Twenty-two years ago, these words first flashed across movie theater screens around the world, and a modern legend was born. Hundreds of millions of people would be introduced to a saga that would touch their lives in ways then unimaginable. Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and the Special Editions of all three films, became defining events for two generations. The fast-paced action adventures, set in a new and exciting universe, featured grand design and boundless fun. The films inspired countless numbers of viewers with themes that are universal and timeless: the conflict between good and evil and between technology and humanity, the celebration of heroism, and the limitless potential of the individual.

The Star Wars saga is a modern-day fairy tale reflecting the vision of George Lucas. Lucas imbued this new myth with pieces of American pop culture, including movie westerns, swashbucklers and -- for seasoning - Japanese samurai epics. Star Wars was also a reaction against Watergate, Vietnam and other periods of domestic turmoil that seemed to undermine the concept of the hero for disillusioned Americans. With the Star Wars saga, Lucas decided to bring together these recognizable, modern-day threads under the umbrella of the basic mythic structure -- the journey of the hero -- that has been in place for thousands of years, in hundreds of civilizations. With its mix of the traditional and the modern, Star Wars' new mythology thrilled young and old alike.

Now, with Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, Lucas takes us back to the beginning, in which Darth Vader is a hopeful nine-year-old boy named Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi is a determined young Jedi knight. This first chapter, which is rich in art, design, costumes, architecture and technology, follows Anakin's journey as he pursues his dreams and confronts his fears in the midst of a galaxy in turmoil.