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I'll give Episode One something...

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It has memories for me. And an amazing soundtrack. The Episode One game, while not the best I've ever played, was a great distraction. Anyone else have any parts that they found not disappointing? Anything you remember fondly?

A Goon in a Gaggle of 'em

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And an amazing soundtrack.

Will Ferrell and Ana Gasteyer had this routine on SNL where they'd play this weird couple who would do live music for whatever get-together they'd shown up to on each episode. One of them was in early May of '99. Anyway, part of the routine was that they'd say nice things between songs and will Ferrell would continue to play softly on the keyboard. When they were playing (both of them were on vocals), they would randomly switch from one new hit song to another. In the one I'm thinking of, they switch songs at one point and go "Duel of the Faaaaaaates!" and then start singing the fast tempo instrumental in doots. Even to this day, I think of that sketch and I crack up.

I'm not sure if the mtv premiere was the first time I ever heard DotF, but it probably was. I seem to recall seeing/hearing some of it in the end credits for either ET or Access Hollywood the night before (maybe it was the night after, it's been so long). It was cool to be able to hear some of the actual music from the movie before it came out, although even back then I understood the concept of a "single" and knew that what was in the movie wouldn't be in that exact form. I can still remember sitting in that theater (it's gone now!) back on the afternoon of May 19, 1999, and how I felt when those destroyer droids rolled out into the Naboo starfighter hangar to the tune of that music.

The lightsaber battle that followed really blew me away. Looking back on it today, a lot of that was probably more due to the sound than anything else, but it was still cool to see a new lightsaber battle up on the screen for the first time ever.
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I was pretty much disappointed by every second of it. The only thing I really enjoyed about it was Liam Neeson- who's talents were kind of wasted in it. I wasn't particularly impressed by the soundtrack, as I feel it didn't hold a candle to the themes John Williams wrote for the OOT.

I saw it twice theatrically, once on the opening day and once for my Nephew's birthday celebration. I was 28 when it was released, so maybe if I had been a child I would have more nostalgic feelings about the time period in which it was released, but I don't think I would have enjoyed the film any more.

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Originally posted by: Mielr
so maybe if I had been a child I would have more nostalgic feelings about the time period in which it was released, but I don't think I would have enjoyed the film any more.


Heh, you just described what my situation was. While I have memories from the hype and the actual screening of Episode I, part of the reason I remember that time so well is that May 19, 1999 was only a couple weeks before I finally got done with 8th grade and the nine years of schooling I was desperate to get done with. Getting another Star Wars movie was what made the light at the end of the tunnel all the brighter.

Also, it's funny you should use the word nostalgia, because I'm guessing you saw the originals during their original runs in the late 70's and early 80's, and I'm guessing you wouldn't describe that as nostalgia. This is where (and I'm sorry to bring it up for the ninth, no, tenth time) LFL completely missed the point of why we want the originals in good quality.
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Originally posted by: Fang Zei
Also, it's funny you should use the word nostalgia, because I'm guessing you saw the originals during their original runs in the late 70's and early 80's, and I'm guessing you wouldn't describe that as nostalgia. This is where (and I'm sorry to bring it up for the ninth, no, tenth time) LFL completely missed the point of why we want the originals in good quality.
I saw SW and ESB in 1982 and ROTJ on opening day in '83. I do feel a certain amount of nostalgia for the first time I saw the films, and also the first TV airing of SW in '83 (on HBO). However, there's a lot more to it than just nostalgia.

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I thought it looked nice. (Creatures, costumes, vehicles, settings) At least George works with a talented crew of artists.

I also enjoyed playing Episode One Podracer and Jedi Power Battles on the Sega Dreamcast. Neither were "AAA" material but both were fun in their own way.

The film has a decent cast. Ian McDiarmid is the star of the show for me. It's almost like he's directing himself. Hugh Quarshie also gives a good performance. As does the actor behind Sio Bibble. Its always nice to see Brian Blessed and Terrance Stamp get work. Although I'll admit their talents are mostly wasted in the film. (But still its Prince Vultan and General Zod in Star Wars!)

Being a fanboy I've encountered both Ray Park and Ahmed Best on several occasions. They're both great guys, especially Ahmed Best. It almost makes me sad that people hate Jar Jar so much. He's a funny, charming guy who deserves better material.

I really get a kick out of Ric Ollie's comic overacting. "Sheild Generators Been Hit!" "Power's Back!" Ralph Brown really drives those lines home.

The Episode One action figures are some of the most well made figures in the modern Star Wars toy line. I even liked the Commtech Chips. (take that haters!)

Say what you will about his acting ability, Jake Lloyd has a great screen name. I just had to throw that out there.
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Episode I was the last time I really got into Star Wars big time. The years leading up to 1999 had been great: I bought the "last time" VHS release of the OOT, I went crazy collecting vintage stuff, Kenner released a new line of Star Wars toys and I went crazy for those too. Then the SEs came out, and I happily ate them up, since DVDs were still a niche market and I wasn't worried about not ever getting the OOT again. George Lucas was still a genius.

I enjoyed the hype leading up to Episode I, and I blew several hundred that night the toys came out at midnight. I thought the KFC/Pizza Hut/Taco bell commercials were enjoyable.

I got the soundtrack when it came out. It was great, but the name of one of the tracks gave away Qui Gon's fate. I was really ticked about that, since I'd been trying to avoid spoilers.

I saw the movie 6 times in the theater over the course of several months. I remember on the first viewing (I was 29) I was blown away by the lightsaber battle, and the awesomeness of it was enough to wash away my temporary annoyances with Jar Jar. I remember I specifically went one time to try to catch all the "hidden" stuff, like the George in the arch. Only after repeat viewings did Jar Jar become too much for me to take.

But after that, after all the money spent and the hype, I just felt TIRED and burnt out. Looking back, I guess it was inevitable I'd come down off my high. I soldiered on through the rest of the prequels, but it was never the same. And I was slowly losing faith in George.

You know of the rebellion against the Empire?

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Originally posted by: Erikstormtrooper
I got the soundtrack when it came out. It was great, but the name of one of the tracks gave away Qui Gon's fate. I was really ticked about that, since I'd been trying to avoid spoilers.
Shit , yeah, I remember that! Luckily I was warned to avoid the soundtrack until I had seen the film for that reason, but then there was a news repprt on TV along the lines of 'Star Wars fans pissed at track entitled Death of Qui-Gon'. I was pissed.

War does not make one great.

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1) The first teaser poster with ANakin casting the shadow of Vader on the hut. I still have a huge version of that up on the wall. For me, the best part of the prequels, although tainted by the crappiness that would ensue.

2) THe first time you see Darth Maul turn the lightsaber horizontally and light the second blade. I wish they had saved that for the movie and not had it in pre-release footage.
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Aww, shucks, i remember it so well. I was 21, newly living in my own flat, working as a qualified fishmonger, and that month it came out was hot. Damn hot. A whole group of about ten of us, all school friends who had grown up with the trilogy (and each other), went to see it together. We spent all day trying to track down original trilogy lightsabers (£50 for a double bladed!) and managed to find the very last vader and luke sabers in Taunton, and bought the whole stock. They were £6 each. Bargain. And, frankly, i frickin` loved the movie. I saw it five times in the cinema, got a pirate copy, and me and my best mate proceded to watch it as much as we could, practically every day. I remember taking the piss out of the neimoidians every time they spoke, mocking Jar Jar for being a crap character, repeating lines as though we were the kids from South Park, shouting "Baby dawn" when Obi-Wan shouts "Noo" during the duel. We genuinely, genuinely loved the movie and could happily see past it`s faults and enjoy it for what it was. I still maintain to this very day that it was the last ever `proper` Star Wars movie. We could see past its faults because not only was it highly enjoyable, we believed that Lucas had a plan, that eps 2 and 3 were going to tie it all together really really well.
And then Clones happened.
The feeling of dread that i had going into that one, everyone saying it was a lot more like the original trilogy.. Well, i didn`t want it to be. I WANTED it to try to be different, to explore new avenues, be more like TPM. Coming out of that theatre, i was gutted. It was a cgi cartoon, Yoda being relegated to a sideshow, no character developement AT ALL, none of the promised conversations between Padme and Threepio as she fitted his coverings. But i digress..
Seriously, i thought TPM was an excellent overture to the rest of the saga, taking a very operatic stance to being a prequel (even if we had to suffer a fool). If it had only been backed up by the other two. The shame of it is that i can no longer enjoy TPM for what it was, and haven`t actually seen it since i bought the DVD. Maybe i should give it a try. But i`ll probably just be dissapointed

“Ow! It`s hot in here, the butter in my pocket is melting!”

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Originally posted by: bkev
Anyone else have any parts that they found not disappointing? Anything you remember fondly?

For me the entire movie was a throw-away until the lightsaber duel at the end. The setting of choral music against it was a stroke of brilliance. Oh, and the Gungan marching band in the final parade was cool.

"Close the blast doors!"
Puggo’s website | Rescuing Star Wars

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Originally posted by: bkev
Anyone else have any parts that they found not disappointing? Anything you remember fondly?


It turns out that my favorite part about Episode 1 was discussing the plot and occasional spoilers with my friends before it came out.
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I remember sitting there opening weekend in 1999 next to 2 friends I grew up with as we were experiencing SW all over again, and then I heard the first words from this new CG character, "Meesa Jar Jar Binks........" I leaned to my friend, "I got a bad feeling about this....."
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That was chilling. I heard a mp3 of the "monsters out there.." line which was leaked before the release. I had that same feeling then.
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It was the first DVD I ever bought.

Originally posted by: Sluggo
Originally posted by: bkev
Anyone else have any parts that they found not disappointing? Anything you remember fondly?


It turns out that my favorite part about Episode 1 was discussing the plot and occasional spoilers with my friends before it came out.


I agree, I enjoyed the anticipation of each film more than the films themselves, speculating with friends, tracking down tidbits of information.

It's a flawed movie but i certainly don't hate it.

I loved the duel at the end but I hated how they just kept trying to up the Saber action in each movie.
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Originally posted by: Erikstormtrooper
Episode I was the last time I really got into Star Wars big time. The years leading up to 1999 had been great...


Being a Star Wars fan before 1999 was great. Everything felt so organic and fan driven. I blew my wad on vintage toys. And I went to Kinko's and the local Public Library to read spoilers on the web every day. (No computer of my own.)

For me it all came apart when I read that Pepsi can stating that Anakin had built C3PO as a child. Ok, maybe I can swallow Anakin finding C3PO in the junkyard and re-activating him. That gives C3PO a little bit of mystery and yet a mystical connection to the characters. However having Anakin build C3PO made the whole universe feel small and contrived. To this day its one of the things I really can't stomach.
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Originally posted by: CO
I remember sitting there opening weekend in 1999 next to 2 friends I grew up with as we were experiencing SW all over again, and then I heard the first words from this new CG character, "Meesa Jar Jar Binks........" I leaned to my friend, "I got a bad feeling about this....."


Yup same for me. I went to see the first week. I was really enjoying it, Star Wars was back! The minute the crawl hit the screen I could hardly believe it. I did think the color of the crawl was a little off though, but that would only be the beginning of the problems that film had. The Nemoidians suck, but I was ready to over look them. It was still awesome. Two Jedi bouncing around and slicing up droids. Then all of a sudden this odd CGI creature pops up on the screen, maybe I could look past it. Then the odd CGI creature opened him mouth and began to speak... and I suddenly felt incredibly disapointed. It was at that moment I realized this wasn't going to be the film I was looking for. Just about the time I was adjusting to Jar Jar enough to think maybe I could look past him, suddenly were are in an underwater city filled with Jar Jars, and in an odd twist of events we meet Boss Nas, and fatter, dumber looking, and equaly annoying version of Jar Jar... d'oh! More and more awful things like this pop up along the way, but in the end there was a fantastic lightsaber duel. Say what you will about it, but I really like the fight. And the music just hit home, it wasn't any Star Wars tune we had heard before, but yet it rang fresh and new and still 100% Star Wars. That lightsaber fight reignited the flame of excitment the whole idea of three new Star Wars had always lit in me. There were still two more to films to go, the first one was a bit of a miss, but it had some excellent moments. As the story progressed, and Anakin became an adult and the clone wars began, there was no way it wasn't going to be awesome, no amount of ridiculous CG characters was going to ruin this... it was Star Wars... as Jimmy Fallon had put it on SNL a couple of weeks before (sung to the tune of "Every Morning" by Sugar Ray), "I just can't believe it, George Lucas is a genius,
Star Wars is back again... first I'm gonna see it, and then I'm gonna see it again..."

Little did I know, I was in for one hell of a disapointment...

I definitly fit into the camp that thinks The Phantom Menace was the most authentically Star Wars of all of them. It just had its moments. Qui-gon was cool and IMHO Obi-Wan was spot on, Maul was a great villian, and seeing Darth Sidious, who we all knew was Palpatine played by the same actor from ROTJ, really gave it a nostaligic feel. And the score throughout (with the exception of the scoreless and over long Podrace sequence) just couldn't let you forget to be excited about the fact that you were watching a NEW Star Wars movie. Though now that the other two suck as bad as they do, the prologue that is The Phantom Menace just isn't worth watching by itself.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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The best part of TPM for me was right after I saw the first showing at our local theater. I had a blast telling everyone on the line outside for the next show what a pile of crap that the film they had been standing there waiting for hours to see was. I remember one guy getting all mad at me. With much over confidence he belted out to the entire line of people that I must be making it all up, and this was going to be the best film ever. But, then scores of other people coming out of my showing confirmed my banter of disgust to them all. I'll never forget the huge moaning sound that group made, and the pissed off look of that dude. Sorry, but that will be with me forever.

“First feel fear, then get angry. Then go with your life into the fight.” - Bill Mollison

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If anything, The Phantom Menace is my favorite out of the prequel trilogy, but that really isn't saying much. It is the only that delivers some kind of Star Wars feeling.

Oh, and the 'epic' fight between Anakin and Obi in Revenge of the sith might be the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Anyone agree? Especially when they started swinging from ropes! Is there anyone in the world that finds that even remotely cool?! Though, the little scene after that, where Anakin shouts out he hates Obi is actually pretty amazing.
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Originally posted by: Major fatal Moebius
Oh, and the 'epic' fight between Anakin and Obi in Revenge of the sith might be the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Anyone agree? .


I totally agree.

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Originally posted by: Johnny Ringo
Originally posted by: Major fatal Moebius
Oh, and the 'epic' fight between Anakin and Obi in Revenge of the sith might be the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Anyone agree? .


I totally agree.


I also agree. I was expecting that to be a Duel of the Fates, silver lining sort of moment for ROTS, I couldn't have been more wrong. I didn't find it exciting at all, and the cuts to the lame Yoda fight didn't help anything. Hovering over the lava was pretty dumb too.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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Well I really like the duel at the end of ROTS.But then I really like ROTS overall.Not very keen on AOTC though.TPM has a sort of naive,innocent charm in some ways that appeals to me now.
Let the lynching begin......
lol

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Originally posted by: bigbaddaddyvader


Let the lynching begin......
lol


Don't feel you have to justify why you enjoy a movie, cause everyone's tastes are different, and what I like and you like and someone else likes doesn't mean anyone of us is right or wrong. I think what happened with the PT is that people who didn't like the movies were told reasons why they SHOULD have liked them, and that they weren't giving them a chance, or they hated Lucas and didn't want them to be good, etc. Whatever happened to: I liked the movie cause I enjoyed it, and I didn't like the movie cause I didn't enjoy it.