Visually captivating must see! Odd Phantom Menace Parallels too...

Rating: 7/10 (16 December 1999)

A great film all around, and in many ways (visually for one) Tim Burton's best work yet. Superb casting (Depp, Ricci, and Christopher Walken--could you think of any three actors who more perfectly fit Burton's style?) direction, set design and cinematography make this a must see.
On a different note, anybody notice the Phantom Menace "parallels"? First I notice that one of the main characters is none other than Ian McDiarmid, AKA Senator Palpatine/The Emperor. Then about 3/4 of the way through the film, there's a scene that, without giving anything away, looks like a straight take-off of a famous TPM scene involving Darth Maul, only in this case it's the "Headless Horseman". THEN I find out that the stunt double for the Horseman is none other than Ray Park, AKA Darth Maul! Pretty odd stuff. Anybody know if it was intentional? Is Burton secretly a huge Star Wars fan?