How long will phantom menace be in theaters

The same is true of Marvel and its enormous back-catalog of heroes and stories. The plot dismissed as too boring and overly political. The response from the fans of the original films was brutal, especially on the actors and Lucas. These instances prefigured some of the reaction that actors and directors regularly face when dealing with an established franchise. But in the 20 years since The Phantom Menace hit theaters, some fans have changed their mind about the film, while kids who saw it at the same formative age as their Original Trilogy counterparts have sung its accolades.

In one notable Twitter thread , art historian Glendon Mellow listed off a ton of details about the trilogy that stand out, pointing out some of the design and sub-textual elements that were often overlooked: Lucas developed a world rife with disenfranchisement, colonialism, and politics that holds up.

And at the end of the day, I can appreciate what Lucas was trying to do: build out his world in the way that he wanted it, on his own terms. The Phantom Menace and the rest of the prequels films are very different films — by design — than their predecessors. Subscribe to get the best Verge-approved tech deals of the week. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.

By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Cybersecurity Mobile Policy Privacy Scooters. Phones Laptops Headphones Cameras. At the same time, in a Theed hangar bay , Darth Maul engages in combat with the two Jedi, using his double-bladed lightsaber.

The battle moves from the hangar, across a series of catwalks, to the Theed Generator Complex. During the fight, Obi-Wan is separated from his master by being kicked off of a catwalk. He grabs the edge of another catwalk below and jumps back up to where Qui-Gon and Maul continue to fight.

By this time, Qui-Gon and Maul have become separated by a force field in the entrance to the Generator Room. Obi-Wan catches up to them, but is divided from his master by four force fields. When the force fields deactivate, Jinn and Maul continue their battle while Kenobi remains divided from the battle by one force field when they all reactivate.

After a lengthy duel, Maul suddenly stuns Qui-Gon by hitting him on the chin with his lightsaber handle, then rams his blade straight into Qui-Gon's chest, mortally wounding him. Devastated, Obi-Wan redoubles his assault upon Maul and chops the Sith's lightsaber in half, but Maul eventually overpowers and nearly kills Kenobi by Force pushing him over the edge of a seemingly bottomless reactor shaft.

Obi-Wan saves himself from falling when he manages to grab onto a pipe protruding from the wall of the shaft.

Maul kicks the Jedi's lightsaber into the pit and prepares to finish him off. After Obi-Wan calms himself, he uses the Force to leap out of the shaft and over Maul's head while summoning his fallen master's lightsaber to his hand. He lands behind the surprised Maul and cuts him in half; Maul's upper and lower body fall into the shaft.

Obi-Wan gives his word that he will. The newly elected Chancellor Palpatine arrives to congratulate Queen Amidala on her victory, as Nute Gunray is sent to stand trial for his crimes. Kenobi argues with Yoda about his promise to Qui-Gon regarding Anakin's training.

Yoda is convinced it is dangerous to train the boy, but tells Kenobi the Jedi Council has allowed Skywalker to become Kenobi's apprentice. Later that evening, in a temple in Theed, Qui-Gon's body is cremated , and Mace Windu and Yoda agree that the Sith are definitely to blame for the tragedy. As there are only ever two Sith at any given time a Master and an apprentice , both Masters believe that one must still remain. The Naboo and Gungans organize a great victory celebration on the streets of Theed, in front on the palace.

Obi-Wan and Anakin are present, the younger now wearing formal Jedi attire, and in his hair is a special braid : the mark of a Jedi Padawan. Queen Amidala presents a gift of appreciation and friendship to Boss Nass and the Gungan people. Along the lines of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles , all three prequel films were originally intended to be written and shot as one large production, and released back to back.

According to Howard, Lucas didn't necessarily want to direct Episode I. He further commented that all three directors turned down the position as the film was Lucas's "baby.

Shooting took place from June 26 to September 30 , The podrace was filmed in a canyon near Sidi Bouhlel and Oung Jmel. Studio work was mainly done at Leavesden Studios in the United Kingdom. Unlike the latter two films in the series which were shot on digital video , most of this film was shot in 35 mm, with a few scenes shot in digital video.

This episode was also the first of the saga to be referred to primarily by its number Episode One by media and fans, to contrast it with the original trilogy the public already knew. The Phantom Menace was the first Star Wars film in 16 years. As a result, there was almost unprecedented interest amongst both fans and the wider public in the revival of the franchise. Few film studios released films during the same week as the release of The Phantom Menace ; among the more courageous were DreamWorks and Universal Studios , with the releases of The Love Letter and Notting Hill respectively.

The Wall Street Journal reported that such a large number of workers announced plans to view premiere screenings that many companies shut down on the premiere day. More theater lines appeared when it was announced that cinemas were not allowed to sell tickets in advance until two weeks into the release.

This was done out of fear that family theater-goers would either be unable to receive tickets or would be forced to pay higher prices. Tickets were instead to be sold on a traditional first-come-first-serve basis. The same tradition followed months later when the theatrical trailer was featured in front of Wing Commander. Despite worries about whether the film would be finished in time, two weeks prior to its debut Lucasfilm pushed the release date up from May 21 to May 19 of At the ShoWest Convention, Lucas stated that the change was to give the fans a "head start" by allowing them to view it over the week and allowing families the chance to view on the weekends.

In a nod toward his future with digital technology, Lucas stated that the film would be released on four digital projectors on June 18 , Two separate soundtracks were released for The Phantom Menace.

One, a traditional soundtrack, contained seventeen tracks selected from the movie. The second, an Ultimate Collector's Edition Soundtrack, compiled sixty-eight tracks of music, including several pieces that did not make it in to the final cut of the film. During the credits at the end of the film, young Anakin's theme is heard playing, but during the last moments of the film, this theme morphs into the first few notes of the Darth Vader theme during the Imperial March , and, as the last logos of THX are scrolling by, three rasping breaths from Vader's respirator can be heard, referencing Anakin's eventual change into Darth Vader.

A novelization of the movie was written by Terry Brooks. It includes three entire chapters of material created by Brooks and unique to the novel. The first two chapters of the book concern Anakin's next-to-last podrace and its aftermath, while a later chapter describes an encounter between Anakin and a wounded Tusken Raider in the desert. Brooks met with Lucas before writing the book and received his approval and guidance, including information about developments to come in Episodes II and III.

The novelization is especially well known for a passage describing the history of the Sith, including Darth Bane. According to Terry Brooks's memoir, Sometimes the Magic Works , Lucas spent an hour on the telephone with him discussing the history of the Jedi and the Sith.

Therefore, the information on this subject provided in Brooks's novelization might derive from Lucas himself. The novelization is also the first mention of the Stark Hyperspace War.

Brooks devotes an entire chapter of Sometimes the Magic Works to the writing of the Episode I novelization, which he claims to have been an extremely happy and fulfilling experience. The film was first released on VHS on April 4, There was a normal fullscreen release, and a widescreen collector's box set. It includes seven deleted scenes completed specifically for the DVD, and The Beginning: Making Episode I , an hour-long documentary film drawn from more than hours of footage, including an insider's look at Lucasfilm and ILM during the production.

The viewer can access a multi-angle storyboard-to-animatic-to-film segment featuring the submarine and podrace lap 1 sequences. The DVD includes two documentary sources, five featurettes exploring the storyline, design, costumes, visual effects, and fight sequences in the film, and an award-winning twelve-part web documentary series chronicling the production. The final special features included are a never-before-seen production photo gallery with a special caption feature, theatrical posters and print campaigns from around the world, a theatrical teaser and launch trailers, seven TV spots, Star Wars: Starfighter - The Making of a Game featurette from LucasArts , and a DVD-ROM weblink to exclusive Star Wars content.

At the DVD press conference for Revenge of the Sith , prequel trilogy animation director Rob Coleman confirmed that the animation department at Lucasfilm had replaced the Yoda puppet from the original version of the film with a digital Yoda. This was done to better match up the look of the Yoda from The Phantom Menace with that of the other two films of the prequel trilogy, as well as with the Yoda from the original trilogy.

Nor love. Except on an IMAX screen. On December 18, this list will have one more entry. How many zeroes and commas do you think will be in the final total? Richard Woloski is a first generation Star Wars fan. Log In.