Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace effort after a 22-year hiatus following "Star Wars" in 1977. "The Phantom Menace" was released in theaters on May 19, 1999, almost 16 years after the premiere of the previous "Star Wars" film, "Return of the Jedi". The film's premiere was extensively covered by media and was greatly anticipated because of the large cultural following the "Star Wars" saga had cultivated. It received mixed reviews; critics praised the visuals, action sequences, John Williams' musical score and some of the performances, but criticized the screenplay, characterization, and Ahmed Best and Jake Lloyd's performances (as Jar Jar Binks and Anakin Skywalker respectively).
Changes in Star Wars re-releases of the theatrical version. Lucasfilm offered the altered 1997 Special Edition release, but the Registry refused it as the first published version must be accepted. The Library of Congress, however, received a 35mm print of the film, without the "A New Hope" subtitle and subsequent alterations, in 1978 as part of the film's copyright deposit. The first film was released in 1977 under the title "Star Wars". The subtitles "Episode IV" and "A New Hope" were retroactively added to the opening crawl in a subsequent release. Accounts differ as to when this change occurred. Some, including Lucasfilm, date the addition