25 years ago I got to go to the midnight premier of the Phantom Menace and my life changed forever. My dad and his best friend were making their plans to see it and I begged to join them. I was six years old and it was a school night, I had to promise that I wouldn’t complain about getting up to go to school in the morning. The movie was all everyone in my dad’s friend group could talk about for months previously and I had seen the trailer when seeing other movies with my family. I vividly remember seeing the poster of a young Anakin with the shadow of Darth Vader and having a feeling of pure excitement. Now 25 years later I reflect on the Phantom Menace premiere impact on fans and legacy
The excitement and speculation surrounding the movie was a cultural phenomenon. The children and teenagers who saw the original movies were now adults who were curious about the new movie coming out nearly 20 years later. People were even paying full admission to other movies just to see the trailers prior to the movie coming out. Fans wanted to know how George Lucas was going to pull this off. This was in the early years of the internet and fan run sites were popping up to discuss every little detail and theory about what the movie would be about. When the trailer was released online, the serves for the official site overloaded and was downloaded over a million times in the first 24 hours. This record would only be beat a year later with the release of the trailer for Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of Ring.
My dad was one of the masses who got in a long line weeks before the premier to get a ticket. The line he was in was for a small cinema in the town we lived and was nothing like the days long lines in cities across the country. Advance ticket sales were chaotic leading up to the film release. After initially refusing to allow advance tickets too early, Lucasfilms agreed to earlier tickets with a limit of 12 per person. There were strict instructions that theaters could only play the film in their largest rooms, no honor passes, and quick payment to the distributor. Then the film was moved up by several days with Lucasfilm saying they wanted fans able to see it early so that families had an easier time watching over the opening weekend. During all of this, scalpers were profiting and selling tickets up to $100 for the first few days.
Leading up to the release several newspapers published reviews earlier than the original agreement. The reviews ranged from average to below average, saying that while the hype around the movie was infectious the movie did not hold up to the high expectations. The reviews only made fans more curious to see it for themselves and did not seem to affect movie sales negatively. My dad did become more skeptical and remembers thinking “How are they going to pull this off?”
Standing in line an hour before the movie began, my dad had to tell me to stop bouncing. I was so excited I couldn’t sit still. I remember the general feel of the others going to see the movie that night was excitement. Even my pessimistic dad gave over to the excitement and cheered along with everyone else as the music started. After the record breaking five day opening weekend, audiences clearly enjoyed the film and gave it an average score of A-, much better than the critics.
I can not speak for the fandom, but I can speak for myself about the impact the film had. Simply, it blew my six year old mind. My favorite part was the underwater scene, and my dad jokes that that was the initial spark that lead me to pursuing Marine Biology. I had been shown the original trilogy in the months leading up to seeing Phantom Menace and was captivated by the story, and I was thrilled to see more. My brother and I joke about being third generation nerds, being raised on comics and science fiction by our parents, but having this experience as a young child was what I think made me a life long proud nerd. Being surrounded by other excited fans and being a part of a community enjoying something added to the experience. As an adult my best friend and I got to go to the midnight premier of the third trilogy with The Force Awakens and the comradery of the fans made the experience that much more enjoyable.
When asking my dad if he ever had doubts about showing me these movies at a young age and bringing me to the premier, he told me that he never did. He saw that my younger brother and I were able to distinguish that it was a story and not real which is why he showed us those movies and others. If we had not been able to tell the difference, he would not have. He had seen how exited I was when I asked to see the movie with him, and after a quick discussion with my mom, agreed to take me. Besides bouncing in my seat the whole time from excitement, I behaved well in the theater and my dad told me he had no regrets about taking me. I don’t remember the morning after, but according to my dad I insisted I wasn’t tired and went to school without complaint. My dad thinks I was trying to convince him and my mom that I should be allowed to do it again.
Twenty five years later and much about the movie has been criticized and defended. None of what has been said can take away from the initial excitement and hype leading up to the film finally being seen by fans. The movie broke box office records and was seen by fans all over the world. As the anniversary approaches, fans continue to reflect on the movie’s enduring impact, from the initial excitement leading up to its release to the countless rewatches over the years, reminding us that its legacy transcends the criticisms and defenses it has garnered.
