How did we make it to this milestone? In 1999 we witnessed the arrival of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and to say it was a global phenomenon is an understatement. Though it’s no secret that the film was met with distaste by some, for those of us who were eight-years-old at the time it was pure joy.
The Phantom Menace is back where it belongs, in the hearts of fans worldwide and an absolute triumph so to celebrate this special anniversary, let’s take a look at 25 reasons why we love The Phantom Menace.
The End Fight
We’d never seen anything like it in the original trilogy. We’d seen Ben and Luke battle Vader in each of the films, and the duel between father and son in Jedi stands as the most emotional of the series, but in The Phantom Menace it was next-level spectacular. Darth Maul’s double-bladed lightsaber was a sight to behold and Ray Parks incredible physicality put on a show against his opponents. Nick Gillard rightly deserves all the accolades he gets for putting this together and no matter how many times one watches this film and the final duel, it never fails to leave you breathless.
Darth Maul
Sticking with Maul, he’s become an outright cinema legend in his own right. Proving that being a man of few words can work in your favour, Maul is absolutely terrifying to look at and his story and character being fleshed out in The Clone Wars, Rebels and countless books make him a fan-favourite to this day.
The Podrace
Lucas has always loved fast cars. Just watch American Graffiti and that’s evident. The advances in technology had allowed him to execute the vision in his head and nothing shows that more than the Podrace. Using a mixture of miniatures, CGI and practical effects, it’s simply stunning to witness. Ben Burtt is on fine form here with the sound effects and the characters who populate the podracers bring to life a lived-in feeling that makes this feel really special.
EU Storytelling
Prior to Episode I, the Expanded Universe of Star Wars was in full swing and focusing on the post-Jedi era and our heroes from the original trilogy. The Phantom Menace would go on to prove to be a launchpad for some of the best novels and comics written to date. From Legends, Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter and Cloak of Deception stand out. In terms of new canon, Master and Apprentice remains the best (in my opinion) of any of the new books put out to date.
The Intercut of Battles
This is Lucas’ most perfect skill. First properly used in Jedi, here we keep cutting constantly between the lightsaber fight, the Battle of Naboo, the space battle and the attempt to siege Nute Gunray. The editing and energy of this final act makes it fly by and the eyes never know what’s going to come next. Each battle tells a story but we’re all heading to the same finale and after Qui-Gon is cut down there’s a brilliant change of tempo and pace as the tension rises and we don’t know who’s going to make it out alive.
Gave us Celebration I
As plans and preparation are underway for Japan next year, a few weeks before the release of Episode I saw the birth of Celebration. An official convention by fans for the fans. Starwars.com has recently posted a tribute piece about the making of this event so be sure to check it out.
A Use of Practical Effects
The Phantom Menace stands as a unique film for its CG work. While it’s worlds away from the practical heavy original trilogy, it also isn’t as reliant on green screen as Episodes II or III were. The team at ILM pushed the envelope and them some for this film on the VFX front and their work still holds up today, but Lucas also used practical sets, models and miniatures to create a hybrid that we really wouldn’t see again until Episode VII.
A New Generation
There’s a chance that if you were around for the original trilogy then by the time The Phantom Menace came out in 1999 then perhaps you weren’t overly thrilled. Though time has been kind to this film and the prequels overall, we mustn’t forget that for the children of this era this was their Star Wars. It helped drive passion for the franchise forward and did the same thing A New Hope had in 1977. I should know, I’m one of those kids.
Anakin Made C-3PO
Some people never liked this story beat. They felt it made the galaxy a little smaller, but try thinking of it this. The fact that Anakin made C-3PO displayed his knack of ‘fixing things’ very early on and shows a warmth and empathy to the droid he built. It also shows remarkable skill and a gift in the force. It also, by some stretch of default, sort of makes C-3PO and Luke Skywalker brothers.
Mother’s and Sons
Star Wars is at its best when it’s about family. The latter end of the original trilogy morphed into a story about fathers and sons and The Phantom Menace kicked off a new trilogy about mothers and sons and a tragic one at that. Shmi Skywalker reveals that there was no father for her son. It was an immaculate conception. She raises this boy to a hard life but provides him with all the love he needs. The moment Anakin leaves her for his new life as a Jedi is powerfully poignant and still, after all these eyes, makes the eyes a little bit damp.
‘The Beginning’ Documentary
By far the best ‘making-of’ feature to come out of Lucasfilm, this documentary is exquisitely made and captures everything you want from a behind-the-scenes feature. Pre-Disney sale, no one – and I mean no one – offered better DVD extras than Lucasfilm (Empire of Dreams anyone? Within a Minute? R2-D2 – Beneath the Dome?) If you’ve seen it – you know! If you haven’t seen it…I honestly have no words. What are you waiting for?
The Anticipation
Whenever there is a new Star Wars movie released there is level of worldwide hype, but with this it was stratospheric. Star Wars was everywhere. It felt like was nothing else mattered in the world. Word probably even reached long lost tribes somewhere in the rainforest, it was THAT hyped. The only other thing that came close was that of The Force Awakens. These were the good old days. Let’s hope that The Mandalorian & Grogu can bring back some of that magic.
Duel of the Fates/John Williams
John Williams has long been the secret weapon on the franchise, and he didn’t miss a beat with this film. There is literally no one else who could have done this and nor did we want anybody else. His music in this film stands as some of his finest work and Duel of the Fates has become a masterpiece for many. It stands not only as a great score for Star Wars but for the canon of music overall.
Ahmed Best’s Physical Comedy
Star Wars fandom let itself down massively when it came to the treatment of Ahmed Best. He was a performer who was executing the vision of the creative forces behind the film. I was talking to someone recently who isn’t a massive Star Wars fan – just a casual viewer – and they said they still found Jar Jar annoying. I told them that that was really the point. Jar Jar is a metaphor for judging people whom we deem foolish but, in the end, can surprise us in all the right ways. Qui-Gon knows this but even the young Obi-Wan judges Jar Jar and even calls him a ‘pathetic lifeform.’ The fate of Jar Jar remains a sad and cruel one if anyone has read the Aftermath novels, but Ahmed Best has gotten his victory lap thanks to Filoni and team on The Mandalorian. Either way, there’s no denying that Best is a naturally gifted physical comedian.
Palpatine’s Story
The great puppet master of the saga really got his story fleshed in the prequel trilogy and it’s some of the strongest writing that Lucas has ever done. Whilst he was deliciously evil in Return of the Jedi, he was just that – evil. In the prequels we got to see his grand plan at work and play out in real time. What’s crazy is that neither Lucas or McDiarmid ever confirmed publicly that the actor was playing a dual role. We might giggle at this as die-hards but not casual film goers or even those who have never seen Star Wars. A comedian friend of mine told me recently that his partner had never seen any Star Wars and so, once a week, they’d been going through the films. He told me that the look on her face when it’s revealed that Palpatine is Sidious was absolutely priceless.
Ewan McGregor
McGregor was an indie-actor known for the likes of Trainspotting when he won the role of a young Sir Alec Guiness, but his inclusion in the saga is one of the most popular. A solid and consistent performer, McGregor is sensational in the role in everyway and we have this film to thank for kickstarting the whole thing.
Liam Neeson
Neeson was an accomplished and Oscar-nominated name by the time he took the role of the maverick Jedi Master and his performance is one of the most enigmatic and delicate across any of the Star Wars mediums. In a film that is often criticized for its wooden dialogue and stiff performances – not Neeson. He radiates in the role and oozes gravitas in every scene.
Don’t give in to hate
This film is loathed by some. Many even. But you must give it to this film in that it’s really done the most spectacular comeback. I can’t think of a single other movie in cinema that was once so hated but now people talk about it with love and warmth. Like an actor that makes a comeback or a band from the 80s who shouldn’t be written off in the modern era – it seems that The Phantom Menace had the goods all along…it just took wiser eyes to notice.
The Innocence
This one is more a feeling but try it the next time you sit down for a viewing. Much like A New Hope was a generation before it – The Phantom Menace just feels innocent. It reminds me of an innocent time and a perfect place to hold in our childhoods. This was deliberate on Lucas’ part as he knew the prequels would get progressively darker and so went for a lighter and more innocent tone. There’s a variety of reasons this film carries this feeling but its mostly that feel-good joy that it leaves in the heart.
Merchandise – The Good
Star Wars was literally everywhere when The Phantom Menace arrived, and its tie-in merchandise hit the stride between appealing to adult collectors from the original era and new kids who were experiencing Star Wars for the first time. The 3.75 action figures featured some fantastic sculpts that still hold up today. The likes of Watto, Ric Ollie and Nute Gunray would hold up today on a shelf next to some modern Vintage Collection figures and for the child-play aspect there was the Commchip. The 12-inch figure line from Hasbro was fantastic and there were some brilliant promotions too. Pepsi, Walkers and Cadburys put out some wonderful promotions with glorious artwork on them and Applause also entered the game with some brilliant toys.
Merchandise – The Bad
Five words – The Jar Jar Tongue Sucker. Enough said.
World-building
The sequels came under-fire somewhat for making the galaxy feel smaller and its well-known that the design team for The Force Awakens were instructed to make a sand, snow and jungle planet so that the film would ‘feel’ like Star Wars. Lucas didn’t have this problem. Whatever he made would be Star Wars and he knew how to make the galaxy feel so diverse and lived in. Though we return to Tatooine for a large portion of the film, it somehow feels different. Each world is populated with rich and wonderful characters and thanks to leaps in CGI, the galaxy never felt bigger.
Production Design
There’s no denying that even if you find the dialogue as wooden as your floorboards and the acting as stiff as your other floorboards then you still may find that the film looks glorious. Gavin Bocquet served as production designer and art director on this film and his work is simply sublime. The Theed Hangar where the final duel takes place is magnificent and the Palace on Naboo is utterly breath-taking.
‘It rhymes’
A young boy on a desert planet is thrust into his destiny thanks to a chance meeting. The mentor figure of the film is slain by the villain of the piece. The final scene of the film involves a ceremony and celebration and most famously, the young boy previously mentioned blows up a really big ship. These are just a few of the examples of how Episode I rhymes with Episode IV. But despite all of this, it feels new. It doesn’t feel the same. It never felt the same.
Written and Directed by George Lucas
Six words that will echo across cinema forever, but only seen four times in our beloved saga. No matter what your feelings are towards this film or the prequels, there’s no denying that this was Lucas and his vision in full force. No studio interference, no worrying about test audiences, or what executives might say – it was all him. Many fans are crying for George to come back into the fold. There’s always a rumour going about…alas…I feel those days have passed. We have his Star Wars. If George was the kid in the sandbox, then he’s now long grown up, gone to college and left the sandbox at the local kindergarten for others to play in. The Phantom Menace is George Lucas and how he intended Star Wars to be. It is the creator and his passion. A man and his vision. A writer and his pen. After all, to paraphrase a line from another George Lucas classic, the pen was always mightier than the laser-sword.
