Watching the Films Discussion

[starsaber25[Admin]]

Ok so I know this has been debated before but I am going to put it out there again.  So my good friend who has never watched Star Wars mind you, wants to borrow my movies and watch them with his 7 year old son.  So what is the order that I tell him to watch them in???  My gut tells me to have him watch Episodes IV-VII and then watched Episodes I-III.  I feel that would be the best way for someone new to this world to watch them now.  I feel like if you watched them from I-VII then you will not be hit by the surprises that happened in the original trilogy.

 

So I guess the options are IV-VII then I-III, I-VII, or IV-VI, I-III, and then VII like the theatrical release.  So I guess what way would you tell someone to watch them and then give the reason why.  And no I'm not going to tell him to not watch the prequels at all because I'm sure there will be someone who says it.  Let the debate begin!!!  Thanks for participating.

[VulpX[TK]]

Ah, the ancient question. For me it's release order for first timers, that way the surprises of the OT stay intact. <br>

If I do marathons myself I go with Machete order: IV,V, (I), II, III, VI.

[The5thHorseman[501st]]

I like to keep it simple: IV-V-VI-VII. No need for the prelogy at all. Honestly I watched them again before the release of the VII, and they are just boring.

[jkno]

I always watch them in the order of release: IV, V, VI and then I, II, III

[humperdingle]

I like to keep it simple: IV-V-VI-VII. No need for the prelogy at all. Honestly I watched them again before the release of the VII, and they are just boring.

Yep. Watch those first. If the lad has any interest in the back story, then watch I, II, III.

[Cricket[TK]]

Go for IV-V-VI-VII.  Just say no to the prequels!  Yep, I said it.  

Edited April 9, 2016 by Cricket

[dejango[TK]]

Since he isn't necessarily a fan of the saga yet i recommend watching them chronologically (1234567) as it makes the most sense to movie goers who aren't familiar with how the prequels came to be and when the originals were released. In my experience it will only confuse him if he watches 4, 5, 6, 7 then 1, 2, 3.

[JAFO[TK]]

I'll be doing this with my son soon and I've come to the conclusion that I-III will serve no purpose in his enjoyment of the saga. If he wants to watch them at some point, great, but they won't form part of his introduction.

Edited April 9, 2016 by JAFO

[JonEl]

I'd say release order. But more importantly don't let others tell you him or his son won't enjoy the prequels because they didn't, let your friend and his son decide for themselves. I enjoyed them greatly as a child (was 9 when The Phantom Menace was released), some friends of mine didn't like it---everyone is different. Just don't let others decide what they will enjoy for them.

[The Anonymous Egyptian]

Well my mum (huge star wars geek, has seen all of them in cinemas) showed me them IV, V, VI, I, II, III and obviously now VII. I would let them watch the prequels, as although I despise them now, I enjoyed them as a child, but definitely after Vader tells Luke he is his father (SPOILER) or even Luke telling Leia they're siblings. But no matter what start with IV and end with VII

 

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[starsaber25[Admin]]

You all have very interesting points of view. You guys do make me laugh. Even after it's said that I will not tell them to not watch the prequels some of you even say tell them not to watch them. So I'm 35 and I had a really interesting order of watching them growing up. I was about 7 years old. I first saw ROTJ. When I saw Darth Vader come down the ramp of the shuttle I had all kinds of emotions. I was scared, amazed, panicked, thought it was friggin AWESOME! I knew right away he was going to be a bad an impolite person! I was hooked right then! So then I ended up seeing ESB and then ANH. Talk about backwards! After seeing them I bounced back and forth between ANH and ROTJ growing up. Now I absolutely love ESB.<br><br>

I saw the prequels at midnight showings of course. I have to admit. I really don't mind ROTS. I don't typically watch EP I or AOTC. But I still think they should not be skipped. Thanks for responding guys. I look forward to seeing more responses.

[dejango[TK]]

I don't doubt that 1 2 3 were not make to the best in terms of film and such, but i still think that if you really want to grasp the full circle of the star wars timeline they are essential, despite how they are portrayed on film. Stormtroopers would not be if there weren't clones first. Thanks Palpatine <3

[C0bra_M3nace]

I read a very good article on this once. And to be honest it's by far the best way to watch it in my opinion. It's designed to make the MOST sense, while keeping the timeline in tact.

 

IV -> V -> II -> III -> VI -> VII

 

Skip the first one, it's quite irrelevant in retrospect. (If you advise someone to watch the first one it obviously comes before Ep II and after Ep. V) But this order still carries all the surprises, still shows you how Vader, well, became Vader and ties everything up very well.

 

That's how I watch them when I do and how I tell people to watch them.

 

People say you can skip the prequels and of course you can because they aren't THAT good. But honestly I feel the Anakin story is very relevant to everything. If you skip the prequels AT LEAST watch Clone Wars or better yet watch Clone Wars between II and III but it's not necessary.

 

With Clone Wars being as good as it is and canon, it's silly to skip the prequels entirely though with the exception of Ep. I

 

There's my two cents.

Edited April 11, 2016 by C0bra_M3nace

[Addertime[TK]]

It's interesting how opinions vary with age. Whichever film one saw first, as a child, seems to set a marker for them. I saw AHN in 1977. I was 11.  I waited desperately for the following two films and ate them up with a spoon. I loved VII because it was the story and style I knew and wanted. I despised Ep. I-III because I felt cheated and let down by something that was very dear to me but I've heard plenty of people over the years who saw I, II or II as children say it's their favorite trilogy. In fact one seemed to be popular with smaller children of the day probably because of the pod race and silly characters.

 

I suppose it's all relative but even when I try to take my bias out of the equation, I still see Ep. I as an abomination and II and III as justifiable backstory but with little entertainment value.

 

I agree with those who said to suggest IV, V, VI and VII in that order and omit I, II and III as they don't "feel" like Star Wars.

Edited April 12, 2016 by Addertime

[CdnBison[TK]]

I'm a big fan of the Machete order - IV-V-I-II-III-VI-VII.

 

I also *highly* recommend finding the "anti-cheese edits" of the prequels. They do a really great job of making them not quite as suck-tacular. There are still some cringeworthy moments, but it's far more watchable.