Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
Short description
The peaceful planet Naboo is placed under a trade blockade by the Trade Federation, which has rejected taxation of its commercial routes. The Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi are sent to negotiate, and they discover that a full invasion is being prepared. They help Queen Padmé Amidala escape, but damage to her ship forces a landing on the desert world Tatooine, where they meet a young slave named Anakin Skywalker, whose connection to the Force is unusually strong. Amidala travels to the Republic's capital to plead for help, and when the Senate offers none, she returns to Naboo to resist the occupation herself. Behind the Federation's actions stands a hidden Sith figure, and Qui-Gon comes to believe Anakin may be the Chosen One destined to bring balance to the Force.
George Lucas wrote and directed the film, returning to the saga he began in 1977 with Star Wars and continuing here after American Graffiti and his earlier features. It is the fourth of the seven features he directed, followed by Episode II and Episode III, and the first entry in the prequel trilogy. Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor play the two Jedi, Natalie Portman plays Amidala, and Jake Lloyd plays Anakin. Rick McCallum produced, with 123 credited cast and 178 credited crew members.
The film had a budget of 115 million US dollars and took roughly 1.05 billion US dollars worldwide, a strong commercial result. On IMDb, viewers rate it 6.5 out of 10 from about 921,000 votes; on TMDB it sits at 6.6 from roughly 16,000 votes. A critics' rating of 6.2 from 290 reviews places it slightly below the audience figures.
What's left behind the scenes
- The name "Jar Jar Binks" was invented by Lucas's son.
- The first scene shot during filming was the conversation between Darth Sidious and Darth Maul.
- The sound of the fluttering wings of Watto the merchant was achieved by sound designer Ben Burtt by opening and closing an ordinary umbrella.
- During the Gungan attack on the Trade Federation troops, the game Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds is shown on the TF battle displays.
- "The Phantom Menace" is the only "Star Wars" film that features the unique Jedi ability to accelerate.
- In the credits, Jabba the Hutt, opening the podrace, is listed as 'Jabba the Hutt playing himself'. At the same time, it is not indicated in the credits that Ian McDiarmid plays Darth Sidious.
- The scene of the lightsaber battle between Darth Maul and Obi-Wan with Qui-Gon was filmed over a month. It is the first duel of its kind to involve more than two Jedi or Sith.
- Due to Liam Neeson's height, the set decorators had to spend an additional $150,000 on new sets in which the actor could fit.
- The communicator used by Qui-Gon Jinn for communication is based on a Gillette Sensor Excel women's razor. The props team repainted the razor gray and added several metal details to it.
- In the scene of the Galactic Senate meeting, one can distinguish several delegations, including Wookies and a group of aliens resembling the famous E.T. from Steven Spielberg's film "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982).
- Initially, Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) was supposed to be an alien.
- Qui-Gon Jinn's comlink is a slightly modified Gillette Sensor Excel razor.
- Darth Maul blinks only a couple of times throughout the entire film. This was because Ray Park, who played him, found it difficult to blink in contact lenses, so Park suggested the idea of a villain who never blinks.
- The only scene in the film that does not use visual effects is the scene of filling the meeting room with gas at the beginning of the film.
- During the battle of the Gungans with the Federation forces, a droid with serial number “1138” on its back flashes by: this number was included in the title of George Lucas's first full-length film, called “THX 1138” (1971). One of the ships flying over Coruscant just before the conversation between Darth Sidious and Darth Maul is identical to the “Discovery” from the film “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968). The same ship's escape pod is visible in the scene of the conversation between Qui-Gon and Watto in the background among other rusty parts in Watto’s “shop” on Tatooine.
- During the filming of the battles, Ewan McGregor often involuntarily imitated the sound of a lightsaber.
- Before filming as Queen Amidala, Natalie Portman had not seen a single film from the original Star Wars trilogy.
- After the credits have finished rolling at the end of the film, Darth Vader's ominous breathing can be heard.
- At a press conference dedicated to the DVD release of "Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith" (2005), animation director Rob Coleman announced that an updated version of "The Phantom Menace" was in development, making the first episode the last film in the saga where puppet Yoda would be replaced with one generated using digital technology.
- "Padmé" in Sanskrit means "lotus".
- Natalie Portman missed the world premiere of 'The Phantom Menace' due to preparing for a university session.
- In early versions of the script, the planet of Queen Amidala was called Utapau, but ultimately this name was given to the planet where Obi-Wan fights General Grievous in “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” (2005).
- Sofia Coppola and Keira Knightley received short roles as Padmé's handmaidens in the film. In fact, the striking resemblance between Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley became a stepping stone for the latter's subsequent acting career.
- Haley Joel Osment and Michael Angarano auditioned for the role of young Anakin Skywalker.
- The images of all Gungans were created using Jar Jar Binks’ engine.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
