Welcome to a new type of post here at All Timelines. In this series, I will provide a detailed analysis of a specific film. For starters, I’m talking about Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, the first of the Star Wars prequels, released in 1999 and directed by George Lucas. In these posts I will provide a scene by scene breakdown of the film in extreme detail. Think of it as a audio commentary if you could pause at each couple of shots and talk about it. For me, it’s a way of getting all my thoughts on these films out in the open.
This analysis will be primarily textual, meaning that I will only use the “text” of the film. That refers to the dialogue, sounds, music, and visuals of the film itself. I will also draw from deleted scenes and the film script. These are my only primary texts. I may include links or references to other sources, but will only cite these as “fun facts” or “FYIs.” They will not become a basis for my analysis. I may also reference other Star Wars films where appropriate.