'ATTACK' AT 20: DEATH OF A SKYWALKER!

A mother and son reunited... if all too briefly.

Following the trail of the elusive Tusken Raider tribe that have kidnapped his mother, Anakin finally discovers their distant location and begins a solo rescue mission. Though successful, their reunion is sadly brief. Overjoyed to see her son after so long, Shmi Skywalker's brief happiness sees her sadly die in her son's eyes, due to the intense injuries inflicted on her by the Tuskens. Sure enough, Anakin's path to the Dark Side is confirmed when he mercilessly seeks revenge on the primitive group, killing all of them with his lightsaber using retaliation, even slaughtering the women and children!

Anakin find the far out Tusken encampment.

The dramatic scene was shot on a small set comprising a small area of sand and with one tent at the Australia FOX Studios in 2000, the backgrounds around the tent being later enhanced by model and matte work for the finished film. 

The Tusken encampment where Shmi has been captured.

Concept art for the encampment by Ed Natividad from 2000.

A look at members of the Tusken Raider nomad community.

One of the Tusken females in a costume reference/publicity image.

Closer look at the mask of a Tusken female.

“There is something about Pernilla August (playing Shmi) that is hard to explain. She has an aura about her and when she walked onto the set, it affected everybody. Hayden loved her. Emotionally, this scene is a big turning point, because this is what sets Anakin off. And I think to have the character of his mother played by Pernilla made it that much more emotional for Hayden.” 

Rick McCallum - Star Wars: Mythmaking book - 2002

Anakin is shocked by what has happened to his mother.

The injured Shmi, tortured as a trophy prize by the Tuskens.

A tender moment between a reunited mother and son.

One final gesture of love from mother to son.

Lucas and Pernilla August on set during this tense, sad and emotional scene's filming.

“My mother (Shmi Skywalker) pretty much dies in my arms and my immediate reaction is to go ballistic. I walk out of town and murder all of the Sand People. There isn’t too much to it. I haven’t seen the film so I don’t now how long it’s played out, but when we shot it it was just me in front of a blue screen pretending there’s Sand People there and killing them. It’s just me with a lightsaber going “Aargh!” to nothing. I have no idea what it looks like but as long as I look like a bad-ass Jedi, then cool.” 

Hayden Christensen - Arena Magazine interview - June 2002

Anakin goes on his murderous rampage.

The killing spree begins, and the balance of the Force is unsettled...

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: ON A NEW PATH!

With the strong presence of the Force inside him, and with the dutiful and loving support of his mother, Anakin Skywalker has survived a harsh existence on Tatooine that would normally break the spirit of most adults. Now he goes off to an incredible future, but at the expense of losing Shmi, in this memorable and emotional scene from EPISODE I

A couple of lines were lost between Shmi and Anakin before his final departure:

SHMI hugs ANAKIN. QUI-GON watches from the distance. She kneels down and looks him in the face.

Shmi's filmed but deleted line: "No matter where you are, my love will be with you."

SHMI: Annie, remember when you climbed the great dune in order to chase the Banthas away when they wouldn't be shot... Remember how you collapsed several times, exhausted thinking you couldn't do it?

ANAKIN shakes his head.

SHMI: (Cont'd) This is one of those times when you have to do something you don't think you can do. I know how strong you are, Annie. I know you can do this...

"There was a scene where he (Jake Lloyd as Anakin) had to say goodbye to his mother (Pernilla August as Shmi). I didn't want him bursting into tears and carrying on, but I wanted to portray that he was emotionally upset without going over the top. That was a difficult scene."

George Lucas - Premiere magazine - May 1999

Prior to saying goodbye to his mother, Anakin also said goodbye to his friend Kitster in a filmed but deleted scene:

KITSTER runs up to ANAKIN as he and QUI-GON  exit Anakn's hovel. SHMI stands in the doorway. ANAKIN pulls a handful of coins out of his pocket and gives them to KITSTER.

KITSTER: There are so many of us who want you to stay, Annie... You're a hero.

ANAKIN: I... (looks to SHMI) I... have to go.

QUI-GON has moved a short way down the street.

KITSTER: Well.

ANAKIN: Well.

KITSTER: Thanks for every moment you've been here. You're my best friend.

ANAKIN: I won't forget...

ANAKIN hugs KITSTER and runs towards QUI-GON, then stops to look back at his mother standing in the doorway. He turns back to QUI-GON, then turns and runs back to his mother.

The scene continues as in the film...

Shmi gives her son the love and confidence he needs to pursue his destiny.

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: POINT OF DEPARTURE!

Anakin has finally earned his freedom from slavedom, with his remaining pod racing winnings give to his mother. The boy's future as a Jedi seems certain now as a mother prepares to see her child leave the nest, though she is mildly comforted by the fact that Anakin will have the noble Qui-Gon Jinn as his mentor.

"There is just a hint of romance in these encounters (between Shmi and Qui-Gon), something very subtle. Both Pernilla (August) and I were very conscious of that. There was warmth between them when they looked at each other. It didn't have to be obvious, just subtle and loving."

Liam Neeson - The Making of EPISODE I book - 1999

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: TENSE OBSERVERS!

Watching Anakin's final lap at the Boonta Eve event is worrying enough, but to see the challenge of Sebulba adds to the tension for Shmi Skywalker and her new friends at the arena, watching from a viewscreen and at one of the highest points of the Arena area.

Filming the scenes on ground level in Tunisia. Note the other race viewers barely seen in the finished movie.

Meanwhile, Kitster and Wald show a range of emotions from scared to confident throughout the race.

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: HANGAR ARRIVAL!

The crowds are gathering and so too are Anakin's friends and family inside the arena's main hangar area. With Watto being too confident and arrogant, Shmi is nervous about her son, as too is Padme, soon discovering that Anakin has never actually won or completed a previous pod racing event! The omens are now not looking so good!

Pernilla August and Dhruv Chanchani await the filming of their scene on the hangar set at Leavesden.

Shmi and Qui-Gon exchange warm greetings.

Lucas goes through a scene with Liam Neeson and the child actors.

Qui-Gon has high hopes that Anakin will ultimately win the race.

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: POD RACE PREPARATIONS!

It's all hands on deck as Anakin and his new friends ready his secretly built pod racer for the Boonta Eve event. As we also meet Anakin's close friend Kitster (played by Dhruv Chanchani) for the first time, the rest of Anakin's disinterested young friends (including Warwick Davis's Rodian named Wald) show little faith in his abilities to get the Pod off the ground or win the race.

Whilst Artoo proves a great help, and Qui-Gon provides a working power source for the pod, luckless Jar Jar keeps getting himself confused and in trouble on the technical side of things!

Watch out, Jar Jar!

Ahmed Best gets a break between shots.

"One hundred and fifty four degrees! (Working in location temperature) In a plastic rubber-latex-foam, long-johns-on-acid suit. I was attached to what they call a cool suit, but it was intense cold, and then it was intense heat, so I kept my costume on and stayed hot-it was easier for me to do that mentally. People were passing out left and right."

Ahmed Best - Premiere magazine - May 1999

Filming sequences on location with the full pod prop built in the UK.

Anakin gets ready for the pod testing.

The sequence proved to be a very busy period of filming in Tunisia, with quite a large cast of young and veteran actors at hand near the prop pod racing vehicle. The exterior of Anakin and Shmi's slave dwelling, where Shmi and Qui-Gon confer on the unique Anakin, was a set built on location within the Sahara Desert.

Lucas confers with the cast during a break in filming.

"It was unbearably hot. You had to watch yourself and drink a lot of Gatorade. But George (Lucas) never changed his costume at all. From England to Tunisia he wore the same jeans and checked shirt and baseball cap. So, I thought, I'm not going to complain if he's dressed in jeans."

Liam Neeson - Premiere magazine - May 1999

The prop Threepio puppet and Artoo shell stand next to each other.

'Help, I think I'm melting!'

Kenny Baker braves the heat to put the life and soul of Artoo back on screen.

With Qui-Gon's quiet musings here of a vergence in the Force, possibly linked to the prophecy of balance, a prior deleted dialogue sequence between Shmi and Qui-Gon Jinn (when he and his party were first introduced by Anakin) would hint early about the boy's abilities:

Shmi: I'm sorry if I was abrupt. I'll never get used to Anakin's surprises.

Qui-Gon: He's a very special boy.

SHMI loosks at him as if he's discovered a secret.

Shmi: Yes, I know.

In an early script, Qui-Gon would warn her about Anakin's uncertain future as a Jedi: "But it's too late for him now, he's too old." A line referencing a similar thought made by Master Yoda towards Luke Skywalker on Dagobah, in The Empire Strikes Back.

Qui-Gon discovers the mysterious truth about Anakin's conception.

"Pernilla (August) and I had a few giggles once we had to say it. When it came to my close-up, I wanted to do a double-take - "A virgin?"

Liam Neeson - Star Wars Insider magazine - 1999

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: GUNGAN MOUTH, JEDI REFLEXES!

Thanks to some extra Jedi food rations provided by Qui-Gon Jinn (via a belt pod, in a deleted moment from when he meets Shmi Skywalker for the first time), our heroes sit down to discuss their current situation and future steps, of which Anakin crafts a bold idea to help the group win money for the hyperdrive generator- by taking part in his own unique pod racing vehicle at the next day's immense Boonta Eve event. In the meantime, Jar Jar, oblivious to the conversation, is once more interested in his favourite subject; food, and showcasing his unique way of getting it!

"It was really bizarre. It was like George (Lucas) was playing this big joke on all of us. The dinner scene that we did with Jar Jar we'd do with Ahmed in there and then with Ahmed out. So, we'd sit there and Liam, who is this great, distinguished actor, would be catching an imaginary tongue, and it was so bizarre to see. "

Natalie Portman - Starburst magazine interview - 1999

Ahmed Best filming the scene.

It is in this dinner chat that Anakin's observations of Qui-Gon Jinn being a Jedi Knight are confirmed, as is the boy's continuing unique abilities linked to the Force.

Jar Jar isn't used to handling utensils, as seen in this unused filmed moment.

Lucas and cast work with Jake Lloyd, who is worried about how to say 'Coruscant'.

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: HARD TIMES!

A day in the life of the Skywalker family - adapting and surviving the diverse environment of the busy Mos Espa, and showing us the slave quarters area in which they will modestly live - is well captured in this great concept/production art by ILM talent Terryl Whitlatch. This was a memorable EPISODE I related image deservedly showcased in the world-touring Star Wars Identities exhibition.

"It (Anakin's birth) was a virgin birth in an ecosystem of symbiotic relationships. It means that, between the Force, which is sort of a life force, and reality, the connectors between these two things are what we call Mitichlorians. They're kind of based on Mitichondria, which are a completely different species, a different animal, that is inside every single cell and allow it to live, allow it to reproduce, allow life to exist. They also, in their own way, communicate with the Force itself. The more you have, the more your cells are able to speak intuitively to the Force itself and use the powers of the Force. Ultimately, I would say the Force itself created Anakin. I don't want to get into specific terms of labelling things to make it one religion or another, but, basically, that's one of the foundation's of the hero's journey."

George Lucas - Vanity Fair magazine - February 2005

THE 'PHANTOM' AT TWENTY: 'EYES FORWARD'

'Don't look back, before you go. 
Eyes forward, choices to make.

Dreams to realize.

Don't look back, before you go.
Know the truth, learn to let go. 

Don't look back before you go. 

Before you leave...me.'

Shmi Skywalker's Episode I Tone Poem TV commercial - 'One Love' (1999):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qncLmkZl1B0

CLASSIC IMAGE: A DESTINY BEYOND SLAVERY...

Watching Anakin hard at work on his pod racer, Qui-Gon Jinn and Shmi Skywalker discuss the boy's unique past, and his potential future, in this unexpected revelation scene from EPISODE I that has certainly caused no end of fandom debate from 1999 onwards.

CLASSIC IMAGE: THE B/W 'PHANTOM'!

The world of B/W newsprint was mostly a thing of the past by the time EPISODE I arrived in cinemas during 1999, but a key set of images from LUCASFILM/FOX was nonetheless available for the smaller publishing markets to use where needed. Here's the collection, showcasing the great work of regular STAR WARS saga on-set photographer Keith Hamshere.