Star Wars - The Phantom Menace (VCD)

It was 20 years since we saw the first Star Wars movie hit the cinemas and make a real impact into the world of special effects laden space operas. Just a handful of years ago, word came through that Lucas was working on the prequel trilogy of his 6 part tale and the world waited with baited breath for the 4th movie to hit the cinemas. And boy did it hit.

The story goes back some 40 years before we first met Luke Skywalker, Obiwan Kenobi and Han Solo as they went on their intergalactic adventure to save a princess. It was a simple tale back then, now it's time to fill in the gaps. We start off with our Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jin and his padawan apprentice Obi-wan Kenobi on a mission to the Trade Federation. Talks don't go as planned and soon the planet of Naboo is under federation control.

As the Princess (Natalie Portman), her Jedi helpers and her crew leave Naboo, they come across Tattooine for repairs on their ship. Here we meet young Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), a young slave who lives with his mother. Qui-Gon senses the force in this young one and it is this that helps free him from slavery to follow the Jedi to become a Jedi himself.

Throw in the Emperor causing havoc for our team with his lethal apprentice Darth Maul and a Senator seeking power through deception and you've got an interesting first chapter to our saga. Add in special effects that count for 95% of the movie and you've got 2 hours of Star Wars entertainment.

This VCD is the only official release of the movie on a digital format for home use. Presented across 2 CDs, both including 6 and 7 chapter stops respectively, we've finally been given an alternative to the mass market VHS release currently available.

We're not reviewing the DVD here, this is VCD, an MPEG1 format, that brought us the first real digital video format to our homes. We're talking half the resolution, half the bit-rate and the boundaries not really being pushed, it isn't going to make a dint in the out of control DVD market but this VCD is probably one of the best I've come across in my experiences of VCDs on both laserdisc enabled players and DVD players.

The only digital version of this movie available was the make-shift VCD floating around the net of footage taken from a Seinfeld style bootlegging escapade. The quality was pretty bad, the audio was shocking and it was only a desperate attempt by fans to have this movie playing in their DVD players at home that really made it successful.

The video quality here, for a VCD, is very, very good. Being the mpeg format that it is, we get a rich color spectrum the image is displayed from with a dynamic picture range that is better than it's VHS counterpart. Black level is still lacking and sharpness suffers from the lack of resolution. I also don't think this is taken direct from the digital source that Lucasfilm has in it's archives and what will most likely be used for the DVD release. Suffice to say, I'd have these 2 discs over a VHS copy any day.

The presentation is in PAN & SCAN. Yes, I can hear the groaning now, but I ask you "Why would you want a widescreen version of this movie that is on a format with only half the resolution of a DVD?". This, to me, is an interim solution and a good one at that. It is also only available in the PAL format which is good news for us as it will play on any dvd player in Australia and for that matter on any TV aswell.

There are mpeg artifacts present in the encoding. This is normal for ALL VCDs that have been created as it's a deficiency in inherent in the format. They becoma very minimal as you immerse yourself in the movie.

Overall, it looks damn fine indeed, much better than my VHS copy, streets ahead of the pirated VCD version and 100% better than the non-existent DVD version. Hopefully not for long though. Don't freak at my review scores though as I'm reviewing it as a VCD with a slight tilt towards what it compares to in the DVD format. Put it this way, it's much much better than the Dune DVD release we currently have. Shudder.

Audio wise we are given a 2 channel Linear PCM stereo soundtrack that has the encoding in it for the full surround experience, NOT 5.1 though. Dialogue is always clear with the award winning soundtrack producing an entertaining aural experience.

The only downside I noticed was that, due to the format, when things got really intense on screen, the soundtrack seemed to overpower itself. I guess the encoding used is not too kind on VCD. I would compare it to being better than the best the VHS version could offer.

Don't be diswayed though from any previous VCD experiences you may have had. The audio is in English and there are NO subtitles burnt onto the image other than those used normally througout the movie. Don't consider this some Asian release because it is the real deal from 20th Century Fox. Hope that clears up any confusion or misgivings.

Did you expect any extras on a format that doesn't have the capability? Of course not. You do get some nicely styled CD jewel cases that the 2 discs come in and a nice cardboard cover that they are initially encased in. Although this cover seems to be useless once the package is opened.

OK, I'm happy for the time being. The Phantom Menace DVD is a while off yet and this interim solution fits the bill nicely. For fans like myself, I highly recommend it as part of your collection. There's nothing cooler than having a Star Wars movie in all possible home video formats apart from the fact that it's lining Lucas' pocket with more credits.

If you have ever wondered what that little VCD logo on your dvd player was for, it's for this VCD. Put it in your player, and let it go from there. It's not DVD perfect but it's the next best thing.

You know you want to, it's christmas, do it for your Star Wars addiction, do it for your kids who wear out that VHS copy gathering dust.