Century of Science Fiction

Starring:Kevin Costner, William Shatner, Christopher Lee, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Yul Brynner, Ray Bradbury
Director: Ted Newsom
Studio: PASSPORT VIDEO
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Aimed more at newcomers to science fiction than aficionados, A Century of Science Fiction nevertheless provides a thrilling survey of filmed SF, from the early silent days to the modern age of computer-generated spectacle. As the program's host, veteran horror actor Christopher Lee has been inserted optically into the screen à la Max Headroom, leading us through a variety of science fiction themes, usefully grouped into such categories as "Aliens" and "Robots & Computers." Along the way there are engaging interviews with the likes of Vincent Price on The Fly and Ray Bradbury on Fahrenheit 451. The film's real strength is the wealth of clips from little-seen features, such as Larry Cohen's God Told Me To, the silent 1916 version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Brian Donlevy in The Creeping Unknown. All of this goes a long way toward making up for the narration, which sometimes gets its facts wrong. For example, Alien does not owe its story to The Thing, as they would have us believe, but to It! The Terror from Beyond Space and its antecedent, A.E. Van Vogt's classic story, "The Black Destroyer." Likewise, Total Recall was adapted not from a Philip K. Dick novel, but from his acclaimed short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale." Also, Christopher Lee's recitation is pitted with long Shatnerian pauses, making the words "Independence" and "Day" sound like they belong to entirely different sentences. More often than not, we're in Mystery Science Theater 3000 territory here. In other words, devotees of that show might find this disc to be a useful training ground, or home game, for honing their heckling skills. --Jim Gay
Description
Hosted by internationally acclaimed star, Christopher Lee, A CENTURY OF SCI-FI features the best of science fiction and fantasy from a century of Cinema.

This program traces the roots of science fiction movies from the marvelous trick films like "A TRIP TO THE MOON" to mega-hits such as "INDEPENDANCE DAY," "THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL," "THE TERMINATOR," "THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU," and many more.

A CENTURY OF SCI-FI is a two-hour, star-studded special, which introduces the twenty-six half hour series, featuring spectacular film clips, fabulous behind-the-scences footage, and interviews with sci-fi and movie greats like ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, KEVIN COSTNER, WILLIAM SHATNER, LEONARD NIMOY, JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMME, VINCENT PRICE, VAL KILMER, EDDIE MURPHY, RAY BRADBURY, RAQUEL WELCH, WILL SMITH, BURT LANCASTER, SHARON STONE, CHARLIE SHEEN, SYLVESTOR STALLONE, SIGOURNEY WEAVER, CHARLTON HESTON, and many more.

Product Description

The Star Wars saga is now complete on DVD with Episode III REVENGE OF THE SITH. Torn between loyalty to his mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the seductive powers of the Sith, Anakin Skywalker ultimately turns his back on the Jedi, thus completing his journey to the dark side and his transformation into Darth Vader. Experience the breathtaking scope of the final chapter in spectacular clarity and relive all the epic battles including the final climactic lightsaber duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan.

System Requirements:
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee
Directed By: George Lucas
Running Time: 140 Min.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com

Ending the most popular film epic in history, Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the Sith is an exciting, uneven, but ultimately satisfying journey. Picking up the action from Episode II, Attack of the Clones as well as the animated Clone Wars series, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), pursue General Grievous into space after the droid kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid).

The Star Wars Family Tree (click for larger image)

It's just the latest maneuver in the ongoing Clone Wars between the Republic and the Separatist forces led by former Jedi turned Sith Lord Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). On another front, Master Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz) leads the Republic's clone troops against a droid attack on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. All this is in the first half of Episode III, which feels a lot like Episodes I and II. That means spectacular scenery, dazzling dogfights in space, a new fearsome villain (the CGI-created Grievous can't match up to either Darth Maul or the original Darth Vader, though), lightsaber duels, groan-worthy romantic dialogue, goofy humor (but at least it's left to the droids instead of Jar-Jar Binks), and hordes of faceless clone troopers fighting hordes of faceless battle droids.

But then it all changes.

Star Wars Time Line (click for larger image)

After setting up characters and situations for the first two and a half movies, Episode III finally comes to life. The Sith Lord in hiding unleashes his long-simmering plot to take over the Republic, and an integral part of that plan is to turn Anakin away from the Jedi and toward the Dark Side of the Force. Unless you've been living under a rock the last 10 years, you know that Anakin will transform into the dreaded Darth Vader and face an ultimate showdown with his mentor, but that doesn't matter. In fact, a great part of the fun is knowing where things will wind up but finding out how they'll get there. The end of this prequel trilogy also should inspire fans to want to see the original movies again, but this time not out of frustration at the new ones. Rather, because Episode III is a beginning as well as an end, it will trigger fond memories as it ties up threads to the originals in tidy little ways. But best of all, it seems like for the first time we actually care about what happens and who it happens to.

Episode III is easily the best of the new trilogy--OK, so that's not saying much, but it might even jockey for third place among the six Star Wars films. It's also the first one to be rated PG-13 for the intense battles and darker plot. It was probably impossible to live up to the decades' worth of pent-up hype George Lucas faced for the Star Wars prequel trilogy (and he tried to lower it with the first two movies), but Episode III makes us once again glad to be "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away." --David Horiuchi

DVD features
Say what you will about the new Star Wars films--and plenty has been said already--but the DVDs continue to set the standard for technical excellence. From the opening of the first scene, the Dolby 5.1 EX sound is thrilling, and the picture, transferred directly from the digital source, is fantastic. A commentary track is again provided by a combination of people, including George Lucas, producer Rick McCallum, animation director Rob Coleman, and ILM visual effects supervisors John Knoll and Roger Guyett. Lucas admits that the film is political and that he was influenced by Vietnam, but makes no mention of the Bush administration, as is widely speculated.

The main documentary on the second disc is probably the most granular DVD feature ever. "Within a Minute: The Making of Episode III" takes 67 minutes to deconstruct one minute of the film, an excerpt of the duel on Mustafar. The idea is to cover all the aspects that go into creating that minute, from writing to set construction to accounting. Fortunately, many of the concepts such as costumes apply to the movie as a whole, but having producer Rick McCallum tell us the importance of food seems a bit overkill. Two other featurettes are "It's All for Real: The Stunts of Episode III," an 11-minute discussion focusing mainly on the lightsaber duels, and "The Chosen One," a 14-minute examination of Darth Vader's evolution over the six films.

The six deleted scenes were no great loss from the film but are all worth watching. Natalie Portman in particular gets some much-needed screen time as one of the co-plotters of an anti-Palpatine movement, and an early action scene ties in to the Clone Wars animated series. There's also a 15-part series of 5 to 7 minute Web documentaries on topics such as the creation of General Grievous and Ewan McGregor, and an Xbox sampler of Battlefront II (if you're lucky, you can play as Obi-Wan Kenobi cutting through an army of droids) among other supplements. --David Horiuchi

The Complete Star Wars Saga

Episodes 4-6 Trilogy (widescreen)
Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Episde II: Attack of the Clones

Star Wars: Clone Wars Vol. 1
Star Wars: Clone Wars Vol. 2
The Star Wars Store

Stills from Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (click for larger images)

Anakin turning to the dark side
When Wookiees attack

Yoda, Jedi master
Mr. and Mrs. Vader

Saber training with Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen
The cast

Customer Reviews:

Star Wars Rocks!.......2007-07-07

I saw Star Wars III this morning. I enjoyed it a lot. The most frustrating thing about the movie was knowing what was going to ultimately happen and to watch Anakin make choices that led him that way not being able to stop him. Another thing I find frustrating at times about the Stars family of movies is that it makes the Dark Side look stronger and better. You think Yoda is invincible and then he is defeated by the Emperor. It is kind of dis-illusioning.

Anakin starts the movie out on pretty good terms with Obi-Won, which surprised me given how they left the last episode. I expected a lot more conflict. I don't really buy the acting from Palpatine in the rescue scene. It is too obvious that he is controlling things. Even if you don't know, the acting is poor. He improves throughout the movie, but I think he is the weakest actor throughout.

Overall though, I was very please. You get a lot of Star Wars background theory and you get to see what drove Anakin to become Darth. It also gives you some insight into the human spirit and the lengths we go to for the ones we love. Treachery and deceit are highly present throughout the film. It becomes difficult at times to tell if people are acting on their own or if they are being manipulated by Palpatine. The story I think flows very smoothly and the you can see all of the plot and story lines weave together. The writing is really well done.

The acting is as good as you might expect from a sci-fi movie. Visually and audialy (sp?) the movie was phenomenal. The music is always very good in Star Wars and it is often described as a musical drama. The pictures and special effects are all very good. In the first fight scene, it is a little hard to follow the fighters. The light sabers also looked a little different than the first 2 movies. As always, the sword fights are a little tough to follow because of the speed, but they are fun none the less.

I was very excited when General Grievous busted out the 4 light sabers (although we were confused why he had a cough.) And you get to see Palpatine work with the saber. It is odd to think that Windu and Obi-Won would have just actually finished there fights without hesitating then the whole affair would be taken care of. But Windu stops to wait and Obi-Won just assumes Anakin will die.

I also liked the way that Padme & Anakin's lives become intertwined as they die. You can see very clearly, as the movie ends, that when Obi-Won says to Luke, "Vader killed and murdered your father," that Vader really is reborn out of Anakin. Also they way the battles between Yoda & Palpatine and Obi-Won & Anakin are intertwined together is very nice.

I really like Star Wars. The stories work well together and the movies are visually impressive. Most importantly, I think, is the way the music tells a story. The way the death march plays at the right times, and in the final light saber battle, the theme from the last battle in Phantom Menace starts to play.

I have more thoughts that I will share later but it is late.

"So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause.".......2007-07-05

Taking place some five years after STAR WARS EPISODE II: THE ATTACK OF THE CLONES, STAR WARS EPISODE III: THE REVENGE OF THE SITH is the final act in the transformation of Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader.

As SITH opens, the Battle of Coruscant is raging. The Separatists, led by Count Dooku, along with a droid army led by the mechanical General Grevious, have finally penetrated to the heart of the Galactic Republic and taken Chancellor Palpatine hostage. The dwindling Jedi Order has assigned Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christiansen), now a full-fledged Jedi Knight and secretly married to Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman), to rescue Palpatine.

What the combatants on neither side know is that Palpatine is secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious and that Count Dooku is his Sith apprentice, Darth Tyranus. Sidious and Tyranus are working together to undermine the Republic. And in fact, the Republic is dry-rotting away from within: The Galactic Senate has become a rubber stamp body almost completely controlled by Palpatine, who, unopposed, continually and unilaterally extends his term of office as Chancellor "for the duration of this crisis"; more remote solar systems are acting independently; there are even the first faint stirrings of the Rebellion---"Maybe we're on the wrong side. Maybe the democracy we think we're supporting is already gone," Padme tells her young husband. Anakin, who has developed a close relationship with the Chancellor, is appalled to hear his wife's words.

His rescue gives Palpatine the opportunity to order the death of Dooku, now a potential rival and the only other man in the galaxy who knows the truth behind the Clone Wars; Dooku is neatly dispatched by Anakin, who decapitates him with crossed lightsabers. This killing of a literally unarmed man (Anakin had just cut Dooku's hands off at the wrists in their lightsaber battle) troubles Anakin profoundly: "It's not the Jedi way."

Perhaps not; but Anakin is universally lauded for his heroic rescue of the Chancellor, who is not the only man to tell him that Dooku was too dangerous to be left alive. Skywalker's star is rising, but as it rises it is drawn further and further into a sky dominated by Palpatine, who is already grooming him as the next Sith Lord.

George Lucas has returned once again to his underlying structure of archetype and myth to show us Anakin's downfall. Steeped in Judeo-Christian (primarily Christian) metaphor, REVENGE OF THE SITH is the story of the Prodigal Son, the Fall of Man, and Milton's PARADISE LOST. Anakin has become Lucifer, brightest of all the angels, doomed to be expelled from heaven. No longer an apprentice, and recognized to be the most gifted of the Jedi, Anakin has become arrogant, and indeed "pride goeth before the Fall," never more so than in the cinematic life of Anakin Skywalker. Ironically, it is the Jedi themselves who initiate the slow cascade that destroys Anakin. Placed on the Jedi Council by Palpatine's request (a previously unheard-of act), the Jedi consider Anakin to be a spy for the Chancellor and unwisely attempt to marginalize him by refusing him the rank of Master. At the same time however, the Council asks Anakin to spy on the Chancellor. These two acts in quick succession convince Anakin that Palpatine's blandishments are correct, that the Jedi mean to overthrow the government.

Palpatine, the serpent in the garden, also plays on Anakin's fears. Having seen in a vision that Padme dies in childbirth (she is carrying the twins Luke and Leia), Anakin is frantic to do anything to keep this vision from becoming reality, including studying the Dark Side arts which Palpatine falsely assures him, include the arcane power to defeat death. Anakin's soul stands upon a knife's edge, and most bitterly, it is his love for Padme which drives him finally into the darkness. At the same time, Anakin wants more than anything to live up to his brilliant potential as a Jedi. He reconciles with Obi-Wan and reports to the Council that Palpatine is the hidden Sith Lord they have been seeking. When the Jedi come to kill Palpatine, it is Anakin who demands that Master Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) spare his life for trial. Momentarily distracted, Windu is caught unawares as the Chancellor blasts him with Force lightning, killing him. Although the young Jedi screams, "What have I done?" he also falls to his knees and does obeisance to the revealed Darth Sidious, who gives him a new name: Darth Vader.

This handsome, young Darth Vader is far different and far more frightening than he later becomes as the black-clad armored giant of the second trilogy. Without questioning his Sith Master, he goes to the Jedi temple and slaughters all the occupants, including the youngling students. The unwary Separatist leaders, having outlived their usefulness to the newly-declared Emperor, are slain. The Jedi are decimated. Only Obi-Wan, Yoda and a very few others escape with their lives. The Sith have their revenge. They are triumphant.

Drunk with the power of the Dark Side, Anakin offers Padme the chance to rule the galaxy side by side with him, the selfsame offer he makes to Luke much later in RETURN OF THE JEDI. Like her not-yet-born son, she refuses, and her refusal enrages him. Convinced that she and Obi-Wan have conspired against him, he uses the power of the Force to choke the now very pregnant Padme into unconsciousness. Occurring at the very beginning of his existence, this venial act is, in it's own way, the worst evil that Darth Vader ever perpetrates: The infliction of pain on his own beloved Padme marks his deepest descent into the abyss of the Dark Side.

Darth Vader is in hell, both figuratively and literally. The climactic lightsaber battle of the first trilogy takes place between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader on the planet of Mustafar. Very much like Earth at its birth, Mustafar is a barely-formed planet of steaming lava oceans, boiling magma geysers, and flame. In his defeat, Darth Vader is burned beyond recognition.

Padme gives birth but dies of a broken heart. In her last words to Obi-Wan she presages Luke's words to Obi-Wan almost twenty years later: "I know there is still good in him." And there may well be. Rescued by the Emperor, Darth Vader is cloaked in the blackness which thereafter defines him. It is telling that the first words he utters behind the breath mask which will be his identity until the last moments of his life concern Padme. And the seeming kindness of the Emperor in saving him is exposed as an evil act when the Emperor lies. Palpatine's sardonic smile at this instant may be the most wicked thing to ever appear onscreen. Darth Vader must live with the guilt that he has killed the love of his life. In his guilt he becomes more pliable to the Emperor, more a prisoner to his own sense of hopelessness. With nothing to live for, he gives full rein to his worst impulses. Yet, even with his embrace of evil, Darth Vader is no longer just the faceless Sith Lord of the second trilogy, he is a profoundly impassioned, profoundly sensitive, and profoundly flawed human being.

Although we last see them together gloating over the spherical keel of the barely-begun first Death Star, it is the heart cry that Vader utters at the moment the breath mask is locked down and his bleak, "But I couldn't have!" which remain with the viewer. In the end, Darth Vader is a man consumed by his own loneliness.

As myth, REVENGE OF THE SITH is brilliantly conceived. The myth of Anakin is linked, thematically and in plotline with the myth of Luke. Many of the same lines of dialogue create echoes with the viewer. The loss of the hand---Anakin's to Dooku, Dooku's to Anakin, Luke's to Vader and Vader's to Luke---is a consistent unifying thread, the hand being the seat and instrument of action. And as each fallen Jedi becomes a Sith, there is a depersonalization process that occurs: Darth Maul is marked with Sith tattoos, obscuring his face; Darth Sidious's face is scarred in his battle with Mace Windu; Darth Vader's face is hidden; Darth Tyranus in fact loses his face entirely.

As a cinematic experience, it is less than brilliantly executed. Hayden Christiansen perfectly captures the superciliousness of the maturing Anakin. No longer trepidatious in the face of authority, Christiansen's Anakin Skywalker is rift with the fault lines that will produce Darth Vader in the end. Natalie Portman's Padme Amidala has grown from a beautiful teenage Queen into a lush woman who radiates intelligence, self-assurance, and compassion. The remaining performances are workmanlike but unextraordinary. Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi remains stentorian and immaculate, never exhibiting the humanity---flawed or otherwise---that motivates his fellow Jedi Knight and friend.

George Lucas takes yet another step toward convincing the world that he is a second-tier moviemaker who happens to employ first tier film technicians. His obsessive overuse of CGI and digital effects throughout the second trilogy, even to the point of altering the actors' expressions, prompted Liam Neeson (Qui-Gon Jinn) to make this complaint about his STAR WARS experience: "We are basically puppets. I don't think I can live with the inauthenticity of movies anymore." Lucas seems to have forgotten (if he ever knew) that plot, story and characterization are the underpinnings of any good movie. REVENGE OF THE SITH succeeds because the tale of the downfallen, unredeemed Darth Vader is a seminal story in our collective subconscious. Lucas's layers of computer-generated hoo-hah don't look as convincing as the relatively simple effects of the original STAR WARS, and in fact, they become distracting. The final battle on Mustafar is so heavily enhanced that McEwen and Christiansen (or possibly their digital equivalents) get lost against the background. Special effects can be wonderful. They allow moviemakers to do what would otherwise be impossible. But there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Lucas's unwillingness to recognize this degrades this second trilogy badly. These films, as good as they are, lack the cultural impact of the first three STAR WARS films.

STAR WARS It's Best........2007-07-05

as aniken progresses through the jedi order, his ever growing taste for power increases. at the end of the clone wars he abandons the jedi and joins the sith under the mis-guided idea that his new power can save the ones he loves from death. after almost 30 years of fandom, movies, books and video games, the legendary sci-fi fantasy adventure has its secrets revealed and brings the saga to a close.

An EPIC end to the Star Wars EPIC.......2007-06-29

I did have a bit of a problem believing Anakin's change to the darkside. I realize that the Emperor was supposed to be very charismatic, but it seems Anakin's own lack of intelligence is what allowed him to turn as much as anything.

That having been said, I felt like the turn was still believable. Just not one I enjoyed.

Other aspects of this movie were simply incredible! The special effects were off the chart. The plot at its base was enjoyable and the characters were just wonderful.

Though it was a satisfying "conclusion" to the epic, this movie left me wanting more Star Wars!

Star wars Fanatic.......2007-06-26

I have the entire collection. Saw the first movie in 1977 in Toronto at the largest theatre on the first day. In the early nineties my friends and I used to have star wars marathon movie days where we would watch episodes 4,5 &6 back to back for 10 hours plus of Star Wars. A Genre that defined an entire generation of movie goers. Long live the empire. Long live Lucasfilm

Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace (Widescreen Edition)

Average customer rating:

"I'm a person. And my name is Anakin."
hmmm...give my baby nephew this i will (smiles)
I've discovered something revolutionary!
Star Wars I
The best of the new

Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Pernilla August , Kenny Baker , Brian Blessed , Ralph Brown , and Anthony Daniels
Director: George Lucas
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Accessories:

Star Wars Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast
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ASIN: B00003CX5P
Release Date: 2005-03-22

Amazon.com

"I have a bad feeling about this," says the young Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Ewan McGregor) in Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace as he steps off a spaceship and into the most anticipated cinematic event... well, ever. He might as well be speaking for the legions of fans of the original episodes in the Star Wars saga who can't help but secretly ask themselves: Sure, this is Star Wars, but is it my Star Wars? The original elevated moviegoers' expectations so high that it would have been impossible for any subsequent film to meet them. And as with all the Star Wars movies, The Phantom Menace features inexplicable plot twists, a fistful of loose threads, and some cheek-chewing dialogue. Han Solo's swagger is sorely missed, as is the pervading menace of heavy-breather Darth Vader. There is still way too much quasi-mystical mumbo jumbo, and some of what was fresh about Star Wars 22 years earlier feels formulaic. Yet there's much to admire. The special effects are stupendous; three worlds are populated with a mélange of creatures, flora, and horizons rendered in absolute detail. The action and battle scenes are breathtaking in their complexity. And one particular sequence of the film--the adrenaline-infused pod race through the Tatooine desert--makes the chariot race in Ben-Hur look like a Sunday stroll through the park.

Among the host of new characters, there are a few familiar walk-ons. We witness the first meeting between R2-D2 and C-3PO, Jabba the Hutt looks younger and slimmer (but not young and slim), and Yoda is as crabby as ever. Natalie Portman's stately Queen Amidala sports hairdos that make Princess Leia look dowdy and wields a mean laser. We never bond with Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), and Obi-Wan's day is yet to come. Jar Jar Binks, a cross between a Muppet, a frog, and a hippie, provides many of the movie's lighter moments, while Sith Lord Darth Maul is a formidable force. Baby-faced Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) looks too young and innocent to command the powers of the Force or wield a lightsaber (much less transmute into the future Darth Vader), but his boyish exuberance wins over skeptics.

Near the end of the movie, Palpatine, the new leader of the Republic, may be speaking for fans eagerly awaiting Episode II when he pats young Anakin on the head and says, "We will watch your career with great interest." Indeed! --Tod Nelson

Description

Feature-Length Audio Commentary
The creators of Episode I give you insight into the film like no one else can. Hear from: writer/director George Lucas, Producer Rick McCallum, sound designer and film co-editor Ben Burtt, ILM animation director Rob Coleman and ILM visual effects supervisors John Knoll, Dennis Muren and Scott Squires.

"The Beginning"
Making Episode I Documentary Film
Culled from over 600 hours of behind-the-scenes footage, this all-new hour-long documentary film takes you inside Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic during the making of The Phantom Menace. Sit in on the film's production process including: pre-production, casting, principal photography, editing, rough-cut reviews, visual effects meetings and other events that few people have had access to before.

Exclusive Deleted Scenes and Documentary
All-new documentary featuring George Lucas, Rick McCallum and guests discussing the painstaking process every director must go through in determining what scenes make the final cut. View seven exclusive deleted sequences that were created specifically for this DVD and learn why they were eliminated from the final version of the film.

Multi-Angle Animatics
Discover the amazing techniques used to create two memorable sequences (Submarine and Podrace Lap 1) from storyboards to animatics to final composites.

Featurettes
Five mini-documentaries give you an insider's look at The Phantom Menace's Storyline, Design, Costumes, Visual Effects and Fight sequences through behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the cast and filmmakers.

Web Documentaries
Originally released on starwars.com during the production of Episode I, this award-winning twelve-part web documentary series gives you a fly-on-the-wall perspective into the making of the film as it was happening.

Exclusive Production Photo Gallery
Scroll through a never-before-seen gallery of candid cast and crew shots, each with captions.

"Duel of the Fates" Music Video
One of the most popular music videos during its release in May 1999, the "Duel of the Fates" video intertwines live footage of John Williams conducting the London Symphony Orchestra with behind-the-scenes clips and dramatic footage featured in Episode I.

Posters and Print Campaign
Examine the Episode I theatrical posters (Teaser and Launch) and the International Outdoor advertising used to support the release of Episode I around the world.

Trailers and TV Spots
Watch the theatrical teaser and launch trailers, plus seven TV spots (including the five original "Tone Poems" along with "The Saga Begins" and "All Over Again").

"Star Wars: Starfighter-The Making of a Game" from LucasArts
This featurette offers insight into the making of the popular flight action combat game along with information on other Star Wars games from LucasArts.

Exclusive DVD-ROM Content
Your Episode I DVD is a key that unlocks exclusive Star Wars content only available through a special DVD-ROM website.

Customer Reviews:

"I'm a person. And my name is Anakin.".......2007-06-22

STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE would have had to have been beyond perfect to survive the almost twenty years of fan anticipation and the avalanche of hype it was met with. When released in 1999, reactions to THE PHANTOM MENACE were very mixed. Disappointed (even embittered) fans claimed that George Lucas had created THE PHANTOM MENACE merely to cash in on the STAR WARS franchise---as if he needed to "cash in" on what had already become a multibillion dollar enterprise. As a result, the whole "prequel" trilogy got a bad reputation, none worse than this film.

Revisiting it years later, after all the shouting has died down, THE PHANTOM MENACE seems far better than it did upon its release. It doesn't measure up to any of the films of the original trilogy. It may in fact be the weakest film of the sextet. THE PHANTOM MENACE suffers from the same mistaken approach that George Lucas has adopted toward his "improved" versions of the original films. THE PHANTOM MENACE has most of the same shortcomings, particularly the (very common) sci-fi bugaboo of using a film to showcase special effects. Lucas gave us a truly Shakespearean tale in the first trilogy, and incidentally set it "a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away." The spaceships, the ray guns, and the alien life forms propelled the story, but they were NOT the story.

Lucas wants to show us all kinds of new, colorful, and beautiful visions in THE PHANTOM MENACE, and he does, but at great expense to the storyline, which meanders all the way from Point A to Point A Prime in this installment.

There's even greater expense to the characterizations. We could relate to Luke, Leia, Han, See Threepio and Artoo Detoo in the first trilogy because they were like us in so many ways. Han Solo especially served to ground the STAR WARS universe in familiarity. Han's "scoundrel" energy was very central to the success of the original movies.

There isn't a lovable scoundrel in THE PHANTOM MENACE. Lucas does give us some truly interesting new characters, but they're alien (both literally and figuratively) and we hardly get to know them.

The young Queen of Naboo, Padme Amidala (played by Natalie Portman, one of the beautiful new visions in this film) is oft-times regally remote, and somewhat mysterious. Her lookalike decoy is played by Keira Knightley (another beautiful new vision), and it is truly difficult to tell them apart at times.

Although Portman's Amidala shows herself to be clearly a warm, open, and sympathetic character, by the end of THE PHANTOM MENACE we know much less about her than we do about her cinematic daughter, Princess Leia, in A NEW HOPE.

Young Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) is a slave-child on Tatooine. An inventor and a gifted pilot even at the age of eight, he is so bright-eyed and kindhearted ("Someday, I'll come back here and free all the slaves") that it is difficult to reconcile this gentle little boy who cries for his mother with the horrific Darth Vader he eventually becomes.

The Jedi Council initially refuses to allow Anakin to be trained as a Jedi ("There is much fear in you, young one," says Yoda). We never really see his fear or feel it. Nor do we get much more than a glimmer of the rage and anger he must feel as a slave. Watto, his owner, is a straw boater wearing, comical-looking flying bumblebee/vulture who speaks with a vaudeville Italian accent. Simon Legree should not be doing stand-up. By making Watto a figure of fun, Lucas fails to either underscore the weaknesses of the Galactic Republic, or presage its descent into darkness.

Essentially, we have only the criticisms of the Jedi Masters to go on in consigning young Anakin to the Minus Column. It just isn't enough, especially when he wins the high stakes podrace that is the main act of the story (the stakes being his own freedom), and is eventually responsible for firing the well-placed shot that defeats the enemy in battle (like his cinematic son, Luke).

The oddly mismatched love between the prepubescent Anakin and the much older teenaged Padme comes out of nowhere, with hardly a forethought (Anakin's shy question to the girl at their first meeting---"Are you an angel?"---is the only indicator of what later blossoms).

Likewise, Lucas utterly wastes two of his most intriguing characters, the iconoclastic Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn, and the truly satanic Darth Maul. Qui-Gon is wise. Qui-Gon is skilled. Qui-Gon should have been Obi-Wan's Obi-Wan and Anakin's ally. But although Qui-Gon is instrumental in freeing Anakin from bondage, he never develops a truly affectionate (Obi-Wan and Luke-type) relationship with the boy, seeming more interested in him as raw material for Jedi training.

The silent Darth Maul, (the evil lord of shopping centers) with his horned black-and-red face, twin-ended lightsaber, glowing sulfur-yellow eyes, kendo-style fighting technique, and flowing black robes is potentially a figure as memorable and frightening as Darth Vader, but both he and Qui-Gon die in battling one another; and so a fascinating second trilogy dynamic between good and evil dies with them.

Added to these missed opportunities are odd inconsistencies between THE PHANTOM MENACE and the original trilogy. See Threepio turns out to have been built by Anakin on Tatooine, but then why didn't the droid recognize Tatooine or the name "Skywalker" in A NEW HOPE? Although Ben Kenobi claims to have been trained by Yoda in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, he is clearly Qui-Gon's student in THE PHANTOM MENACE. Tatooine is ruled by the Hutts in this film, but not in the original trilogy. Although Anakin's mother references Tatooine's twin suns, they're never seen together in the sky.

Clearly, Lucas couldn't have reworked the original films after 20 years to fit all these elements in THE PHANTOM MENACE. Their inclusion here is a sign of his hubris. Why not just be true to the original? Clearly, his desire to make these changes overrode any considerations of film continuity and audience expectations. George Lucas isn't really trying to give us a better cinematic experience here, he's just totally into playing with his favorite toys. It's a form of selfishness.

Possibly the worst of Lucas's new ideas is the Social Darwinist/Nazi race theory concept of a high "midichlorian" count giving rise to greater Force sensitivity. Anakin has a mythic virgin birth due to the midichlorians, a bad twist to the tale when one considers that Lucas could have underscored the horrors of slavery by having Anakin fathered by a freeborn man who exploited Shmi Skywalker's position as a slave. Here, once again, the film fails to foreshadow the lawlessness and unethical evils of the rising Galactic Empire.

STAR WARS isn't sociology, but it's insistence on touching universal themes is what made it so wildly successful. The first trilogy was constructed entirely upon the foundation of our shared collective subconscious. Lucas loses that thread in this film.

The inclusion of the midichlorian factor means that the Jedi are no longer a highly-trained spiritual fraternity. They've become racially superior to the rest of us. If ever he re-edits THE PHANTOM MENACE, the midichlorians must end up on the cutting room floor. Sorry, but as ideas go, this one just stinks.

And speaking of stinks, Lucas also brought us the ridiculous Jar-Jar Binks and his race of Rastafari amphibians, the Gungans (Ganja, anyone?). Jar-Jar Binks is a technically interesting additional character, being primarily a CGI character; but he adds nothing (and detracts much) from the film with his distracting brainless chatter, clumsiness, and utter stupidity. If Lucas thought that this duckbilled dunce would provide comic relief, he was wrong. See Threepio and Artoo Detoo serve that purpose in the first trilogy and should have continued to do so in THE PHANTOM MENACE. Jar-Jar merely irritates the viewer, particularly given that he appears throughout the film, not just in a few scenes. He's merely filler. As filler, he's a sign that Lucas wasn't imaginative enough to use THE PHANTOM MENACE's screen time to its best advantage by progressing the storyline.

Binks may be the only character ever that inspired a website advocating his destruction, the aptly-named www.Jarjarbinksmustdie.com. What was George Lucas thinking when he gave us the jarring Jar-Jar?

THE PHANTOM MENANCE is uneven and inconsistent and suffers from some poor scriptwriting and too many missed opportunities. These reduce the film, but do not ruin it. Despite its weaknesses and flaws, THE PHANTOM MENACE is a solid THREE STAR effort. It is essential to the telling of the tale, and leaves us considering what's next?

In that regard, THE PHANTOM MENACE is as successful as any film can be. It finally gives us the entertaining and engaging introduction to that long time ago and far away galaxy we've come to know and love.

hmmm...give my baby nephew this i will (smiles).......2007-06-21

yeah its was ok but definetly for the younger kids. i guess it goes along with the theme of Aniken Skywalker is also a kid. the next 2 are much better. there's just too much comic relief in this one for an adult.

I've discovered something revolutionary!.......2007-06-13

Hey, folks! I don't know about you, but I've realized something extraordinary! Yoda is a HERETIC! How is this possible, you may ask? Well, here's how. You see, in this highly-anticipated prequel, Quack-Gonn Jinn explains the force to Anakin Snobbwalker. He explains how the force is really just a bunch of microorganisms (similar to sweat) that live in your cells and boss you around. However, in Episode V, Yoda (who in Episode I looks like a monkey) claims that the force is something that surrounds every living thing (something like that). If Yoda is a heretic, that means he's bad. If he's bad, then why do you see him with the good jedi at the end of Episode VI? Meeesa have bad feelzing about this. Can you guess who meeesa is? Youssa right! Issa meeesa, I'mgonnahityouovertheheadwithajellyjar-jar-Bonks.

I am Qui-Gonn Jinn. I am a stone-faced, mature Jedi Master, yet I enjoy the presence of my friend Jar-Jar-Binks more than my audience.

Jar-Jar - Exqueese me! You saved my life! Meeesa your servant for life!

Qui-Gonn - Yes, Jar-Jar. If I were in my right mind, I would slash you with my lightsaber until I could see the individual atoms that you're made of. However, I'm never in my right mind, so I will bear with your company. What's more, I'll even take you with me, so that everyone aboard my ship will lose their minds when you crack fart jokes every five seconds.

Obi-Wan finally meets Jar-Jar. He would also slash him to pieces; however, that would mean he'd lose Jedi points, because destroying an unarmed creature is against the jedi rule. It's bad enough that Padme likes snobby, most-horrible-actor-in-the-world Anakin, but she likes Bonks. How is that possible? I think Jar-Jar is a Sith! How else could anyone like him, than by using Jedi mind tricks? How else could he not die, when thousands of battle droids are around him and none hear his ridiculous screams?

Finally, we see the villain of the movie! Darth Maul, who is not in it at all! What does he do in the movie? Except for some incredibly awesome lightsaber moves, he rolls his eyes! Probably an addiction he developed when going through the movie's storyline with Lucas.

Who is the hero of the movie?

JOHN WILLIAMS!!!!!!!

Star Wars I.......2007-06-12

I think George Lucas has a wonderful imagination and not afraid to apply that imagination on screen. However, I find it hard to believe a boy that young (Anakin) could manuver a craft like that or for that matter, build one. None the less, I loved it and will watch it over again.

Rita

The best of the new.......2007-06-11

Of the 3 new episodes, this is by far the best one. It has a captivating storyline and never ceases to amaze with the fantastic CGI special effects at every angle. Many die-hard SW fans do not approve of all the CGI, but I believe that feeling goes hand in hand with the fact that they were around when the first SW came out, and that film was "theirs" so to speak and can never be duplicated. Something so magnificent as SW in 1977 must've captivated the mind and created such a frenzy that many opinions will be biased some 30 years later. I was not born yet when the first ones came out, but I'm a fan of all 6 and didn't really understand the SW buzz until I was able to watch the first 3 (newer ones) in succession followed by Episodes IV, V, and VI. Many fans have seen it the other way around, but I find the SW saga to still be enjoyable if you watch them in numerical order.

Of course, as a young buck myself, I will gladly say that Episodes I-III are great. A true treat to eye and a gem in fantasy/sci-fi land if you're in to that type of genre. Lucas could've not created anything better in my eyes. As I stated earlier, many old-school fans don't appreciate the new ones and that's completely understandable. For me and my generation, my Star Wars films were The Lord of the Rings trilogies. For me, I will go to my grave saying that LOTR was and is the best film of the genre. Hopefully they will make more as Tolkien wrote a lot, but I will not appreciate them as much as LOTR. That's just the way it is I guess.

Star Wars - Episode II, Attack of the Clones (Widescreen Edition)

Average customer rating:

for my 7 year old
A step up from Phantom Menace
"My soul is in torment."
I've seen a LOT worse
Another piece of the puzzle...

Star Wars - Episode II, Attack of the Clones (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Ewan McGregor , Natalie Portman , Hayden Christensen , Christopher Lee , and Samuel L. Jackson
Director: George Lucas
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Star Wars Trilogy (Widescreen Edition with Bonus Disc)
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Star Wars Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983 & 2004 Versions, 2-Disc Widescreen Edition)

ASIN: B00006HBUJ
Release Date: 2005-03-22

Amazon.com

If The Phantom Menace was the setup, then Attack of the Clones is the plot-progressing payoff, and devoted Star Wars fans are sure to be enthralled. Ten years after Episode I, Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman), now a senator, resists the creation of a Republic Army to combat an evil separatist movement. The brooding Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is resentful of his stern Jedi mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), tormented by personal loss, and showing his emerging "dark side" while protecting his new love, Amidala, from would-be assassins. Youthful romance and solemn portent foreshadow the events of the original Star Wars as Count Dooku (a.k.a. Darth Tyranus, played by Christopher Lee) forges an alliance with the Dark Lord of the Sith, while lavish set pieces showcase George Lucas's supreme command of all-digital filmmaking. All of this makes Episode II a technological milestone, savaged by some critics as a bloated, storyless spectacle, but still qualifying as a fan-approved precursor to the pivotal events of Episode III. --Jeff Shannon

Description

The STAR WARS saga continues on DVD with Episode II Attack of the Clones. Anakin Skywalker has grown into an accomplished Jedi apprentice, and he faces his most difficult challenge yet as he must choose between his Jedi duty and forbidden love. Relive the adventure the way it was meant to be seen in spectacular digital clarity, including the climactic Clone War battle and Jedi Master Yoda in the ultimate lightsaber duel. Experience this 2-disc set that features over six hours of bonus materials, and see how Episode II unlocks the secrets of the entire STAR WARS saga.

Customer Reviews:

for my 7 year old.......2007-07-09

I ordered this as a replacement for my 7-year-old son. His younger sister broke the original Episode II. Since we received it a few weeks ago, it has been watched at least 5 times.

A step up from Phantom Menace.......2007-07-05

I'm not a HUGE fan of episodes 1 through 3. However, I AM a huge star wars fan so I took that into account when viewing this movie. The fact is it's a better movie than part 1, plain and simple. You get to see Anakin becoming a jedi and taking his first steps toward losing himself. You learn about an impatient side to him that will ultimately be his undoing.

The movie itself focuses on Anakin's many relationships. That with his mother, with Padme, the Jedi Council, Obi-Wan and, of course, the man that would be Emperor Palpatine. For the importance of forwarding the plot, this movie was vitally important to the series. As a movie in general, I was not entirely impressed. I felt like Anakin was portrayed as way too immature for the man that would ultimately become Darth Vader. In episodes 4, 5 and 6, Darth Vader is ultimate Evil. Are we supposed to buy that ultimate evil was borne out of a whiney teenager?

On second thought, maybe that IS the source of the ultimate evil in the universe.

"My soul is in torment.".......2007-07-02

It is rarely remembered that the original title to the original STAR WARS novel was STAR WARS: BEING THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF LUKE SKYWALKER. Why George Lucas failed to subtitle his prequel trilogy STAR WARS: THE ADVENTURES OF ANAKIN SKYWALKER is a mystery, since that is exactly what he's given us. In point of fact, the six films together are the biography of the rise and fall and rise of Anakin Skywalker. After stretching twenty five minutes of storyline over 125 minutes of celluloid in STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, in STAR WARS EPISODE II: THE ATTACK OF THE CLONES Lucas has successfully returned to his original source material, Joseph Campbell's work on myths and archetypes.

Taking place ten Earth years after THE PHANTOM MENACE, CLONES gives us the late adolescent Anakin Skywalker, now a Padawan Apprentice Jedi, and his older (but still young) mentor and teacher Obi-Wan Kenobi. Mythologically, the two are not only The Mentor and Student (Merlin and Arthur), they are also The Twin Companions (Castor and Pollux, Romulus and Remus, Damon and Pythias), as well as being The Rival Brothers (Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Esau and Jacob). Lucas's decision to present these multiply-layered characterizations reflects the complexity of the plot in CLONES, by far the most ambitious of any STAR WARS film.

Anakin (Hayden Christiansen) is the most brilliant and talented Jedi ever, but he is immature, impatient, mercurial, and given to very typical adolescent bouts of angst and anger, all of which foreshadow his looming fate. Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) is fast becoming one of the most accomplished Jedi masters. He is stolid, foursquare, reasoned and ultimately unimaginative, being, in the last analysis, unable to restrain his young apprentice.

The conflict between them is reflected on a galactic level. Separatists, led by Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) are taking star systems out of the Republic by the thousand, and the Jedi are at the forefront of trying to reunite the Republic. An increasingly marginalized Senate has voted Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) vast emergency powers for the duration of the crisis. More Hitler-like than Lincoln-like, the ambitious Palpatine has no intention of relinquishing those powers.

The Separatists have massed a huge army of (less than impressive, silly-looking, easily-destroyed, duck-faced) battle-droids (where are the Stormtroopers in white?) and an even more tremendous army of clones. The outnumbered Republic forces are forced to adopt the Separatist strategy of using droids and clones as well, until the two sides are virtually indistinguishable. What no one but the leadership realizes is that the two sides ARE indistinguishable; in fact, there are no sides. Palpatine is secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, and Count Dooku is his apprentice Sith Lord, Darth Tyranus. Together, they have machinated the entire war to overthrow the Republic and establish Sith control of the galaxy.

At the center of this maelstrom (both personal and galactic) is Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman). Her crucial Senatorial vote is courted by the power-hungry Palpatine. Her life is threatened by Count Dooku. Her heart is in the keeping of Anakin, now assigned to protect her. At first resistant to his romantic attentions, the older Padme soon succumbs to the younger Anakin's overwhelming love for her. It is a tragic, jealous love which leaves Anakin's soul in torment and his thoughts consumed with the fear of losing her.

Despite his rigorous Jedi training, Anakin continues to be emotional and impulsive. Seeing his mother, Shmi, tortured in a vision, he returns to Tatooine to rescue her. When she dies in his arms, his rage explodes, and he kills the responsible community of Tusken Raiders down to the babies, his first true step toward the Dark Side of The Force.

Portman is the jewel of the piece as she was in THE PHANTOM MENACE, but Christiansen gives us a surprisingly powerful performance as the profoundly conflicted Anakin. Even his occasional stiffness fits the late-teenage character of Anakin, who like most adolescents does not know who he is or where he is going. Overly pressured by Jedi expectations to be "the Chosen One who will restore balance to The Force," Anakin lacks the maturity and insight to cope with this role thrust upon him too soon, and uses his powers too casually, too carelessly, and even destructively. He clings to the maternal Padme obsessively, and rages that "Obi-Wan is holding me back!" out of jealousy, but left to his own devices, accomplishes little but to confuse himself more. "Young Skywalker is in terrible pain," Yoda tells Master Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) but none of these wise and reverend Jedi seem to have the skill to help him. They can barely help themselves, needing to be rescued from Count Dooku in the end by the clones. Truly, their "ability to use The Force is diminished."

This, the middle, is the best installment of the second trilogy. In terms of story and action, it is on a par with THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, also the middle film of the first trilogy. ATTACK OF THE CLONES is also a crucial incremental step in the PARADISE LOST-like story of Anakin, who, like Lucifer, was the brightest of the angels but doomed to fall from heaven and become Satan.

Despite the fineness of this film it was not the critical success it should have been. This reviewer felt an inexplicable, vague sense of unease while watching it. Many others have said the same thing. It was not until a fourth or fifth viewing that the reason for this uneasiness struck home. ATTACK OF THE CLONES was created almost totally with digital filmmaking techniques. Although Digital and CGI have advanced technologically far enough along to give us an appearance of reality, they cannot substitute for reality. Thus, while most of the "inorganic" items in the film have a very real look, and the planetary city of Coruscant is absolutely intriguing to view, many of the "organic" backgrounds, the alien creatures, and sometimes even the droids and the sets, have an artificial feel to them, less seen than sensed, which disturbs we human beings on some visceral level. No matter how "natural" a computer can make a desert rock formation look, a computer is still a binary code machine, and it can only provide a "non-random randomness" to the scene. The stones are just an erg-fraction too sharp-edged, the mist is just a molecule too misty, the fall of the shadows is just a bit too angular, and it all lacks the subtle aliveness of an actual location.

At the end of THE RETURN OF THE JEDI, Lucas celebrated the victory of life over technology; by relying so heavily on special effects in ATTACK OF THE CLONES he undoes that victory.

I've seen a LOT worse.......2007-05-31

Between some of Lucas's questionable dialogue, not to mention the Geonosis C-3PO parts, and Portman's wooden performance, AOTC came way too close to being a disaster. I'm not sure what possessed George to hold back on showing Anakin as the powerful Jedi he was supposed to be but it was a bad decision. Anakin's duel with Dooku should've been better in content & directing. But again, there's few movies I'd rather watch than SW because of the good stuff.

Even though I still question the wisdom of killing off Maul in TPM, I love Dooku. He's the ultimate precise, smug second fiddle. And can you get a better henchman than Jango Fett? I loved the mystery surrounding him & Kamino as well as Geonosis. I get chills everytime I watch the first appearance of the future Stormtroopers. Anakin's first encounter with the Dark Side seemed very natural. It was nice to hear the `Imperial March' theme twice too. It was also a welcome scene to see Yoda go Jedi Master on somebody.

Another piece of the puzzle..........2007-05-25

Okay, I'm tired of all these people coming on here and complaining about how they hated this movie. The people who don't like the Prequel Trilogy are really missing out on the deeper and complete meaning of the Star Wars saga. They have to remember that this trilogy is set in a different era than Episodes 4, 5, and 6. This is the era of the Republic and the Jedi Order, which aren't present in 4, 5, and 6 because they were destroyed by the rise of Palpatine's Empire at the end of Episode 3. Episode 2 is very important because here we see Anakin's character development. Crucial events occur that will lead up to him turning to the dark side. The death of Anakin's mother, his marriage to Padme, and his friendship with Obi-Wan, as well as Anakin's strained relationship with the Jedi Council are all extremely important elements in the saga. Also present is Palpatine's manipulation and deception of politics in the galaxy and the guise of his grandfatherly-like relationship with Anakin. We need to see all these things in order to understand the story better. Star Wars is the story of Anakin Skywalker told in six episodes, and each one is important, because the story would be incomplete and not make sense if one episode was missing. This is a great movie, just like the other five. Any true fan of Star Wars would know that.

Star Wars Trilogy (Widescreen Edition with Bonus Disc)

Average customer rating:

awesome
"BOOM!"
No need for introductions
Its Star Wars : Of Course it gets 5 stars!
Okay...You've seen what they all wrote...

Star Wars Trilogy (Widescreen Edition with Bonus Disc)
Starring: Carrie Fisher , Peter Mayhew , James Earl Jones , and Harrison Ford
Director: George Lucas
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Accessories:

Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace
Star Wars: A New Hope: The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Special Edition)
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace

ASIN: B00003CXCT
Release Date: 2004-09-21

Amazon.com essential video

Was George Lucas's Star Wars Trilogy, the most anticipated DVD release ever, worth the wait? You bet. It's a must-have for any home theater, looking great, sounding great, and supplemented by generous bonus features.

The Movies

The Star Wars Trilogy had the rare distinction of becoming a cultural phenomenon, a defining event for its generation. On its surface, George Lucas's story is a rollicking and humorous space fantasy that owes debts to more influences than one can count on two hands, but filmgoers became entranced by its basic struggle of good vs. evil "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away," its dazzling special effects, and a mythology of Jedi knights, the Force, and droids. Over the course of three films--A New Hope (1977), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Return of the Jedi (1983)--Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), and the roguish Han Solo (Harrison Ford) join the Rebel alliance in a galactic war against the Empire, the menacing Darth Vader (David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones), and eventually the all-powerful Emperor (Ian McDiarmid). Empire is generally considered the best of the films and Jedi the most uneven, but all three are vastly superior to the more technologically impressive prequels that followed, Episode I, The Phantom Menace (1999) and Episode II, Attack of the Clones (2002).

How Are the Picture and Sound?

Thanks to a new digital transfer, you've never seen C-3PO glow so golden, and Darth Vader's helmet is as black as the Dark Side.

In a word, spectacular. Thanks to a new digital transfer, you've never seen C-3PO glow so golden, and Darth Vader's helmet is as black as the Dark Side. And at the climactic scene of A New Hope, see if the Dolby 5.1 EX sound doesn't knock you back in your chair. Other audio options are Dolby 2.0 Surround in English, Spanish, and French. (Sorry, DTS fans, but previous Star Wars DVDs didn't have DTS either.) There have been a few quibbles with the audio on A New Hope, however. A few seconds of Peter Cushing's dialogue ("Then name the system!") are distorted, and the music (but not the sound effects) is reversed in the rear channels. For example, in the final scene, the brass is in the front right channel but the back left channel (from the viewer's perspective), and the strings are in the left front and back right. The result feels like the instruments are crossing through the viewer.

What's Been Changed?
The rumors are true: Lucas made more changes to the films for their DVD debut. Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker) has been added to a scene in Jedi, Ian McDiarmid (the Emperor) replaces Clive Revill with slightly revised lines in Empire, Temuera Morrison has rerecorded Boba Fett's minimal dialogue, and some other small details have been altered. Yes, these changes mean that the Star Wars films are no longer the ones you saw 20 years ago, but these brief changes hardly affect the films, and they do make sense in the overall continuity of the two trilogies. It's not like a digitized Ewan McGregor has replaced Alec Guiness's scenes, and the infamous changes made for the 1997 special-edition versions were much more intrusive (of course, those are in the DVD versions as well).

How Are the Bonus Features?

Toplining is Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy, a 150-minute documentary incorporating not only the usual making-of nuts and bolts but also the political workings of the movie studios and the difficulties Lucas had getting his vision to the screen (for example, after resigning from the Directors' Guild, he lost his first choice for director of Jedi: Steven Spielberg). It's a little adulatory, but it has plenty to interest any fan. The three substantial featurettes are "The Characters of Star Wars" (19 min.), which discusses the development of the characters we all know and love, "The Birth of the Lightsaber" (15 min.), about the creation and evolution of a Jedi's ultimate weapon, and "The Force Is with Them: The Legacy of Star Wars" (15 min.), in which filmmakers such as Peter Jackson, Ridley Scott, and James Cameron talk about how they and the industry were affected by the films and Lucas's technological developments in visual effects, sound, and computer animation.

The bonus features are excellent and along the same lines as those created for The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. Each film has a commentary track, recorded by Lucas, Ben Burtt (sound design), Dennis Muren (visual effects), and Carrie Fisher, with Irvin Kershner joining in on the film he directed, The Empire Strikes Back. Recorded separately and skillfully edited together (with supertitles to identify who is speaking), the tracks lack the energy of group commentaries, but they're enjoyable and informative, with a nice mix of overall vision (Lucas), technical details (Burtt, Muren, Kershner), and actor's perspective (Fisher). Interestingly, they discuss some of the 1997 changes (Mos Eisley creatures, the new Jabba the Hutt scene) but not those made for the DVDs.

There's also a sampler of the Xbox game Star Wars: Battlefront, which lets the player reenact classic film scenarios (blast Ewoks in the battle of Endor!); trailers and TV spots from the films' many releases; and a nine-minute preview of the last film in the series, Episode III, Revenge of the Sith (here identified by an earlier working title, The Return of Darth Vader). Small extra touches include anamorphic widescreen motion menus with dialogue, original poster artwork on the discs, and a whopping 50 chapter stops for each film.

"The Force Is Strong with This One"
The Star Wars Trilogy is an outstanding DVD set that lives up to the anticipation. There will always be resentment that the original versions of the films are not available as well, but George Lucas maintains that these are the versions he always wanted to make. If fans are able to put this debate aside, they can enjoy the adventures of Luke, Leia, and Han for years to come. --David Horiuchi

Product Description

Episode IV A New Hope Eighteen years later, Luke Skywalker, a young farm boy on Tatooine, is thrust into the struggle of the Rebel Alliance when he meets Obi-Wan Kenobi, who has lived for years in seclusion on the desert planet. Obi-Wan begins Luke's Jedi training as Luke joins him on a daring mission to rescue the beautiful Rebel leader Princess Leia from the clutches of the evil Empire. Although Obi-Wan sacrifices himself in a lightsabre duel with Darth Vader, his former apprentice, Luke proves that the Force is with him by destroying the Empire's dreaded Death Star. Episode V The Empire Strikes Back Three years later Imperial forces continue to pursue the Rebels. After the Rebellion's defeat on the ice planet Hoth, Luke journeys to the planet Dagobah to train with Jedi Master Yoda, who has lived in hiding since the fall of the Republic. In an attempt to convert Luke to the dark side, Darth Vader lures young Skywalker into a trap in the Cloud City of Bespin. In the midst of a fierce lightsaber duel with the Sith Lord, Luke faces the startling revelation that the evil Vader is in fact his father, Anakin Skywalker. Episode VI Return of the Jedi In the epic conclusion of the saga, the Empire prepares to crush the Rebellion with a more powerful Death Star while the Rebel fleet mounts a massive attack on the space station. Luke Skywalker confronts his father Darth Vader in a final climactic duel before the evil Emperor. In the last second, Vader makes a momentous choice: he destroys the Emperor and saves his son. The Empire is finally defeated, the Sith are destroyed, and Anakin Skywalker is thus redeemed. At long last, freedom is restored to the galaxy.

System Requirements:

Running Time 387 Min.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

awesome.......2007-07-05

star wars is super duper. i love the surround sound and new visual enhancements. can't wait til george lucas comes out with 7,8, and 9!

"BOOM!".......2007-07-02

While I Love the remakes as much as the originals, I think my favorite part of this collection is the bonus disk. There are interviews and lots of "making of..." footage where we get to really see them putting together the original "low budget" films. My favorite part was when they were filming the ultimate destruction of the death star and you hear some guy in the background go "boom!"

The "secrets" behind the making serve only to add to my enjoyment, no matter which version I am watching....

No need for introductions.......2007-06-28

Born in 1970
Saw the Originals
Saw the Remakes in Theaters in 1997
Didn't like the prequels for the scene of Darth Vader hearing from the emperor that Amidala is Dead, really bad scene in the Myth of Darth Vader, but the gradually transformation and the motives I'll have to said that there where OK.

For starters I have all the version of Stars Wars and the DVDs what's up with the Jabba the Hutt in the hangar with Han Solo in A New Hope, it look like he was really young and in the Return he was and old guy I don't buy it.

Also the Mr. Jar Jar I just don't like these character, the light sabers effect they didn't do anything to put them better and last but not least the ending of the Return they change Sebastian Shaw for Hayden Christensen this was a cheap shot from the Lucas Camp, but after all is said and done this is a must have collection for two things:

The most important first - the bonus disk (excellent)
The second most important thing is the package - the best in history.

Long live Peter Mayhew.......

Its Star Wars : Of Course it gets 5 stars!.......2007-06-17

Star Wars : DVD's : Boxed Set : 5 stars

If you need an explanation, you shouldn't purchase this item.

Okay...You've seen what they all wrote..........2007-06-12

Just a very quick background on me...
Born in 1990
Saw the the movies in their original form first
Saw the 1997 remakes in the theaters
Love all of the rrequels but have a few issues with them...*cough*jar jar

I don't understand why all of you hate these movies now. I will admit, some of the changes are unnessassary, but the audio, picture, and continuity is flawless now. Before there was an orange glow underneath the landspeeders and there were English letters on the power control in the Death Star. These films needed to be brought into the 21st Century. The only scene I have a problem with is the music number in Jabba's palace in Return of the Jedi...But it makes up for the idiotic Ewok song that used to be at the end. The movies have NOT CHANGED! They did not change actors, lines, and the Greedo/Han cantina scene was put back to the way it was. The only MAJOR change was the adding of deleted scenes(particularly the interesting scene between Luke and Biggs before the Battle of Yavin) and the adding of Hayden in at the end of Jedi (for those who don't get it: this is what he looked like the last time he was human, before he "died" and became Darth Vader...Sebastian Shaw therefore did not exist as a human, but as a cyborg.) In my opinion, these are bettered versions of the originals. So stop saying that it's not the same thing.

Fantastic Four - Extended Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

4 earns a 3
Not Bad But Hardly A Replacement For The Original Release
one of the 4 greatest super hero movies
Some good scenes but I can't recommend it
Almost Better Than Breathing!

Fantastic Four - Extended Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Ioan Gruffudd , Jessica Alba , Chris Evans ,

Episodes 4-6 Trilogy (widescreen)	Episode I: The Phantom Menace	Episde II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars: Clone Wars Vol. 1	Star Wars: Clone Wars Vol. 2	The Star Wars Store

Anakin turning to the dark side	When Wookiees attack
Yoda, Jedi master	Mr. and Mrs. Vader
Saber training with Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen	The cast