Review of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace (2 Discs)

Introduction

Before we get into the review, I`d like to point out that I`m a huge Star Wars fan, but I`m also a professional film reviewer who writes about and watches DVDs on a daily basis. This will be the 191st review that I`ve posted to the pages of DVD Reviewer, and my collection contains many of the "big" titles and reference discs, so I feel that I`ve seen enough on the format to be able to give a balanced judgement about what is going to be the most commercially successful release to date. I`ve also interviewed the executive producer of the disc, so have an insight into what Lucasfilm were trying to achieve with their release of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.

The story should need little introduction, unless you`ve been living in a cave for the last 24 years, you`ll know that George Lucas` amazingly successful Star Wars trilogy (Star Wars: A New Hope, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi) are in fact parts four, five and six of a series of six books. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, made 20 years after the original part four, is the first book, and where the story begins…

Incidentally, there have been grumbles about the differences between the R1 and R2 versions of this disc. The R2 version is rated PG, which is because of material in the bonus features - these were edited to get a PG certificate by removing 13 seconds of dialogue, otherwise a 15 certificate would have been issued. The main feature itself is rated U, but the package has to be rated PG because of the bonus disc. In this case, it is clearly commercially prudent to cut the extras down to a PG level to ensure that anyone can buy the disc. If you`re that bothered about hearing someone swear during the making-of, buy the R1 version, but personally, I`d rather the 100 extra lines of picture resolution instead.

Video

The video comes in THX approved 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and has been the subject of praise and debate ever since the disc was released. Before I elaborate on this, I`d like to point out that I replayed the disc on a Pioneer DV525 via a very high quality S-video lead into a 32" Sony Wega television. I also watched some key scenes via my Sharp projector on a 60" screen.

Without wishing to cause offence to anyone else who has reviewed or commented on the disc, I`d like to jovially suggest that people who consider the video to be the best ever seen, or warrant a 10/10 score should perhaps be taking a trip to their local branch of SpecSavers, or perhaps cleaning the lard off their TV screen…

The truth is that the video quality on Star Wars: The Phantom Menace is very good, but it is certainly not 10/10, there is too much edge enhancement in evidence, which leads to some absolutely shocking jagged lines on the edges. These "jaggies" appear on the edge of spacecraft (particularly the Queen`s chrome spacecraft) and numerous other scenes where two objects of contrasting colour appear together. I`d actually go as far as saying that on the scene where the Queen and her entourage return to Naboo, the edge of her spacecraft has less definition and detail than a well-encoded VideoCD. Check out Robert`s column on the left for more information on edge enhancement.

And it has to be said that the above is a real shame, because Star Wars: The Phantom Menace is a technically astounding movie, bettered now by Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, but considering that it is now two years old, the visual effects are quite remarkable. Take for example the various battle droids, the underwater journey in the Gungan submarine, the Federation spacecraft, the long-slow pan across the Pod-Race starting grid, the Pod-Race (more about that later), the fantastic battle between Qui-Gon Jinn/Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul and Anakin`s flight in the spacecraft - all superbly conceived and animated but many small shots in each are made imperfect by the jaggy lines.

Looking at the specific sequences themselves, the three stand-out effects/action scenes are the underwater submarine chase, the Pod-Race and Anakin`s attack on the Federation droid control ship. The Gungan submarine sequence is spectacular as Qui-Gon Jinn/Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jar Jar Binks travel through the water planet core pursued by numerous very large creatures - this sequence is great fun and beautifully put together. The Pod-Race is really the set-piece visual effect (and when you watch the featurette and see how much it cost, you`ll realise why it looks so good). The race takes place over three laps and in terms of DVD the combination of the visual effects, sound (more about that later) and sheer pace of the Pods make this perhaps one of the most satisfying home-cinema experiences to date. And finally, Anakin`s attack on the Federation droid control ship is spectacular, but perhaps most satisfying as it harks back to Luke`s attack on the Death Star in the original movie.

But the effects don`t just shine during action sequences. The long shots planets, battles and cities are spectacular, some containing staggering amounts of detail - watch these again, and you`ll notice something else happening each time.

One aspect where the CGI falls down slightly is in some of the animations of Jar Jar Binks. Many of his movements just don`t look organic or convincing.

Audio

The video proved to be a little disappointing in places due to the edge enhancement, but the soundtrack is utterly superb from start to finish, and I have to say that I have no complaints whatsoever.

From the opening sequence when the famous tune plays during the trademark introductory scrolling message to the closing credits, the sound on this DVD is reference quality, with so many highlights that it would be impossible to name them all. However, some things stand out…

First of all, it`s very important to live somewhere that you can increase the volume way to a level way above your normal listening level, because when Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi first turn on their Light Sabers believe me you really want to be able to FEEL the buzz as the famous weapons illuminate. As the fight progresses, the sound of the buzz around the room and over your head is absolutely superb and had me grinning from ear to ear.

There are also many set-piece moments where spacecraft fly over you head, all of which sound great but the Pod-Race contains probably the best use of sound I`ve ever heard on a DVD. This isn`t just because of the endless Pods and scenery zooming past/over/under you etc, it`s because each Pod has it`s own sound. Sebulba`s Pod for example has a slow rhythmic booming noise, which thumps past each speaker, but you can also hear it when it`s just ahead or behind. As the race progresses, the crashes and explosions just add to a superbly entertaining sequence.

But it`s not just about noisy effects, John William`s superb score sounds beautiful, as do the countless sound effects used throughout the movie.

Of course, the dialogue is clear an understandable at all times (apart from Jar Jar Binks of course, who at times is a little difficult to comprehend!)

Features

A lot has been made of the extras on the disc, and when I spoke to Jim Ward at Lucasfilm last week he was keen to point out that they had tried to provide extras of interest rather than the filler found on so many other discs.

The release is split over two discs, the first of which contains the movie plus a commentary track from George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, John Knoll, Dennis Muren and Scott Squires. The second platter contains deleted scenes, a documentary, storyboards, featurettes, web documentaries, music video, production photo gallery, posters, teasers, trailers, TV spots, a game featurette and DVD-ROM weblinks to the new Star Wars site.

We`ll begin with the introduction and menus, which should have been in Dolby Digital 5.1 but sound pretty good in Dolby Digital 2.0. The menus themselves are nicely done which some clever animation and good use made of all aspects of the film. Crucially for such a feature-laden disc, they are a joy to navigate.

Giles` review mentioned that his promo disc had disclaimers in every language imaginable and they hopefully wouldn`t be on the retail discs. Wrong. I too had to sit though umpteen copyright notices, which are not skippable, and this huge delay when loading the disc is completely unacceptable.

I`m not a huge fan of commentary tracks, not having the time to listen to too many of them, but I of course made an exception for this one, and it is predictably superb with Lucas taking the lead and giving loads of useful information on all aspects of the movie.

The deleted scenes are fun and not only are they presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen in the same as the main feature (complete with jaggies), they are also in Dolby Digital 5.1 which is rare on deleted scenes. The scenes themselves take the usual format of some that should have been included, some that clearly should not.

The trailers and TV spots come in Dolby Digital 2.0, which provides a matrixed Dolby Pro-Logic feed - it`s a real shame that they weren`t included with a full Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack.

The featurettes (5 of them looking at various aspects of the film including costumes and fights) and web documentaries (12 of them made to keep rabid fans happy during production) are all very interesting.

The other minor features (animatics, storyboards, photo gallery etc) are again all interesting, but more run-of-the-mill.

I`ve left the best until last. The 66-minute documentary by Jon Shenk is utterly superb and easily the best making-of documentary I`ve ever seen (and that includes TV, Laserdisc and DVD!). This is a fly on the wall film, with no commentary, no voiceover, no interviews - the cameraman just follows the crew around as the film is made and it is gripping from start to finish. Lucas gave full access to all areas during the making of this documentary and it shows. This documentary alone makes the disc worth buying.

Unfortunately I was unable to check out the weblinks, as either my DVD-ROM or Windows XP Professional didn`t like either of the discs :(

The disc is packaged in a clear Amaray case, which contains an insert detailing the 50 chapter breaks. Having seen the promo shots, it looked like we would be getting a thicker double-disc case (like Fox`s Region 1 Five Star collection discs come in) so it was a little disappointing to get a mundane Amaray.

Conclusion

The hype is finally over and the first instalment of Star Wars has finally arrived on DVD. Trumpeted from the outset as the last word in DVD with the best audio, video and extras yet seen, most of the reviewers who`ve seen the disc have fallen victim to the publicity and hype, blinded by the words "Star Wars" and perhaps not taking the objective view that is necessary.

Before I sum up the technical aspects of the disc, it`s time to have a look at the film itself, another object of huge debate ever since it was released. Lets start by looking at the popularity of the original movies. Most of the die-hard Star Wars are probably aged 25-40 now, having seen the original movies in their early childhood or teens - the age group at which the films were aimed. George Lucas aimed The Phantom Menace at the same age group, albeit 20 years later, but obviously all of us die-hard fans rushed to the cinema, many clad in Sand People/Storm Trooper/Darth Vader outfits etc, to see the movie, and many came away disappointed. A lot of criticism has been levelled at the character of Jar Jar Binks, some say it`s racist, some complain that it`s annoying, but at the end of the day, look at some of the creatures we adore in the original movies. If you watched the films now as an adult, what would you make of people running about in a forest dressed as teddy bears…

What I would say is that although I was a little disappointed with the film when I saw it in the cinema, I`ve seen it on numerous occasions since then, and I enjoy it more and more every time. Each time you watch the movie, I notice something new, and it is very entertaining, despite having a few slow moments. Part of the problem is that we`re so accustomed to the strong characters of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Darth Vader and Princess Leia, plus the Millennium Falcon and Tie Fighters etc that seeing a Star Wars without them was bound to be disappointing until you get used to the idea that this is not really the same thing. This was an inevitable result of George Lucas making the movies in the wrong order and what is clear is that whatever he did, he couldn`t please everyone. Had he made the film that fans wanted, it wouldn`t appeal to children, but having chosen to make a film for children, it doesn`t appeal to some of the fans.

The story is strong, and as with the other films there are a large number of characters, not just a handful of main roles. In this case, the two Jedi are played by Neeson and McGregor, in solid but inspiring performances, and Natalie Portman shines as Queen Amidala/Padmé. Young Anakin, played by Jake Lloyd is a good character, who shows promise for the next film. The best character of the film for me was Darth Maul, who unfortunately won`t be making an appearance in the next movie…

To summarise, This DVD features excellent video marred in places by edge enhancement, a superb soundtrack and a great range of extras. The film itself improves with age and we can only hope that some of the lessons are learned in Episode 2.