We are literally just days away from the 3D re-release of the first film in one of cinema’s biggest franchises, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Yesterday, we saw some never-before-seen images that took us behind the scenes of the film. And today, we have a great new featurette, courtesy of Yahoo Movies, in which we see George Lucas and John Knoll, VFX supervisor, discussing the process of the 3D conversion for the re-release.
Listening to them talk, it sounds like they’re going for a different approach to most 3D films these days, and not going for the gratuitous shots of things coming at you out of the screen, but are seeking to use the technology instead to give the image greater depth within itself.
Definitely an interesting take on things, and of course we get some brilliant clips spliced between Lucas and Knoll’s interviews. As Lucas says,
“Whether you see it in 3D or see it in 2D, see it on the big screen. There’s nothing like it.”
Provided the converted film is received well, the expectation is that we’ll get to see a 3D re-release for each of the six Star Wars films once a year over the next six years, which is most certainly something to look forward to.
Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace 3D is released here in the UK on Thursday, 9th February, and you can catch up on the official trailer for the re-release beneath the featurette in case you’ve missed it. I didn’t get a chance to see the film when it was first released back in 1999 (in my defence, I’d only just turned nine at the time), so I can’t wait to see it on the big screen for the first time.
