Rating: 
Summary: Great DVD! Bad Movie.....
Review: The picture and sound on the DVD are great....but the film is one big cartoon!
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good, But...
Review: What's to complain about? This DVD has just about everything: excellent picture quality, sound, and state-of-the art effects work. The special feature disc is loaded with documentary material and deleted scenes. Nevertheless, some of the acting is pretty bad (Jake Lloyd in particular), and the dialog is lame in spots. Certainly these were gripes I had about the theatrical version, and I still went to see it twice! The extra footage added to the DVD version does make it noticeably better. I just hope George and the gang make an effort to rein in the more maudlin elements in Episode 2.In my mind, the best "Star Wars" episode overall is "The Empire Strikes Back (aka Episode V)", displaying excellent acting, visuals, and plot. The cornball stuff took a back seat; it would be great to see at least one of the first three episodes come close to it.
Rating: 
Summary: An absolutely gorgeous DVD, well worth the worth.
Review: My review is geared more toward the DVD itself than the movie. I'll just state for the record that I've been a lifelong Star Wars fan since I saw The New Hope back in 1977 at the age of 11 and have been extremely loyal to the whole experience since. The Phantom Menace may not have been the masterpiece of TESB but it was better than ROTJ even with Jake Lloyd's sometimes wooden acting. I didn't even mind Jar Jar too much considering he was better than the annoying Ewoks of ROTJ which absolutely killed the movie for me in parts. At least the Gungans were believable when fighting the Trade Federation army compared with....never mind, I'm not going to start explaining what went wrong with ROTJ (at least for me). On to my review. The 2-disk DVD for TPM is an absolutely joyful experience after waiting so long for any of the Star Wars films (let alone any Lucasfilm title) to come out on DVD. Considering how much time, effort and care George Lucas puts into his projects, you just knew that this DVD would be something special to behold. Beautiful little touches like the wonderfully animated menus (absolutely loved the Pit Droids on the 2nd disk) to the inclusion of every single trailer made for the film made this just a thrill. The hour-long behind the scenes documentary was great, though I wished it had been longer (probably no length would have been long enough but that's beside the point). The movie itself is an absolute vision to behold, finally in digital as it was meant to be seen. The dual layering on this disk is flawless with absolutely no transition detected on my 4+ year old Toshiba DVD player (compared to flawed layering on The Matrix which pauses several times during the playback or T2 Special Edition which has a definite pause during the layer transition). I have the Dolby 5 version and since I live in a shared-wall townhouse a DTS system pumped up is a luxury I can't indulge in so I don't care about the lack of DTS encoding for sound. Besides, DTS encoding eats up disk space and most likely would have bumped some extra(s) due to space considerations. From what I can tell with my system this disk is almost as close to flawless in encoding as possible, true blacks, no white bleed, beautiful Dolby layering, etc. Truly a fantastic example of what DVD can display. Since I only got the DVD last night I haven't had a chance to watch all of the extras but I have enjoyed pretty much everything. Although I do like the deleted scenes included on the extras disk I wish that they could have been incorporated into a version of the full length film (in their entirety instead of the minor reintroductions of parts of the pod race and the air taxi). I do wish MORE deleted scenes had been included, especially the one at the beginning on Naboo when Obi Wan was running from the STAP because of a shorted-out lightsaber and had to be saved by Qui-Gon. Several others come to mind but that again is just me, I was happy enough to get a glimpse of some of the deleted footage. Thank you George Lucas (and everyone else involved at Lucasfilm) for delivering a top-notch DVD and making my Phantom Menace experience a great one at home. I look forward to the other Star Wars movies in the future, the Indiana Jones trilogy and Willow which comes out just before Christmas this year as more stunning examples of what the creative minds of Lucasfilm can come up with for us on the DVD front.
Rating:
Summary: Finally the wait is over, and it's worth it....
Review: Thank you George Lucas for finally putting a Star Wars movie onto the DVD format. This DVD is a must have for every Star Wars fan who owns a DVD player. The movie images are razor sharp and the sound is so good, it's like watching the movie the first time, everytime. Even the documentary DVD is worth watching with alot of features. Thanks again Mr. Lucas from a life long Star Wars fan.
Rating:
Summary: Finally!
Review: Finally a disc that lives up to the hype. My big-screen TV and surround sound system love this movie. A must have for any DVD fan. One complaint though...the English Subtitles can't be turned off. If they can, I sure as heck can't figure it out. The options menu seems to be worthless.
Rating:
Summary: The force is with this 2 disc DVD set
Review: The coolest light sabre battles on film to date. The R2 Units in an extravehicular repair... The pod race.... These moments are truly awesome. Much has been written of this film, much more than it deserves. After all, its just a movie. Taken as a stand alone film (outside of the Classic Star Wars series), I'd take this film over 90% of the action adventure claptrap we get. But place it in with THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and its weaknesses are apparent. Firstly, its hard to tell what the story is about. Oh, sure, we know what the series is about, but this story on its own rambles between Qui Gon, Obi Wan and Young Annikan (Jake Lloyd in a slightly annoying child's performance). Plot matters. Outside of the plot, many of the set pieces are amazing. But, none will ever match up to the EMPIRE STRIKES BACK AT-AT attack on the winter base on Hoth. The Pod Race is well done but looks like a "driving" video game, without INSERT COIN(S) flashing on screen. Yoda, by muppet master Frank Oz is back and is still the best special effect in the film. Jar Jar Binks, a new completely computer generated character premieres with this film and is well accomplished. But, he is focused (as is this film) on the younger set so annoyed many an adult. Evil is strongly represented by the too infrequent Darth Maul. His performance and the best light sabre battle to date stand out as high points of the film. But, how does this film fit in our cultural psyche? After watching Star Wars for the first time, I was immediately able to draw film elements all over my school folders. (ie Darth Vader, R2-D2, Threepio, The Tie Fighters, The Death Star, X-Wings, etc...) I have since seen Episode 1 several times and still cannot describe the robot driven ships in the final attack. Hopefully, we will be more fulfilled with EPISODE 2. But, the great news is that this DVD set actually improves your opinion of the film. Firstly, there is a hour long documentary called "The Beginning" that is frankly paced better and morew exciting than the film it documents. It is filled with great behind the scenes footage that doesn't all seem like press release footage. That is awesome. There is also a heartfelt but not amazing audio commentary by auteur George Lucas. Also included are fully restored and reconstructed cut scenes that are not huge in added value but cool efforts and much appreciated. Great Sound, Great Video master. A great DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT
Review: Imagine The Beatles getting back together - during the disco era. That's kind of like what goes on with Lucas' creation. First, if you're going to believe the events took place before the others, you don't use 2-dimensional (and extremely "computerized") computer-generated characters, spaceships, etc. You use physical, tangible, 3-dimensional models and do not surpass the effects - which are STILL spectacular - of the first three. Nothing new here. Same types of characters, same action sequences, and an extremely overdone score by John Williams. What it boils down to is that everybody has a prime. George Lucas has waited too long to try and hold on to and re-create his glory days. BOO! to The Phantom Menace. Just pretend it was never released and enjoy the original trilogy in its original prints. There's nothing new here.
Rating:
Summary: Backlash
Review: The backlash against this heavily hyped movie and DVD is unwarranted. Episode I was an entertaining fantastic film for the entire family. All the naysayers are people who fail to realize that these films were born out of B-Movie Saturday Matinee Serials and are treating them (inappropriately) as high art.
Rating:
Summary: Incredilble Sound and Special Effects
Review: Even if you don't enjoy the story, the special effects and audio are worth it. I just watched it again last night with the volume way up. Wow! The second disc is also very interesting. All the making of.... Very cool stuff. This is a very high tech film. A real keeper.
Rating:
Summary: DVD redemption!
Review: We all know what the flaws are in this film--a poor script, plot holes, annoying alien sidekicks, etc.--but this DVD goes a long way towards redeeming it. First, the print. Excellent transfer--the landscapes and visual effects leap out at you, and one can now really appreciate the sheer inventiveness of the special effects. The sound is also good, but--as another reviewer pointed out--there are better sound production techniques. Lucas usually goes state-of-the-art with everything he does; why not the best here? Still the sound isn't bad; one can FEEL the pod race as much as see it, and the landscape of Tattooine blends seamlessly with the pods and the various effects. Ben Burtt proves he's one of the best sound technicians around--every racer has a unique and--more importantly--appropriate engine sound (Check out the menacing noise of Sebulba's pod, for a good example--doesn't it seem to fit him?). Yes, the sound could be better, but it isn't bad. Now, for the added scenes. They're confined to two segments--the pod race, and the arrival at Coruscant. The pod race scenes involve extra character introductions (unnecessary) and additional racing segments (excellent). The latter add some truly hair-raising moments to the already tense and exciting pod race, and are welcome. The scenes at Coruscant mostly involve Anakin and company traveling through the city. It's nice, and the effects look great, but it really adds nothing to the film. Now, the extras. This is what makes the DVD one of the best produced to date. Each segment is carefully scripted and directed, with some real standout moments, plus a few revelations. Watch the "3000 Anakins" segment and realize that Jake Lloyd wasn't a bad selection after all. Even an average actor can be redeemed by a good director (see Jim Carrey in "The Truman Show"), but Lucas was probably so wrapped up in the technical aspects of the film that he seemed to forget that in the middle of this monstrous production was a small boy with minimal film experience. Perhaps that's why Lloyd sometimes seems a little apprehensive. Give the kid a break, folks. Perhaps the only real disappointment came in the lack of actor commentary in the extras. Neeson's a great personality; I'd love to hear what he has to say about his experiences. But Lucas and company have loaded the second disc with everything else (and maybe the kitchen sink, too!). "The Beginning," the documentary about the film's production, is absolutely first-rate. One may begin to believe that one of the reasons the film suffered from plot problems is that Lucas was so distracted by all of the various crises that seemed to pop up daily (remember--much of this was filmed in the Tunisian desert, where you should expect the unexpected). I'd seen the "Duel of the Fates" video when the film was first released--excellent then, excellent now. The storyboards and animatics segments are nicely detailed and reveal how much work can go into a single scene. There are more extras--posters, trailers and teasers, plus the DVD-ROM features. They're all first-rate, as well. The film has many flaws--but remember, Lucas made the original for a different audience. He called this film "'Star Wars' for his kids," (a paraphrase) and it does have many redeeming moments: Does anyone else get chills at Palpatine's last statement to Anakin? The lightsaber duels are hyperkinetic, dynamic, and well-choreographed; the pod race runs on pure adrenaline, even more so with the additional scenes; and the battle between the Gungans and the Trade Federation's robotic troops is stunning in its complexity and flawless effects. Can anyone find a flaw in the film's effects? I haven't. Great production design is also an asset. Jar Jar may annoy the heck out of most people, but he's still an amazing breakthrough in digital effects; same for Watto, who steals every scene he's in ("Mind tricks don't work on me; only money!!"). Ditto Ian McDiarmid; his Palpatine is an ambitious, manipulative political genius who oozes both charm and evil in the same breath. Not a great film, but still better than most of the cookie cutter movies Hollywood produces every year. To those who don't like it: Give it another chance. The second time I saw it in the theatre I was accompanied by a seven year old boy, and I enjoyed more than my first viewing. Those who are already fans will love this wonderful DVD treatment.
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