El Cosmico here, a fine reader has sent in a lengthy review of the Japanese laserdisc version of everyone's favorite film with the most ridiculously long title ever...Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Whew. Well, you can probably guess how I feel about this stuff...I keep watching the ads on TV for the VHS version, and...all they show are the light saber fights, and a little bit of pod-racing. Hmm, I think I'll just tape the commercial instead of buying the VHS version. That was all I wanted anyway.
FUN! Well, enough about that, I still love laserdisc, and so do the Japanese, which is why they've got an LD version of TPM. Soooo...if you're a TPM fan, and I know there are a few of you out there, check out this review. Many thanks to Mr. Collier for taking the time to write this for us.:
"El Cosmico,
I just received my import laserdisc copy of The Phantom Menace, straight from Tokyo. If you're interested, here's my take.
If George Lucas is as good as his word, there won't be a DVD release of Star Wars: Episode I-- The Phantom Menace (thankfully reduced to TPM for the remainder of this review) until 2006, at the earliest. With that in mind, the Japan-only laserdisc release will probably be the highest-quality home video version for most of this decade. This disc isn't cheap, even if you happen to pick up a copy on the Ginza (it's 8190 Yen, or about $79 US). A number of American retailers are offering it for $125 and up. I imported a copy directly from CD Japan (cdjapan.co.jp), but thanks to shipping charges, I only saved a few bucks off the average US cost.
So, is it worth the price? If you didn't like TPM in the first place, probably not. The laserdisc version doesn't speed up the plot, replace Jake Lloyd with Haley Joel Osment, or include a 'special edition' insert of Jar Jar Binks' execution. We still don't get close enough to the characters, the pod race still lasts too long, and you can still count Darth Maul's lines without running out of fingers. On one hand.
(Even for all that, I humbly submit that TPM is a MUCH better film on a second viewing. The first time around, you probably had too much anticipation, you didn't know what to pay attention to in the cluttered plot, and the visuals are just plain overwhelming. The second time, you can relax and soak it all in, taking TPM for what it is instead of what you wished it would be. Plus, you can actually understand what the hell Jar Jar is saying--not that this makes him any less annoying. But I digress.)
But if you did like this movie, this disc just might be indispensable.
The transfer is one of the best I've ever seen, or heard. If this level of clarity is what TPM looked like in its limited digital projection release, I can only imagine how spectacular the movie must have been in that venue. Forget the scratched-up print that you last saw in August, or the weak U.S. VHS transfer, THIS is how Episode I should look on screen. The colors are astonishing, making dim scenes like the (still superfluous) sub chase glitter with previously-unsuspected detail, and the gigantic set pieces are nothing short of breathtaking. The spectacular cityscapes of Theed and Coruscant have never looked better. The Jedi lightsabers, in particular, are so brilliantly reproduced that the climactic duel nearly leaps out of the screen. It's almost like parts of the movie are being projected in 3-D.
The sound mix is also top-notch. Every nuance of Ben Burtt's and John Williams' creativity is painstakingly reproduced in 5.1 Dolby Digital. The surround engineers who mixed this movie for home video did an outstanding job of creating a virtual soundstage all about the listener, wrapping the murmurings of the Naboo forests and Mos Espa traffic around the main action, skillfully keeping the background audio present, but not to the point of distraction.
Speaking of distractions, the laserdisc is complete with Japanese subtitles, but fortunately, they're confined to the lower black bank of the letterbox presentation (and they certainly aren't an issue whenever Darth Maul is on the screen). The movie is presented in CLV format (I guess CAV was really hoping for too much), on three sides. There are no extras to speak of; no trailers, no making-of clips, nada. I suppose we'll all have to wait for the eventual DVD release for those (although I'll bet there are some flat-out spectacular bootleg DVDs mastered from this release which are already making the rounds in the Far East). The packaging is limited (a gatefold sleeve with a shot of Amidala's palace on the inside), and most of the liner text is in Japanese. There are 40 well-chosen chapter stops.
Bottom line? If you hated TPM to begin with, this disc won't make you like it much more. But if you're a fan, this is as good as this movie is going to get on your TV screen for a long, long time.
Best,
--Will Collier
Well, there you go. Damn fine review, Will. Folks, run out and pick it up, or don't. Do whatever you want. It's your money.-El Cosmico
mailto: elcosmico@austin.rr.com
