Ok saw this last night, although the atmosphere was spectacular and i did feel like i was 11 years old again I must say that overall the 3D was pretty crappy! It was average at best. The only really decent 3D moments I must say was the Lucasfilm logo & the opening scroll - which is saying something.

This was a very nice trip down memory lane & if your willing to fork out the price of a ticket then its worthwhile just for the nostalgia, but for those expecting anything out of this 3D re-release be prepared for disappointment. Might as well stay home & watch the blu-ray discs.

Awww, what the fuck. I'm going! Midnight tonight!

I have too many fond memories of that rainy, early evening showing (still have the ticket stub*) nearly 13 years ago. It'll be great to see it big again and with a hopefully sizeable audience. Hope the 3D doesn't disappoint. Even though everything I've read so far points to that.

*$4.25 for a child! Talk about inflation!

Reviews actually seem pretty positive so far. The thing is that the 3D is not an "in-your-face" approach,but a "push the scene out behind the screen" one which seems to be dissapointing people.

I'm a 3D connoisseur (even tho i cant spell it) and have to admit the average joe will probably want a refund for his 3d its all depth but even that isn't used to its full potential there are a lot of moments that could have been amazing that were just underplayed.

I know they wanted it to be a real feel rather than poke your eye out but it was a bit underwhelming. If you close one eye you can see the difference and it does make a difference just don't go in expecting to be blown away by the 3D

It's just nice to be able to see it on the big screen again for me. Probably wouldn't have been such a difference if they hadn't shown the Titanic 3D conversion trailer before it, that looks to be a great conversion
subtle is the keyword!

GRADE-A THEATER FUCK-UP:

Not having the required polarized glasses to give out for the midnight screening of Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace in 3-fucking-D.



Got a refund. Will be back tomorrow (they assured me they'd have glasses then).

Two words for Episode I in 3D: So. Wizard.

All in all, I actually really enjoyed it. Yes, the conversion could have been better (some of the pan shots and certain scenes in particular just seemed off). But I view this film as the launching point for the saga into 3D. By the time they get to Jedi it should look fucking spectacular. It was worth paying the ticket premium if for the only reason that I got to see it on the big screen again.

As far as the film goes, I think it actually holds up really well. I purposefully avoided watching it for the last year or two in preparation for its release back into theaters. The CG is good, especially for a film that's 13 years old. And I wasn't bothered at all with any of the Jar Jar shenanigans. I saw it with a predominately OT-fan crowd, and even they left the theater in an overall good mood.

My only complaint is that the theater was only about 3/4 of the way full tonight. All other midnight showings I've been to at this theater have been packed. People need to come out and see this movie. I want my live-action show, dammit!

I appreciate the criticism in the negative reviews, but its nice to hear something positive finally. Thanks to all you reviewers for posting!

Personally, I skip the midnight openings because I hate the midnight opening crowds. And Im on call from 5pm to 8am. So it doesn't happen much that I go to those things. I'd prefer a seat dead center of the theatre, a few rows back from the middle, nobody but my Mrs within 50 feet of me. If you could smoke, and if they had an intermission so a guy could take a leak, and re-examined the ludicrous prices theatres charge for concessions these days, then Id start to believe in God again.

I never thought about the overall support-of-the-franchise aspect of it until now, though. Thanks for pointing that out JWFan. I feel kind of durrrr for not having done so prior to this. Hope it does well! I wonder if the first three tank if they will still be putting the rest out? Has that already been covered and Ive been to self-involved to notice these details? Maybe I should read more

Got back a while ago. Went in the late afternoon and the theater was less than half full. Mostly young kids.

It was a good time, overall. Seeing it in pristine quality, with great sound was a real treat. It's rare that I watch a Star Wars film in one sitting, so the whole experience felt longer than usual.

I went with my younger brother who hadn't seen TPM in maybe a decade. I was concerned he'd find it too childish or boring, but he really enjoyed it.

A quick word about the 3D. It's no Hugo. It's barely noticeable. Adds depth to some shots, but nothing really pops out. I get the complaint.

Something else about the film. The experience reminded me of just how dense the film is. How full of life it is. How busy the visuals are. It's a really beautiful film. And to take it in, all in one sitting, left me floored by how much time and effort I can only kinda imagine went into making something like this.

Anyway, Star Wars on the big screen! Great way to spend part of an afternoon! And I'm really looking forward to the rest of the prequels on the big screen again!

I saw it with a demographic of approx. 16-22 year olds, a few years younger than me. Kind of interesting to think about since most would have been 10 and under in 1999. I was expecting booes for Jar Jar but there was some laughter at his antics. Applause at the end too, this crowd just accepted the film.

Lucas will have to wait for a generation to die off before he can get away with that 'Han never shot first, he was misunderstood' bullshit. Oh wait, he'll be dead too.

Just come back from watching The Phantom Menace in 3D here in the UK.
The movie itself is still the same & to be honest the 3D is very subtle...once again the Lucas hype is a little over-rated.
Most of the movie you could hardly notice the 3d...a little bit of depth here & there. Had high hopes for the Pod Race in 3d...disappointed to say the least.
Was nice to let my 2 young son's experience the galaxy far, far away on the big screen though!

I went and saw it Saturday afternoon and what really impressed me, was the way ILM have handled the conversion of the film. It wasn't all in your face & gimmicky - it was quite subtle but yet still noticeable. I was expecting to walk away with a headache, but that never occurred.

CG characters like Jar-Jar, Watto and Yoda are a vast improvement in 3D. They actually look like they have weight. Previously, the CG animated characters looked flat, but now in 3D they really look like they belong in the scene - a lot more than they did before.The crowd really seemed to enjoy the film as well. It was made up mainly of adults, with only a few kids, but I expected some 'tard to start disrespecting the film, but people just sat back and watched it.

Darth Maul's full appearance and Yoda got some positive audience reaction and even some of Jar-Jar's antics got a laugh which was unexpected. The 3D effect enhances and doesn't detract from what I consider to be a really beautiful looking film. The only problem I had with today's viewing, was that it wasn't bloody loud enough! I just hope Lucasfilm's SW3D venture, is profitable enough, so they will release the other five films in the series as well.



Couldn't have said it better myself man!

There have been quite a few interviews with Lucas saying he hates gimmicky in-your-face 3D and prefers 3D to enhance depth

there's even a video on Yahoo! with John Knoll and Lucas discussing how they converted the movie. not surprised few casual fans saw that since it sounds incredibly boring and detailed but it was a good primer for what was to come

The 3D effects aren't as "in-your-face" because this film was not shot with 3D in mind. A number of 3D-centric films recently seem to create shots for no other reason than to enhance the 3D effect.

I saw the film on Friday night in a theater that was about 90 percent full. Wide specturm of ages represented, including a number of kids dressed up in costume. The reaction seemed to be very positive to the film.

I just enjoyed seeing it on the big screen again, and the 3D stuff was more of a "sweetener" than anything else. I had never seen TPM in a digital presentation in the theater before, and the film just looks gorgeous.

I saw a 2D showing so arguably my reference point is worth half a damn. But here it is anyway. The good: Loved the 2D showing. The movie was shot in 2D and was originally intended to be seen in 2D. I don't care what Knoll or Lucas say about the conversion process, 2D better suits this material. So that's what I paid for. But either way, this rerelease goes to show just how misframed the DVD really is. The standout example I can remember is Bib Fortuna poking Jabba in the face after Anakin's victory lap. In the DVD, he steps partly out of frame after doing so. But in the 2D showing I saw, he's still well inside the frame. Really calls the TPM DVD's QC into question in some ways. I'd forgotten how packed a lot of TPM shots are and how, between the detail and the colors and all that jazz, a lot of them can only be truly appreciated on the big screen. The helicopter establishing shot of Theed is a good example.

The bad: yeah, the Yoda puppet was ten different kinds of fucked up but that was part of the original theatrical experience. Hate to sound like one of those douchebag original trilogy asshole purists but not everything needs to be "fixed" or "perfected". That goofy puppet was part of the movie experience for me. Also, the theatrical setting reminds me that the podrace sequence is tediously long. It goes from 55:04 to 1:10:06 in the movie. Sure, it a setpiece action sequence but (A) it goes on too long and (B) it for damn sure didn't need to be extended as it was all those years ago.

Anyway. It's worth buying a ticket for.

That was also fixed for the Blu Ray, in case you didn't know. I'm still on the fence about going to see this. I was a major TPM defender back in '99, but for me the charm would be just seeing it again on a huge screen. I hate wearing the queer 3D glasses, and nowhere near me is showing it in 2D.

During an afternoon of the first weekend, I saw this in a mainly packed theater. Save for the kids in the audience, the crowd was largely subdued. At the end, a decent part of the crowd clapped. I wasn’t the only nerd who waited to the end of the credits to hear Vader’s breathing.

Previously, I was excited to see a movie (which I had seen multiple times before) in a new way. I realize that the conversion wasn’t as in your face as contemporary films. (The trailers prior to the movie reminded me of what that was like). But, even if it was, I don’t think my movie experience would have been enhanced. After the film ended, I wished I had seen it in 2D once again.

Finally got to see TPM 3D this afternoon and what a total joy it was. Haven't seen the movie in some time so was really looking forward to what it wold be like in 3D and I wasn't disappointed - yes everyone has commented it wasn't in ya face and what a relief that as. One of the most prominent scenes was when the probe droids came out of Maul's SITH INTERCEPTOR

I had the feeling the crowd wasn't your usual sheep fare and I was surprised at he amount of reaction to Jar Jar was incredibly positive - always got laughs/murmurs throughout, this topped off by applause at the end!!

top work at getting it out there LFL can't wait for Ep II next year