Anyone want a CD of Phantom Menace? I liked "Saving Private Ryan" better.

The Phantom Menace is an excellent film. It may have lacked in some of the qualities of Ep. 4-6, but hey - Star Wars isn't all action and adventure. Just like Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country showed us, The Phantom Menace has proved that there are alot of complicated events that occurred in order to provide the following episodes a stable foundation. Politics, committee discussions, elections, invasions, the Trade Federation, the Old Republic... to not picture these things as part of the Star Wars saga is to fool yourself. They are necessary in order to show the rising of Palpatine's power, the fall of the Jedi Council, and the development of Anakin.

Bravo to both Lucas and Williams for providing a completely invigorating experience. This is a Star Wars episode you have to think through... Yes, for all of you no-brainers out there, you probably won't like The Phantom Menace. Stick to 4 through 6... it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure those films out. Try Broken Arrow and Rocky while you are at it...

...in the mean time, I'll be on cloud-9 enjoying the fact that I got to see the beginning of a great series of films on the first day. What a great story Lucas has provided... it's shed a new, exciting light on the films already in place. I look forward to Episodes 2 and 3!

Jeron

PS - and, yes... I think Williams' score fit GREAT in the film and is an even more enjoyable experience on cd after seeing the film.

To all those who have now seen the Phantom Menace and complain about a lack of character depth: You are wrong. The film gallops at a pace that allows for the development of few characters and human element is there. It is fleeting because things happen much quicker in the days before the Empire. Study the story and ascertains these facts, you will find them true. To Matthew & Kevin: You were disappointed, there's no away around that. But let me pose this question to you: What were you expecting? First, no film is perfect. Second, too often now, people measure expectations for a recognized film as success as they see it should be. Just be excited to see the movie! The disappointments come much more often when you think that it has to be the greatest movie of all time. Were you expecting that this film would change your world view? Did you expect it to be Moses parting the Red Sea. Gentlemen, let me submit humbly that i had a better time seeing this movie than I have any sequel in years. The excitement, the invigoration are the purest spirits of how the beginning of a Star Wars chapter usually are, things will be much deeper (and meet the expectations of those who wish for an Episode II easily) in Episode II, as it will be a reflection of Empire Strikes Back. My only guess is that you, like many of those disappointed seem set Empire as the criterion by which Episode I should be judged- forgive my assumption and possible presumption- but it is simply entertainment. Your comments border on unreasonable. But if you are disappointed truly, then I urge you to see the movie again once you've had distance form the film. You will see it in whole new light.

For those who loved the movie as much as I did- Let us celebrate the return of the entertaining film. It has come back to us in a wonderful way once more.

As for the score...it's understood that Williams is one of, if not the best. Here is a prime example of why.

In regards to your opinions regarding mine (now I'm confused ) about the movie, I'd like to clear something up...

I'm one of those people who didn't have my expectations up in the stratosphere. I never thought it'd be "the best movie ever" and "Lucas is God." I also, and because I'm good at it, am able to see a film and judge how it stands by itself more than some people I know (I, for one, liked Lost World). I did not "compare" it to ESB, nor any of the other movies. Sure, it sets up a lot of stuff for the next episodes, but my reaction is still the same: I've seen better ("The Mummy" comes to mind).

One of the criteria for me in a movie is that it draws you into the lives and concerns of the characters. This really didn't. Now don't get me wrong... I'm not saying it's a terrible film, I'm just saying that it didn't live up to what it could have been (from a non-rabid fan's point of view).

I will be seeing it again next week, as I usually do see movies more than once. Mainly because with the type like this one, there is so much that you miss the first time around (I didn't even see the ET's or the Discovery spaceship).

My opinion might change, but I don't know. What get's me the most is the rabid, hard-core "warsies" who DO think this movie is the "one to end all movies."

Kevin
NP - Total Recall (Goldsmith)

Re: The Score. I really like it. Especially in the context of the film. The fight scenes with Darth Maul are really effective.

Instead of going on about how each director uses special effects, im gonna say this: Lets drop the comparisons between the quality of the two movies(which I may have started, hehe), I just realised im having to side against TPM which I dont want to do because I really liked it.

Of course there was the popularity of "Titanic," but from my experience, the largest demographic were a bunch of teenage girls in love with Leo that bought into a poorly written, Shakespeare rip-off with great sets and equally great effects. Now, I realize people are going to accuse me of broad-brushing, and that's not what I'm doing. When I saw the movie, that's what I saw of the audience. In relation to it's gross, popularity doesn't make a good film either. Would you really say that "Titanic" is a better film than say, "Life is Beautiful?" It was more popular, so it's a better film, right? Wrong. As far as what you say "Titanic" represented, I nor my acquaintances saw that. It was about 1/3 historical, 2/3 Jack and Rose. It wasn't about the ship or the people on board. That was mearly a backdrop for a phony love story. If it was about the ship and passengers, there would have been more exploration of that, instead of the love story.
And as for Cameron, I can't stand his writing or his films (except for parts of "T2") because his writing is a joke and his films ("Abyss" and "T2") are all self-righteous garbage about how bad man-kind is. I could continue to debate Cameron, but I realize I'm straying of the topic.

All I'm saying is, I you want to make a good, thought-provoking, profound film; do it well. Lucas set out to make a fun, entertaining film and he did just that. Nothing more, nothing less. Therefore, he accomplished his task.

We didn't see 1500 people in the water. Yes, they were there, but the focus was on Rose and Jack. Cameron himself stated that it's supposed to be a love story. I'll say this though. The best scene in "Titanic" was when the ship is going down, the orchestra is playing "Nearer My God to Thee" and they cut to different shots of the captain and the passengers. You know what scene I'm talking about. Now that was moving. For the primary characters, I didn't care. And of course we could debate the reason Rose fell for Jack, plausability of certain situations, etc. What really ticked me off was the comparisons of "Titanic" to films like "Gone With the Wind" and "Casablanca." Those films were strong in so many ways, where as "Titanic" looked good, but too many people were sucked into an unlikely romance, and just got too emotional. Yeah, it touched a lot of people; people who were too overwraught to realize bad writing.

Now don't patronize me and say that I ONLY like action films. I hated "Armageddon," because once again, it tried to be something it wasn't. My favorite film last year was "Life is Beautiful" (it should have won Best Picture).

My expectations for "Star Wars" were ones of fun and entertainment. If anybody wants to come away with anything other than that, they're in the wrong theater. Lucas himself has said it's only a film, and not to read too much into it. I'll concede that parts aren't very well developed, and perhaps if Lucas had taken 3 1/3 hours to do it, it might have been better developed. I didn't particularly care about Qui Gon either. But bear in mind, this is part one of six. Development will come later.

As for something that looked good but wasn't well developed, I would say the same thing about "Titanic."

(MAY CONTAIN SPOILER)

But the scene that impressed me the most, was Darth Maul's entrance in the latter part of the movie when the gate opens and Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon confront the Sith Warrior. Then BAM!! Duel of the Fates begins! Maul takes off his hood, and Duel of the Fates continues!! Williams was simply amazing when he composed this masterpiece!! All I have to say about the last sequence of the movie truly made my list of all-time greatest moments in movies.

However, if Star Wars doesn't win ANY Oscars, I would be shocked and very disappointed. Even though the technical Oscars are not as prestigious as the Best Picture or Best Director awards.....