PT Phantom Menace in 3D

This is so random but who actually saw PM when it was out in 3D? I mean how great/stupid was that? I feel like I'm the only one who went lol.

 

Didn't go. Never had the time.

But I still remember the early 2000's watching TPM on Vhs. Tis was a good day.

 

I saw it. The projection was a bit dark. I was not impressed. TPM's greatest strength IMO is its visual beauty, and this was muddled and murky to the serious detriment of the film. Maybe it was just the theater I went to?

 

I saw TPM 3D with a friend who'd never seen any Star Wars movie before. The theater wasn't very full but I remember people in high school talking about the release because it was Star Wars after all. Funny enough, seeing the 3D re-release got me back to liking TPM again after a few years of almost tending the way many other people were that it sucked or was un-Star Wars-y. I've had it on DVD (the 2001 release) since I was a kid but it'd been years since I last saw it all the way through because I'd become so bored with it. I'd forgotten how well-done I thought it was and how much it meant to me as a kid and even how emotional it is. I also remember really looking forward to ROTS and maybe ESB and ROTJ in 3D at the time. I can't remember what I thought of the 3D effects though.

 

I saw it on the day it opened (A Friday, I think)- Anyway, it was quite the experience for me- the film literally blew my mind in the theatre (despite having seen it 500 TIMES!!) And I thought the 3D worked nicely, in particular during the Podrace and the Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan vs Darth Maul fight.

 

I saw it, it was great (both the conversion and the experience).

 

I saw it at the local cinema here in the UK on opening day. I picked up a lot of background stuff while watching that I hadn't seen before. I was really hoping to see AOTC in 3D as well but we all know how that went..

 

I went and saw it the second week it had been out. It was pretty interesting to see in that format and there was a pretty good sized crowd for a Sunday afternoon. And for a film that was reviled.

 

I saw it, and it was what got me back to SW after a few years' hiatus. I bought 'The Complete Saga' on Blu-Ray the very next day and popped Attack of the Clones in my PS3.

 

I saw TPM in 3D at Midnight on opening night and the following Tuesday. It was a blast seeing any Star Wars movie again on the big-screen.

 

I watched opening day, and I'll admit to have been a bit emotional when the opening crawl started. Saw it again after a few days, and then one more time before it left theaters. I think Star Wars is something that demands to be watched on the silver screen, and it is a great shame that we never got to see AOTC 3D released.

 

I saw it, 3D worked really well in the Podrace and Coruscant scenes and the Lightsaber duel but this was a film made long before the 3D gimmick so not a lot of reaching towards the camera moments except for one in the podrace when Anakin uses the magnetic staff to bring his engine back in line.

 

I went and saw it and enjoyed it. 3D is never a spectacle to me though. Just went to see TPM in cinemas again because there is nothing like a Star Wars movie on the big screen. The Darth Maul 3D glasses I got were a nice souvenir though.

and Defensor , couldn't agree anymore.

 

I saw it, it was the first 3D movie I saw and the first SW movie I saw in a theater. I'm pretty sure it was the first time my mom had actually seen a full SW movie and she cheered and high-fived me when Obi-Wan "killed" Darth Maul lol. And of course that was within a few weeks of Maul coming back in TCW but I really didn't want to burst her bubble so I just went with it.

 

I never went to see TPM on 3D, principally because, back on that time, I started to lose interest on Star Wars and I was too busy finishing my studies to even think about it. The other reason was because I've never been a fan of cinema in 3D even if I went to see TFA on IMAX 3D, but these were my friends who wanted to see it on this format...

 

I saw it. I remember Jake Lloyd's head looked especially round, and a kid in the theater commented on how Amidala kept changing clothes. It was also neat how there were two Lucasfilm movies in the theater at the same time, being a few weeks after Red Tails opened.

 

Saw the midnight premiere and I think I saw it again after. I enjoyed it, but to me, the 3D effects came secondary to seeing a Star Wars film I never got to see in the theaters. The 3D was surprisingly good for a film that was a conversion. It was more of a depth thing, but we did get a few quality explosions here and there. Things that stuck with me? The opening crawl was superb, and the view down the endless shaft after Obi-Wan is hanging on for dear life was dizzying; really well done. This might just be for me, but when things are moving too fast in 3D, it all becomes a little blurry; this was mainly noticeable during the climax, especially during the lightsaber duel. Other than that, I really enjoyed taking in the scenery. The Mos Espa set was really gorgeous to see.

Hard to believe that's a few years behind us now. I still think Disney made a huge mistake discontinuing the theatrical re-releases, I still feel a bit betrayed. Showing Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith only at some conventions does not make things right.

 

I wrote a pretty long and involved review of TPM in 3D (or "3-D" as I kept formatting it back then*) after seeing it in 2012.

I really enjoyed it (and that is perhaps something of an understatement), but also spent a lot of time, in my review, railing against the technical aspects of the experience.

If you have the heart, here it is.

Don't say I didn't warn you!

*Have a drink every time I use the term "3-D". Or don't. Please don't!




I don't know where to begin with this, so I'll just begin. "Star Wars: The Beginning." Or "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace 3D" for all you nerf-herding pedants out there. The same film, but better. Re-tooled, revamped; and for the most part, revitalized. An ocean of bliss washed over me while watching this film. "Watching". Such a small word. While experiencing, living, FEELING this film. I was taken through the stargate; Beyond The Infinite. In 3-D, it was -- and is -- the pinnacle of Lucas' digital dreams: his esoteric blending of Kurosawa and Bergman, Flash Gordon, Beatrix Potter, and the Holy Bible, by way of matte paintings, models, miniatures, puppets, pyrotechnics, flesh, marble, sand, plywood, linen, wide angle lenses, computer generated imagery, bluescreen, wire work, deft acrobatics, and Jar Jar Binks. It's all here and it's never looked or felt better. In isolation, perhaps. But never in compilation. "His cells have the highest concentration of midi-chlorians I have seen in a lifeform." Yes, the midis made this film. Not a person. Not George Lucas. Rather, something small and subtle and intricate, tied to something unearthly, unending, incarnate. No, in reality, PEOPLE made this film. LOTS of them. And they were all working in service of a singular -- yet disparate, amorphous, adaptive -- creative vision. This film, as it now exists, and, in a sense, has always existed, is a tribute to something grand: the human spirit and all the best it can be. As well as all the worst. In the narrative and outside of it. Money, greed, corruption, superstition, arrogance, bigotry, repression, violence, self-righteousness. Yet also wonder, beauty, sublimity, warmth, humour, imagination, audacity, wonderment and wanderlust. Honestly, there is a bit of EVERYTHING in this film. It's epic and THEN some. And 3-D finally does it a peculiar justice.

My effusive overture aside, I really felt I was watching something magnificently whole and rich. The colours, the framing, the sound design, the music, the characters, the setpieces. THE WORLD. Star Wars has finally come of age by being put into 3-D. It's not like the 3-D even works. It doesn't. It works fitfully. Awkwardly. Hazily. Brilliantly. Badly. It is never convincing, but it is sometimes captivating. Never real, but always rarefied. Rather than appearing credible, it merely serves as a lens that magnifies the film's underlying absurdity. Its crazy rhythms and jives. Its cunning viscerality. But this is fine. More than fine. Unexpectedly awe-inspiring. It is like opening a music box and seeing a beautifully hand-crafted figurine. We know she isn't real, the tiny dancer pirouetting, but she has tactile grace: a quiet, insistent loveliness amidst her abstracted existence. By partaking of the 3-D, we enter a theatre of the absurd. A pointing Neimoidian? A swimming Gungan? A smug politician? An angry hologram? An unsteady protocol droid? A grieving padawan? It's all here as you've never seen it before. You're drawn IN by being taken OUT. It's ridiculous and it's wonderful. It is not pulse-pounding, heart-stopping, or any of that guff. It's perfectly silly: people walking across a screen, looking weird, with weird stuff in the background. Projected nonsense. Now, extruded nonsense. More layers, more meaning. Literally. A feast that one can never hope to eat. Not in a million years. Weird, stupid, distracting, idiotic. But absolutely irresistable. This is the way Star Wars should ALWAYS be viewed from this moment on.

But you know what? It wasn't perfect.

Of course, it wasn't meant to be. It was simply meant to be... different. A sufficiently-enticing money-earner. Mission accomplished. But I can still grumble. What else are message boards for? It was a film where my mind was totally surrendered to the lush operatics of the experience itself; or totally willing to be surrendered, but annoying limitations and egregious distractions kept getting in the way. For every part of me that was glowing white-hot with admiration and awe, there was another part of me cold and upset. Frustrated. Hacked off. But not really. Every time I saw or felt something that caused dismay, something else would suddenly swing the balance; and the general sense of exultance I felt was maintained beneath it all. TPM really has a balmy elegance to it. I mean, really, really. It's living magic. Not science, magic. The Force isn't present in these films? It's present! It's forever flowing! Cascading, crashing, twisting, turning. Watching this film on a big screen, with this new kind of trippy, holographic presentation, is really like a drug. Like LSD or mescaline or something. Has to be. Now I know what Hunter S. Thompson was digging all those years. This is stuff you NEVER want to come off, even as reality keeps prodding you in the back: "Wake up, silly! No experience is ever THIS good! You're a flesh-and-blood mammal. Now, get back to being one!"

* * *

If I haven't communicated the essential weirdness of TPM -- or me! -- yet, there's no way I'm going to be able to. So, I'll be much more mundane, now.

One of the most amusing things about watching this film was how thoroughly UNMOVED I was by some of the most talked-up 3-D aspects. I wasn't hugely impressed by the Lucasfilm logo. Or the opening crawl. They were two big "whatevahs!" for me. I started to think, for a second or two, as I sank into my seat in dismay, that this was a damp squib, right out the starting gate. But it suddenly came good and I really got into it. And this held, generally, for the entire film: bits that technically weren't knock-your-socks-off incredible, 3-D wise (the raved-about podrace sequence and the end duel), surrounded by a lot of bits that should have been unremarkable but were truly impressive, even flooring. I'll now list some. But first, that "Star Wars" feeling. Do you know what I mean? I am talking, plainly and simply, about that moment that snaps you into the film, that makes you go, "THIS is Star Wars! And there is nothing better!" It doesn't even need saying; you just feel it. For me, it was when the Republic cruiser exploded. I really felt the bass, and bits of the ship subtly flew out of the screen, in a tremendously effective (and understated) use of 3-D, before the film then surged to Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan practically leaping out of their chairs, sabers at the ready, dramatic music in full swell. "Dioxis!" I mean, HOLY HELL. One of those "eureka!" moments for this viewer, seeing -- and hearing -- the film on a big screen, once more, that made me ask myself: "How can ANYONE -- ANYONE -- dislike this film who REMOTELY cares for Star Wars or kick-ass movie-making in general?" At that point, I was totally seduced by the film; at one with its wicked charms. And being the stoic fellow I am outside of the written word (usually), I had to seriously restrain myself from shouting a very loud and emphatic (and purely spontaneous) "WOW!" into the crowd. I mean, maybe it's just because I don't have a proper home cinema or anything, and I tend to watch TPM with the volume low, on a small screen, via YouTube or DVD, or with no sound at all (I've been given to watching it silently for the last year or so; to really study and absorb its remarkable visuals: mise-en-scene, lighting, composition, editing), but this moment seriously blew me away. Yes, that ship might as well have been my adult skepticism and incredulity being incinerated in an instant.

Another digression, but I have to remark upon it: there really is something amazing about this film when it truly hits you. Anyway, I said I'd list some bits, so here they are. While some shots were very soft in the beginning, and throughout, there were others that were truly remarkable for their colour and clarity. THE DETAIL! Just as a wide shot of Nute and his assistant was not amazing, but merely decent, suddenly, there's a close-up of Nute or Rune and they look STUNNING. So clear, so life-like. HOW DID THEY DO THAT? Mixed in with these amazing grace shots were also some very artificial-looking shots, but they actually made the whole thing funnier. I honestly can't help feeling that Lucas embraces clunkiness like he embraces a child. Or life itself. The bashers, for my money, are completely wrong: it doesn't subtract, it adds. One early example is a shot of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan sat at the negotiating table, before they are attacked with the gas. I mean, the table, which is off at a diagonal, looks so ridiculously fake, it's actually hilarious. If you see the film again, look out for it. Total cardboard cut-out. This is the sinful brilliance of the 3-D process. You see things that look credible; and things that are manifestly kooky. And this comes on a shot-by-shot basis. Again, it's like a theater of the absurd. And I truly think that's wonderful. Every flaw is actually a strength. A piece of spectacle in its own right.

More impressive shots, early on, include Amidala talking via that viewscreen to Nute. Yes, the holographic transmissions in this film looked FLIPPIN AWESOME!! Sidious was actually scary when he appeared and was shown in the centre of the frame in this version; I especially liked the touch of the apparitions of him and Maul fading away from the room in the "This is my apprentice" scene. Big deal, right? Right. But on a big screen, in 3-D, it's bloody eerie! It is genuinely worth seeing TPM in 3-D just for the holograms. Honestly. Then we go down to Naboo and meet -- or re-acquaint ourselves -- with Jar Jar. Frame after frame, he looked DAZZLING in this version. Really, truly superb. Well, okay, there were some iffy shots related to DNR here and there, even with my beloved Gungan, but the close-ups of him? MY GOD. You are watching TPM for the first time. This movie does NOT feel any more than a day old. I dunno if it was just me, but the actual ANIMATION of Jar Jar, here, has never looked better, either. HE WAS AWESOMELY SUPPLE!! And the best thing of all, despite the hushed nature of my TPM crowd, is that there were some little laughs and chuckles at Jar Jar here and there, and I could tell the kids were having a blast. And no-one felt like snorting or making derisive remarks of any kind. Haters can stick Jar Jar up their crack pipes. OMG. Running short of space. Two other shots I just want to highlight: 1) Obi-Wan in front of the hyperdrive generator, before Qui-Gon leaves the ship to head into Mos Espa. Dunno why, exactly, but I thought this scene looked utterly superb. The dimensionality and sharpness of the image was very gratifying. 2) This is also my nomination, on a technical level, for best 3-D shot of the movie. I mean, actual shot (the WHOLE of this sequence was also especially good). It's the shot of Palpatine stepping down from the front of the pod as Amidala steps forward. Very wide, VERY 3-D. Superbly convincing. I think distance plays a huge part in this. We see Palpatine and Amidala as two tiny figures, almost like dolls, and a weird floating pod. With a very surreal Sci-Fi-like background. And nicely subdued lighting. This shot honestly impressed the crap out of me. I immediately told myself to report this one detail, above all others, on TFN. Yes, I'm crazy, but this memo was sent out in 1983. I am curious to learn what other fans' favourite shots are. After the hyping of the podrace and end sequence, especially the duel, which had SOME good parts, yes, I was bowled over by other stuff like this, which I personally found more alluring, intoxicating, and technically-engrossing (i.e., you appreciate the careful application of the technique(s)).

What else? At times, I swear that Lucas and his people simply ADDED more detail, in the original photography, that wasn't there before. But it's probably just my lazing watching of the film, at home, on an inferior format (I still don't have a Blu-ray player yet). One example that shines brightly in my mind is the dinner scene. I could NEVER see ANYTHING in those damn bowls before, but in this 3-D version, you can make out half-eaten food, plain as day. It looks like some half-porridge, half-omelette concoction. It's a bit icky: looks well gone-over with those utensils, by the diners, and even partially chewed and spat out again. Eww. But so fun to see such amazing detail. Again, it's probably quite obvious on the Blu-ray, but for me, the whole big-screen, 3-D thing made me appreciate things I NEVER noticed before. Like Jar Jar actually going cross-eyed after the "Vulcan Neck Pinch" of Qui-Gon's in the sub. Or, for that matter, the sub itself, looking half-eaten after its run in with Sea Monster, er.... 2? Y'know, the shot of it touching down, as it loses power? In all my viewings of TPM, I've never noticed that. At least, I've no recall of seeing such extensive damage. Or slobber. Or whatever it is on the side. Definitely looks like it got chewed up real good! Another stupendous detail from this section of the film is Keira-Knightley Queen being marched down the steps. YOU CAN SEE HER FEATHERS VIBRATING! Sounds like the start of a Benny Hill joke, but seriously, take a look. Again, the subtle use of 3-D for this part makes the movie work in a whole new way. These small moments are really the best. Little things that sketch out a world, a culture, an unreal reality. And that's what you TRULY appreciate here: all the work that went into this thing. And all the details that somehow make up TPM; that literally make it what it is, whether you notice them (or care for them) or not. And as silly as this sounds, who'd have thought a baroquely-dressed queen walking down the wide staircase of a real palace with bobbing feathers would EVER find its way into Star Wars? The way TPM opens this universe up, in ways big and small, is still mind-boggling. To this viewer, at least. It's involving (even if it's self-involving) to the point of being an art piece about art. It has such amazing fecundity. I could barely love its rich tapestry more.

On the "noticing things I hadn't noticed before" front, well, almost from the beginning, certain things popped out at me. Not even visually in every case. Just sounds and things. Inflections in actors' voices. You can hear exhalation and sighs and quivers and things. And little shifts in pitch and emphases on consonants. The opening scene between Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan revealed itself anew to me in this way. I guess I had seriously forgotten how good this opening sequence is. On a cinema screen, it is totally compelling. It's the way a big screen, I think, yokes the big and the small together. You appreciate subtleties for having such a big canvas; and such big sound. The small stuff is raised up; and the big stuff is really big. The stakes seem higher. The mystery deeper. The universe these people inhabit more nuanced and affecting. The film takes on a certain opulence and grandeur it simply doesn't have on DVD. Maybe the Blu-ray, on a decent screen and complementary sound system, gets close; or even improves on the cinema experience in some ways. For me, though, despite my near-over-familiarity with this film, it was still capable of entrancing me as if I was seeing it for the first time in years; or, indeed, the first time EVER. In true Star Wars form, it felt like something had come full circle. And still, very specific examples of nuance would come through and make me shake my head, "How did I miss THAT all these years?" Like the gratiating smile Palpatine gives Valorum on the landing platform. DAMN. This guy gets slippier with every viewing! And speaking of slips, the way both Natalie Portman and Ray Park slip during the end sequence (Portman: "And now Viceory we will discuss a new treaty" / Park: In the wide shot of him on the "petal" platform, before he backflips and locks his saber into the two Jedi's with that iconic close-up, their blades making a triangle of primary colours). I even noticed a new slip from Jar Jar. When he's walking out of the swamp to report back to Qui-Gon on Otoh Gunga being deserted. Check it out. He kind of trips on the bank. So many fine and peculiar details that go into fleshing out a world; most of which you only have a vague awareness of.

In fact, during the duel, I started musing on how we might experience films a hundred years from now, if not sooner. What OTHER sorts of ways will we come to know these movies? Might they be transmitted directly into our brain stems, perhaps, and form the basis of a new language? Might we be able to experience cascading imagery and make complex analogies based on (re)organizing the movie in our own brains, running a series of simulations and analyses? Might TPM, say, be the software we use to reprogram our thinking? Not brain-washing, but brain-training? Just as have a different relationship with a crossword or puzzle than we do a movie, might we, in the future, upgrade our cognitive abilities with sophisticated readings of films, of art, as they alter neural pathways and cause changes in DNA? The author of the MSTRMND material talked a little of this. And in a movie like "2001" (take that with a pinch of salt: there is no movie "like" 2001), Bowman' journey through the stargate seems to hint at this: consciousness-raising, through journeying into the art, or having the art journey into us. I almost get a glimmer of this when the duel intensifies in TPM. The layout of the power generator facility. It's sort of like peering into a cluster of neurons, and seeing a kind of information-organization at work. You have rigid platforms and organic tendrils of energy. Gates that mechanically open and close and put out flowing fields rich in electrical data that cross a gap. This is in the best tradition of fantasy and Science-Fiction. (Yes, I capitalize and hyphenate Science-Fiction. It's a genre one can have a lot of reverence for.). And the showmanship of this film, when it gets going, is almost consciousness-shattering as is. That said, I must reiterate, that, as brilliantly done as its big action setpieces are, it's in a lot of the film's smaller, quieter moments that the 3-D works best. In the setpieces, it was often either flat (banal) or garish (superfluous). I mean, not really, but it just didn't have the same lustre. Some moments stood out in each, like Anakin pointing that magnetic tool right at the audience (a rare occasion in which Lucas clearly decided to break with his "behind the proscenium" philosophy), and Qui-Gon and Maul duelling in the passageway where the gates switch on. But again, the best shot of all from this great melange of action, in my opinion, was one of the more subtle ones: the shot of Qui-Gon's lightsaber on the ground in the (fore)ground, and a dying Qui-Gon lying on his back in the (back)ground, as Obi-Wan summons the Force and prepares to execute his gambit. The lighting is so impressive in TPM, that when the 3-D is subtly applied, it simply takes a good thing to pure greatness. I think that's what was working for me: the 3-D combined with the lighting. Elsewhere, it doesn't shine as much; though it's still something to see.

If I was to pick an actual SEQUENCE that worked best for me, besides the opening one on the TF ship, I'd probably go for the underwater stuff: y'know, the section bashers have always said is a waste of space. WHY? Why do they say this? It's always been mystifying to me. Makes me laugh, actually. Some of these same people will gobble up all those flights of fancy in Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" -- which, yes, look rather pleasing (to some extent, anyway; I have never professed to being a huge fan of those movies) -- but Lucas puts in one little sequence with a diverting, magical quality, and suddenly, he's a time-wasting hack. WHAT? I've said it before and I'll say again: the underwater sequence has a strong and very concise allegorical dimension. Moreover, it adds a beautiful sense of exploration and excitement, which sets TPM apart from the other prequels, and maybe the originals, too. Only in THIS movie do you get something so transporting. And why not? This is the beginning of the saga, after all. Listen to me. I already sound so defensive. But, for me, there's nothing to defend. I simply love this sequence; and the 3-D made me love it even more. I suppose you have to like the whole thing, including Jar Jar and a fish-eating-other-fish gag that repeats ("This is getting out of hand! Now there are TWO of them!" / "Always two, there are." / "There's always a bigger fish!" -- SEE?). And they're not even fish, are they? They're different types of aquatic life. One is truly immense and half-man-like: a Poseidon of the sea. Clearly, a tipping of the hat to not only the Greeks, but also Jules Verne, Jacques Cousteau, et al. But then, I've always had a fondness for marine biology, underwater environs, and the potential for discovery that the deep sea still represents. Life also arose from water; so why not have a watery sequence in the first chapter of an epic saga? I'm also very fond of the music in this passage. And Jar Jar's lines really crack me up here, especially when he tells the Jedi he thinks they ought to be going back, with mock insouciance between bouts of freaking out. WHY THE HELL DOES NO-ONE ELSE FIND THIS FUNNY? I must be easily amused. My current avatar is, of course, taken from this sequence, and I love the way it shows an early, tentative bonding between Obi-Wan and Jar Jar, with Qui-Gon calmly looking on from behind: his student, who has he tried to remind of "the living Force", finally breaking the ice with a plangent local, and apparently taking his first sincere interest in Jar Jar's personhood. It's an aspect that TPM does remarkably well, sketching out these little moments of connection that flicker for a while and then die, seeding new worlds in their throes of death. Like stars, yeah? STAR WARS.

Now, I was so focused on this movie as a glorious piece of spectacle, I guess, that I didn't reserve much space for letting its emotional moments reach my ecstatic being; but all the usual things affected me just the same. The scenes with Jar Jar and Padme/Amidala. Anakin departing his mother. Anakin huddled on the ship and being comforted by Padme. Qui-Gon's death. The poignant exchanging of smiles between Anakin and Padme at the end. There's some gorgeously underplayed stuff in this film. I never cease to be won over by Lucas' superb compositions: his restrained (and dignified) use of the camera and the way he directs his actors, human, alien and robot alike. There isn't much room in the film itself for big displays of affection; and human moments are soon effaced by the ever-intensifying mechanics of the plot. I think that is a reason TPM has received so much drubbing over the years. It's a film with a lot of heart, but you don't always feel the heartbeat. Instead, you see and hear green lasers flying over the screen, laughing robots, farting camels, the roaring of engines, etc. The other stuff is there, but it comes second. Of course, it's not really second, and the way Lucas depicts Coruscant is instructive. What goes on there is what kicks the story off to begin with. But we (cleverly) see so little of Coruscant. It's a whistle-stop tour and then we're flying away again. It is, I think, an apt metaphor, of sorts, for how the film works in its entirety. But even with that aspect as didactic guide, the whole thing is obviously a challenge to the senses (or the intellect). Not like, say, "The Fountain", or "A Clockwork Orange", or something, but there's a deliberate degree of remove you have to be willing to ride with to appreciate the film on its own terms, I think. Nonetheless, I DID get a sense of what bashers mean when they complain about the woodenness of the Queen, or the chirpy, distracting efferverscence of Lloyd's Anakin. I LOVE these things, but on a cinema screen, they're quite bold; able to (all too easily) call (undue?) attention to themselves.

I must also confess that the podrace, while stupendously involving as sheer spectacle, lacks tension. Anakin does what he does too easily. Only the final lap where he's clashing with Sebulba carries a hint of possible failure; and it's all resolved in a rather piecemeal fashion. Anakin winning the race feels like a foregone conclusion. And before anyone says, "Well, yes, he must win his freedom, else how does he become Darth Vader?" (irony), the presentation of him achieving victory is still, dramatically, weak. I can watch the race and be bowled over and bored at the same time. I don't think Lucas quite pulled it off. The fact it was heavily edited down might be a partial explanation: had the extra pieces been kept in, it might have more ebb and flow, and it might gain traction. As it is, the podrace is indulgent. Superbly so, but for a ten-minute feast, I can forgive people for feeling bloated at the end of it. There aren't enough of those small, true moments that made the trench run of ANH so impactful (pun intended). As soon as Sebulba is wiped out, it's laughable how Anakin just sails to the finish line. Maybe one more obstacle could have dicked with the audience's expectations at the last minute. Anyone who's played "Super Mario Kart" will get a hint of what I mean here. Of course, the race still works on a thematic level, even in this manner, because it can be seen to imply that Anakin is easily able to achieve what he wants: it's just a matter of focus. This is so infantile as to be truly ridiculous; and the race is a good satire of what happens to him; of simplistic readings of happenstances in general. So, it's not all bad.

By many measuring sticks, the podrace remains an outrageously good sequence, not only in Star Wars, but in the annals of cinema, period. But it basically subverts itself almost -- oddly -- to the point of irrelevance. That's my take on it in 2012, anyway. Amusingly enough, the Gungan battle, which also comes in for a drilling by bashers, has always worked quite well for me. It's not jam-packed with tension, but I do feel a struggle is taking place in larger, "War and Peace"-like terms. And there was a shot in 3-D that was quite conducive to making it seem real: a shot of a blue booma coming straight for the camera before hitting a battle droid. For a second, you actually feel it's heading straight for you. Because this sort of 3-D effect wasn't overplayed, it was convincing when deployed. And I sense that was the goal. The worst defect with the whole end sequence, I think, is simply the music. Or rather, the editing of the music. What's there is terrific (I absolutely LOVE the orchestral versions of "Duel of the Fates" in the non-duel sequences), but you can hear a couple of very hard chops: one, I think, mid-way throught the duel, and another when Anakin is flying into space ("That's where the autopilot is taking us!"). It isn't just AOTC that has this problem, then. Still, I do appreciate the idea of last-minute tightening, and the entire sequence plays tremendously well; ESPECIALLY on a big screen. In the final analysis, it's hard to ask for more.

EXCEPT, that is, for a better transfer.

* * *

Some parts of TPM looked truly astounding on the big screen; but not all. As sharp and as clear and as colourful (underlying 3-D issues aside -- more on those shortly) as you could possibly imagine. When the film looked good, it looked AMAZING. But when it looked rough, which was often, it had the capacity to disenhant and even discombobulate. The film seemed to alternate on a shot-by-shot basis (literally) between looking tack-sharp, and looking soft, blurry, video-like, magnified and bleary. It darted between formidable sharpness and less-desirable levels of sharpness so rapidly that it became another layer of absurdity: an exploratorium of post-processing nonsense; a digital onion constantly peeling and un-peeling itself. Kind of awesome, in a way; and obnoxious in many others. But liveable through it all. The holograms were the most striking, followed, I'd say, by select shots of the Neimoidians, select shots of Jar Jar, select shots of Liam Neeson, select shots of Ewan McGregor and select shots of Natalie Portman. I'd be remiss not to point out an unusual one, too: Darth Maul's binoculars. I don't have the Blu-ray, but based on screen shots, this thing looked like a straight port of the Blu-ray transfer (with less compression, of course), and all the 3-D done afterwards.

The implementation of the 3-D, while clearly limited in some aspects, wasn't, as far as I could tell, the cause of all this trouble; rather, it all goes back to the transfer/remastering job LFL must have done on the film at some point before enacting the 3-D process. Kind of sad, really. By far, the worst shots were the podrace inserts. In fact, I heard someone behind me leaning in and whispering something when an absolutely horrific crowd shot came on screen, which looked like it had been pulled from an old VHS tape (so awfully limited in resolution). It's staggering to think that shots like these were ever approved by George Lucas in the first place. I am, however, just talking about a handful of insert shots, all occurring in the same place. The rest of the film never goes THAT low. However, it remains vexed, in parts, by heavy DNR, which looks less waxy on a large screen, and more, simply, soft and low-resolution. The best example of this oscillation between extremes is probably in the scene of Qui-Gon and Shmi discussing Anakin while Anakin gets his pod working. The wide shots of them looked pretty bad, Shmi herself looked better, but no great shakes (still a little fuzzy), and then, BOOM, a close-up of Qui-Gon that looked utterly remarkable; you could practically see every pore and line of his face. And so wonderfully dimensional in 3-D! I remember thinking, at that exact point, since I'd already seen a lot of dicey shots up to that point, "If only the WHOLE film could look like THIS!!!" Okay, so it's naive to think every last shot in the movie could look as good as a close-up of an actor in strong sunlight, especially when you account for model work, pyrotechnics, differing film and lighting requirements, etc., but it seems like there is a LOT of detail in the original negative, and we only get to appreciate that in short bursts. Just what the hell has happened to TPM, here?

Even shots of Jar Jar suffer. In the latter portion of the film, his skin textures suddenly decline: specifically, in one or more shots of him and the queen before she bows to Boss Nass, and shots from the battle (especially the dancing panning shot after the droids break down). WHY? Why has the film been treated with such blatant disregard? Does Lucas actually think it looks GOOD this way? I know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but you'd think he'd want to have a very consistent transfer, at least as good -- and even they have their defects -- as the OT transfer done by Lowry Digital. Again, when TPM is "on", transfer-wise, it's REALLY on, but when it's off, it's sometimes off by a wide margin. And it's almost all rooted in DNR. Though, I would also say, at times, the film looks washed-out, too. It distinctly feels like someone played with the contrast on Tatooine, halving it in many of its outdoor shots, so there ends up being a video-ish malaise over that portion of the film (no depth to the blacks -- apart from the 3-D probes of Maul's, which looked terrific). Aesthetically, TPM is a beautifully-shot, and beautifully-rendered film, but the transfer lets it down in places. Its best shots almost look 70mm, but its absolute worst, if you include the podrace inserts, especially the aforementioned crowd shot, look like MPEG-1.

Sardonic claims like that one reviewer who said watching TPM in 3-D is like watching it through a wet sock are funny; because they have some truth to them. That said, they're too harsh, ultimately, as much of the film looks damn good, and parts of it are truly breath-taking. But when it falters, you have to shake your head a little, because a good experience could have been an even better one. There is always room for improvement in these things, of course, but this it's perplexing to see a lack of TLC from a person who supposedly prides himelf on top-drawer presentation. Still, certain things stand out, like Maul's binoculars. Yeah, random. When you see a good 3-D effect, all is forgiven. Almost. In fact, the 3-D-i-fying of this film, while very cool, had a few head-scratchers, too. Like the shot of Jar Jar swimming to Otoh Gunga. The effect was remarkably clever: a weird alien creature right in the centre of your vision, suspended in air, like a ghost. But the thing he was "flying" to was, clearly, a static matte painting, upon which no 3-D had been applied whatsoever. The initial reveal of Coruscant at night was surprisingly flat, too. There were a few odd choices, here, where it almost felt like they simply FORGOT to finish what they started doing. I mean, these were very few and far between, indeed; nothing like the DNR problem. In totality, they make the whole thing rather eccentric, and at the end of the day, sampling the eccentricity of the film, in this emergent form, is an experience I recommend to the highest. Just don't go looking for perfection because you won't find it.

* * *

With the film, for the most part, out of the way, I want to now pass comment on the 3-D implementation at my cinema. In a few words: a mixed bag.

I really enjoyed myself, and felt like a little kid for so much of the movie, it's unreal, BUT, I was also a little cross when I left. In short, I'd paid full whack (£8.50 instead of the usual £3 to £5) for an experience with problems. 3-D tickets *are* expensive; and with expense should come quality. The main, inescapable flaw, I suppose, is the very nature of the projection. I went to an AMC cinema and saw the film in RealD 3D. This means, of course, that you're wearing polarized glasses that result in you seeing a darkened image. I know this is commented on a lot, but it *is* restricting. You are always slightly aware (and sometimes more) of seeing an image severely lacking in brightness. Perhaps "severely" is a slight exaggeration, but every time I slipped my glasses off to look at the screen unimpeded, there was a noticeable difference. With the glasses on, things were always somewhat dull and murky; the moment you slid them off, the film had a stunning vibrancy that felt refreshing. This is an issue that needs to be solved. It's the nature of the technology, but technology evolves. We're paying a premium for an inferior product. Hopefully, another ten or twenty years from now, the experience will be close on flawless. I would love for the next generation of kids to experience a movie like this without issue. Because Star Wars has a lot of mileage yet. These films deserve the best treatment; and kids deserve a good time. Currently, they're not getting it (though, of course, kids are kids, and they often have a good time regardless), and the parents are paying through the nose for something that needs work. Nonetheless, it's a start. And let me be absolutely clear: I wouldn't trade this with not seeing TPM in 3-D at all for the world.

Unfortunately, in my case, I had one further technical flaw to contend with: the image was cropped. Or incorrectly projected, at any rate. Yes, in 2012, with the latest digital technology, which Lucas has spent considerable time and money rolling into cinemas worldwide, you STILL can't be guaranteed they'll get it right! Perhaps there was a good reason for doing this, but the image was clearly magnified. The tops of characters' heads were cut off; and so, by extension (or contraction -- ha!), were the sides of the frames. Not badly, but I became aware of it very early on. By the time the film got to the testing scene with Anakin in front of the Jedi Council, I had incontrovertible proof -- to my eyes -- that I was watching an image missing approximately 20% of its information. I was able to run this mental calculation because I had literally been comparing that exact shot of Anakin (looking at Mace as Mace holds the viewer) a couple of nights before. On the DVD, Anakin's head is slightly out-of-frame, but on the Blu-ray, there's about a hand's-worth of space above his head. My viewing had Anakin's head chopped off by about the same amount as the DVD. You have to laugh. In 2012, paying FULL PRICE for a DIGITAL 3-D projection of a (somewhat) REMASTERED TPM, I *STILL* haven't seen THE FULL WIDTH OF THE PICTURE!! Ridiculous. AMC were also the cinema chain that were promising Darth Maul glasses and let a lot of fans down. So, there's clearly a lot of incompetence and mismanagement going on here. Again, for the prices people are paying, and the fact they could go home and watch a perfectly formatted HD copy of TPM in the comfort of their own home, this IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH. There need to be higher standards in place to avoid this sort of thing. The whole point of digital projection, really -- once you factor out the economic side of things -- is to present an authentic experience easily repeatable multiple times in multiple places, free of remedial problems like this. In 2012, it shouldn't be happening. Period.

* * *

A final slew of comments about my audience and the general vibe: poor.

Yes, as much as I'd like to believe that TPM 3-D will do a roaring box office, I don't think it will. It will do alright, from the way things are shaping up, but no more than alright. In a way, given the problems I outlined above, this seems fitting. A devoted Star Wars fan is depriving themselves of something magical by NOT going, honestly. But I can understand a certain cynicism from other quarters. If you have issues with this film, 3-D is NOT the Second Coming. It can't absolve this film of problems for you; it won't suddenly blow you away if it never blew you away to begin with. And 3-D tickets are damn expensive. Given that the technology is limited, and cinemas either can't be bothered, or are simply unable, for whatever reason, to project the film correctly, there is absolutely no incentive to bother, so don't. If you have ill will to this film, my advice is to stay away. But my advice is already more than a week out-of-date. If you were in the process of making a decision, you've probably made it by now. And audience appeal is a major part of going to the cinema; at least, for big movies like Star Wars movies, it is. So, you may want to go regardless of any issues outlined, thus far, just to see it with a lively crowd.

In my case, I got to the auditorium and it was almost deserted. There were about a dozen -- maybe two dozen -- people there. That's it. However, quite a few more came ambling in over the next 15 mins (a few bozos even sauntered in after the film had started, missing the text crawl and everything). The auditorium ended up, to casual eyes, being about 1/4 full. Sunday afternoon -- early-evening -- on TPM 3-D's 10th day. Not bad, but not especially good, either. And the audience I saw it with gave a tepid response to the whole thing. For most of the film, aside from the odd rustling of paper, or occasional cough, you'd swear you were watching it on your own. Quite disappointing, really. British cinema-going audiences are reserved at the best of times, so this was to be expected, to an extent, but I was surprised some people weren't a little more into it. The film offers immense thrills and spills on a cinema screen, it really does. A lot of what you might see as having validity on a small screen, criticism-wise, is heavily blunted on a big. But it does need an audience to vivify the film in the larger setting. Without that, the film exists in a sort of pale twilight, seeing neither day nor night. You must bring your own energy and find internal satisfaction when a crowd lets you down. And that's especially difficult when you feel like laughing along, or "whoa"-ing or whatever, but there's no-one making any noise to laugh or "whoa" along to. That said...

For my part, I was chuckling at all the Jar Jar gags, more or less. But maybe I'm simply "special". Bashers would say I am! And maybe a lot of the fine folk who like this film would echo them! Actually, one aspect of the film DID arouse some response in others, and it was, indeed, Jar Jar! Some people let go of mild chuckles when Jar Jar first appeared in the forest. And you know how you sometimes sense a change in mood -- a disturbance in the Force -- before you hear it? Jar Jar appearing was like that. The chuckles that followed told me it was a positive change. So, I thought things might be on the incline; but they weren't. As soon as Jar Jar dived underwater, people went back to being silent, mostly. Some kids did laugh at Jar Jar when he was gobbling the food at the dinner table (but I didn't hear anything for the tongue-grabbing part), and there was also some chuckling at Jar Jar's mishaps when fixing up Anakin's pod. Finally, at the end, when Tarpals tells Jar Jar not to worry and Jar Jar immediately flings his hands in the air -- "My give up, my give up!" -- someone finally gave a hearty chuckle beyond 20dB. YAY! Well, aside from me, I mean. But even I was just politely chuckling. The mood was just so damn sombre in my audience. Captain Panaka was a barrel of laughs next to my crowd! That did taint the experience all the more, but what can you do, eh? Don't shoot the messenger.

I mean, just occasionally, a non-Jar Jar part got a response of some kind. One such moment was Qui-Gon telling Watto: "Whenever you gamble, my friend, eventually, you lose." Some guy sat a little way behind me went "Ah!" in a slightly knowing kind of way. I guess he was a poor sap who lost some dosh and was ah-ing the truth of that remark. Kinda funny. Also, during the transit sequence to Coruscant, where Anakin is huddled in the corner of the Queen's ship, looking lonely and pathetic, I heard some kid in front of me asking something about Qui-Gon. My guess would be is that he was concerned for Anakin and wondering where Qui-Gon was. Anakin was looking pretty abandoned in that scene -- a thought that had never really occurred to me before. Oh, yeah. During the big lightsaber duel at Theed, the dad was leaning across to this same kid, I think, and telling him some stuff, but I don't know what. There just wasn't much spark to this audience, though. I recall a livelier crowd in 1999. And the friend I went with that time turned to me and rubbed his hands with glee when Darth Maul appears from behind the blast door. Moments like that are the sort of thing you'll probably remember forever. There wasn't a "gestalt" event like that at any point in my viewing this time. I sense Jar Jar was a hit with kids, as he's commonly reported to be, but nothing really stood out to me. I wish I'd been able to see the film, now, with a big bunch of fans, but I also wanted to sample the hoi polloi. Well, I can now definitively conclude that the hoi polloi suck. No change there, then.

* * *

I hope that that is a sufficient accounting of my time with "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace 3-D". For all the grousing, I had fun watching and fun writing. More than ever, this viewing experience instilled in me the belief that George Lucas is a genius, by way of Mozart or Picasso. And while they had their eccentriticies -- their faults and foibles -- so, also, does Lucas. When all is said and done, you must allow them their faults, because it flows from the same source as their strengths, and it's the interplay of the two that makes for great art. Yes, after watching TPM, this time, I am convinced -- though, of course, it remains subjective -- that Star Wars is great art. Weird and wonderful and whacky and brutally idiosyncratic. It bewilders, provokes, inspires, enriches and frustrates on so many levels that it could ONLY BE art of the highest order. On the other hand, one must, ultimately, nuance these grandiose claims with the earthly obvious: in Lucas' words, they're also "just movies". The fierce detraction of TPM, therefore, is mind-boggling; and the corollary: perfectly retarded. NO FILM could ever be as good or as bad as fans or bashers claim. There's surely not one thing in the universe, in form or thought, that deserves such rancorous disapproval. It can only stem from deep-seated needs not being met. Or confronted. Watching this film took me to a special place. It was 1999 all over again. It was 2012. It was, simply, being alive.

* * *

A final collection of thoughts:

A trailer for "The Dark Knight Rises" was one of several that played before the feature. I'd already seen it online, and while very moody and effective on a large cinema screen with punchy sound, it's barely a speck of lint on TPM's coat of many colours. The fact that it was only in 2-D, after a card had just come up instructing people to put on their 3-D glasses, probably didn't help endear the film to me. Straight away, I started thinking, "Lucas is the true showman, here, not Nolan", despite the accolades now un-self-consciously lumped on the latter; and the utterly hateful slaying of the former. "The Dark Knight Rises" has some sequences shot in IMAX. TPM 3-D is Star Wars in THREE DIMENSIONS. There's a big difference. The latter is a more radical restructuring of the film, even though it really plays the same and feels the same. And the way Amidala tells a bunch of insect-eyed schemers, through a watery screen, that "we will see", has a clever consonance with people sat in a film temple, watching through special glasses. The layers to this film, and the sense of the whole thing being a gloriously gift-wrapped package... these things imprint on your mind. You are aware of being a player, yourself, in a larger cosmic drama. Watching a film about other films; with layer upon layer of self-referentiality and playful subversion. Extraordinary sight lumped upon extraordinary sight; sound upon sound. But it's also, perhaps, the Dagobah cave: you will only find inside of it what you take with you.

 

AGREED. I was so excited to see every star wars movie in theaters since I was too young to see any original release. Did they stop because no one cared about phantom menace? maybe starting with OT would have been better?
I don't even remember the beauty of the scenery- just making jokes with my friends the whole way through (the theater was totally empty even though I'm sure we went on a friday night lol) Honestly one of my favorite Star Wars viewing experiences.

 

The Phantom Menace did underperform at the box office, but the real reason was Disney just wanted to wipe the slate clean and take care of any lingering Lucasfilm projects.

I remember the most excited I've ever been for Star Wars was when Episode VII was announced. It was perfect because the 3D re-releases would lead right into Ep. VII's release and everyone would be absolutely hyped. Then came the news a few months later. Disney said they wanted to put all their focus into Ep. VII, but I think this was a genuine mistake.

 

I agree. After seeing TPM in 3D - I was so elated to be able to see all of the movies in cinema again leading up to the new entry into the saga. I was disappointed when they didnt follow through with the 3d re-releases

 

I remember seeing it twice when it came out. I wasn't a big fan on the 3D conversion, but I didn't care. All that mattered to me was that I had the chance to see the film on the big screen for the first time (At the time, the only films I had seen in theaters were AOTC and ROTS).

 

I saw TPM 3d in cinema 3 times. I wish they didn't pull the pin releasing the rest of the saga.

 

Nice wall of text brotha. Good post