Sources: Wikidata · OpenAlex · Library of Congress. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace arrived from Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox in 1999, sixteen years after the original trilogy closed, making it one of the most anticipated theatrical releases in modern film history. As the first chapter of the prequel era, it introduced audiences to a younger Republic, new mythology around the Force, and a wave of technical ambition in production design and effects that reshaped blockbuster filmmaking for the years that followed.
This cell centers on the duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul, with Qui-Gon Jinn present as the third figure in that pivotal confrontation. Maul's design and lightsaber work made him an instant fixture in fan culture, while Kenobi's arc as apprentice moving toward mastery gives this moment lasting narrative weight. For collectors, a 35mm cell from this sequence captures a defining set piece of the prequel trilogy, prized for its connection to one of the saga's most referenced action sequences.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both visible edges; the strip holds three frames
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched corners are rounded and cleanly cut
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along the lower edge, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data block pattern visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the lower edge, consistent with a dual-format optical track
Edge print
Not fully legible at this size; partial characters visible along the lower edge but cannot be quoted with confidence
Base & colour
Base appears clear with a slight warm tint; dye image reads as warm-amber overall with no obvious fading or colour shift
Projection history
Light vertical scratching visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot and the lightsaber duel imagery is consistent with Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Era check
The combination of variable-area optical track with Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks is consistent with a theatrical release print from 1999, when that dual-format configuration was standard
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000064081
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
