For me, nothing will ever come close to being as cool as when Qui Gon thrust his lightsaber into the blast door and just started cutting it open. That blew my mind. I was like "yeah man! That's how you use a lightsaber!"

Watching it again in the theater as an adult, the Republic scenes suddenly clicked why George added all that stuff. The "boring politics" fans use to whine about. It was George setting the board for Palpatine.

Phantom Menace was my first date with my wife. I am a huge fan and always have been (so is my brother-in-law). She saw all of the prequels in theater with me (only once though). Fast forward ten years later when there was a limited run of phantom menace in theater and when I asked her to go her response was “nah, I’ve never really liked Star Wars, in fact I really don’t like it…”. I asked then why did you say yes to our first date? Cause I REALLY liked you. 25 years later and we’re still together

I'll admit that "The Phantom Menace" is still my favorite name of all the Star Wars movies.

It was so good in theaters. You realize how much detail Lucas put into the world building. It's unfortunate how the prequels get looked over so much

I was 11 years old when my dad took me to the theatres to go see Phantom Menace. That day changed my life and I’m grateful for it.

I’ve been to two opening nights for Star Wars movies. Phantom Menace in college and the Rise of Skywalker. The energy there for Menace was so much better. Folks in costumes, lightsaber fights; it was a blast. Skywalker was like a parade of sad people attending a funeral.

It was an amazing time. The amount of hype and anticipation hasn’t really been duplicated

Phantom Menace was the first Star Wars film I saw and I loved it ever since.

Having seen the original Star Wars in 1977 as a college freshman, and having it really change my life, when Phantom Menace was coming out, my 8-year-old son was already salivating for the Darth Maul action figure before the film opened. We too did “midnight madness” at Toys R Us and it was insane. I too liked the movie, though wasn’t blown away either. But my two boys loved it. The loved Jar Jar and Maul and had pre adolescent crushes on Padme. Needless to say, it’s a film that was and is, a family experience!

The image of those Mountain Dew cans unlocked forgotten memories in my brain

25 years. Wow time flies. The Phantom Menace is a classic. Honestly I never understood the hate for the movie back then. It’s way better than all of the Disney/Lucasfilm movies. I’m 31 and I still watch this movie. George Lucas did a great job when it came to world building. & of course the lightsaber fights are legendary. Also Jar Jar Binks is not annoying. He’s a fun character.

The prequels came out at the perfect time for me. I was 8 when The Phantom Menace came out. I had no idea how corny or "bad" they were. I loved them and I still do to this day. They did light saber fights right, and there still hasn't been any fight scenes that are better.

Watching TPM in 3-D back in 2012 was awesome, now seeing it again in theaters to celebrate 25th anniversary was something I couldn’t resist. To this very day, I still have the movie on VHS.

I remember all this hype that you’re talking about. I was 8 when The Phantom Menace came out and my family went to see it. All my cousins, aunt and uncle, mom and brother and grandma. I collected all the cans, I remember the Anakin pod racer Pepsi machines. I remember after the film my grandma gifted a Qui-Gon and Darth Maul to my brother and I got Obi-Wan and a Maul of my own. Seeing it again with my kids in the theater was an amazing experience down memory lane.

*Behind The Magic* cd-rom was actually the very first presentation (on any format) of the *Episode IV deleted scenes* as I recall - and I still have my oversized box copy!

Watched this movie in theater for the first time last night and earned a new appreciation for it

This will always be one of my favorites. This the Star Wars movie I watched most as a kid. Very underrated film. Will be my favorite nostalgia movie probably, but it still holds up. I love this movie with all my heart.

You just brought back tons of memories of what life in the 90s was like. It's kind of amazing how much has changed since then.

It was an awesome time. I worked in a theatre and man, it was pure madness and magic!!! Beautiful time to be alive!!

I was born in 2000 and strangely enough only saw the 3D release once, so this was the next opportunity to see the film in theaters as everyone did in 1999, not counting the literal hundreds of times I have seen the movie fully at home on VHS and DVD (I basically know the movie like the back of my hand) and I gotta say.. wow.. just wow.. beautiful movie and I definitely feel like there was more to catch in its theatrical release. My wife and I ended up viewing it 6 times during this re release. The politics that everyone complained about, made sense. It added so much to the world building and what was happening in the background that it made the conflicts in the movie feel much more real and meaningful. The movie was amazing. The action, visuals, and sound were amazing and I gotta say,This movie didn’t and still does not deserve the hate or any at all. It’s not perfect, but it feels like a movie. Feels like a movie made with care. This was George going all out money wise, merch wise, and of course story wise and that’s why it felt ginormous for the hype and release. And of course, it definitely feels like Star Wars without a doubt!

I am 30 going on 31 next month, I missed Episode 1 in theaters, but I saw Episode 2 and 3! Those were the days. Three franchises for me, Star Wars, The Matrix, and The Lord of the Rings!

"It's Phantomin time." - Palpatine, probably

Absolutely perfectly said Thor. I think I'm two years older than you and I felt the exact same way leading up to the release, walking out of the theatre after that first viewing, and now 25 (how can that be!) years later. I love the movie and just like you, I miss being excited for SW. Cheers brotha.

I remember downloading the trailers for Phantom Menace back in the day and watching it obsessively even while at College haha

I was 8 years old when ep.1 released. Had never seen Star wars before, but my mother took me to the cinema for this. I was hooked, and a new Star Wars fan was made. Used to fast forward the VHS just to watch the podrace scene. Good times.

The Phantom Menace is my favorite Star Wars movie. To me, it is near perfect. The music is incredible, it is actually paced very well, fantastic world building, great visuals, and great characters. Seeing this in the theaters at 6 years old was a mind-blowing experience. As a kid, you love the action, how cool Darth Maul looks, and giggle at Jar Jar. As an adult, while you still appreciate some of those things, you really get in to what the movie is about: THE PHANTOM MENACE (aka Palpatine). The plot of this movie is so brilliant, so subtle, that just like the Jedi themselves, it went right over a lot of people's heads.

I was 10 years old when A New Hope came out, and I was in my mid 30s when TPM was released. Unlike Thor and many others, I had not kept up with the books and had stopped reading the SW comics after ROTJ had been released. But remembering the unbelievable hype back in 1977 and still loving SW, my wife and I went to see it a week after it was released. We had, back then, quite a few theaters in our home city and one was a sixteen theater facility. There were still quite a few people waiting in line, though it was showing at 3 or 4 of these 16 theaters. What was awesome, is that we took two preteen boys that were members of a youth group at our church where we assisted with the youth. Our denomination at the time, did not permit movie theater attendance, though just before TPM was released, they changed that to not permitting R rated movies (or worse) attendance. These two boys as a result had not seen SW movies in the theater, but they had on VHS or cable TV. One of the two had never in his entire life been to a theater, he was the son of our pastor, but our pastor allowed him to go. Imagine taking two 10 year old boys to not only see a brand new SW movie, but to see the first SW movie they've ever seen in a theater for the first time, and in one of their cases, the first movie he'd EVER seen in a theater. They were beyond excited, and when the 20th Century Fox flourish began at the start and the text scroll began rolling down the screen, my wife and I glanced at their faces. Their eyes were as big as plates, their faces (especially the pastor's son) had such pure awe and excitement on it that I will never forget it. They loved the movie and both are still SW fans. I remember being thrilled with the Special Effects, I thought how seemingly more grand the way this movie came across than the other SW films. Every scene was rich and vibrant, absolutely beautiful. Darth Maul grabbed your attention like nothing else and Obi Wan and Qui Gon's first battle with the Destroyer droids and B1s were so well crafted that I didn't think fight scenes could get better...until they took on Maul later in the film. When we left the theater, I was very pleased with it and I thought the story-line was well done. I wasn't as deeply moved as I was in 1977 when I saw ANH, for that changed me for a few years, and TPM didn't change me at all. However, it seemed that TPM set things up for a much fuller, (or perhaps 'richer' would be a better word) universe and I think that it laid the foundation for the expansion of SW now. The politics in the movie were specific to that universe and logical, the special effects were groundbreaking at the time and I think it sill looks fairly good. The magic was there in this movie, but it is fading now, Thor is right. If Lucasfilm could have kept the focus and passion that they had back then and reined in the SW movies and series (especially over the past few years) to 'stay on target' with the central focus that Lucas (seemed) to have back during TPM, I think our opinions of the franchise now would be much better. TPM was a reawakening of the SW universe into an actual 'universe' with expanded stories and there was nothing wrong about that; it began to lose it's focus with the last two sequel movies and stink bomb series such as Kenobi.

I was 11 years old. It was a warm Saturday evening and I was at my grandparents. My dad turns up and asks me if I want to go with him to book tickets for the new Star Wars movie (I think Jaws was on the TV at the time). So I go with him, we get to the cinema and we get in this long queue. We started to get closer to the counter and he casually gets my attention: in his hand are two cinema tickets. He’d already got 2 tickets to take me to see it 😂 One of the best movie experiences of my life. We left the cinema just after midnight and I was so hyped up that I don’t even remember how or when I went to sleep after I got home. In 2012 my friend and I went to go and see the 3D release, I still enjoyed it on the big screen. I was really looking forward to taking my own daughter to see the 25th anniversary at the cinema and she really wanted to see it but the weekend it was showing at my nearest cinema was my weekend at work. I was going to take my daughter the following weekend when she was staying with me but the movie was no longer showing in the cinemas. I was gutted that she didn’t get to experience TPM on the big screen the way I did with my dad. I really hope they rerelease the other prequels on their 25th anniversaries so I can take her to see those at the cinema.

Thank you for this. The Phantom Menace was my first Star Wars experience. I saw it in theaters as a kid because my uncle was a huge fan of the original trilogy. I enjoyed it alot and it got me into the series. The podrace was fun, Darth Maul was badass, and i loved the music.

You love Return of the Jedi. This is my Return of the Jedi. I’ll never forget watching for the first time, Anakin was this cool, sweet kid who wanted to help these strangers that came into Watto’s shop. We got Jedi action off the rip. Jar Jar and the Gungans were so cool looking and funny to me. Padme was admirable. Seeing them come together towards the end was just awesome. The criticism to this movie is fair (I’ve heard it all at this point) but this movie is a ten for me.

I was excited back then, too. I missed the midnight screening, but my friends and I did watch the first morning screening. I even filed for vacation leave for that day to make sure I watched on the first day at the first screening. I miss being that excited. Nothing in the present day makes me that excited anymore. Maybe it's because I'm past 50 and, in a way, "I've seen it all." But I will cherish those memories of excitement

Hey Thor. 1999 was a great year for me. I graduated college. Had a nice part time job as a help desk rep and looking forward to what my future would be. And I was on tons of online forums talking about this movie waiting for it to come out. My workplace at the time was all hyped about it as well. So much so, that they didn’t care at all that I used their internet to download the trailer and saved it on the company computer and watched it over and over for months while still managing to do my job. It’s all everyone talked about at the time. You touched on it Thor, but I very much remember the Pepsi commercials with the alien and the Yum brands commercials with the Kernal as a Jedi and a Pizza Hut delivery girl with a blaster and the Taco Bell dog being in there too. Those commercials reminded you about the movie EVERY commercial break. IMO this was the most hyped movie of all time. I liked the movie when I first saw it. But I was a little underwhelmed by it mostly because of how hyped it all was.

Loved the movie back then and still love it now, but I do have a bias for it admittedly. This was the last movie I watched with my Dad before he passed from cancer. My dad knew absolutely nothing about star wars but called Palpatine a crook the min he appeared on the screen 🤣

No movie has ever been more anticipated. Not Force Awakens, not Endgame. Phantom was on another level. And your video is excellent. TPM is so creative. It has heart. It wants to say something. and I miss Star Wara too. You took the words right out of my mouth.

I remember staying overnight at our theater to get tickets. I was so excited for this film I collected a huge amount of product and I think over half my Star Wars collection is from TPM. I saw it in the theater 9 times. And I took my husband to see it this time. It brought back memories and was a lot of fun. It will always hold a special place in my heart.

Puts into perspective how much of a SW fan you truly are, coming from someone who never got to see the prequels in theatres until just recently, it’s cool to imagine the hype for the next big movie after such an amazing original trilogy.

Man I still remember that Behind the Magic CD, I would just stare at the cover art since I loved x-wings so much. Actually made one with my legos with my mom and it was perfect!

For those either too young or literally unborn, you should've seen how crazy we used to get when ANH, ESB & ROTJ trailer commercials used to pop up on TV back in '77, '80 & '83! That said, TPM ushered in a whole new level of crazy for SW! It was as if we the fans finally united into one community during the genesis stage of the internet! How times have changed indeed... MTFBWY!

Great video, Thor. You’re bringing me back to the Revenge of the Sith premier. Our local theater had two massive skylights in front and from 10-midnight it was just a big Star Wars costume party before the midnight premier. I remember skipping my eighth grade graduation event because I didn’t wanna miss it. Flash forward to 2015 and I remember that first force awakens trailer BLOWING MY MIND. For the next year I was online consuming every scrap of info I could find about the sequels. The hype was unreal. And you’re right, seeing Luke at the end of Force Awakens just made me so excited for The Last Jedi. I remember thinking, “Disneys really doing it!!” I’ll never forget walking out of the theater after Last Jedi. I remember at the time it was getting universally praised by critics and I just couldn’t believe the soul crushing emptiness that the film left my with. I honestly died as a Star Wars fan that night. Then the culture war began and I was now a bad person for hating the movie. Fast forward to now and there’s nothing I want more than for Star Wars to just GO AWAY forever as a brand. I’m so over this franchise, they legitimately killed my joy for it. It’ll never be how it was.

It's funny how the Darth Maul cup cover came with the full Darth Maul.

I still remember being at my aunt’s house playing with Star Wars action figures and watching the Phantom Menace. The politics went over my head, but the action hooked me. My first Star Wars theater experience was my uncle taking me to see Revenge of the Sith. It was glorious. 👍

I enjoyed this movie a lot, I remmember seeing R2 saving the naboo ship, the pod racing and most epic of all darth maul showing his dual saber with duel of fates

I love how, even as an adult, I'm blown away by some of the details in this movie. Like when Obi-Wan suggests bartering with some of the queen's clothes. Like, how did I miss that line?

I remember wen I first saw EP1 I was completely blown away just by the art design itself. The underwater settlements, the planet completely covered with cities, the wierd punk style race pods, the futuristic but acient battle formation, the army of robots, the fight between beams generated by power stations, the civilization where multiple alien races live together. Nowadays we rarely see anything we haven't seen before, Disney star wars never gave us anything new.

TPM manages to truly bring Star Wars into the epic scope you imagined it would be.

Thor, I'm four years older than you so I know how it felt to wait 16 years. I started following George as he started posting his video diaries of writing the script. I remember him talking about how he took his kids to school then came home and started writing.

The creativity and heart of the movie really stood out to me the most recent time I watched it. I noticed this most when I saw Jedi Master Even Piell just standing in the background and thought, wow, they put so much heart into the design of this background Jedi with no lines such that, over a decade later, they could make him such a memorable and impactful character in his Clone Wars arc

I grew up on the originals thanks to my dad. The phantom menace came out when i was 12. Dad bought tickets weeks in advance and i was in the premier here, after a marathon at home.

25 years? I feel old. I was born in 1991

Episode 1 is not my favorite prequel but was the only one I was able to see it on the movie theaters in its re release with my father and oh boy, what a night it was. By then I was already a Star Wars fan and I was mind blowed by it seeing it in the big screen. Although I understood later on its flaws, I really appreciated what it was trying to tell as well its expansion to the lore that compared to what we saw in the sequels it wasn’t hurtful or intent on destroying it predecessors rather expanding them

Born in 1974 I was always obsessed with what came before ! I grew up with the original trilogy, and I really enjoyed the prequels . I thought the set up was perfect. seeing Anakin taken from his mother at a young age leading up to revenge of the Sith! I still enjoy them Today!

I was 11 when this came out. I was hyped for this movie. My family went opening weekend and I remember waiting in line at the theater. I was the only one in my family to line Jar Jar. I'm 36 now and took my 15 year old daughter to see this in theaters and it was as fantastic now as it was when I was a kid

I was 8 years old when this came out, really the dawn of the internet in a way. My mom was able to show me the trailer on our computer. Watched it at least 100 times. My parents had introduced me to Star Wars at such a young age, that as an 8 year old I remember the hype. I also saw this 9 times in the theater. My little brother was 5 and afraid of the big fish that chased them in the planet core. This movie will forever have a special place in my heart. 💜

I experienced a similar journey as you thor. I came out of the theater and enjoyed it, but had expected more. I know nothing could ever live up to the hype we had. However my son's came along in a couple years and absolutely love and embraced the prequels and defend them even now that they are adults, which makes me appreciate them more. I just love how we could all enjoy Star Wars and my heart breaks because I feel like that has been lost for future generations.

Great video as always Thor. I have a lot of similar memories (we are the same age). The lead-up and release of Phantom Menace was an incredible time. I also remember how great it was that we still had 2 more movies to look forward to. 😀

I was 13 years old at the time of release and I remember talking to my brother about the trailer...My neighbour (who was a few years older than I was and already in highschool) overheard and suggested we go opening weekend to watch it. Leading up to day, we would watch Ep.4, 5, 6 and played Shadows of the Empire on the N64 almost every weekend. We got dropped off at the mall, made our way towards the theatre and saw the vast amount of people lining up- the aura and excitement in the air was so fun. Interacting with others in line, I learned so much about the story and lore. Fast forward 25 years, that neighbour and I both have long moved away from our parents house but whenever we end up chatting through IG or see each other in public, our conversation always goes back to Star Wars and how great the experience of opening weekend of The Phantom Menace was.

I was 11 when it came out. I was obsessed with it. As an adult, I'm not a fan, but I deeply appreciate it. And Qui-gon is my favorite Jedi.

I honestly was able to enjoy the phantom menace even more in theatres and I payed extra attention to the plot and dialogue which was more clear than I remember

i love it. my friends made me a hookah out of the darth maul cup topper for my 19th birthday. amazing

I watched it this week for the first time in the theaters, and it was an awesome experience. I went with my best friend, and he got to share the experience with his two oldest boys.The Prequels were my childhood, but I had never seen them in the theaters.

Watching Lucas and crew in the screening room realizing they messed up is my favorite part.

It was a great time to be a kid. I was introduced to Star Wars 5 years prior and couldn't wait to see The Phantom Menace. I still remember my reaction from seeing the teaser poster for the first time in late 1998. I had just seen the special editions of the original trilogy in 1997 and thought that that would be it. Then I saw the poster that showed Anakin Skywalker as a child and Darth Vader's shadow behind him. Immediately, I knew who that kid was and who he would become. I had no idea that there was going to be another film, but after seeing that poster (then the trailer shortly afterwards) I knew I had to see it. I managed to see the film twice in theaters and several times on VHS. Nearly 25 years later, I still enjoy episode 1 and the other prequels un-ironically and do not regret it. Disney's films have not and never will match up to the originals, nor the prequels, and there's not been that many films since Phantom Menace that made me feel like I was going to witness an event in the making.

Bless my Dad for taking me to see this film and making us watch the originals on the lead up to it. Thank you, Father.

I was 7 years old when my parents took me to the grocery store in the village nearby. There was a grab box stagged with heavily reduced VHS copies of the film. I couldnt believe that more star wars movies beyond the OT existed, so we bought it and i was blown away when watching. Never forget that sunny day of 2001 that changed my life ❤

I was 6 years old when it came out and it was my first Star Wars movie and I loved the scenes with lightsabers, pod racing and Darth Mauls presence, the music was chilling and the visuals were amazing, for the time, so I made me get into watching the original trilogy and the other prequels afterwards

I saw it in theaters when I was 9. I had been watching the original trilogy on repeat for 3 years, and I had no idea there was even a prequel trilogy being made. Needless to say, it blew my mind, and it's been my favourite film ever since.

I wasn't around when The Phantom Menace came out, but I do remember learning about the hype around this movie from several friends. And I was pretty surprised. I know Star Wars was big, but I have seen the hype as big as it was in 1999 when The Phantom Menace was coming out. As for my opinion of the movie, well, when I was a kid, I didn't really care for it because I thought it was boring, especially with the politics in the movie. However, when I rewatched the movie for Episode IX, my opinion changed, and I really loved it. I think it was a case of my taste changing as I got older. So overall, while this movie isn't perfect, I still love this movie, and I do understand why some people don't like it.

My man, THOR, just said the phrase, "I was HIP TO the ways of the internet." 😂🤣😂🤣 🙏

I loved seeing it in the cinema as a kid. 1999 was a great year for me. I literally loved how Star Wars was current and everywhere. Games, toys, comics, candy, trading cards and books. I engulfed myself in it. The Phantom Menace was the first Star Wars film I saw in the cinema. My dad introduced me to the original on vhs years before. I had a collection of the now vintage toys I had collected because I thought the original trilogy were the best films I had seen at the time.... Anyway, as I said, the film was great for me as a kid, and I never found it boring at all. It's great that you can appreciate some elements even more as an adult. Seeing it in the cinema this year, it really amazed me how good the film still looks. I actually think it's better overall than most movies released by Hollywood today. Obviously I still enjoy episode 1 a lot, including the politics. It's all really good in my opinion.

Me and my family had fun watching this again in theater. It was entertaining and Jar Jar actually made us laugh.

My Mom took my brother and I to see it in theaters. I was 6 and he was 3 and it turned us both into lifelong fans. Afterwards we went to Toys R Us and I grabbed a Obi Wan figure and my brother got Qui Gon. Now I get to watch it with my sons and play with Star Wars toys with them and its truly amazing.

My experience with The Phantom Menace very much mirrors yours in most ways, though being a tad bit older, I also saw all of the originals in the theatre as well. Also, during my last two years of high school (I graduated in 1992), Heir to the Empire and its sequels came out. I'd met my lifelong best friend at that time as well, and he was an equal Star Wars fanatic (we also loved Star Trek as well). This was during a time when such things were seen as "nerdy", and got you made fun of in school. Our shared love of Star Wars in the face of that was one of the things that bonded us so tightly together. Fast forward to 1999. I'm married and living in Maine, and he's still in Connecticut, going to college. We spent all kinds of time on the phone and talking over those old IRC chats and emails about the upcoming movie. We were HYPED for it. I mean, almost manic, we were so excited. He was going with a bunch of college friends to see it, and i made plans to drive to Connecticut to join them. The day comes and we're STOKED. We get to the theatre 7 hours ahead of time, and sit in line playing Star Wars trivial pursuit. Some of the guys were dressed in Jedi robes. Some of the guys were keeping a countdown to the day Natalie Portman turned 18! LOL (And it's funny, one of those guys later went to Harvard with Natalie Portman, saw her at a party, couldn't muster the nerve to talk to her, and bailed from the party for fear of making a fool of himself! LOL). Finally, the moment comes, we get our tickets, and we finally, FINALLY get our first new Star Wars in 16 years. And it SUCKED. I mean, it had SOME good parts, sure, but over all, I was HUGELY disappointed. When we left the theatre, my friend and the guys were all hugging and high fiving each other, as though they'd just seen a cinematic masterpiece, and I was left standing there staring at them, thinking, "Did we just see the same movie?". I thought The Phantom Menace was poorly written, poorly acted, I thought Lucas made a poor choice in making Anakin so young, Jake Lloyd's acting was terrible (yes, he was just a kid, but this was during the era of Haley Joel Osmet, so that's no excuse), and I hated, HATED, with an undying, burning hatred that remains unabated to THIS day, Jar Jar frigging Binks. That ONE character ruined the movie for me more than almost anything else. I'm STILL mad at Lucas for THAT abomination! In all seriousness, my loathing for The Phantom Menace has diminished a bit over the years, especially since Attack of the Clones was WORSE - a feat I didn't think possible - and Revenge of the Sith partially made up for the crapfest of the first two movies (but only partially). But in hindsight, and given the absolute, soulless, abysmal, cinematic VOMIT that was the putative "sequels" - which I do NOT acknowledge as actual Star Wars movies - I guess I DO have something of a special place in my heart for The Phantom Menace, even if only because it came at a time in my life that marked the very end of my youth, and all the memories of that time period that come with it. So, even though I STILL think The Phantom Menace is a bad movie, I guess i DO have kind of a fondness for it in a strange way, and I WILL be taking my 9 year old son to see it in the theatre, because he loves Star Wars - something he got from me - and I want him to have the same kind of memories we have. Thanks Thor.

The more I listen to Thor the more I think we must be the same age +/- a year. Our Star Wars experience has been so similar. I only saw TPM three times at the cinema first time around, but I went to the 3D rerelease and the 25 year anniversary release. I absolutely love it, just like all the prequels.

Man, I still own the "Behind the Magic" CD. It was a great time to be a kid, back in the day

I was just shy of my 6th birthday when TPM released in theaters, so I don’t really remember the hype, I just knew it was coming out and then a week later it came out, I think I went right after my birthday? Idk, i was young. But I do remember that same hype feeling when ROTS came out later in ‘05, and I just remember feeling at that time, this was it. I would never ever get to experience this type of hype for another Star Wars movie ever again in my life, so I relished and cherished every single second of anticipation leading up to Ep III. Never would I have guessed that a decade later I’d be reliving that same feeling I had as a preteen when TFA was about to be released. I actually felt like a kid all over again. I was 22, living life to the fullest, had a great job, and now I’m getting to live this life AND experience the pure, unbridled joy of the best parts of my childhood again??? In only a short (but oh so long) two years after that, for those two years the hype in the community became very apparent to me as I was just really starting to get into KZfaq (which was mostly due to TFA a few years prior). And after the (generally) positive feedback from fans for TFA, the hype surrounding TLJ was absolutely unreal and unlike anything, even the time leading up to Ep. VII. And although I’ll admit, I do genuinely enjoy The Last Jedi, I’ll be first to admit all its faults and acknowledge the irreparable damage it did. But a part of why I love it AND Ep. VII so much is because of the hype leading up to those films. It was a magical time in my life that I had thought would never happen again after 2005, and I’ll always hold those memories near and dear to my heart, more so than the movies themselves, because it was that shared love for Star Wars by fans and the community at large that really made it special. Almost as special as Ep. III was for me or Ep. I was to a lot of people.

I spent hours, weeks, months perusing Behind the Magic! Of course I remember watching those deleted Biggs scenes with Luke and the gang at Toshe‘s. I was searching for clues as to what the Prequels were about: I thought the Bfaassh system would play into the Prequels. I wondered if this tall fella right beside Warwick Davis was Peter Mayhew in that Episode I glimpse…but, Thor, do you remember actually seeing the "At last, we will have revenge“ from afar on that CDROM? It also reveals Maul if you knew where to look. And then we see George Lucas say that "Ian‘s always great“. Revealed, Sidious was! Great video as always, please do a Behind the Magic re-review on You Tube.

I still remember my dad buying me the N1 and Vulture Droid fighter "laser" toys that split apart when you "shoot" at the other fighter properly, they had all sorts of sounds and such, lost literally every single piece of those toys within weeks.

First movie I ever saw in theaters, hooked ever since.

Im about the same age as you and your trip down memory lane really brought me back. I feel really similar to you loved it and now and loved it then but yea I was expecting it to change my life. And even tho it didn't change my life it has changed how I see starwars. I think its amazing that it's so different than the og film and yet 100 perfect starwars... people can hate me but I dont think that Disney has been able to catch that magic that George had. The films were poetic at times and always fun... they were for lack of way say it just " starwars-yyyy"

I have blurry memory of the original trilogy when my parent rented them on VHS, so my first Star Wars movie ever as a Kid was The Phantom Menace, maybe everyone else was disapointed, but god damn I loved that movie as a child. I can see the flaw as an adult, but I still love it today

I loved this! I wasn’t born quite yet when this movie came out, and I had no knowledge any all of this. It’s really cool.

Loved it when I was a kid. I have enjoyed it over the years but my enjoyment of it has come in different ways. I liked it in the cinema on May 4th! Thanks for the video. 😊

This movie became better with time🤔

Wow, memory core unlocked, I remember that that “behind the magic” game-thing disc! And you’re right, I’m not sure how to categorize it.

I was born in March of the same year. I don't have any memories of TPM release; what I do remember is it being a constant presence throughout my whole life. I do remember AOTC in theaters, with my best friend at the time. All of the hype from that movie directly came from the hype around TPM though, and not for me, per se, but for the Star Wars Fandom. All of the merchandise for TPM was still around at the time, and my dad had it throughout the house. Darth Maul was my favorite character, even held up to the OT until I was 8 or so lol I had TPM school supplies, and loved them. My dad had the COVETED Darth Maul lightsaber and my brother and I would attack him whenever he had it out. TPM defined the power of Star Wars, for me, and still does. Not the best, and I do love the OT more, but that movie is so special to me. I'm watching it with my youngest sister as her first exposure to Star Wars every day off from work I get lol so far she loves the idea, and thinks it's so cool that this is just episode 1, and that there are five more

Thank you for this fascinating look back. I remember it, but I really wasn’t aware of most of what you mentioned. All of this is fascinating and if it’s not a documentary yet, it should be.

Thanks for letting me know of the re-relase, Thor.

I was two years old when it came out, but it was a childhood staple for me that I enjoyed and plan to enjoy again on Sunday, 25 years to the day it came out. I skipped the theater rerelease.

I was too young to see this in theatres as I was born in 1996. However I had the opportunity to see this in theatres recently for the 25th anniversary and am very glad I did. The Pod race and Duel of the Fates scenes were just so cool to see on the big screen. Can’t wait for Attack of the Clones an Revenge of the Sith.

I am sure I commented this years ago on your channel, but I always have the memory of Phantom Menace coming and going in my viewing experience as a lot of nothing... I left the theatre cold... no real impression at all outside of some cool Lightsaber fight or maybe the first minute of the podraces. I still very much see it that way upon rewatches of the movie... but I want to enjoy it more especially after the Sequels because even though it's badly executed at times... it's still pure Lucas and thus pure Star Wars.

Watching Phantom Menace in the theaters again after 25 years, it hit so different, like i remember how little i was watching it on big screen and now I felt the time, like how much content and context that came after this movie first released, i got very emotional. The effects, gungon city, pod race, anakin saying goodbye to his mom, the senate meetings, and the final battle. Yeah its both a good movie and fun experience.

The first VHS I ever owned was The Phantom Menace. I was 3 years old, and 2nd only to Jurassic Park, it was my favorite movie for years!

You had a re-release of the Phantom Menace in cinemas? Cool. I would love that.

I absolutely love the Phantom Menace. Saw it aged 9 in the cinema having seen the original trilogy on VHS at age 6. So I was extremely excited having seen the originals to hear a new Star Wars film was being made. I think I saw it 4 times at the movies and then I got the VHS as soon as it came out and probably watched it about 50 more times before Attack of the Clones came out. I loved the Duel of the Fates the most as most people do. The rest of the movie was still great but that fight is just one of the best movie scenes of all time. (Along with Anakin and Obi Wans battle in ROTS)

Took my 6 year old to see this in theaters and he loved it! I hope they keep releasing Episodes 1-6 in theaters so I can take him to the see the rest!

When the trailer came out and you got a glimpse of Qui Gon and Obiwan coming through those opening doors with lightsabers drawn and beginning a fight.... I just couldn't wait. It was epic. And while I agree...the ultimate movie didn't turn out to be a life-changing experience, the story of little Anakin and the podrace and the duel of the fates was a great great experience.

Remember the months leading up to Phantom Menace coming out. I was stationed at Fort sill Oklahoma. The local movie theaters had fun together to do a special for the military. We got a chance to see it in the first showing. I think it was like the night before. I remember my wife falling asleep halfway through. It was definitely an event. I Think that’s what’s missing in modern Star Wars. It’s become, for the lack of a better phrase, mundane.

I was born after attack of the clones so going to my local theater and seeing phantom menace with my younger brother was a nice treat. Though I’ve seen it a dozen times and I’m sure he has too, seeing it on a large cinema screen is just a different experience and it was fun(the fact tickets were only $5 didn’t hurt either)

This movie introduces me to darth maul and made him my favorite character in Star Wars to this day.