Did You Know?
Things you might not know about The Phantom Menace.
"Phantom Menace" was the name of a villain in the "Flash Gordon" comics.
Every film in the series begins with a ship going somewhere. This movie opens with a transport ship headed for a Trade Federation ship.
The Republic Cruiser seen at the beginning of the film is based on an early concept design for the Rebel Blockade Runner from Star Wars (1977).
George Lucas never liked the fact that the Reagan administration used the title "Star Wars" as a shorthand for their Strategic Defense Initiative. As a result, he named a character after Ronald Reagan. The last name is Reagan is inverted, and becomes Nute Gunray
After Daultay Dofine's first line of dialogue ("I knew it! They're here to force a settlement!"), he and Rune Haako switch voices. For the rest of the film, Haako speaks with Dofine's voice, and vice versa.
The video and sound effect of Queen Amidala's message when she contacts the federation ship at the beginning of the movie via video transmission is a reference to the Flash Gordon serials of the 1930s (Flash Gordon (1936/I), Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938) and Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940)), where video transmissions always start with the same video and sound effect.
Queen Amidala's throne-room dress took eight weeks to design.
Cameo: [Sofia Coppola] as handmaiden Sachι.
In the scene when Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are talking to Jar Jar when they first arrive on Naboo, Obi-Wan's hair is wet. When Jar Jar spins around and Obi-Wan is forced to duck, his hair suddenly becomes dry. In the next shot it is wet again.
When addressing Boss Nass, Obi-Wan's and Qui-Gon's shadows keep changing direction.
The sound of the underwater monsters growling near the beginning of the film was made by the main sound technician's three-year-old daughter. The sound of her crying was recorded, and the frequency lowered to obtain the sound heard in the film.
Queen Amidala protects herself by posing as one of her own underlings. The same ploy was used by the President of the United States in Superman II (1980) to conceal his identity from General Zod, played by Terence Stamp - who plays Chancellor Valorum in this film.
The name used by the Queen while in disguise (and, later, after her term as Queen ends), "Padme", is the Sanskrit word for "lotus". It is a common word in Buddhism. "Yoda" is also derived from the Sanskrit word for "warrior".
The shadows that the battle-droids leave on the ground when escorting the captured Queen across the courtyard do not match the shot from above just before the Jedi Knights leap down to rescue them.
As they enter the hangar on Naboo to prepare for their escape, only three members of the party are reflected in the fighter above them, the others are not.
The design of Queen Amidala's starship, in which she escapes Naboo with Qui-Gonn and Obi-Wan, was inspired by the Lockheed Martin SR-71 "Blackbird" reconnaissance jet.
R2-D2 is briefly and unaccountably missing from the from the back of the Queen's ship as they run the blockade.
R2-D2 plugs a hose into the ship to get the shield generator working again when the group is running the blockade to get off of Naboo, but in the next shot it is gone.
After R2D2 repairs the shield generator, there is a scene where Padme is cleaning up the droid and talking to Jar Jar. In the last shot of this scene, the film is reversed (mirror image) - evident from R2-D2's features.
Darth Maul blinks only once during the movie.
When the captain of the queen's security team is telling Qui-Gon that the queen wants Padme to tag along with him, a silhouette of Elliot and ET flying (from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)) can be seen in the sky.
On Tatooine in Episode I where Padme walks up to join Qui-Gon and Jar Jar in their quest for new parts for the ship, you can see her limping. Natalie Portman fell out of bed the nigth before the shooting of the scene. Poor girl...
Qui-Gon's description of Mos Espa is almost the same, if not the same word for word, as Obi-Wan's description of Mos Eisley in Star Wars (1977).
Andrew Secombe based his vocal performance of Watto on Alec Guinness' performance as Fagin in Oliver Twist. So essentially, Anakin is passed from one Alec Guinness impersonator at the beginning of the film to another one at the end.
Anakin's theme is a musical variation on the Imperial March (a.k.a. Darth Vader's Theme) from Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
When Jar Jar activates the Pit Droid in Watto's shop he knocks over a protocol droid and some other junk. A moment later the droid is upright again.
Qui-Gon Jinn identifies the Queen's starship as a Nubian model J-327. "327" was the number of the landing bay where the Millennium Falcon landed on the first Death Star in Star Wars (1977) as well as the number of the landing platform in Cloud City in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
A pod from the Discovery in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) can be seen behind Qui-Gon in Watto's junkyard.
Anakin has two model ships on his bed in Tatooine. These are models of early designs considered for the Naboo Starfighters. In the documentaries on the DVD, we see these models being rejected by George Lucas.
Anakin takes C3PO's eye in his right hand. Transfers it to the left hand. Starts to put the eye on its place. In the very next shot he puts the eye there, but with the right hand.
The word lightsaber is never used in the film. When Anakin talks to Qui-Gon he calls it a "laser sword".
In a scene in the Skywalker home, George Lucas digitally altered Jake Lloyd's eyes to look in a different direction momentarily.
Toward the end of the scene where Qui-Gon, Anakin, Anakin's Mother, etc. are eating dinner, Anakin turns his head to the left... these are two shots of actor Jake Lloyd morphed together.
Qui-Gon Jinn's communicator is a redecorated Sensor Excel Razor for Women.
Watto's "chance cube" is red and blue, yet when he's hovering around before he throws it, it appears to be all white.
When Anakin and Padme arrive at the podracer hanger, Anakin is taller in the close-up shots. The close-up shots were done almost a year after the principal photography.
It appears that the other head of the podrace announcer is simply saying the same thing as the first head, but in Huttesse instead of English. This isn't so. Originally what the second head said was supposed to be subtitled, and the screenplay of the movie contains a translation of all of his dialogue.
Jabba the Hutt's full name is Jabba Desilijic Tiure.
Before the start of the pod race, Sebulba breaks the stabilizer on Anakin's pod. In the following scene, you can clearly see the stabilizer over Sebulba's right shoulder, unbroken.
After the first lap of the podrace, Watto and Sebulba speak Finnish saying, "Thank You" and "You're Welcome".
During the pod race, Anakin's face switches between being dirty and being clean several times.
During the podrace, the top of R2-D2's head becomes briefly detached from his body.
During the pod racing scene, Shmi Skywalker watches Anakin's progress using a personal view screen with handles. In the close-up, she is holding a view screen without handles.
Same point-of-view footage of the crowd is used twice during the pod race - watch the characters on the steps make the exact same moves each time.
Colored Q-Tips were photographed on a miniature stadium set in order to provide the background spectators during the pod race sequence.
To create the sounds of the spectators during the pod race scene, sound designer Ben Burtt took a recorder to a San Francisco 49ers game and recorded the crowd's reactions.
During the "Boonta Eve" pod race sequence, when Watto is seen cheering against Anakin, the short wild-haired man next to him is Warwick Davis, who played the Ewok "Wicket" in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).
When Sebulba is on the verge of running down Anakin during the pod race, there is an over the shoulder shot clearly showing that Sebulba's pod is unmanned. An acknowledged animation error.
Many details of the pod race resemble the Norwegian animation classic Flεklypa Grand Prix (1975), including the sabotage, the late start, the engine trouble, the dirty tricks and even elements of the camerawork. And they both resemble the opening race from Grand Prix (1966).
When Anakin is being lifted up by Qui Gon Jinn after the pod race, he cheers "Mum, I did it! YEAH!" He says this before his mouth moves.
When Qui-Gon delivers the hyperdrive, Obi-Wan's braid is on the left side and not the right. Evidently, this was done deliberately with the intention that the shot would later be flopped, but for some reason it never was, leaving the braid on the wrong side.
Liam Neeson convinced George Lucas to keep a scene where Qui-Gon Jinn puts his hand on Shmi Skywalker's shoulder. Lucas felt this might be out of character for the monk-like Jedi, but Neeson thought there should be an emotional connection between the characters. In an interview with Premiere magazine, Neeson defended his action, saying, "It may be 'Star Wars', but we've got to have something in there for the adults."
Anakin's shadow changes direction during his final goodbye to his mother.
When Qui-Gon first meets and fights Darth Maul, he escapes by jumping into the ship. As the ship flies away, we see a silhouette of him walking upright into the ship as the ramp closes. However, when the camera jumps into the ship we find him on the floor almost on his back.
Among the props in the background aboard the ship as the group leaves Tatooine are three Hewlett-Packard Inkjet cartridges.
Upon the Queen's landing to meet the Senate we see loads of air-traffic, yet when they land, there's no reflection of any of the ships flying overhead on the shiny ship itself.
Cameo: [Rick McCallum] producer appears on the right in a floppy wide-brim hat when Queen Amidala meets Senator Palpatine.
Cameo: [Ben Burtt] sound engineer appears to the left of Rick McCallum (with goatee).
Palpatine's line "There is no civility, there is only politics" is a corruption of part of the Jedi Code which consists of a negative assertion followed by a positive one. For example: "There is no fear, there is only calm. There is no death, there is only the Force."
While referred to numerous times by other characters, Yoda is only clearly identified at the very end of the film. Mace Windu is never identified at all.
The dress Amidala is wearing when she addresses the Senate is modeled after a Mongolian garment worn by nobility.
Two Wookiees can be seen in the Galactic Senate meeting. For the first time in 21 years, Star Wars Wookiees were played by someone other than Peter Mayhew.
Neimoidian senator Lott Dodd was named after two real-life US senators, Trent Lott (R-Mississippi) and Christopher Dodd (D-Connecticut).
A group of aliens resembling E.T. (from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)), and a group of creatures resembling the aliens from Alien (1979), can be seen in the Galactic Senate chamber shortly after Queen Amidala calls for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum.
Obi-Wan's hair length and style changes between shots, starting when Amidala returns from Coruscant. It goes from spiky to smooth and back once or twice.
Several times, during the fight scene in the Theed Hangar, the Droidekas are shown shooting, but no lasers are coming out of their guns.
Cameo: [John Knoll] The visual effects supervisor at ILM plays the Naboo pilot who gets killed during the space battle with the Trade Federation. It happens after Ric Oliι says, "The deflector shield is too strong."
During the fight over and around the droid control ship, Anakin says to R2D2, "I'll try spinning, that's a good trick." Anakin is seen to turn the flight controls to the left, but his craft spins to his right. In an earlier scene (right after the auto pilot is disconnected) Anakin says, "Let's go left", turns the controls to the left, and the scene tilts to Anakin's left, showing that the controls are working backwards in one of the two scenes.
Jar Jar's antics during the climactic battle echo scenes from classic silent comedies. Ball rolling down hill after Jar Jar: Seven Chances (1925). Gun tied to foot firing: The Navigator (1924). Hanging from gun turret: Girl Shy (1924).
Director Trademark: [George Lucas] [1138] The Droid killed by Jar Jar Binks at the end has serial number 1138 on his back. (THX 1138 (1971) was Lucas' first film and starred Robert Duvall.)
Queen Amidala slips just after they have taken the viceroy on hostage in the throne room.
Part of Darth Maul's lightsaber (his left side) disappears for a few frames during the big lightsaber battle.
The sound of the "force field" in the lightsaber duel with Darth Maul began as a recording of the audio supervisor's neighbor's ceiling fan.
During the final fight between Obi Wan and Darth Maul, Maul force pushes Obi Wan into the pit. For the wide shot Maul is seen using his left hand to do this, but for the close up he is using his right hand.
The sound effect when Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber is kicked down the reactor shaft towards the end of the movie, is the same sound effect heard when Luke Skywalker throws his lightsaber away in Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) when he tells the Emperor that he is a Jedi.
During the final fight scene between Darth Maul and Obi-Wan, as Obi-Wan leaps up and summons Qui-Gon's lightsaber to his hand, Darth Maul is holding his saber in his right hand. A fraction of a second later, Obi-Wan is going over Darth Maul's head, and Darth's saber has jumped to his left hand.
In the final fight scene with Obi-wan and Darth Maul, Obi-wan leaps up from the hole, and grabs the lightsaber with his left hand. As he twists above Darth Maul's head, the lightsaber is in his right hand, when he lands, it's in his left hand again.
When Darth Maul is killed, he is holding his lightsaber as he falls. When we switch shots to see him falling, he has no lightsaber and we do not see one falling through the air.
After Obi-Wan kills Darth Maul, the reflection of his lightsaber blade does not appear in the floor where it did appear before.
When Palpatine lands at Naboo at the end of the film, he's accompanied by Senate Guards dressed in blue. The guards' costumes are similar to those of the red Emperor's guards seen in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002), _Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)) , and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983), and are, in a way, predecessors to the later red guards.
In a final scene of the film, the Jedi council is seen emerging from a ship on Naboo in the background. Mace Windu has changed appearance completely (he is played, in this scene, by someone other than Samuel L. Jackson).
Ahmed Best, who supplies the voice of Jar Jar Binks, also appears as a Jedi Knight when the newly appointed Chancellor Palpatine arrives on Naboo.
During the funeral pyre scene, the folds in Obi-Wan's hood change between consecutive shots.
Like a Shakespearean play, this film's final dialogue is a rhyming couplet: "Always two there are, no more, no less: a master and an apprentice."
The parade music at the end of the film is melodically related to the Emperor's Theme from Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).
Star Wars Insider magazine publisher Dan Madsen is seen doing his bit as an extra grabbing the reins of a "Kaadu" at the celebration scene. He's short and wearing a light green outfit.
Is based on a backstory outline George Lucas created for Star Wars (1977).
The core-plot of the movie came from George Lucas' first draft of Star Wars (1977), which he wrote in 1975.
George Lucas's very first draft of Star Wars (1977) began, "This is the story of Mace Windu, a revered Jedi-bendu of Opuchi who was related to Usby C.J. Thape, a padawan learner of the famed Jedi." Both the character of Mace Windu and the concept of padawan learners make their first appearance in Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace.
George Lucas reportedly wrote The Phantom Menace in the same binder of yellow ruled paper in which he wrote the original Star Wars (1977) as well as American Graffiti (1973).
In earlier drafts, the name of the planet where Queen Amidala comes from was called Utapau. This name was also used and abandoned in the early-1970s drafts of Star Wars (1977), and was finally used for the sinkhole planet where Obi-Wan confronts General Grievous in Episode III.
The name "Jar Jar" was created by George Lucas's son.
Earlier drafts of the script placed more emphasis on the character of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Originally he was already a fully trained Jedi by the start of the movie and also the only Jedi negotiator sent to Naboo at the start of the movie. In this same draft, the character of Qui-Gon Jinn was not introduced until the character's reached Coruscant, and that character was of the same age of Obi-Wan, not his mentor.
George Lucas asked Lawrence Kasdan to write the script (and possibly for Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) as well), but he turned it down because he thought with Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983), Lucas's relationship to the movies had taken one step back and that he alone should take responsibility and make exactly the movie he wanted to make.
Frank Darabont was originally slated to be writing the script at one point, as was Carrie Fisher, who was said to be helping out as a script doctor.
George Lucas made a similar deal as he did in the original Star Wars (1977). Both Lucas and Fox Studios agreed that he would forego his salary as a director provided he owns the entire negative of the final cut of the film as well as ancillary rights of all toys and commercial tie-ins.
Padme is the word for lotusflower in hindi.
The first film to be recorded in Dolby Digital Surround EX.
Ewan McGregor, who plays Obi-Wan Kenobi, is the nephew of Denis Lawson, who played Rebel pilot Wedge Antilles in Star Wars (1977), Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).
Ewan McGregor studied many of Alec Guinness' films, including the original Star Wars, to ensure accuracy in everything from his accent to pacing of his words.
Benicio Del Toro was originally set to play Darth Maul. Del Toro left the film after George Lucas took most of Maul's lines out of the film.
Michael Angarano auditioned for the role of young Anakin, and was one of the three finalists along with Jake Lloyd, who won the role.
Sets were built only as high as the tops of the actors' heads and computer graphics filled in the rest. But Liam Neeson was so tall that he cost the set crew an extra $150,000 in construction.
The royal palace of Naboo is the Royal Palace of Caserta (Italy) that was built over 500 years ago.
Ray Park, whose swordsmanship is showcased in Darth Maul's lightsaber battle against Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn, worked as the Headless Horseman's fight double in Sleepy Hollow (1999), and also choreographed the sword fighting scenes in that film. Park's Headless Horseman kills Casper Van Dien's character Baron van Brunt by cutting him in half at the waist, the same way Park's Darth Maul was killed in Phantom Menace.
Natalie Portman felt very sad during the shooting of Episode I. She was lonely since she was the only one in her age on the set.
Natalie Portman's voice was digitally enhanced to distinguish between Padme and Queen Amidala.
In scenes where Padme and Queen Amidala appear together, Natalie Portman is Padme, while Keira Knightley is Sabe, one of the handmaidens disguised as the Queen.
The "water" cascading over the falls in the Naboo capital city was actually salt.
The Naboo Palace setting was also the ballroom set for the Frankenstein family mansion in Geneva used in Frankenstein (1994). Celia Imrie appears in both movies.
In 1997, a fierce sandstorm destroyed several of the Tatooine sets in the desert outside Tozeur, Tunisia. Filming resumed two days later. George Lucas considered this a good omen, as the very same thing had happened during filming of the original Star Wars (1977).
The special effects teams creating the podrace studied NASCAR crash footage extensively to assure accuracy in the crashes.
There is only one shot in the film to which no visual effects were added at all: the shot of the dioxis gas pouring out of the vent in the meeting room.
While Liam Neeson did the majority of his own stunts, he did have three stunt doubles on hand to do everything else. Andrew Lawden doubled for Neeson for part of the Darth Maul duel on Tatooine, while Joss Gower played Qui-Gon for some shots in the main duel near the end. Rob Inch did everything else.
In the original trilogy, lightsaber activations and deactivations happened off-screen most of the time to prevent the "jumps" that would occur when the film was stopped to allow the "activated" lightsaber props to be substituted for the deactivated handles. This no longer poses a problem and every activation/deactivation occurs on-screen in Episode I.
The words chanted during the "Duel of the Fates" are from Robert Graves' poem "The White Goddess". "The White Goddess" is a translation of the original version, "Cad Goddeu" or "The Battle of Achren", an early Celtic work of great antiquity also known as "The Battle of the Trees," which was originally composed by Gwion and is found in the "Book of Taliesin", a Thirteenth Century Welsh manuscript . John Williams had the lines "Under the tongue root a fight most dread, and another raging, behind, in the head" translated into Sanskrit. The translation sung in the movie is as follows: "Korah Matah Korah Rahtahmah Korah Rahtamah Yoodhah Korah Korah Syahdho Rahtahmah Daanyah Korah Keelah Daanyah Nyohah Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Syadho Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Korah Daanyah Korah Rahtahmah Korah Daanyah Korah Rahtahmah Nyohah Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Syadho Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Korah Korah Matah Korah Rahtahmah Korah Daanyah Korah Rahtahmah Nyohah Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Syadho Keelah Korah Rahtahmah Korah"
Tests were conducted to see if Yoda could be realized digitally but it was determined that the technology was not up to scratch. A CG model of Yoda was nevertheless created, but only used in one shot, a long shot incidentally, during the scene on Naboo near the end where Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda discuss Anakin's future.
Ron Magid commented that "it's easier to spot the few hundred shots that don't feature any CG work at all than the nearly 2,000 shots that do."
In the credits, Jabba The Hutt is credited as playing "himself."
Greg Proops' and Scott Capurro's credits are reversed. Proops plays Beed Annodue, the red, English-speaking pod-race announcer, and Capurro plays Fode Annodue, the green, Huttese-speaking announcer.
The film contains no acting credit for the character of Darth Sidious, although he is played by Ian McDiarmid, who also plays Senator (and then later, Chancellor) Palpatine
After the film's end credits finish rolling, the sound effect of Darth Vader's breathing can be heard.
Director George Lucas has said that there are a couple of shots in the movie that were "filmed" on digital video instead of 35 mm film. He also said that he dares anyone to try and figure out which shots these were.
The two scenes recorded digitally were: Qui-Gon taking Anakin's blood sample and the promotion of Obi-Wan to the level of Jedi Knight.
Obi-Wan has "a bad feeling about this" quite often. See also Star Wars (1977), Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983).
This is the only Star Wars film where no-one (not counting droids) loses an arm or hand to a lightsaber.
Of this film's 133 minute running time, only 10 to 15 minutes contain no special effects.
In the German language version of the film, the collaborating Trade Federation leaders have a French accent, while in the Italian language version they have heavy Russian accents. They also have Russian accents in the Czech version, except for the Viceroy, who speaks fluent Czech for reasons unknown.
In the summer of 1998, the movie Godzilla (1998) was released amongst a whirlwind of media hype as part an ambitious studio campaign called "Size Does Matter", featuring massive signs and banners meant to emphasize the size of the monster. After its release, the movie was the subject of an intense backlash by both critics and audiences. The programmers of www.StarWars.com put up a temporary webpage with mocking the "Godzilla" campaign with a poster lettered with the green glow reading "Plot Does Matter - May 1999", in reference to "The Phantom Menace".
Theatres receiving the first trailer and posters were warned in writing to return them to the distributor (Twentieth Century Fox) on time or risk not receiving further media, and possibly the film itself. This was done to attempt to prevent the "black-market" sale of the incredibly popular trailer.
Fox released the first trailer with strict instructions that it not be shown before a certain date. When a Canadian movie theatre accidentally showed it a day early, they lost the rights to show the movie
During the first week of the first trailer's release, many theatres reported up to 75% of their audiences paying full price for a movie, then walking out after the Star Wars: Episode I trailer was shown.
Natalie Portman (Queen Amidala) missed the premiere party in New York because she had to go home to study for her high school final exams.
Natalie Portman skipped going to the opening night of Episode I. She had to study for her exams.
At the time of the film's release, the producers ran a disinformation campaign to suggest that Natalie Portman played both Padme and The Queen at all times. In fact, they are not always the same person. For many sections of the film, notably those where The Queen is wearing the black outfit with the huge feather headdress, The Queen is actually a decoy, played by Keira Knightley. The real queen, Portman, is actually disguised as a handmaiden. Various conflicting public statements make it extremely difficult to figure out who is who. Whole websites are devoted to figuring out which actress is playing which handmaiden or The Queen at any given point.
The last film to be released on laserdisc.
If you highlight the THX logo in the Language Selection page on the DVD and press 1138 with the remote you will access a hidden blooper reel.