimoidians (of the Trade Federation) were given. It�s like something out of a Benny Hill episode!
Anyway enough of this slagging off, let's talk about the good points. On the whole the acting from the principals is competent, with Liam Neeson and Ian McDiarmid giving the standout performances. Ewen McGregor isn�t too bad as Obi-Wan, although he does look a tad bored with the whole affair. Perhaps this is because he has little to do until the final act of the film. His imitation of Alec Guiness is pretty good though. Natalie Portman is fine, if a little under-utilised as Amidala, and there are a number of cameos by some familiar faces from the series. Without doubt Ray Park, as Darth Maul, is the absolute show-stealer. His portrayal of the Sith Lord is intense, exciting and leaves you wanting much more. With just a look he is able to convey the pure evil at the heart of Maul, as he wields his deadly lightsaber against the Jedi in the final battle.
On the whole the special effects are also fantastic. The integration of CGI characters with live action actors is mostly seamless, although oddly for a character with so much screen time, Jar-Jar looks the least convincing member of his race. The battle droids that make up the bulk of the film�s cannon fodder look sensational, as do all of the various spaceships, vehicles and technology throughout the film. As ever, John William�s score is magnificent and the sound effects all faithful to the original movies.
Video
From the opening titles to the closing credits the Phantom Menace looks very good, in spite of what some people are saying. The CGI intensive nature of the film lends itself very well to DVD and has allowed for an image that is very sharp and finely detailed, with balanced, natural skin tones. As mentioned earlier, the battle droids look stunning, as well as convincing in ways that a lot of CG isn�t. In fact most of the characters in the film look great, although some of the Gungans can look a little artificial from time to time. However this is no fault of the transfer, it�s more to do with the fact that it�s harder to convincingly animate living, organic things than artificial battle droids.
The famous scrolling yellow-on-black credits are now exactly that, rather than a washed out yellow against grey. The varied locations are all rendered in exquisite detail, with fabulous colours that are accurately reproduced on this DVD. Whether it is the lush greenery of Naboo, the incredible planet sized city of Courascant, or the arid deserts of Tattooine, the quality of the video is excellent.
The video is of course presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio and is anamorphically enhanced to provide an image that is just about as good as anything I�ve seen before. Some people have complained of excessive edge enhancement, which I have to admit is clearly visible if you have a very large screen. I sit about twelve feet from my 32" widescreen set and the edge enhancement isn't distracting unless you look for it. I have seen direct comparisons between the R1 and R2 discs, with the R2 disc emerging as the clear winner due to less obvious use of edge enhancement. It's a pity that the use is excessive, as it ultimately drags the video score down.
| | Impressive... Most impressive. |
Audio
Perhaps the single most important aspect of the Star Wars universe, the sound, has been given even greater attention than the video. From the first notes of the opening theme you know you are going to be in for a real treat, as John Williams� score blasts from the speakers in full Dolby Digital 5.1 EX. When the title music fades the distant rumble of a blockade-runner can be heard. The camera pans down to the ship and the noise of the engines gets even louder. The use of the surround channels during this sequence is excellent, with the ship seemingly flying right over you.
The opening battle with the droids is also a sonic delight. Laser bolts whistle around the sound stage as the hum of lightsabers cutting through air and steel is heard. The lightsabers sound amazing, and the first time I heard one ignite it sent a shiver down my spine! The surround channels during this sequence are again used to their full potential, and there is a suitable rumble from the LFE channel when Obi-Wan uses his force powers to hurl a number of droids through the air.
There is always something going on in this mix, be it all out action as described above, or more subtle ambient effects like running water or the delightfully creepy music and chanting that accompanies the on screen appearance of the Sith. Even with all of this going on the actor�s voices are never once lost in the mix, and the dialogue remains firmly in the centre of the action.
Of course, you can�t comment on the audio without mentioning the score, which sounds better here than it did in my local multiplex. John Williams remains faithful to the music of the original trilogy, while varying certain themes slightly to accommodate the differences between the two time periods. There are some majestic pieces of music to accompany the queen�s arrival on Courascant, the seat of galactic power, as well as some familiar sounding Jedi signature tunes. Best of all is the astounding Dual of the Fates, the music that accompanies the climactic confrontation between Jedi and Sith towards the end of the film.
I really cannot praise the audio highly enough, it is almost perfect in every way. The only down side I can think of is that there is no isolated musical score or DTS option. This is a real pity, but I guess you can�t have everything can you?
Extras
The first disc has a commentary track from George Lucas, Rick McCallum and others involved with the production. This makes for interesting listening, with the various participants giving their perspective on the production. Lucas himself is very monotonous in his approach, so it helps that the others are more lively. It stopped me falling asleep! The track is good in general, but it does tend to concentrate more on the technical aspects of the production, rather than the script elements. It would have been nice to hear the reasoning behind some of the plot decisions.
The second disc houses most of the bonus features, as is becoming the norm for most high profile releases. Before I go on to the content, I want to say something about a �feature� that is becoming increasingly common on discs. I am talking about copyright notices. I appreciate that companies want to put these on the disc, but do they really have to be so frustrating? Before you can access the menu of the second disc you are forced to sit through over a minute of these warnings, without the means to fast forward or skip them! This is almost as bad as those patronising adverts featuring Simon Bates that used to appear on VHS tapes years ago, except you could fast forward those.
Still, on to the material. On both discs the animated menus are fantastic, with scenes and music from the film playing in the background. Each individual menu is also themed around a specific location from the film. In one menu a row of Astromech droids use their holographic projectors to display the menu items, and in another the Jedi battle Darth Maul in the Theed reactor. It�s all very impressive stuff.
The special features on this disc differ to those found on many other releases, mostly because you�ll actually want to watch the features here more than once! The menu is divided into four categories: Trailers and TV Spots, Deleted Scenes and Documentaries, Featurettes, Web Documentaries and StarWars.com and finally Animatics and Stills Galleries.
The trailers and TV spots feature just about everything that was used to promote Episode I in the run up to its theatrical release. Included are the teaser and theatrical trailers, the Duel of the Fates music video (which features video from the film interspersed with video of John Williams conducting the orchestra), tone poems and a couple more TV spots. The tone poems are the most interesting item in this section, each featuring a character from the film voicing over a few of their scenes. They all follow different themes from the movie and are named One Love, One Truth etc. I especially like Darth Maul�s tone poem; he actually has more lines here than in the entire film!
The deleted scenes are the best I have ever encountered. Rather than show a series of rough, unfinished scenes from the cutting room floor, George Lucas had his people go back and finish the deleted scenes. The result is footage that could be (and in some cases have been) reintegrated into the finished film.
The first documentary deals with the deleted scenes. The reasons behind the omissions of the various scenes are discussed in greater detail with people such as George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Francis Ford Coppola, Phillip Kaufman and Walter Murch. The second documentary is entitled 'The Beginning' and is basically a fly on the wall affair chronicling the making of the film from its inception to its world premiere. This goes far beyond the boundaries of the normal documentaries found on lesser discs, with material taken from design meetings, cast auditions, rough-cut screenings, editing, lightsaber try-outs and much, much more.
The web documentaries are those posted on Starwars.com during the course of The Phantom Menace's filming and post-production. These make very interesting viewing. This section also includes a few featurettes, and these each deal with a different element of the production. The most interesting is the featurette detailing the training that the actors had to go through to perform the amazing lightsaber duels in the film. Ewan McGregor really got into the fights, giving Ray Park a run for his money at times! The web links consist of a link to the original Star Wars website, as well as a link to a new, DVD exclusive website. You can only access this site with a copy of the film (the site checks to see if the DVD is in your drive before it lets you in, which adds to the collectable nature of the release). The website is a little sparse at present, but expect it to fill up as the various episodes find their way onto DVD. At the moment there are only a few stills from Episode II, but there is a large notice telling everybody to come back at a specific date, presumably for the Episode II trailer!
The animatics are comparisons of early stages of two scenes, submarine and podrace, with the finished articles. You can view a number of scenes at various stages of completion, or view all stages of work in a split screen mode. It's great to watch the pod race sequence go from early drawings to full CGI. The stills gallery speaks for itself, in that it is a series of production photos.
The final extra is a behind the scenes look at the making of the Star Wars: Star Fighter game for the PS2. This is fine for what it is, but I doubt anyone will give it more than a second look.
Overall
The Phantom Menace is a difficult film to review. I so want to be able to give it 10/10, but I can�t. Even though I am a huge Star Wars fan the film just doesn�t deserve it. It isn�t as bad as some people make out though (younger kids and girlfriends will love it, at least if they�re anything like mine). Although it is a disappointment as a film, as a package it is outstanding. Everything is as polished as you would expect from Lucasfilm. The video is very good, the audio is of reference quality and the stunning extras will have you coming back time after time. The DVDs are both picture discs, with Darth Maul�s face on one and the Jedi/Sith battle on the other, which is a nice touch. The only real fault with the presentation is that it comes packaged in a standard amaray case, not in a fancy gatefold one as is more common with special editions.
The omission of an isolated score is a bit of a blow and it would have been really nice to listen to the film in DTS, but that is a personal preference. Still, this is a fine release, which more than does the film justice. Now if only the film itself had been better� On balance though, this is well deserving of anyone's money and I fully expect it to go on to be one of the biggest selling DVDs of all time. Highly recommended.
Reviewed by Chris Gould |
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| Movie |
Video |
Audio |
Extras |
Overall |
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General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children |
| Region: 2 |
| Run Time: 131 minutes |
| Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 |
| Anamorphic: Yes |
| Color: Yes |
| RCE Protection: No |
| Video Signal: PAL |
| Number of Discs: 2 |
Disc Type:
Single side, dual layer |
Genre:
Sci-Fi |
Soundtrack:
Dolby Digital 5.1 EX English, Dolby Digital Surround English |
Subtitles:
Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, English CC |
Extra Features:
Interactive/Animated Menus, Scene Access, Audio commentary by Writer-Director George Lucas, Producer Rick McCallum, Co-Editor and Sound Designer Ben Burtt, Visual Effects Supervisors Scott Squires, John Knoll and Dennis Muren, and Animation Supervisor Rob Coleman, offering personal insights into the making of the film,
Seven never-before-seen deleted scenes with full visual effects completed just for the DVD release, `The Beginning` - an all-new hour-long documentary culled from over 600 hours of footage offering unprecedented access inside Lucasfilm and ILM during the making of Episode I, Multi-angle storyboard to animatic to finished film feature, that lets you flip through the various phases of development of key action sequences, Five behind-the-scenes featurettes exploring The Phantom Menace`s storyline, designs, costumes, visual effects and fight scenes, `Duel of the Fates` music video, All 12 parts of the Lynne`s Diaries - web-based documentary from the www.starwars.com website, Galleries of theatrical posters, print campaign, and never-before-scene production photos, Original theatrical teaser and launch trailers, plus seven TV spots including the `tone poems` |
Easter Egg: Yes
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Director:
George Lucas |
Starring:
Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian McDiarmid, Ray Park, Ahmed Best, Pernilla August, Hugh Quarshie, Oliver Ford Davies, Terrence Stamp, Brian Blessed, Frank Oz, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker |
Related Movies:
n/a |
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