National Film Vault
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FILM NOTES
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace was released by Lucasfilm through 20th Century Fox in May 1999, marking George Lucas's return to the director's chair after more than two decades. The film launched a prequel trilogy that recontextualized the entire saga, introducing audiences to a younger galaxy and drawing one of the largest opening weekends in cinema history at that time.
This cell, titled Senator Palpatine - Queen Padmé Amidala, captures frames from the Naboo sequences featuring Keira Knightley as Sabé in her Queen Amidala disguise, Oliver Ford Davies as Governor Sio Bibble, Natalie Portman as Padmé Amidala, and Ian McDiarmid as Senator Palpatine. The frames document the layered political deception central to the story, with the true queen present alongside her decoy within the same encapsulated strip.