 The video and sound effect of Queen Amidalas message when she  contacts the federation ship at the beginning of the movie via video  transmission is a reference to the Flash Gordon serials of the 1930s  (_Flash Gordon (1936/I)_ (qv),  _Flash Gordons Trip to Mars (1938)_ (qv) and  _Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940)_ (qv)), where video  transmissions always start with the same video and sound effect.