Rating: 
Summary: Where it all began...
Review: Well, I've read and heard all the "Lucas bashing" ever since Episode I was released in 1999, and I think it's really a childish waste. Sure, Jar-Jar was annoying to some, but I liked him. He provides the "comic relief" that the two droids had in the original trilogy. I think Jake Lloyd did a great job, and didn't put in a "cardboard" performance like he's been accused of doing. My God, the kid is only 8 years-old, give him a break!
I loved the lightsaber battles, space battles, the visual effects, and performances. Sure, Darth Maul was drastically underused. Maybe we'll see more of his race in Episode II or III. After seeing it now on DVD, the perfect format for my FAVORITE series of movies, you get to see it the way Lucas meant it to be enjoyed. After watching all of the extras and "making of" specials, you see how hard everyone worked for almost five years to make this movie. I guess my only regret about the DVD is why not just include all 7 of the deleted scenes into the movie itself. The only one included is the brief "Coruscant Taxi" scene. That's it. But then Lucas explains that including them into the movie would have slowed it down, etc. Now, with Episode II coming next summer, and Episode III in 2005, I'm as pumped about Star Wars as I was when I saw the first one when I was 7 years-old in 1977. These movies have made a deep impression upon me, and my life. So, I guess from what I hear from Lucas that all six Star Wars films will be on DVD after Episode III in 2005. That's fine. This is his life's work, and I'm proud to be a Star Wars FANATIC! I can wait for them. Maybe not patiently...but I'll wait knowing they're on the way to DVD!
Rating:
Summary: a sci-fi masterpiece!
Review: The best movie ever in my opinion, ignore the critics and enjoy it for what it is: the beginning adventure of the Star Wars series. The plot is critical to the prequel trilogy and will set things up for the events in episode 2. I love this movie because of the political chaos, the way Palpatine manipulates everyone, and the Jedi's fight with Darth Maul which has to be the greatest action scene ever filmed. The effects are top notch and the scenery on Coruscant was amazing, extremely well done. Aside from the movie, the new scenes and documentaries are worth the price alone. Outstanding, a look into Lucas' world. This dvd is packed with features and extras that make it such a great entertainment value. 5 stars don't do it justice. Star Wars Episode 1 rules!
Rating: 
Summary: Not a bad DVD... except for the extras...
Review: I enjoyed this DVD quite a bit, my only complaint was on the extras DVD... a lot of the backgrounds on commentary excerpts appear rather pixelated and don't blend very well... That and the menus seemed a bit buggy in a few spots [such as the 12 part web documentary] and I have to manually forward the DVD past the second copyright...Past that, great DVD, and next on my list is to try out the special portion of the Star Wars website that you must own the second DVD to get into it.
Rating:
Summary: Pristine DVD
Review: Just finished watching the DVD. The. Picture. And. Sound. Are. Spectacular. This is the one DVD you can pop in to show off your system to your friends. Just load up the pod race.
Rating:
Summary: Lucas delivers the goods with the first Star Wars on DVD!!
Review: Say what you will about Episode I, the fact remains that it's simply a fun, fun movie. Fans expecting to relive the magic of the original trilogy are bound to be disappointed, but that's really a pretty lofty demand. Those films have had twenty-odd years to insinuate themselves into our collective pop culture psyche, and there is NOTHING Mr. Lucas could have done to satisfy the expectations of the fans who literally grew up with Luke, Leia, and Han. Taken on its own merits, though, Episode I is an absolute blast... a throwback to that magical era of cinema that gave us Star Wars, Indiana Jones, E.T., Close Encounters, and so forth. Just relax, quit complaining, and enjoy it. With that out of the way, let me just say this DVD release of Episode I is absolutely excellent! The movie itself, provided on disc 1, looks incredible... the clarity of the picture will make even the most die hard cynic appreciate the tremendous effort that was put into the stunningly detailed backgrounds and characters; and the sound, needless to say, is AMAZING. This is Lucasfilm, after all... It's the second disc, however, that makes this DVD a must-buy. There is SOOO much wondeful bonus material on here that you'll be stuck for hours trying to digest it all. There's a wealth of trailers and TV spots, including the music video for John Williams' thrilling "Duel of the Fates." There are seven complete deleted scenes, with an accompanying in-depth documentary, including a step-by-step walkthrough of the creative process behind the waterfall sequence. There are countless featurettes and documentaries, and an absolutely fascinating hour-long making-of film entitled "The Beginning" that's virtually guaranteed to give you a whole new respect for Episode I and the work that went into it. You may even feel a twinge of grudging admiration for Jar Jar Binks... On top of that, there's a really nifty little multi-angle storyboard/animatic/film comparison, and even a few hidden goodies for the diligent viewer. All in all not a bad deal for a measly twenty bucks or so... Look, if you have any interest in Star Wars at all, this DVD belongs in your collection. Put aside your petty grumblings and go buy it now... I think you may be pleasantly surprised to find that Episode I is not nearly so bad as you had convinced yourself it was. Plus, if we're very, VERY good, maybe Mr. Lucas will eventually grace us with the originals on DVD... Mmmmmmm....Star Wars on DVD.....
Rating:
Summary: Apology almost accepted, George.
Review: Consider George Lucas's $4 million investment in bringing the Phantom Menace to DVD an apology for the oft-maligned and poorly directed Episode I, and you'll feel better about adding the double-disc to your collection. Even though the film and story have severe shortcomings (David Letterman joked during its release that the line to get into the theater was two hours long, but the movie was so bad that the line to get out was three hours long), you cannot ignore the value of the extra material that is included. Disc one features a solid THX transfer of the film, or one should say "data", since so much of it was generated digitally anyway. Several scenes have been tweaked or extended, in true Lucas fashion, but Jar-Jar remains annoyingly intact. The audio tracks are nearly perfect with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX, and English and Spanish Dolby 2.0 tracks. Audio track four contains film commentary by George Lucas, producer Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, John Knoll, Dennis Muren and Scott Squires. Burtt, Coleman, Knoll and Muren are most impressive, with Lucas and McCallum not really saying anything new. Disc two provides a rare glimpse behind the scenes at Lucasfilm with hours and hours of footage, stills, deleted scenes and trailers. One caution for sensitive viewers of disc two is the fondness that Episode I producer Rick McCallum apparently has for the F word- even in front of children- all clipped of course to just "f...", but most are obvious. My opinion of McCallum, already low, fell considerably after watching the discs. Included in the hour-long documentary "The Beginning" is a hint that several at Lucasfilm, including Ben Burtt and Lucas himself, may have had an early indication that the Phantom Menace was falling short of expectations by attempting to do too much, but they strived to improve the picture right up until its theatrical release in May 1999. Unfortunately, they came up short. So thanks again, George, for all the extras on the DVD. We'll be watching, and hoping for something a lot better with Episode II.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as Empire, but not BAD either.
Review: I have loved Luke SKywalker since I was 11 years old, and I can say that this movie will never hold a place in my heart the way the original trilogy did. It seemed to me that George Lucas was trying to recreate his trilogy, and failing. However, there are some strong points: Ewan and Liam were wonderful, Darth Maul was a highly effective baddie, and Natalie Portman wasn't nearly as annoying as I thought she would be. Of course, there are some bad points as well: Jar Jar, Anakin, etc. I wouldn't recommend getting the DVD unless you REALLY love the movie or just want the ability to get the the good parts faster (why do you think I'm actually buying this thing?)
Rating: 
Summary: Does not work *at all* on Macs
Review: Neither DVD of the two DVD set works *at all* on a Macintosh. The movie doesn't play and the additional DVD-ROM only content is incompatible.
Rating:
Summary: SIMPLY AWESOME
Review: If you are a starwars fan you gotta get this one and add it to your collection .The video and audio from this dvd is awesome and if you want to test your system's limits get this one..
Rating:
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!!
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