Lift Off For Star Wars Video

Stores opened especially last night for the launch of one of the most eagerly awaited video releases of the year, Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace. 20th Century Fox treated buyers at HMV Trocadero to a laser show and presented the first customer with a platinum plaque. Retailers opened their doors on the stroke of midnight for the thousands of fans nationwide who had queued around the block to be amongst the first in the world to bag a copy of the video. “It was spectacular,” said a spokesman for HMV, “and the show was a big surprise for customers.” The video has gone on sale in the UK a day before it will be available in the US.