I wont be writing any new ops because I dont have the time to produce ops to the quality that I want...
I wont be writing any new ops because I dont have the time to produce ops to the quality that I want, and I cant churn them out fast enough as well. Apologies, Ill still read ops though. DAN
Member since:29.07.2001
Reviews:16
Members who trust:7
STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE
STORY: -
A Long time ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away…..
Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute.
Hoping to resolve the matter with a blockade of deadly battleships, the greedy Trade Federation has stopped all shipping to the small planet of Naboo.
While the congress of the Republic endlessly debates this alarming chain of events the Supreme Chancellor has secretly dispatched two Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, to settle the conflict…………………..
EXTRAS: - With a ‘normal’ DVD coming out about six months after the film has been released in cinemas you know a DVD that has spent the last two years five months in the making has got to be a worth-while purchase. Not only does it open up the first part of a six part saga it is also the first of the four films to be released on DVD. Was it worth the wait, GOD DAMN RIGHT.
The product comes on a two disc set each crammed with uber-coolness. The following is a summary of what is present on each disc. I’ve gone into greater detail for some of the features but to keep this opinion down to a reasonable length I haven’t covered them all.
Disc One: - • Commentary track that runs alongside the film. The people providing the commentary are George Lucas (Writer & Director), Rick McCallum (Producer), Ben Burt (Editor), Robe Coleman,
John Knoll, Dennis Muren and Scott Squires (Industrial Light and Magic Special Effects people). • usual language options (English, French, Dolby 5.1 or surround etc);
Disc Two • Deleted Scenes that can be played with or without video introductions; • ‘The Beginning’ a documentary chronicling the events surrounding the Phantom Menace. From pre-production meetings, the shooting of the film, post-production to the premiere; • Twelve web documentaries covering the various aspects of the film; • Five featurettes covering Storyline, Design, Costumes, Effects and Fighting; • Marketing material. Including Teaser Trailer, Theatrical Trailer, ‘Duel of the Fates’ Music Video, ‘One Sheet’ posters both promo and theatrical, ‘Print Campaign(the sheets that describe the theme & characters i.e. ‘One Choice, One force’ and the un-missable Star Wars Star fighter: the making of a Game’ – just joking; • Production photo’s complete with captions; • Animatics and Still Galleries;
COMMENTARY: - This is the one the fans have been waiting for. Seven people in the know, have talked about their role in the film (ie. Sound, effects etc) and it has all been edited together to provide one seamless track as opposed to three separate commentary tracks being included. Although this is good in the fact that it cuts out dead time thus eliminating the viewer’s boredom to a certain extent, but you also get the idea that a lot of interesting stuff has been missed out due to time restriction. My view however is that they have made the right decision sticking by this though. Another niggly problem is that the commentary is a bit disjointed. This is illustrated by the fact that one person is going about one element of the film, and then it cuts to another person talking about a different aspect of the film, only for it to cut back to the first person continuing their story.
DELETED SCENES: - After watching the film on the big screen for the first time I came out of the cinema and I recalled the adaption by Terry Brooks that I had read some months before. I remember there being certain scenes described in the book that didn’t make it onto the screen. I couldn’t believe some of the stuff that they had missed out, but hey with the release of the DVD I was saved as most have been included on this DVD. The viewer has the choice of two options, the first to view the scenes with a neat little video intro or simply without.
The scenes themselves are not fantastic, but are good to watch none-the-less. The most memorable scenes that have been made especially for this DVD include an extended run of the pod race sequence and the waterfall sequence. The rest is mainly compiled of extended scenes or different takes etc.
To the fan though, the deleted scenes are a must see though. The intro’s themselves are quite informative, although one is quite boring as it delves into the technical aspect(s) of the scene.
FEATURETTES: - There are five Featurette in total covering aspects such as Visual Effects, Design of the Film, the Story of the film and the fighting techniques used throughout. Each of these films comes in at just under 10 minutes. Having watched all five they provide insight into the film that comes straight from the head honcho himself, Lucas. Every thing he has to say about the film, including the inspiration behind the story and the themes that the film(s) portrays are interesting and provide the viewer with a new perspective when watching the films. A lot of people are interviewed for the featurettes; whether it is the actors or the people behind the camera each seems to have an interesting insight in to the film. One problem that I have with the featurettes however is that having watched the web documentaries beforehand I couldn’t help but notice that some of the footage and comments included in them had been ‘recycled’ but not all.
VERDICT: - Having watched the video only a few days earlier in anticipation of the DVD, the first thing that I notice upon watching the film is the picture is so much clearer and the sound has gone up a couple of notches, for this alone it is well worth the purchase.
But wait the bearded, flannelled one has provided the viewers with so much more. Quite possibly the biggest DVD envisioned to date (it even had a dedicated ILM crew whose sole task was to complete the deleted scenes) it is a corker. Jam packed with extras to make slackest of fan boys squirt his shorts (thankfully, I’m not one of them) this DVD as said before has to be a must have addition to any collectors ermmmm collection. The menu intro itself has a randomly chosen video sequence. Upon boot up the viewer will be presented with either a Naboo, Coruscant or Tatooine themed menu with an appropriate choice of music to go with it and the menu’s are very clearly laid out.
There are some hidden features on both discs as well; I guess you should check out www.theforce.net to find them out as they seem to have their fingers on the pulses. One of the features is a very cool gag-reel, a must see for anybody.
My advice, buy it. May the Schwartz be with you.
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Production Year: 2007 - Science Fiction - Director: Francis Lawrence - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Alice Braga, Charlie Tahan, Dash Mihok, Will Smith, Salli Richardson, Willow Smith
Begin your STAR WARS collection with STAR WARS : Episode 1 THE PHANTOM MENACE. Packed with ... more
over six hours of additional material, including exclusive documentaries and never-before-seen deleted scenes, this 2-disc set provides the perfect showcase for ...
Oct 15th, 2001
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