National Film Vault
Tap to enlarge
FILM NOTES
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace arrived in May 1999 from Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox, ending a sixteen-year gap in the theatrical Star Wars saga. Directed by George Lucas, the prequel drew enormous anticipation and introduced a new generation to the franchise while expanding its mythology through digital filmmaking techniques that pushed the boundaries of what was possible on screen at the time.
This cell, titled Padmé Amidala and Jar Jar Binks, captures three frames from a night exterior sequence, with city lights visible behind the two characters. Natalie Portman's Padmé and the CGI-realized Jar Jar Binks share the shot across all three frames, each a duplicate of the same moment, preserving a quiet scene between two of the prequel trilogy's most distinctive figures.