Rating: 
Summary: So-So
Review: THis film is only so-so and does not live up to the hype. It is a pale shadow of the incredible original star wars trilogy. This one was obviously made jsut for the kids. It has the look and feel of a Disney film rather than a Lucas movie. It also has the storyline and character development that one would expect from a 1980's Saturday morning cartoon. Waaaay to much screen time is devoted to the bumbbling antics of goofy Jar Jar Binks that only the 5 and under crowd can appreciate. Also, Anakin's acting is horrible and there are many sloooow parts where he talks to Padme or his mother which require ready access to the fast forward on your remote. The villians, who are most interesting get very little screen time which is disapointing in and of itself, but also leaves the viewer to wonder at the end of the film: Why did they villians do all these terrible things? The films only apparaent answer is that they are the bad guys and the good guys need bad guys to fight. There was not much to explain the plot or tell why the characters were acting as they were. I've heard many fans say that this is just a set-up for E2 and E3. Still, this film should be able to stand on its own. If The original 1977 Star Wars film was this weak and blamed it on "setting up for ESB and ROTJ" the star wars franchise would have been dead right then and there. Still TPM has some redeeming qualitites. Liam Neeson is good. There is a very visually exciting pod race, and the lightsabre battle at the end is pretty cool (and unfortunatly its really the only time you ever get to see more than a few teaser seconds of Darth Maul, who could have been cool if they utilized him more than for just the final battle. Hopefully the extra scenes in the DVD version will help eplain a lot of the unanswered questions and premises on which the film is based so that it will make sense.
Rating: 
Summary: Why "Star Wars: TPM" is the perfect beginning for the saga.
Review: Okay, let me start off my saying that yes STAR WARS: EPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE is not the BEST SW movie ever to grace the screen. It has its flaws, yet then again so did the originals. As Randall on "Clerks: The Animated Series" pointed out how the hell do lightsabers know where to stop? But that's off the topic. The reason SW:TPM works well as the starting off point for the greatest cienmatic saga of all time lies in its ability to explain how everyone came together. In this film you learn how Anakin and Padme met. How Obi-wan became Anakin's master. How Palpatine began his rise to power, and how everything was his doing through the film. True there are some flaws in the fact that Obi-wan is trained by Qui-Gon, instead of Yoda and Anakin was supposedly a great pilot when Obi-Wan met him yet in the film he's just a boy. BUT Obi-wan is still under the guidance of Yoda, and Anakin is the only human that s good enough to PILOT a pod-racer. What TPM does it basically tell the viewers that it was here that everyone met, that this is how the entire saga's "cogs" were set into motion. And for the eagle-eyed fan, you'll notice that everything was planned by Senator Palpatine/Darth Sidious. That the events of the film were all meant to bring about his rise to power. Now with the DVD. A moment to drool.... Oh yeah! Anyways, with the DVD's inclusion of the seven deleted scenes, which are wonderfully completed with full visual effects; storyboard to animatics to finished film; the "Beginning" documentary; audio commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Scott Squires, John Knoll, Dennis Muren and Rob Coleman; Five behind the scene featurettes; the music video; the twelve part "lynne's diary"; a gallery of poster and the like; and all the trailers, from tv to theater. this 2 disc DVD set is, well Drool-tastic. I can't believe they're doing it! Buy It! I've already preordered mine! Now we just have to wait for the rest of the series!
Rating:
Summary: wait is over
Review: finally the wait is over ford the first star wars dvd. from the looks of it, its a pretty kool dvd with over 6 HOURS OF BONUS MATERIALS, from deleted scences to lucas commentary. Somethings that i would have like to see would be a isolated williams score or a dts track. An early rumor is that a teaser trailer from episode 2 will be on the disc. Pretty kool. Stay tuned
Rating: 
Summary: DVD Special Features
Review: Star Wars I was a fairly average movie, it provided me with several hours of good entertainment and I've got no compliants, but it definitely isn't a great follow up to the classics of Star Wars 4-6. Finally going to be available on DVD, here are the specs for the DVD version, not bad for the wait we had to endure.According to IGN and Starwars.com, here are the features: Mastered by THX for superior sound and picture quality, presented in Anamorphic Widescreen and Dolby 5.1 Surround EX (English), Dolby 2.0 Surround (English and Spanish), and Dolby 2.0 Surround (French, for Canadian release) 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 The popular "Duel of the Fates" music video that debuted in 1999 All 12 parts of the Lynne's Diaries, the web documentaries that first appeared here at starwars.com Galleries of theatrical posters, print campaign, and never-before-scene production photos Downloaded by millions from starwars.com, the original theatrical teaser and launch trailers, plus seven TV spots including the "tone poems" Hope this helps.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, on DVD!
Review: I must admit I was worried initially when I heard that TPM was being released on DVD. I was afraid that Lucas would pull a "James Cameron" and release it, only to release a better, more extensive version later. Well, Lucas must have "found my lack of faith disturbing", because this looks to be loaded. Congrats to Lucas and Fox for (properly) releasing Star Wars into the digital age in our home theaters!
Rating:
Summary: I can't wait for Oct 16,2001
Review: AWESOME movie, and just announced that they will release it on DVD on Oct 16, 2001. I CAN'T WAIT!!!
Rating: 
Summary: ONLY THREE REASONS TO WATCH THE PHANTOM MENACE
Review: There are only three reasons to watch "Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace": 1)The Pod Racing scene 2)The final lightsaber duel of the Jedis 3)Because this is a star wars movie. THAT'S IT. There are just too many things wrong with this movie. For starters, why have they made "The Force" out to be something of a scientific nature? I liked the mystical and mysterious quality about "The Force" that was abundant in "The Empire Strikes Back". Why was this movie aimed for children? All of the original Star Wars fans, like me, are in our twenties and thirties by now. I understood that Lucas was trying to get a new generation of Star Wars fans, but c'mon. This movie could be shown on The Disney Channel without editing a thing! Why, oh why didn't we see more of Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) and Yoda? I wanted to see Mace whup somebody real bad with his lightsaber. I don't know about anyone else, but the true "money shot" would have been to see Yoda wielding a lightsaber and shoving it up a robot's "you know what". Why were Jedis only slicing at robots throughout the whole movie anyways? The only other battle is the one with Darth Maul. And what about the mysterious character known as Darth Maul? I realize that he's not a real talker, but they could have given a bit more background story on him. I admit, he was definitely interesting though. He was the best character in the movie and what did Lucas do? He kills him off. Why Lucas? WHY? He was an excellent menace to star in your next installment. Because of the heavy make-up, he could have been played by anyone with kung fu skills in Episode 2. Also, the movie dragged, BIGTIME thanks to its never-ending babble about politics in this Star Wars world. Lucas, I understand that you had to establish your plot, but about 30 minutes of the movie could have been cut if you hadn't gone ON AND ON about the "Trade Federation" and "Naboo" and all this other crap. All of that stuff could have been canned and it would have made room for the ideas listed above! These are only SOME of the things that were wrong with this movie. I could've gone on, but you get the point. Watch this once just to see the three things listed at the beginning. E-mail me if you have any comments for me. The original Trilogy still rules! Bye PEEPS!
Rating:
Summary: The Force is strong in this one. Episode 1 on DVD 10/16/2001
Review: Well Star Wars fans, the wait is finally over. George Lucas has crumbled under fan pressure and is finally going to release Episode 1 on dvd. As a fan, I can only hope that this is just the beginning!! Fans desperately want Episodes 4-6 on DVD, but we'll settle for this for now. Hey George, how about getting together with Steven Spielberg and finally put out the Indy Jones Trilogy as well?? Anyways folks, here is what you will be getting. I'm sure more stuff will be announced but this is it for now. Enjoy! At about 480 minutes in length, it features over six hours of additional bonus material, including brand new visual effects sequences executed just for the DVD release. * The Phantom Menace, mastered by THX for superior sound and picture quality, presented in Anamorphic Widescreen and Dolby 5.1 Surround EX (English), Dolby 2.0 Surround (English and Spanish), and Dolby 2.0 Surround (French, for Canadian release) * 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 * The popular "Duel of the Fates" music video that debuted in 1999 * All 12 parts of the Lynne's Diaries, the web documentaries that first appeared at starwars.com * Galleries of theatrical posters, print campaign, and never-before-scene production photos * Original theatrical teaser and launch trailers * Seven TV spots including the "tone poems" That's it for now. Purchase this dvd and the force will be with you, always.
Rating:
Summary: DVD Announced!!
Review: Star Wars.com just announced a release date of October 16, 2001. It will be a 2 disc set covering 480 minutes. The deleted scenes that are presented here even have finished effects, just for the DVD release. There is also commentary by Lucas and Rick McCallum, as well as others.
Rating: 
Summary: TPM DVD Finally coming!!
Review: On October 16, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will begin the worldwide release of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace on DVD. The highly anticipated arrival of Episode I marks the first film of the Star Wars saga to debut on DVD. Enthusiastic fans of the film will be rewarded for their patience. Clocking in at about 480 minutes in length, it features over six hours of additional bonus material, including brand new visual effects sequences executed just for the DVD release. Here's what the two-disc set will feature: The Phantom Menace, mastered by THX for superior sound and picture quality, presented in Anamorphic Widescreen and Dolby 5.1 Surround EX (English), Dolby 2.0 Surround (English and Spanish), and Dolby 2.0 Surround (French, for Canadian release) 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. The popular "Duel of the Fates" music video that debuted in 1999 All 12 parts of the Lynne's Diaries, the web documentaries that first appeared here at starwars.com. Galleries of theatrical posters, print campaign, and never-before-scene production photos. Downloaded by millions from starwars.com, the original theatrical teaser and launch trailers, plus seven TV spots including the "tone poems"
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