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Star Wars. Episode I: The Phantom Menace

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Sequel:

Star Wars. Episode II: Attack of the Clones

Prequel of:

Star Wars IV: A New Hope

Original title: Star Wars. Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Year: 1999
Running time: 130 min.
Country: United States
Director: George Lucas
Screenwriter: George Lucas
Music: John Williams
Cinematography: David Tattersall
Cast: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Samuel L. Jackson, Ian McDiarmid, Ray Park, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Pernilla August, Hugh Quarshie, Ahmed Best, Andy Secombe, Frank Oz, Terence Stamp, Keira Knightley, Oliver Ford Davies, Ralph Brown, Warwick Davis, Sofia Coppola, Dominic West, Silas Carson
Producer: Lucasfilm (Distributor: 20th Century Fox)
Genre: Sci-Fi. Adventure | Prequel. Star Wars
Movie Groups: Star Wars Saga
Synopsis / Plot: The first of three prequels to George Lucas’s celebrated STAR WARS films, EPISODE I - THE PHANTOM MENACE is set some 30 years before STAR WARS: EPISODE IV - A NEW HOPE in the era of the Republic. Naboo, a peaceful planet governed by the young, but wise Queen Amidala (Natalie Portman), is being threatened by the corrupt Trade Federation, puppets of an evil Sith lord and his terrifying apprentice, Darth Maul (Ray Park). The seemingly benevolent Senator Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) is chief adviser to the queen, though there are suspicions surrounding him. Jedi knights Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor, performing an amazing vocal interpretation of Alec Guinness, the older Obi-Wan) are called on to intervene in the trade disputes. Along the way, they acquire an apprentice of their own in the form of young prodigal Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), or as STAR WARS fans know him, the future Darth Vader. They also encounter Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best), a goofy, lizardlike creature who has been banished from his underwater world for his clumsiness. When the Trade Federation launches an attack on Naboo, the queen and her allies must battle hordes of robot troopers while Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan face off against the sinister Darth Maul.

Awards: 1999: 3 Nominations for Oscar: Best Sound, Visual Effects, Sound Effects

1999: 2 Nominations for BAFTA Awards: Best Visual Effects and Sound

1999: Razzie Award for Worst Supp. Actor. 9 nominacions, including Worst Picture and Director

Critics' reviews

"'Star Wars: Episode I--The Phantom Menace,' to cite its full title, is an astonishing achievement in imaginative filmmaking (...) There is a sense of discovery in scene after scene (...) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 4)"

Roger Ebert: rogerebert.com
"Phantom is easily consumable eye candy, but it contains no nutrients for the heart or mind (...) it lacks any emotional pull, as well as the sense of wonder"

Todd McCarthy: Variety
"Not bad for a toy commercial, and the SF settings, however familiar, are even more impressive than the gadgets and beasties"

Jonathan Rosenbaum: Chicago Reader
"Good enough, but only just. It's got the hardware, but neither the characters, the imagination, nor the resonance one had hoped for"

Jay Carr: Boston Globe
"A highly entertaining and visually breathtaking movie, capable at times of rocking and delighting you (...) One scene after another rolls past like a circus parade of living wonders"

Michael Wilmington: Chicago Tribune
"Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace seems designed more as a promotion for Lucasfilm's billion-dollar merchandising concerns than a meaningful chapter in the Star Wars canon"

Frank Scheck: The Hollywood Reporter
"While the new film is certainly serviceable, it's noticeably lacking in warmth and humor, and though its visual strengths are real and considerable, from a dramatic point of view it's ponderous and plodding"

Kenneth Turan: Los Angeles Times
"Spectacular yet remote. (...) Fails to recapture the elemental magic of Star Wars"

Owen Gleiberman: Entertainment Weekly

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