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Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace (Widescreen Edition)

Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace (Widescreen Edition)

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $13.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It's finaly here!
Review: For years I've been waiting for this DVD! I've dreamed about it almost every night up until its
release! This DVD is truly the Holy Grail of DVDs!

A MUST HAVE FOR DVD FANS AND STAR WARS FANS!!!

If anyone here disses this DVD, they are NOT a true fan!

This is one of the greatest movies EVER! If you don't have it, GET IT!!!

Not only is it a great movie all in itself, the DVD features are to die for!

The Commentary is EXCELLENT!
The Making Of and Web Docs are awesome!
The Deleted scenes are breathtaking!
The Duel of the Fates Music Video is unbelievable!

Like with all DVDs, Episode I has its share of DVD Easter Eggs!

Just go to the Options menu on Disk I and type in "1138", as in THX 1138!

The only other thing I can say about this DVD is this, BUY IT! BUY IT NOW!!!

May the Force Be with You!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: THIS DVD IS AWESOME!
Review: Forget the VHS version! The THX, Dolby Digital DVD is the best! My only complaint is that this DVD is not in DTS. I'm hoping a DTS version will be released later.

This DVD is a two disc set. Disc two has TONS of special features. Some of these special features include: Deleted scenes, extended Podrace scenes, An hour-long documentary inside Lucasfilm and ILM during production, Multi-angle storyboard-to-animatic-to-film segment featuring the Submarine and Podrace Lap 1 sequences and MANY more.

The music is by John Williams....Nobody does it better, Period!

I can't wait for the other Star Wars films to be released on DVD!
Hopefully in DTS. Thanks, George!

P.S. I LOVE Jar Jar!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It's a Star Wars movie!
Review: Forget what all the critics have to say about the charactersand about the plot. Just remember how you felt as a kid when you sawStar Wars for the first time and translate your kidlike appreciation to your adult self and enjoy the movie. Keep in mind that George Lucas made the movie for his kids and you'll find yourself shaking with anticipation as you watch the opening scenes unfold. It's a Star Wars movie; therefore, lighten up, kick back, and enjoy this fabulous movie. END

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The difference between "It's good" and "I like it"
Review: Forgive me for treading on holy ground. I have, indeed, been one to hold the whole Star Wars saga near and dear to my heart. This movie is awonderful spectacle that, I think, tried to please too many people at once. A victim of it's own popularity, I suppose. Don't get me wrong, I like the movie... hell, I LOVE the movie. I was just aware of too many things that seemed to be meant to "hook" a particular audience. Episode four drew it's strength from mythological archetypes (The young hero on a quest, the mystical mentor, the "rogue samurai", etc.) while this one... well.. marketing surveys. (the adorable high energy star-struck kid, the goofy comic relief side-kick... etc). Also, I'm not sure it's wise to mess around with that whole "virgin birth" (or similar idea therein) thing with Anakin. Lots of little plot and character inconsistencies, and... *ahem... certain cast members who just bugged the hell out of me. Not to slight it too much. I'm really not writing this to bash Lucas. Some of my favorite action sequences of the decade are in this film. There's plenty of high-octane Star Wars fun. The visuals are, of course, spectacular... first rate! And I do not, as some maintain, believe that the movie became an excuse to spotlight ILM's capability. What did you want? a Star Wars movie with "subtle" special effects? Natalie Portman is particularly good in her role. Oh, and just the IDEA of Darth Maul had me drooling to see this movie (And I was so NOT dissapointed with him when he arrived). Also, we see some of the basic premises defined (well, defined for those of us who didn't get around to reading the books) Things like: We know what the Jedi can do, but WHO are they and what is their role in the grand scheme of things? Similar issues with the Sith. Looking forward to the next one.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Down the tubes
Review: Frankly I can't imagine why any of these reviews would be "helpful" to anyone, since the three people who haven't seen the film yet have been saturated with opinions about it. So what good is one more? What the hell, I feel like weighing in.

What is good in this film? The pod race is enjoyable and well done. The light saber fighting choreography is far superior to that in the original trilogy. And of course the effects are fantastic. The movie is one of the most visually beautiful films I've ever seen. The land- and cityscapes are particularly astounding.

Unfortunately even the good things in this film aren't all they could be. The pod race is derivative of the chariot race in Ben-Hur, the saber fighting scenes lack the character-driven emotion of the original trilogy, and the effects are groundbreaking in scale only, not in any fundamental way.

The first Star Wars (episode IV) was revolutionary in its effects. Each subsequent film in the series introduced more revolutionary ideas. But in Episode I, we see nothing truly new, just things that we've seen before done bigger and better than ever. But The Matrix was the film that revolutionized effects in the same year of Episode I's release.

What is bad in this film? Let's start with the script, which features too many underdeveloped characters, cliched dialogue, uninteresting plot, scenes that are contrived to the point that audiences have trouble suspending their disbelief.

Then there is the acting. None of the actors seemed to be particularly intimate with their characters, with the possible exceptions of Liam Neeson and Ian McDiarmid. Natalie Portman is one of my favorite actreses, and she does better than most of the others, but even she doesn't seem to have found her range with Amidala. And Jake Lloyd is beyond abysmal. Haley Joel Osment was born for that role.

But ultimately I think the poor acting comes back to the script and also to the direction, which otherwise I don't really have a problem with. I also think part of the reason for the shortcomings in this script is because the primary goal of this movie is really to set up the following ones. Perhaps it was too complex and ambitious even for Lucas.

Now I gotta take on the racism issue. I have to say that when I first saw this film in the theater I was shocked and embarrassed to be sitting there in a crowd watching such blatantly racist pablum. To be honest, it wasn't Jar Jar that jumped out at me, because I wasn't familar enough with the Rastafarian stereotype to recognize it. It was the Trade Organization's Chinese-like accent and sly, conspiratorial, "yellow" behavior. I half expected one of the T.O. aliens to break into "Ahh so."

Later I discovered the Jar Jar-Stepin Fetchit connection, which again floored me. To those who deny that Jar Jar is a racist stereotype, I quote Salon.com's Alynda Wheat: "Accents in and of themselves may not be stereotypical. But it's the overall image of Jar Jar that smacks of racism. His buffoonery, gait, appearance (one journalist thought his ears were reminiscent of dreadlocks) and word choice all combine to make him offensive." Bingo.

Furthermore, when members of a particular racial group are universally offended, that seems to be a pretty strong clue that something is by definition racist, unintentionally or otherwise. And I think it's clear that the racism was unintentional. As Wheat discusses in her article (http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/feature/2000/03/22/lucas/) Lucas strenously denied the plausibility of any racist features in his movie.

But as any fan of Joseph Campbell knows, Lucas is a master of the archectype, which pre-exists in his audience's collective psyche, loaded with connotations and symbolism. He leveraged archetypes in his original trilogy to powerful effect. It may be that he was trying to tap into similar notions with certain characterizations and in the process got confused about the difference between stereotypes and archetypes.

Beyond the racism argument, Jar Jar is annoying. He does not provide comic relief. He is not funny. Moreover, and more importantly, he adds nothing to the story. Every Jar Jar "contribution" to the story could have been accomplished in another way that would not have necessitated his existence and the consequent torture of the audience.

Lucas tarnished the Star Wars series forever with Episode I. Although I don't have much hope, he could still redeem it with II and III. But so far, out of four films, two and a half of them are great and one and a half are awful.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Star Wars or Star Bores!
Review: From the opening scene i realised that this film was absolutely nothing like the other star war films that have been made;which contained excitement power and sometimes even emotional scenes.After watching this film i was disappointed to say the least as it had definately not lived up to its high expectations.This is not a film i would recommend to others.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Phantom Menace - The Best Star Wars Yet
Review: From the start, this movie screams Hi-Tech. The visuals are amazing. There are multiple stories within the story. I particularly liked the use of Force powers by the Jedi Knights. The new movie technology prevails and makes this movie a hit for the whole family. The previous movies simply cannot compare with todays technology. It is a true adventure without the usual dragging drama of longer films. In fact, the drama increases the adventure and makes you want more. A very good film. You will enjoy it over and over again.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: GL ruined Darth Vader!!!
Review: From what I now know from the abomination called The Phantom Menace, Vader's childhood was total (...). He was a "Yippee" shouting, cornball of a person. He hung around with a cartoonish orange looking frog named Jar Jar, who would annoy the heck out of the normal sane person. No wonder he turned to the Dark Side. If I had to endur Jar Jar's antics for that long, I'd go insane too. Also Anakin/Vader built C-3PO, the droid he happens to be looking for in A New Hope. What was George thinking! Why does every character from the originals have to be added in. I'm suprised I didn't see a little Chewbacca running around. I think C-3PO should have been built somewhere else, or in the background and somehow met the crew later, maybe not in Episode 1. He didn't even hardly speak anyways. He had but two lines, so what does it matter. All we get from it was another corny connection. When I now look at Vader, I don't seem to feel as threatened or him being as feared as before when I think of him saying "Yippeee" as he runs off from a "hard" days work. Now to get on some of the real weak points.

The acting. Is it too much to ask for decent acting? Star Wars may be better than any other movie out, but at least the other movies have acting in it. They just seem to cardboard and wooden. I mean check out the part where Qui-Gon says, "There is a chance many Gungans will be killed". He acts likes he's reading off a que card. I never got any real feeling about the characters. And I just have to ask this question. Why is it that Jar Jar and Anakin get more lines than Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Darth Maul? I know I would have rather heard more about the Jedi vs. Sith relationship and less of Jar Jar's "Ex-squeeze me" and "How rude". What is this, Full House? Please George, if you listen at all to the fans, just do something about the weak points from this movie, put the ego aside. If he was so unhappy with the originals that he had to change them 20 years later and want to change them again for DVD, then please say he will change this one. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't like the idea at all that this is the beginning Episode for the saga. I wouldn't want to show this first to someone who has never seen Star Wars. I may be a perfectionist, but I do wish he will come to reality and do better with Episode II, but he HAS to fix this one also.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellence plus..and still more to come
Review: Full marks to George Lucus once again he has brought hope to the universe with Episode 1. After the much anticipated hype and all the professional reviews it was still left to the individual to decide what they thought of the film,after sitting through 120 or so minutes I felt a little dissapointed that it had to end but by the same token I was more than pleased to know that there 2 more instalments to come. I have sat though each of the previous movies at least 40 to 50 times and the current one at leat 20 times and still get the incredible buzz that surrounds STAR WARS. A definite MUST HAVE for any one who gets caught up in the Star wars phenonmenon

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Putrescently Abysmal
Review: George "The Emperor" Lucas takes us on a souless journey through a boring CG video game. I shoulda known it was gonna stink when he started mangling the old movies by adding CG effects(the "Special Editions"). What surprise is in store for us next movie Darth Lucas? Han Solo is Jar-Jar Binks and C-3PO's love child? Give us a break. You can click the "No" button below now.....


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