PT Calling all Phantom fanatics! (Back in theaters May 3rd!)

I would have enjoyed it if that stuff was shown more in ROTS, but I still love what they did with Ep3 generally. There are layers there that people too quickly dismiss I think. There are flaws in execution admittedly, and on an initial viewing of the film this can make it seem a little shallow, but if you pay attention there is so much attention to detail. Lucas was carefully imagining this was the same world for all six films. The varying aesthetics over the films can throw people off.

Having said that, TPM would IMO be stronger if AOTC more smoothly continued it. There are a lot of ideas going on in the PT, and (particularly with AOTC for me personally) it doesn't all translate to the screen.

Yeah, TFA is pretty good, but seems to make things slightly less grand than 1-6 alone. I have to see it again to really judge, but I got the impression that it is part of a bigger vision for the whole trilogy, much like TPM for the PT.

 

I find that the film is betrayed by a handful of silly/cartoonish moments and by a less than stellar attempt by Natalie Portman to sell her character, but it's the one PT movie (as well as ROTJ, in truth) that I can still sit through without becoming distracted/bored. I can't explain it either; maybe some of it can be chalked up to nostalgia and how much I wanted to love the movie at the time.

If there is ever a Star Wars Hall of Fame, Liam Neeson needs to be front and center for doing yeoman's work at fully embracing Qui-Gon Jinn. No matter the situation he was placed in, he nailed it. There's a lot to be said for someone really bringing a character home and selling a situation that, in another's hands, would come off as ridiculous and uninteresting.

 

Agreed. The timeline Lucas settled on for the PT was arguably an odd move, and makes things quite abstract.

I think when you look at Anakin/Luke parallels, things move much faster for Anakin than Luke, over each trilogy respectively. Perhaps it's related to the darkside as the "quicker, easier, more seductive" path, and gives us a sense of how fast things spiraled for Luke's father. It certainly increases the apparent danger-factor when Luke is tempted in the OT.

One detail I find curious is their ages - Anakin in AOTC matches Luke in ANH. Luke at nineteen seemingly hasn't even heard of the force, Anakin has already had ten years of Jedi training. Lucas seems to imply that Luke's more quaint beginnings worked in Luke's favour in the long run.

A trivial parallel I often think is quite interesting is Anakin and Luke at nineteen sitting in the same place at the table in the Lars homestead.
Anakin wearing black - he already bears a great burden, Luke wearing white - he is just beginning his journey.
Anakin is there because of his attachment to his mother - he will soon lose her and begin to stray from his Jedi path. Luke is discussing with his fosters (whom he will soon lose to the Empire) a more meaningful life - and ironically their deaths means he can leave his farmer's life and follow Obi-Wan, taking up his destiny as a Jedi.

Anakin leaves his seat -
OWEN: Where are you going?
ANAKIN: To find my mother.
CLIEGG: Your mother's dead son. Accept it.

Luke leaves the same seat -
BERU: Where are you going?
LUKE: Looks like I'm going nowhere. I'm gonna go finish cleaning those droids.
...
BERU: He can't stay here forever Owen, most of his friends are gone. It means so much to him.
OWEN: I'll make it up to him next season, I promise.
BERU: Luke's just not a farmer Owen. He has too much of his father in him.
OWEN: That's what I'm afraid of.

Quite a significant irony here, it speaks volumes about the structure of the father's and son's journeys.

 

i like tpm. it has things none of the other films have. qui-gon is the best. (of course i must be lying because according to two noobs, i hate the pt and gl).

 

I am tired of the usual false memes spread about the PT: everything CG, etc.

Here's my current ranking:

ESB
SW
TFA
ROTJ
TPM
ROTS
AOTC

But again, it's like I've said many times: they're all fun and entertaining films for me. Some I enjoy more than others. But, it's like picking which dessert you like best. They're all good and tasty. But some are a bit more tasty than others.

 

TPM is my favourite SW movie. I've seen every single SW episode and none of them caught my attention as much as TPM. Love the cast. Love all the different planets they showed. Love the different alien creatures (except for maybe Jar Jar Binks). Love the fights. Love the jedis. And, most importantly, love the Sith Apprentice.

If there's at least one film Disney shouldn't ignore from the prequals, it's this. Sure, it wasn't the best SW movie ever made, but you've got to admit it that some parts of the film were made really well. It's no wonder this film, specifically, even today still has hundeds or maybe even thousands of fans all over the world.

 

TPM is my favourite. It was actually the first Star Wars film I ever watched & its what made me fall in love with this universe. Since first watching it at the age of 7, I've grown to become of hardcore Star Wars fanatic & I now live & breathe Star Wars no matter. Everything about TPM just seemed perfect to me. Then again, I'm a fairly easy to please person. Everyone will always have different opinions.
I've never really understood why so many people hated the movie. In my opinion, It sets up the entire saga nicely (With perhaps the exclusion of Jar Jar Binks). Sometimes people just need to get rid of their expectations and take stuff as it comes occasionally.

 

Apologies if this has been posted already.Its a pretty good defence of the film.

 

TPM will always be my favorite because it was the one that made me fall in love with Star Wars. I had never seen any of the OT in '99, but the hype and the excitement of all my friends got me into the theater with them. I was at the perfect age to love it all: the epic spectacle and glamour, the adventure and the action instantly hooked me; I had a huge crush on Padme and thought she was the coolest, smartest character in the flick; I could relate to Anakin and wanted him to become a hero, get the girl, and free all the slaves; and Qui-Gon's death still hits me harder than Obi-Wan in the OT.

As I've gone back to it again and again over the years, I think it's arguably the best as well. Either TPM or ANH, which stand in the series as the most complete, most original films. I have to stand in wonder at the fact that George was able to create two such visually unique settings, but still make them deep, coherent, and filled with enough similarities that they work as part of the same society. The plot is nuanced and complex, I argue that the acting was great all around, and the tragedy of Qui-Gon not being able to train Anakin becomes worse and worse every time you watch it. There are missteps, it's not a perfect movie, but it's a really good and really ambitious one.

On a tangentially related note: When I first heard about the Machete Order (IV-V-II-III-VI, if you happen to not know), I didn't like that it left out TPM. Not only because TPM was my favorite, but also because II & III are terrible for a first-time viewer to see leading into Return of the Jedi. Luke constantly talks about seeing the good in Vader, reminding him that he is Anakin Skywalker, but the last thing the viewer would see was Anakin committing mass child murder. Instead, show Anakin when he was at his most pure so we can see the good Luke sees, introduce Padme when she was at her most authoritative and bad ass, show the Jedi when they were at their prime, etc. If you're going to use the flashback framework, use the prequel that actually works as a short, separate flashback. Leave out II & III for a separate viewing entirely (preferably with highlights from TCW), and introduce the saga with IV-V-I-VI. [/rant]

 

Machete Order is stupid, sorry. George went to a great effort to make the saga watchable in the episode order (even alienated a lot of the OT fans in the process).

 

I LOVE TPM!
It is the first Star Wars movie I ever watched.
At age 10 I was a SW fan, because of TPM.
Padmé is wonderfully portraid by Portman, and Ewan as Obi Wan is supurb, but my all time favorite is Liam as Qui Gon Jinn.
Liam, in my opinion, is Qui Gon. NO ONE else could have done him as well.
He made me into a hardcore Jinn fan, and the fact that Qui Gon saved Jar Jar is enough to make him[Binks] one of my favorite charectors.
I like Jar Jar, thank you very much.
He is light in the darkness.

So there you have it folks, (some) reasons I like TPM.

 

Good to see the support for this underrated movie.

 

I love TPM, I feel it has a simplicity about it that is truly beautiful. This Is the age of artisans, and it shines through wonderfully. People really get caught up in the "War" in Star Wars, but I have a particular interest in the Golden age of The Republic era, it is amazing! Its my third favorite film and I wouldn't change a thing, literally I wouldn't change a second it is great.

 

During a sleepless night I watched what was called the 'anti-cheese' cut on youtube on my phone. A cowardly way to approach the films, ignoring them or snipping out bits you dont like in my opinion, but I thought I would give it a go.

What was intriguing though was how flat and bizzare the film became. Obviously if you are not really a fan you think it is an improvement, but I was amazed how if you go about pulling bits out thinking you are improving it, the entire edifice crumbles.

Every scene matters. You might think it's cheesy, or silly but it has a purpose. I was quite shocked actually, I thought well it wont matter if certain little bits are missing, but i found it unwatchable.

Down the comments section someone had asked permission to borrow sections of it. Asked permission !! As if the original guy has permission !

These people should put the money where their mouth is, if you don't like it, leave it alone and walk away - don't think you are some kind of smart editor improving a work. Nope - you are just getting clicks because you have most of a Star Wars film up - riding on the coat tales of a hard working talented creative team who busted their guts for four years.

 

I completely agree with this. I was surprised at how poor the pacing and connection between scenes was in the anti-cheese edition. The anti-cheese edition made the film feel rushed through in a way that the original never was.

 

The Phantom Menace....

Or should I say The Key: To the Door Of the Menace?

Quite frankly, it is the most warm, compelling, innocent of all the saga. Regarding deep themes of attachments, philosophy and child psychology! That's some deep crusted cheese there(wink wink hint hint).

Looking at the film today, it holds up more than I imagined. This film, broke boundaries. Story and Visual aspects. Never again, has there been anything like it.

Watching this film, really brings home that there was a vision, a story to be told. It's not some "thesis" as one would say(Hint) it's an emotional investment. Not a sacrifice(though, in the same sense, there was a sacrifice to be held during the long months and years at Lucasfilms).

The Door Of The Menace, is sure as hell lighter than ANH but more subtle than ESB. Isn't that strange?? A creature, so called, "pathetic life form" has a much more of an arc than the main characters of ESB!(But what am I implying here? TPM is way better than ESB cuz ESB suckz jar jar binks poodoo!)

In fact, Qui-Gon, Padme and Jar Jar(Remember? The pathetic life form?) all had great developments.

Ahh, the joys of innocence..

 

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is my all time favorite Star Wars movie.

I have many nostalgic memories of that movie, and it was the first new Star Wars movie I ever saw.

 

TPM is my second favourite movie of the saga (1st ROTS and 3rd ESB).
I like the story where we know about little Anakin and his mother, the Jedi Order, the Masters and the Padawans, the Siths.
I like very much Qui-Gon (he's my favourite character after Obi-Wan) and seeing young Obi as padawan is amazing.
And about the poor Jar Jar...I'm not against him. On the contrary, I find him very funny!

 

I think how imaginative TPM is and the sheer force and magnitude of it's expansion of the universe really goes unaccredited for. It actually manages to rival ANH in it's world building.

I also don't get how people think that you're not missing anything if you skip this film when watching the saga in it's entirety. A lot of the themes that'll later come into play have their ground work laid here, and you're left with a significantly less developed story without taking that ground work into account.

 

Yep. That notion, TPM being mostly excisable, has always bothered me. Not just in themes, but I would figure the characters might not be as appreciable without that context. Like say Shmi's death without getting to know her in TPM. Or Anakin's attitude problems without seeing him as the innocent kid and the knowledge of him once being a slave who left his one family member and lost the mentor who believed most in him at a young age to join an emotionally repressive order who he had built an idealized image of in his head that they didn't live up to. Not to mention understanding of his lingering feelings for Padme gives how she was one of the first outsiders to enter his life who treated him like an equal and turned out to be a leader to boot. And so on.

I think in another thread awhile back I got into how The Phantom Menace is even though not the first Star Wars film I'd seen, the one that elicits the strongest sense of nostalgia so I won't give the whole spiel. here But it being the first entry to come out in first release during my childhood, connecting a lot to it through being close in age to Anakin, my twin brother and I seeing it for our birthday party that year, and even the two of us going as Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan for Halloween that year as well all contribute to a special aura the film has for me.

And if anything I've only come to appreciate it more over time. Both in seeing it in the light of the latter films it set-up as well as on its own terms. The world-building, the characters, the themes, etc. Naturally I caught on to most of the main points from the get-go, but like with the rest of these films I feel like I'm still picking up on more subtle touches from time to time. Not to mention that whilst I identified with Anakin as a kid and always admired Qui-Gon, for point of reference I was the one who went as Qui-Gon trick-or-treating even though my brother was like a foot taller than me for what's that's worth lol, I've been resonating more with him and what he thematically represents with age. So yeah, I'm a proud wearer of the "Phantom Fanatic" title!

 

You couldn't have said it better man.

To add to what you were saying, you'd also be missing out on the beginning of Palpatine's rise, the introduction of the Order's emotionally distant and strictly conservative viewpoints and methods, the corruption and folly of the Senate, the first Jedi sighting of a Sith in centuries, ect. These are the seeds, the vital components that provide reasoning for the state of affairs in AOTC, and spark the brewing of the perfect storm that transpires in ROTS.

 

While we're at it I'd add that it also is needed to fully understand the development of Obi-Wan's character as well as the effect both Anakin and Qui-Gon had on him. Given that in TPM we get introduced to him as a rather aloof by-the-book Jedi focused rather myopically on the mission to the point that he overlooks one of the people they're supposed to be helping with it in the first place (ala when he tries to speed Qui-Gon out of Otho Gunga when he decides to help Jar Jar first) and he progresses to being the guy to do something like checking on whether or not Padme's okay as the target of his mission Anakin goes on raving about his "New Empire".

And I'm sure the list could go a bit longer. There's just way too much stuff like this in the film that connects with the other two for me to understand trying to write it off as superfluous so easily.

 

Fantastic post This film also gave me connection with my brother when we bought Obi-Wan Qui-Gon sabers and would duel each other for hours.
TPM to me is the SW film that really feels the most adventurous and it's the last film to have that bright color palette before the gritty AOTC and ROTS feelings. Naboo, Coruscant are so beautiful and look so amazing. Hell the Tatooine sequences are my favorite out of all seven.


Also AprilMayJune has organized a TPM viewing Sunday in the Social Thread. Anyone is welcome.

 

Deliveranze

Thanks for the reply! I agree with what you're saying about it in terms of style with the other two. The colorfulness to its look, innocence in its nature, and its adventurous spirit. The Tatooine sequences have always resonated with me as well I'll add, some people have commented on them being too slow or whatever but there was always a palpable warm quality to me in the dynamics between Anakin, Shmi, and Qui-Gon that still have an effect (not to mention how they also have some interesting world-building that elaborates further on Tatooine's culture, mixing in some intrigue with the looming presence of Darth Maul, and the exhilaration of the podrace) and as I've said before being around Anakin's age at the time only helped with relating to those segments. Are they my very favorite? I'm honestly not sure I could pick with this series to be honest. But they are certainly up there for me as well regardless.