My living room. Sony 53" HDTV-capable rear-projection TV in 16:9 enhanced mode. Sony progressive-scan DVD player, component video out. Dolby Digital 5.1 with sub.

I think I saw this twice in theaters. Can't really remember for sure. In fact, I couldn't remember much at all about the movie except the pod race. The movie left pretty much no impression on me. Since I kind of like Ep2, I decided to pick up the Ep1 DVD and give it another try.

Watching this in my living room, I was able to get into the story much better than I had previously. Ep1 and Ep2 both are so rich in technical image wizardry etc. that on the first couple of viewings, I tend to focus completely on the wizardry and not on the story. And both Ep1 and Ep2 have plenty of story detail that demands the viewer pay attention to that as well. So, as for the story, I think Lucas has actually done a great job at turning the clock back to the beginning and telling a tale that holds together well with everything we already know.

Now as far as why Ep1 was hated by so many, I believe that comes down to 2 things: Jake Lloyd's performance as the young Anakin, and Jar Jar Binks.

Naturally I was paying close attention to Jar Jar and the Gungans in general. When the movie first came out I didn't hate Jar Jar and I find that 3 years later I still don't hate Jar Jar. All the talk about racial stereotyping etc. seems like a bunch of baloney to me. Yes he's obnoxious, but he adds a comic touch to the film that it needed (and which may be missing from Ep2). Call me crazy if you want but I like Jar Jar's contribution to this movie.

I remember a lot of people were critical of Jake Lloyd's performance as Anakin. Like Jar Jar, I have no problem with him either. He's kind of obnoxious and precocious (sp?) but so what? I mean, he's going to grow up to become Darth Vader for crying out loud! He was a good choice for the role.

The DVD image quality is fantastic. I saw not a single white or black speck anywhere. Colors are rich, detail is excellent, etc. Sound quality is also first-rate and the mix is similar to Ep2 (should be since it's supervised by Gary Rydstrom & Ben Burtt, same as Ep2). This DVD will put your home theater system to the test.

One other thing I want to mention is Lucas's frame composition. Scene after scene in this movie use the ENTIRE width of the scope frame. I love that, wish more directors would shoot their pseudo-scope movies that way. Lucas obviously likes a true widescreen visual experience.

Ep1 ties in well with Ep2, and it's remarkable how similar they are in "look". I expected Ep1 to already look dated compared to Ep2 but that is definitely not the case at all.

If you had problems with Ep1 and also haven't seen it lately, give it another try and see if your opinion changes.

[Oh yeah, I think I like the digital Yoda in Ep2 better than the analog Yoda]

Episode I looked fantastic after SVM was disabled in the set ("Pro" mode, unlike previous Sony sets where "Movie" mode disables it). That did away with the artificial-looking edge enhancement. The pod race scene is the most requested scene for demonstrating the set, and everyone has commented on how great it looks.

I liked Episode I. It was the first Star Wars movie that I got to see in theatres when it was actually released for the first time. Back in 1997, I saw the Star Wars special editions in theatres when they were released and to be honest, I never cared for any of the Star Wars movies until January 31, 1997 when I saw Star Wars twice that day in two different theatres (Madison Square 12, free (a Silicon Graphics thing where they bought out an auditorium and gav e tickets away to local sysadmins that used SGIs), and Hollywood 16). After that, I loved the Star Wars movies.

Although I tremendously enjoyed Episode I, it is hard for me to just "chunk it into the same basket" with Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. The first three movies felt like they belonged together, but Episode I does not have the same "look and feel" at all when compared to the first three, which is understandable, since 16 years of special effects technology separated them. Episodes I and II feel like they belong together, so it will be interesting to see if Episode III can somehow be a transition that will make the new episodes transition into the look and feel of the older ones.

As for the Jar Jar issue, although the overwhelming majority of the population hates the character, I don't have strong feelings one way or the other. He seems to be there for comic relief -- to make some scenes more comical and less tense. Or maybe he was there just so Lucas could show off his ability to make a totally computer-generated character that interacts fairly intimately with other characters. Who knows?

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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site

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maybe he [Jar Jar] was there just so Lucas could show off his ability to make a totally computer-generated character that interacts fairly intimately with other characters.

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