Stranded on the desert planet Tatooine after rescuing Queen Amidala from a Trade Federation blockade, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi discover a young slave named Anakin Skywalker who is unusually strong with the Force. Believing the boy to be the "Chosen One" of ancient prophecy, Qui-Gon fights to free him and train him as a Jedi. As they return to Naboo to save the Queen's people from invasion, they encounter a deadly new threat that reveals the ancient Sith have returned to the galaxy.
Information |
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Language |
English |
Country |
United States |
Premiere date |
May 19, 1999 |
Running time |
136 minutes |
Genre |
Sci-Fi
Adventure Action |
Budget |
$115,000,000 |
Box Office |
$1,027,082,707 |
Crew |
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Directed by |
George Lucas |
Produced by |
Rick McCallum |
Written by |
George Lucas |
Music by |
John Williams |
Cinematography |
David Tattersall |
Edited by |
Paul Martin Smith Ben Burtt |
Production Co. |
Lucasfilm Ltd. |
Distributed by |
20th Century Fox |
Top Cast |
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Official Trailer |
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Movie Collection |
Movie Order: #04 in Star Wars Collection
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The Plot
The Blockade of Naboo
Thirty-two years prior to the Galactic Civil War, a trade dispute erupts between the Trade Federation and the outlying systems of the Galactic Republic, resulting in a blockade of the Mid-Rim planet of Naboo. Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum secretly dispatches Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, to the Federation flagship as ambassadors to negotiate a resolution with Viceroy Nute Gunray. However, the Federation is secretly in league with Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord of the Sith, who orders Gunray to invade Naboo and execute the Jedi immediately. When the Viceroy questions the legality of such actions, Sidious chillingly assures him that he will make it legal.
Gunray attempts to destroy the Jedi by flooding their meeting room with poison gas and destroying their vessel, the Radiant VII, in the hangar. The Jedi survive the trap and fight their way through squads of battle droids, eventually reaching the command deck. They attempt to breach the blast doors shielding the Viceroy but are forced to flee when heavily armed Destroyer Droids arrive. Escaping the flagship, the Jedi stow away aboard separate landing craft bound for the surface of Naboo, where the invasion force is beginning its deployment.
Invasion and Rescue
From the command deck, Gunray denies the existence of any ambassadors when contacted by Queen Amidala, prompting the Queen to contact Senator Palpatine on Coruscant. However, their transmission is cut short as the Federation jams global communications. On the surface, Qui-Gon saves a native Gungan outcast named Jar Jar Binks from being crushed by a Federation MTT. Joined by Obi-Wan, the group is led by Jar Jar to the underwater Gungan city of Otoh Gunga. While the Trade Federation occupies the capital city of Theed and captures the Queen, the Jedi appeal to the Gungan leader, Boss Nass, for help. Nass refuses to aid the surface dwellers but provides the Jedi with a bongo submarine to speed their journey.
Navigating the planet's core, the Jedi and Jar Jar survive attacks from an opee sea killer and a colo claw fish, both of which are devoured by a massive sando aqua monster. Arriving in Theed, the Jedi infiltrate the palace and rescue Queen Amidala from droid captivity. They flee the planet aboard the Royal Starship, intending to reach the Galactic Senate on Coruscant. During their escape, the ship runs the blockade and sustains critical damage to its hyperdrive. R2-D2, an astromech droid, manages to repair the shields just in time, allowing them to escape into hyperspace.
The Phantom Menace on Tatooine
Unable to reach Coruscant, the group lands on the desert planet of Tatooine to repair the hyperdrive. Qui-Gon, Jar Jar, R2-D2, and the Queen’s handmaiden Padmé (Amidala in disguise) venture into Mos Espa, where they discover a junk dealer named Watto who possesses the necessary parts. However, Watto refuses Republic credits, and Qui-Gon discovers that Toydarians are immune to Jedi mind tricks. During their search, they befriend Watto’s slave, a young boy named Anakin Skywalker, who is a gifted pilot and mechanic, having built his own protocol droid, C-3PO.
Qui-Gon senses a vergence in the Force around the boy, suspecting Anakin may be the "Chosen One" prophesied to bring balance to the Force. With no money to pay Watto, Qui-Gon orchestrates a bet on the upcoming Boonta Eve Classic podrace. He manipulates Watto's chance cube to ensure that if Anakin wins, the boy will be freed and they will receive the ship parts. Tragically, Qui-Gon is unable to secure the freedom of Anakin's mother, Shmi. Before the race, Qui-Gon tests Anakin’s blood, revealing a midi-chlorian count higher than even Master Yoda’s.
The Podrace and the Sith
Despite sabotage attempts by his rival Sebulba, Anakin wins the dangerous podrace, securing his freedom and the parts for the Queen’s ship. As the group prepares to leave Tatooine, Darth Sidious's apprentice, Darth Maul, attacks them in the desert. Qui-Gon engages the black-robed assassin in a brief lightsaber duel before leaping onto the taking-off starship, narrowly escaping. The encounter leads Qui-Gon to conclude that the Sith, a dark order thought extinct for a millennium, have returned.
Upon arriving at Coruscant, Qui-Gon presents his findings to the Jedi High Council. The Council is shocked by the notion of the Sith's return but is equally hesitant about Qui-Gon's request to train Anakin. After testing the boy, the Council deems him too old and senses a clouded future filled with fear, ultimately refusing his training.
Politics and the Return to Naboo
In the Senate, Queen Amidala is warned by Senator Palpatine that the Senate is too corrupt to help her people. Following his advice, she calls for a Vote of No Confidence in Supreme Chancellor Valorum. Though Palpatine becomes a leading candidate to succeed him, Amidala grows frustrated with the political delays. declaring she will return to Naboo to fight for her people herself, she leaves Coruscant. The Jedi Council dispatches Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to accompany her, hoping to draw out the mysterious Sith attacker.
Back on Naboo, Padmé reveals her true identity as Queen Amidala to the Gungans at their Sacred Place. Humbling herself before Boss Nass, she forges an alliance between the Naboo and the Gungans to retake the planet. The plan involves the Gungan Grand Army acting as a diversion to draw the Federation’s droid army out of Theed, allowing the Jedi and the Queen's forces to infiltrate the palace and capture the Viceroy.
The Battle for Naboo
On the grassy plains, the Gungan army activates energy shields to withstand the Federation's bombardment. In response, the Federation deploys thousands of battle droids that march through the shields, engaging the Gungans in a brutal ground war. Meanwhile, inside the palace, the Queen’s forces fight to retake the throne room. Young Anakin Skywalker, ordered to stay in a cockpit for safety, accidentally activates a Naboo N-1 starfighter and joins the space battle raging above the planet.
In the palace hangar, the Jedi encounter Darth Maul once again. As the Queen's forces move on, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan engage the Sith Lord in a ferocious duel that spills into the Theed Generator Complex. The combatants are separated by laser gates; when the barriers drop, Qui-Gon fights Maul alone. The Sith Lord stuns Qui-Gon with his lightsaber hilt before impaling him through the torso.
Duel of the Fates
Obi-Wan, trapped behind a laser gate, watches helplessly as his master falls. When the gate opens, he attacks Maul with renewed intensity, slicing the Sith's double-bladed lightsaber in half. However, Maul overpowers Obi-Wan, Force-pushing him into a reactor pit. Hanging by a nozzle, Obi-Wan calms himself, uses the Force to leap out of the pit, summons his master’s fallen lightsaber, and bisects the surprised Darth Maul, sending his body tumbling down the shaft.
In space, Anakin Skywalker crash-lands his fighter inside the Federation’s Droid Control Ship. He fires torpedoes into the main reactor, destroying the ship and deactivating the entire droid army on the planet's surface, saving the Gungans from defeat. In the palace, Queen Amidala successfully captures Nute Gunray, ending the occupation.
A New Beginning
Obi-Wan rushes to Qui-Gon’s side, where the dying master extracts a promise from his apprentice to train Anakin, reaffirming his belief that the boy is the Chosen One. Following the victory, Palpatine is elected Supreme Chancellor, and Gunray is arrested. Yoda confers the rank of Jedi Knight upon Obi-Wan and, despite his grave misgivings, grants permission for him to take Anakin as his apprentice.
At Qui-Gon’s funeral pyre, Mace Windu and Yoda discuss the return of the Sith, noting that there are always two: a master and an apprentice, leaving them to wonder which one was destroyed. A massive victory celebration is held in Theed, where Queen Amidala presents a globe of peace to Boss Nass. As the crowds cheer, Palpatine watches Anakin with great interest, telling the boy he will watch his career closely.
