Thursday, May 20, 2021

An Early Star Wars Celebration (Of Sorts)

I had planned to publish a post in which I wrote about Star Wars Episode I yesterday, but it turned out I was far too early for the celebration.

What I wanted to do was write about how May 19th it was the twenty-second anniversary of the film's release and I was going to mention how my friends and I went to see the film on the first showing at our local cinema.

But then, the realisation dawned on me. May 19th 1999 was the date the film was released in the US. It didn't reach my shores until July 16th. 

It's incredible to recall a time blockbusters came out in the USA months ahead of us. I think The Phantom Menace was the last time that happened, in regards to Star Wars movies, because I vividly recall the following movie, Attack of the Clones, having a worldwide release on May 16th 2002 (once again, we went to the midnight screening and I remember it was a few hours after Real Madrid won the Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen).

It's funny how I've spent this post writing about The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. Both films are right at the bottom of my rankings of the Skywalker Saga.

With that said, I'll firmly defend the opinion that the teaser poster for The Phantom Menace was badass:

Episode 1 Teaser Poster

I remember seeing this poster where I would catch my bus. Seeing it now brings back a memory of feeling excited to know that we were getting to see a brand new Star Wars movie after sixteen years. 

The image of Anakin Skywalker, with the shadow of who he'll become - Darth Vader, was such a great way of promotion. 

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