Which order should new fans experience Star Wars?

[MrPickles]

My girlfriend has actually never seen a single SW movie. And, you know what... that's perfectly fine with me.

Lol....I'm in the same boat.

 

[Lestat]

I agree with 456123456. If you watch them 1-6 it ruins all of the things mentioned above but it especially ruins episode 4. To watch ANH after watching the first three movies ANH seems slow because it's supposed to be seen first. The reason A New Hope seems slow is because it's designed to introduce the audience to the Star Wars universe. It's a necessary primer for the other five movies.

That first conversation between Obi-wan and Luke explains so much that the prequels assume (with good reason) that the audience already knows. It explains what the force is, what the jedi are, that there are good and bad jedi, what a lightsaber is, why the galaxy is at war etc, etc.

Episode one assumes knowledge of all the other movies and Star Wars being a part of popular culture. A complete SW virgin should watch ANH first because it is in spirit, design, and fact the true first movie.

Also I think seeing the OT first enhances the experience of the PT. One of the things that makes gives the OT an air of mystery is that alot of the most powerful characters are past their prime. As a kid it always made me wonder what obi wan/yoda/vader/palpatine were like when they were young.

 

[Darksider]

Recently i let a friend from work borrow both trilogies. He had never seen them before so i had him watch 123456, thinking that it would be easier to follow that way. But after thinking about it i should have had him watch 456123.

I think a big part of what makes the PT interesting is seeing how the innocent Anakin Skywalker turns into Darth Vader. And for those who already have a solid understanding of who Darth Vader is right away you can see the contrast and it makes his path to the darkside and ultimately his downfall more dramatic.

Another guy at work was asking to borrow them so i think ill have him try 456123 and see what he thinks. He hasn't seen any of them either, whats wrong with people these days?

 

[IrishJedi]

I agree with 456123456. If you watch them 1-6 it ruins all of the things mentioned above but it especially ruins episode 4. To watch ANH after watching the first three movies ANH seems slow because it's supposed to be seen first. The reason A New Hope seems slow is because it's designed to introduce the audience to the Star Wars universe. It's a necessary primer for the other five movies.

That first conversation between Obi-wan and Luke explains so much that the prequels assume (with good reason) that the audience already knows. It explains what the force is, what the jedi are, that there are good and bad jedi, what a lightsaber is, why the galaxy is at war etc, etc.

Episode one assumes knowledge of all the other movies and Star Wars being a part of popular culture. A complete SW virgin should watch ANH first because it is in spirit, design, and fact the true first movie.

Also I think seeing the OT first enhances the experience of the PT. One of the things that makes gives the OT an air of mystery is that alot of the most powerful characters are past their prime. As a kid it always made me wonder what obi wan/yoda/vader/palpatine were like when they were young.

BINGO!

 

[lordquigon]

If you watch them in proper order I-VI there is more depth, more twists and turns. You wouldn't know that young Anakin would fall from grace and become the monster Darth Vader, you wouldn't know that Palpatine is Sidious and created the Clone Wars as a rouse to control the galaxy, Order 66. Just to name a couple. You'd feel more for Obi-Wan when we meet him again in Episode IV, knowing all that he seen and went through. You'd wonder if Yoda died of old age between III-IV you'd be relieved to see him again in V. Before I-III the only really big surprise in Episodes IV-VI was Vader telling Luke he is his father. There is just so much more when you watch them in the right order, especial for a first timer. I-III adds so much more meaning and weight to IV-VI. It's the only way.

 

[thenammagazine]

The reason A New Hope seems slow is because it's designed to introduce the audience to the Star Wars universe. It's a necessary primer for the other five movies.

Not really. At the time Lucas thought that's all he was gonna get. That's why Chewbacca's Han's copilot. He wanted the end of the movieto take place on the Wookie planet but the story got chopped and he was so afraid we wouldn't get to see Wookies that he wrote him in the first.

Star Wars is slow, because it is slow. When it was written, there were plot points for other parts of the story, but nothing else, let alone "5 movies."

 

[Darth Snoopy]

I agree with 456123456. If you watch them 1-6 it ruins all of the things mentioned above but it especially ruins episode 4. To watch ANH after watching the first three movies ANH seems slow because it's supposed to be seen first. The reason A New Hope seems slow is because it's designed to introduce the audience to the Star Wars universe. It's a necessary primer for the other five movies.

 

[D. Martin]

show her the originals (the good ones). then after that tell her there were three more movies made that take place before the originals, but they sucked massive insane ass that brings shame to the great originals, so there is no reason to watch those ones. seriously.

I feel sad for Star Wars fans that talk about the saga like this.

 

[D. Martin]

If you watch them in proper order I-VI there is more depth, more twists and turns. You wouldn't know that young Anakin would fall from grace and become the monster Darth Vader, you wouldn't know that Palpatine is Sidious and created the Clone Wars as a rouse to control the galaxy, Order 66. Just to name a couple. You'd feel more for Obi-Wan when we meet him again in Episode IV, knowing all that he seen and went through. You'd wonder if Yoda died of old age between III-IV you'd be relieved to see him again in V. Before I-III the only really big surprise in Episodes IV-VI was Vader telling Luke he is his father. There is just so much more when you watch them in the right order, especial for a first timer. I-III adds so much more meaning and weight to IV-VI. It's the only way.

My thoughts exactly. I prefer the Anakin Skywalker story to the Luke Skywalker story. I-VI is a phenomenal story. To that point, The Clone Wars is pretty cool too.

When we were kids, we only knew Anakin as a villain. Kids are growing up watching him as the hero we were always told he was, and that adds so much weight to what happens to him, not just how he gets played by Sidious, but ultimately how he is redeemed in ROTJ. THe parallels between what happens to Mace Windu and Luke Skywalker is spellbinding.

I truly feel bad for Star Wars fans that can't watch the prequels with the same suspension of disbelief they had as children with IV-VI. The new movies are incredible. Lucas didn't change his story. When the prequels came out, I watched them through the same eyes I watched the OT, and they are all a part of the big picture.

To the haters: Star Wars hasn't changed, you have.

 

[Khev]

I'm far from a PT hater but every man, woman, and child should always experience this scene as their introduction to the world of Star Wars:

 

[thenammagazine]

I think that's a great intro to the second trilogy. Personally, I think the TPM intro, while not as "grand" is just as cool:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4bEzSMS6No&feature=related"]YouTube - Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace Part 1[/ame]​

 

[a-dev]

I disregard the prequels but to be honest I don't think preserving the 'surprises' of the OT is gonna be all that important. Vader being Luke's dad just isn't going to be a huge deal to someone whose going to be seeing the films for the first time in 2011. Chances are they've seen that kind of plot device a lot in TV and film or seen various Star wars parodies of it. Theres no novelty left in ''Surprise I'm your dad!" scenarios.
Plus they won't have 3 years of psyching themselves up for ESB, becoming huge fans over that time based on one film, to be so invested in the characters that things like that will elicit anything more than a brief reaction from them (if even that) nor will they have to slowly digest this info over the 3 year wait for the next film. It won't be as significant to them as we OTers imagine. Same goes for any of the surprises from the OT or PT.

I showed my girlfriend Jaws recently, she had somehow never seen it before - her response to the film - "don't really see what the big deal is". Classics like that came out in a time when they were a novelty, maybe the earliest of their kind. People born later (or indeed people who simply managed to not see it in all the years since it came out) get spoilt by all the copycat stuff. They simply aren't in a position to appreciate these films the same way we were. Older generations probably would say the same about us with regard to their favourites.

 

[a-dev]

Heck, I was only born in '82 so I never experienced the surprises the way older people did but still, growing up with the films when there isn't a gazillion copycat or Star wars inspired films in existance yet imbued the OT with that same level of importance to me as if I'd been old enough to see them all in their cinema debuts.

 

[OSCORP]

Episodes 4/5/6 stop!

I like to pretend 4-6 are the only ones that exist. If and when I have a child it will be the only ones they know about until they are old enough to drive.

The new movies are incredible.

You're just plain wrong it's that simple. Just cause you like em, don't try and make excuses about them like you have been doing since they came out about how we all changed.. But you can still see the light.

 

[lordquigon]

My thoughts exactly. I prefer the Anakin Skywalker story to the Luke Skywalker story. I-VI is a phenomenal story. To that point, The Clone Wars is pretty cool too.

When we were kids, we only knew Anakin as a villain. Kids are growing up watching him as the hero we were always told he was, and that adds so much weight to what happens to him, not just how he gets played by Sidious, but ultimately how he is redeemed in ROTJ. THe parallels between what happens to Mace Windu and Luke Skywalker is spellbinding.

I truly feel bad for Star Wars fans that can't watch the prequels with the same suspension of disbelief they had as children with IV-VI. The new movies are incredible. Lucas didn't change his story. When the prequels came out, I watched them through the same eyes I watched the OT, and they are all a part of the big picture.

To the haters: Star Wars hasn't changed, you have.

WELL SAID!!!!!!!!!

 

[nothingface35]

This goes round and round I know. Lovers, haters. But love it or hate it, it's about cultural relevance.

And in that department, there was a Star Wars Saga, then there was a Star Wars Sag.

The classic trilogy created characters that anyone on the street - fan or non-fan - knew, loved and could quote dialog from. C-3PO, R2D2, Darth Vader, Chewbacca, Leia - these nearly instantly became cultural icons that transcended film and entertainment, and entered the lexicon of history. They were important culturally. The story they were a part of had deep resonance with a generation.

Then came the prequels. Love 'em or hate 'em... can you name one character from them - except for them being famous as being laughably bad or offensive (not naming names) - that anyone on the street - fan or non-fan - knew and could quote dialog from? Did any of them become cultural icons? No, Pizza Hut drink toppers are not the same thing. Is there a single character from any prequel that is on-par with historic creations of the Classic Trilogy? Sebulba? Jar-Jar? Padme? Watto? Jango? Sidvicious? Boss Nass? Qui-Gone? Nute? The hero guy... the whiny kid, er - whatshisname? Oh yeah - Mannakin. Him?

Take Maul - even in the same league as a Classic bit player like Boba Fett? Would a sixty year woman on the street know who Darth Maul was? Maybe she'd vaguely recognize that face (he's a villain - get it?) because it was on three million billboards, but would she KNOW who he was like all those Classic characters? Would she have any feeling about him? Advertising recognition is not the same as cultural relevance. And Maul - as a character - is not culturally relevant. He's just a branded product.

Think about this - how many classic Star Wars lines come from the Prequel trilogy? And no, "Exsqueeze me" doesn't count. It's another test of cultural relevance, the "classicness" of a film, that the Prequels fall flat on.

"But kids love it!" "they buy the toys by the million!" - that's ultimately not what is being talked about here - I'm talking about great filmmaking that becomes part of human culture, turning characters into enduring cultural icons.

Love the prequels or hate them, they are simply not classic films and never will be. They were not at the time of release - and never will be - culturally important except for their piggybacking on the imagery of the classic films. Neither their story nor their characters entered the lexicon.

Just because a story makes reference to a culturally important story does not make it culturally important.

Just because a film co-opts characters from a culturally important film does not make it culturally important.

I agree with most of what you said except for not knowing the prequel characters. Maul was an awesome force of evil. We see the evolution of Obi-Wan, who is more integral to the Prequels. We see the evolution of Palpatine, who is also more integral to the Prequels. We have Grevious, who for all intents and purposes, was the precursor to Vader. Qui-Gonn played the role of Obi-Wan from the OT and I thought he did a fantastic job as a seasoned Jedi. And I didn't even mention Anakin, who we discover was the true character to the Saga and not Luke. The list goes on an on. Anyone who read your post, which was good, can see that you love the OT and are a tad biased' in your response. Again, I agree, for the most part, but I think you marginalized the PT's.

 

[Khev]

This goes round and round I know. Lovers, haters. But love it or hate it, it's about cultural relevance.

I agree that the PT isn't as iconic as the OT but that just comes down to the timing of each film's release. If the saga had maintained the three year gap between each film and TPM, AOTC, and ROTS had come out in 1986, 1989, and 1992 they'd be accepted as all part of one grand saga.

By the same token if ROTJ had a 16 year delay in its release and didn't come out until 1999 people would have laughed it out of theaters as an idiotic and juvenile follow-up to the awesome Empire Strikes Back.

 

[thenammagazine]

This goes round and round I know. Lovers, haters. But love it or hate it, it's about cultural relevance.

And in that department, there was a Star Wars Saga, then there was a Star Wars Sag.

The classic trilogy created characters that anyone on the street - fan or non-fan - knew, loved and could quote dialog from. C-3PO, R2D2, Darth Vader, Chewbacca, Leia - these nearly instantly became cultural icons that transcended film and entertainment, and entered the lexicon of history. They were important culturally. The story they were a part of had deep resonance with a generation.

Then came the prequels. Love 'em or hate 'em... can you name one character from them - except for them being famous as being laughably bad or offensive (not naming names) - that anyone on the street - fan or non-fan - knew and could quote dialog from? Did any of them become cultural icons? No, Pizza Hut drink toppers are not the same thing. Is there a single character from any prequel that is on-par with historic creations of the Classic Trilogy? Sebulba? Jar-Jar? Padme? Watto? Jango? Sidvicious? Boss Nass? Qui-Gone? Nute? The hero guy... the whiny kid, er - whatshisname? Oh yeah - Mannakin. Him?

Take Maul - even in the same league as a Classic bit player like Boba Fett? Would a sixty year woman on the street know who Darth Maul was? Maybe she'd vaguely recognize that face (he's a villain - get it?) because it was on three million billboards, but would she KNOW who he was like all those Classic characters? Would she have any feeling about him? Advertising recognition is not the same as cultural relevance. And Maul - as a character - is not culturally relevant. He's just a branded product.

Think about this - how many classic Star Wars lines come from the Prequel trilogy? And no, "Exsqueeze me" doesn't count. It's another test of cultural relevance, the "classicness" of a film, that the Prequels fall flat on.

"But kids love it!" "they buy the toys by the million!" - that's ultimately not what is being talked about here - I'm talking about great filmmaking that becomes part of human culture, turning characters into enduring cultural icons.

Love the prequels or hate them, they are simply not classic films and never will be. They were not at the time of release - and never will be - culturally important except for their piggybacking on the imagery of the classic films. Neither their story nor their characters entered the lexicon.

Just because a story makes reference to a culturally important story does not make it culturally important.

Just because a film co-opts characters from a culturally important film does not make it culturally important.

It's funny how you act like everything you typed, which in it's entirety is subjective and biased, is fact.

 

[IrishJedi]

It's funny how you act like everything you typed, which in it's entirety is subjective and biased, is fact.

Isn't that how these debates always go? On both sides?

 

[thenammagazine]

Isn't that how these debates always go? On both sides?

That's one of the reasons I hate these kinds of threads. They always give the "Lucas raped my childhood" group an excuse to hate on the PT.