The Phantom Menace at 25

A long time ago… 25 years to be exact, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace took fans (myself included) back to a time before Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia challenged a tyrannical Empire and saved a galaxy far, far away.

Like many, I’d waited 16 years for another Star Wars movie following the original trilogy's conclusion in 1983. The anticipation for the film may never be matched in my lifetime. I subscribed to the official Star Wars fan club and watched the exclusive QuickTime trailers on dial-up internet on an Apple Macintosh Performa 5200 (soon to be replaced by an iMac DV SE with iMovie).

In May 1999, I vividly remember taking the day off work on 'Menace Monday' to buy merchandise (mostly Darth Maul-related) at Toys "R" Us. Coincidentally, I was interviewed by Hasbro for a multimedia role and shown CommTech, which revolutionised toy technology, under NDA in early 1999.

Ahead of its UK release, I imported John Williams’ Star Wars: The Phantom Menace soundtrack from CDNow and was immediately spoiled by the track listing: Qui-Gon’s Noble End and Qui-Gon’s Funeral left little to the imagination. However, this was new Star Wars music from Williams and Duel of the Fates was an instant classic (I’m streaming it on Apple Music).

I ventured into the Exeter Picturehouse to book tickets for a weekend screening, and the staff informed me there were tickets available for the first day. Do I wait and see it with friends or go it alone? This time the dark side prevailed and I walked into a darkened theatre.

The original Star Wars was the first film I saw at the cinema (circa 1978) in the wake of a life-changing childhood trauma. So, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was going to be a repeat of that cosmic ride of hope!

A disturbance in the Force!

Alas, an inebriated couple (the cinema has an upstairs bar) decided to read aloud the opening crawl to benefit anyone not au fait with the taxation of trade routes. This unwelcome commentary continued for an hour until staff intervened.

There were technical issues with the projection due to independent cinemas not having access to first-generation prints (digital was still a few years away), which exhibited picture artefacts inherent in a video source!

Also, Lucasfilm stipulated no refunds as a condition for showing the movie (I was offered a complimentary ticket for any movie other than Star Wars: The Phantom Menace).

These twists set the tone for the rest of the Scooby-Doo-titled movie. And I was left unsure of how I felt about George Lucas’ prequel! Was it better than Star Wars: Return of the Jedi as I’d hastily written in an email to friends?

Darth Maul was cool, but why did Lucas kill him off? The special effects were flashy, but was there a story? There was too much talking and not enough action. Lucas had become too proud of the technological advances developed at Lucasfilm and overlooked basic storytelling tenets - adding character motivations in post. It wasn’t all about selling merchandise was it? Bueller...? Bueller...? Bueller...?

I watched Star Wars: The Phantom Menace six times that summer.

25 years on and post-pandemic, none of it matters. It was unforgettable. Thank the maker.

May the Force be with you!