NationStates Jolt Archive

Suppose someone came up to you one day and said s/he was interested in watching the Star Wars series, had never seen a single movie of it, but was unsure of where exactly to start. What would your advice be?

Personally, I'd tell 'em to start with EpIV and watch them in order of how they were released. Starting from the beginning would just throw off some of the more shocking and memorable moments from the OT, like "I am your father!"

One should begin with 4, move to 5 and 6, skip 1 and then 2 and 3.

So:

4-5-6-2-3

4-5-6.

Suppose someone came up to you one day and said s/he was interested in watching the Star Wars series, had never seen a single movie of it, but was unsure of where exactly to start. What would your advice be?

Personally, I'd tell 'em to start with EpIV and watch them in order of how they were released. Starting from the beginning would just throw off some of the more shocking and memorable moments from the OT, like "I am your father!"

Watch the original movie. Then watch Empire Strike Back.

After that, go watch Serenity, or some Battlestar Galactica... you've seen all of the 'Star Wars' worth the time invested.

I enjoyed 1.

Yeah yeah, we know jarJar sucked and we'll never wanna THINK about 'midichlorians' ever again (it's like Lucas went from eastern mysticism to wester science and did it backwards in time very badly... wait).

But for all that I kinda enjoyed it. It had a lot of what Star Wars IS. Those hughe high-speed bits, the odd bits of humour, R2D2 without rocket boots.

Nothing Lucas ever does will beat the fifth movie but 1 isn't QUITE as bad as people like to make out.

Watch the original movie. Then watch Empire Strike Back.

After that, go watch Serenity, or some Battlestar Galactica... you've seen all of the 'Star Wars' worth the time invested.

Actually, he has a point. In terms of genuinely GOOD movies... that's your lot.

In terms of movies you can enjoy, none of them are bad.

EDIT - Also, both Firefly and BSG ROCK and if someone spoils Season 3 of BSG I will kill them. The slow way.

Watch the original movie. Then watch Empire Strike Back.

After that, go watch Serenity, or some Battlestar Galactica... you've seen all of the 'Star Wars' worth the time invested.

No, it's watch the original trilogy, then go get the animated Clone Wars series on DVD.

Don't even bother with the prequel trilogy. watch IV, V, VI, (yes, six was worse than the others but still worth watching) and then go online and watch six hour of star wars fan movies to make up for it. (I highly recommend TROOPS)

4-5-6, show them the good ones so they start to like them.

No, it's watch the original trilogy, then go get the animated Clone Wars series on DVD.

I considered putting Jedi on the list. I really did. After all, I was raised on it.

But.. the only defences for this huge super-weapon that isn't-quite-ready-yet... are in a box protected by, like, 4 guys? On an inhabited world?

Teddybears knocking out Imperial warmachines? Are we supposed to believe Stormtroopers have never been in hostile environments before?

Nah - I'll stick by my guns. Empire was the highpoint, and it's all been linearly downhill from there. And, considering how bad Jedi was, that's really saying something.

4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3. Easy. The good ones first to make a huge impression and indoctrinate them into the franchise. :P

4,5,6 then 1,2,3 if you really just have to.

I hated 3 because it ruined (in my mind) the original trilogy for the idiots who are trying to watch it 1,2,3,4,5,6

One should watch V, and nothing else. Some people might try and pretend that IV or VI are worth watching, in response I shall say only two things:
1) "But I was going to Tashi's station to pick up some power converters!"
and
2) Ewoks.

III is descent enough in the eye-candy sense of things, so if you can stand mind-rendingly bad dialogue it might work out, but there are so many much better movies out there.

4-5-6.

Yeah, I'd say this. 1-2-3 were just awful.

II - III - IV - V - VI

Skip the first completely.

4-5-6.

QFT

Watch the original movie. Then watch Empire Strike Back.

After that, go watch Serenity, or some Battlestar Galactica... you've seen all of the 'Star Wars' worth the time invested.

Couldn't have said it better myself. ;)

Couldn't have said it better myself. ;)

I would only watch the Empire Strikes Back, and move on.

IV - V - VI

Forget that the others exist...

*Does jedi mind trick*

Those aren't the movies you're looking for...

I voted for the first option, but I really think you should watch the original series and skip episodes 1 through 3 entirely.

I would only watch the Empire Strikes Back, and move on.

Pretty much, although without Star Wars success Empire would never have made it to the screen....

Pretty much, although without Star Wars success Empire would never have made it to the screen....

On that basis should we also watch American Grafitti before* any of the SW films?




* or, preferably, instead of.

I think george's strategy with no. three was "hm, the first three was the best work I'll ever do, so I'll make 1 and 2 so awful the third would seem exellent by comparison."
And everybody fell for it, including the fanboys. Movie of the year my ass!

On that basis should we also watch American Grafitti before* any of the SW films?

* or, preferably, instead of.

LOL you are better than that mate...you know as well as I do how the studio system works.

Yeah, I'll go with 4-5-6, and the last 10 minutes of 3.

You can tell them to watch the movies in any order, really, so long as they're as high as Lucas was when he wrote the damn things.

Watch the original movie. Then watch Empire Strike Back.

After that, go watch Serenity, or some Battlestar Galactica... you've seen all of the 'Star Wars' worth the time invested.

Just for clarification, watch the new Battlestar Galactica, not the old one. You've already seen all of the old one that is worth watching. Even if you haven't seen it. Especially if you haven't seen it.

And avoid "Galactica 1980" at all costs. It'll cause brain damage as your cerebral cortex tries to escape through your nostrils. :eek:

One should watch V, and nothing else. Some people might try and pretend that IV or VI are worth watching, in response I shall say only two things:
1) "But I was going to Tashi's station to pick up some power converters!"

"Thats nawt impahssable, I used to bullseye wamp rats in my T-16 back home!"

"Thats nawt impahssable, I used to bullseye wamp rats in my T-16 back home!"

"Uncle Owen, this R2 unit has a bad motivator! Look!"

What a bunch of snobby elitists. The sad thing is you act how badly these moveis were and how *you* are better than the mindless masses who eat 'em up, but we all know you've watched each one a dozen times.

"Uncle Owen, this R2 unit has a bad motivator! Look!"

Wrong flick....and yes I am kicking myself for knowing this.

Wrong flick....and yes I am kicking myself for knowing this.

Um, what are you on about? That was in response to all the whiny Luke lines in Episode 4...

Suppose someone came up to you one day and said s/he was interested in watching the Star Wars series, had never seen a single movie of it, but was unsure of where exactly to start. What would your advice be?

Personally, I'd tell 'em to start with EpIV and watch them in order of how they were released. Starting from the beginning would just throw off some of the more shocking and memorable moments from the OT, like "I am your father!"

Tell them not to bother watching those movies at all. Put something better on, I say, though it shouldn't be too hard to find something better than that cliched crap.

III - IV - V, and VI until the scene where they meet the Ewoks, the rest is crap

What a bunch of snobby elitists. The sad thing is you act how badly these moveis were and how *you* are better than the mindless masses who eat 'em up, but we all know you've watched each one a dozen times.

Well I saw the first one that came out after Return and quite frankly thought it was shit. I saw the second one and thought that was shit as well. I have not seen the last one.

Watch the old ones first (episodes IV, V, VI) so that when you get to the newer ones you'll realise how little charm they have, and how terrible the screen plays are. Even Revenge of The Sith feels stilted, drawn out and poorly edited on second viewing.

Um, what are you on about? That was in response to all the whiny Luke lines in Episode 4...

umm Cause I thought we were referencing Empire...

Ah. I was posting in response to these:

Some people might try and pretend that IV or VI are worth watching, in response I shall say only two things:
1) "But I was going to Tashi's station to pick up some power converters!"
and
2) Ewoks.

"Thats nawt impahssable, I used to bullseye wamp rats in my T-16 back home!"
:)

Ah. I was posting in response to these:


:)

Ahh I didn't see Fiddlebottoms post...I saw Kanabia's....which is from Empire...

You are right though....Luke was a whinny little oik ;)

numerical order: I->II->III->IV->V->VI

Why? Because you'll start with suck, but the notsuckiness will stick in your head. Better to leave with awesome in your head than suck.

Ahh I didn't see Fiddlebottoms post...I saw Kanabia's....which is from Empire...

Nope. It's whilst they're getting their briefing on the Death Star's exhaust port towards the end of A New Hope.

Ahh I didn't see Fiddlebottoms post...I saw Kanabia's....which is from Empire...

You are right though....Luke was a whinny little oik ;)

Noooo....New Hope, right before they go on the first Death Star run!

Wedge Antilles: That's impossible, even for a computer!
Luke: It's not impossible. I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back home, they're not much bigger than two meters.

And yes, it wasn't until Episode 6 that he grew a pair...

Nope. It's whilst they're getting their briefing on the Death Star's exhaust port towards the end of A New Hope.

You know what? You guys are right. Shit.

Mind you its been a while since my last brainfart!

Damn!

You know what? You guys are right. Shit.

Mind you its been a while since my last brainfart!

Damn!

There there...*pat pat*
*gives RC a wookiee hug*

You know what? You guys are right. Shit.

Mind you its been a while since my last brainfart!

Damn!

"It wasn't my fault, sir, please don't deactivate me."

"It wasn't my fault, sir, please don't deactivate me."

"Don't call me a mindless philosopher, you overweight glob of grease!"

Hmm...maybe that should be sigged. :p

What a bunch of snobby elitists. The sad thing is you act how badly these moveis were and how *you* are better than the mindless masses who eat 'em up, but we all know you've watched each one a dozen times.

I'm more of a trekkie, I can't say I've seen any of them more than twice.


Three was horrific. Dear god I thought there were some actors in the world, apparently Lucas didn't know any of them.

There there...*pat pat*
*gives RC a wookiee hug*

LOL!!! Cheers

"It wasn't my fault, sir, please don't deactivate me."

That'll be my brain making that request....

Even Revenge of The Sith feels stilted, drawn out and poorly edited on second viewing.

You mean it didn't feel that way on the first viewing? :confused:

1) "But I was going to Tashi's station to pick up some power converters!"

Yes. Just yes. Thank you.

EDIT: To actually answer the thread question, I'd say you'd have to watch the originals first, or else you'd be totally and completely lost. Lucas tried to repair his screwy continuity by altering the originals further in the DVD releases (why he had to alter the originals to fit the movies he had IN PRODUCTION at the time is beyond me), but even if you watch those after having seen the first three, the continuity still feels forced and just doesn't add up.

Watch the original movie. Then watch Empire Strike Back.

After that, go watch Serenity, or some Battlestar Galactica... you've seen all of the 'Star Wars' worth the time invested.

why did the thread continue after this post? it is completely correct no more needed saying.

3-4-5-6.

Skip the first 2.

What a bunch of snobby elitists. The sad thing is you act how badly these moveis were and how *you* are better than the mindless masses who eat 'em up, but we all know you've watched each one a dozen times.

What the fuck is wrong with you today? Somebody shit in your cereal or something?

What the fuck is wrong with you today? Somebody shit in your cereal or something?

You're the one insulting him.

What the fuck is wrong with you today? Somebody shit in your cereal or something?

Nothing at all is wrong with me.

I think I decided one day that it should be 4-5-1-2-3-6, assuming you're going to watch them all. That way the end is still at the end, but you get the original feeling of the movies to start with. Something like that anyway.

Where's the IV - V - VI and tell the person I - II - III are crap and should never be watched?

Where's the IV - V - VI and tell the person I - II - III are crap and should never be watched?

It's not on there, because the new trilogy is worth watching.

For example, the battle in the beginning of III, not to mention the gorgeous fall of the jedi sequence, are worth watching.

Plus you get to see Hayden Christiansen turned into an amputee and set on FIRE. I haven't had that much fun since watching Leonardo di Caprio turn into an icecube in Titanic!

Plus you get to see Hayden Christiansen turned into an amputee and set on FIRE. I haven't had that much fun since watching Leonardo di Caprio turn into an icecube in Titanic!

You are a strange sadistic little man, and you have my pity.

You are a strange sadistic little man, and you have my pity.

...I'm not little!

Where's the IV - V - VI and tell the person I - II - III are crap and should never be watched?

what are you talking about, I and II may be crap, but III is actually good.

...I'm not little!

But it's part of the statement! Without little it's just "strange sadistic man" and that doesn't sound quite right.

Jedi is fine if you pretend that the Ewoks are Wookies like they were originally going to be.

Watch the original movie. Then watch Empire Strike Back.

After that, go watch Serenity, or some Battlestar Galactica... you've seen all of the 'Star Wars' worth the time invested.

This is the best advice you can have about watching star wars.

what are you talking about, I and II may be crap, but III is actually good.

"There's nothing medically wrong with her!"


Ugh.

IV, V, VI there are no others! Then upgrade to some good ol' Star Trek or pop into the Dr.'s verse eh?

IV, V, VI there are no others! Then upgrade to some good ol' Star Trek or pop into the Dr.'s verse eh?

I'm going to add in the Clone Wars cartoon series too, and the Christmas special for S&Gs. :D

Watch IV and V, then watch VI just so you know how it finishes.

Next, go out and buy the soundtracks for episodes II and III (the Phantom Menace was crap). Watch Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith with the sound turned off on your tv but the soundtrack playing in the background. This way you get to enjoy the awesome lightsaber duels and battle scenes without having to listen to a whiny teenage Anakin.

Oh, and stop watching before you get to the Yoda fight scene, nobody wants to see that...

I think 1-2-3-4-5-6 is best since it's chronological. Personally I watched them either 4-5-6-1-2-3 or 1-4-5-6-2-3. Not sure which, but I think the latter.

You're the one insulting him.

Where, in this thread, did I insult him? Please--point it out.

Don't bother with the prequel trilogy. At all.

But it's part of the statement! Without little it's just "strange sadistic man" and that doesn't sound quite right.

That's why you need to purchase your statements in modular chunks, so you can mix-and-match as needed instead of having to use the whole product. Modular linguistics, man. It's the future of the memetic economy!

Watching them in chronological order is the only logical thing to do though you could really skip 1 since it really isn't that important to the overall story and is has the weakest plot and suckiest characters.

Though since I've read the SW books, the way that 3 ends irritates me to no end as it doesn't match with them at all. :headbang:

What a bunch of snobby elitists. The sad thing is you act how badly these moveis were and how *you* are better than the mindless masses who eat 'em up, but we all know you've watched each one a dozen times.

I might have seen the original a dozen times. I have almost certainly seen Empire a dozen times or more. I doubt I've seen Jedi a dozen times, although that was my youth.

I know I have seen 'episode one' three times. I know I have seen 'episode two' twice. I know I have seen 'episode three' one time.

Although it really needs the original movie to stand upon, "Empire" is really the only one of the whole collection that is a real contendor in it's own right - much like "First Contact" in the Star Trek canon.

But I'd take David Lynch's "Dune" over either (or, indeed, both) of those.

I might have seen the original a dozen times. I have almost certainly seen Empire a dozen times or more. I doubt I've seen Jedi a dozen times, although that was my youth.

I know I have seen 'episode one' three times. I know I have seen 'episode two' twice. I know I have seen 'episode three' one time.


knew it!


Although it really needs the original movie to stand upon, "Empire" is really the only one of the whole collection that is a real contendor in it's own right - much like "First Contact" in the Star Trek canon.

Really, I have to disagree about First Contact. The Wrath of Khan stands on it's own, I think. Actually some of the others probably do too, but I wouldn't know cuz by then I'd seen episodes.

But I'd take David Lynch's "Dune" over either (or, indeed, both) of those.

Egad, are you freaking kidding me? (http://www.imdb.com/gallery/mptv/1390/8864_0027.jpg.html?path=gallery&path_key=0087182&seq=2)

Episode IV, V, VI and Clone Wars.

Ignore the rest.

Egad, are you freaking kidding me? (http://www.imdb.com/gallery/mptv/1390/8864_0027.jpg.html?path=gallery&path_key=0087182&seq=2)

*shudders*

The Dune miniseries was much better, I really love William Hurt's role in playing Duke Leto Atreides.

*nods vigorously*

Watch the old ones first (episodes IV, V, VI) so that when you get to the newer ones you'll realise how little charm they have, and how terrible the screen plays are. Even Revenge of The Sith feels stilted, drawn out and poorly edited on second viewing.

I saw the original edit of THX 1138 (the 1971 version, not the '67 short) a while back, and was surprised by just how good it was. It turns out, at one point, George Lucas really did have some potential. Apparently, in order to be released on DVD, Lucas has carefully molested that movie into a horrible semblence of it's former glory. (I don't know - everyone I've talked to that has seen the new 'version' has hated it so much I've not bought it, myself).

Apparently, George Lucas has an established modus operandi of raping his own rare creative moments to death, and then re-raping the corpses several years later.

in the order intended: IV V VI, I II III, then IV V IV again :)

IV, V and VI most definitely. Then, if they liked that, they can check out the backstory in I, II, and III.

in the order intended: IV V IV, I II III, then IV V IV again :)

IV V IV? Or do you mean IV V VI?

I saw the original edit of THX 1138 (the 1971 version, not the '67 short) a while back, and was surprised by just how good it was. It turns out, at one point, George Lucas really did have some potential. Apparently, in order to be released on DVD, Lucas has carefully molested that movie into a horrible semblence of it's former glory. (I don't know - everyone I've talked to that has seen the new 'version' has hated it so much I've not bought it, myself).

Apparently, George Lucas has an established modus operandi of raping his own rare creative moments to death, and then re-raping the corpses several years later.

QFT.

Ever seen More American Graffiti? Put it down and back slowly away.

Watching them in chronological order is the only logical thing to do though you could really skip 1 since it really isn't that important to the overall story and is has the weakest plot and suckiest characters.

Though since I've read the SW books, the way that 3 ends irritates me to no end as it doesn't match with them at all. :headbang:

Do you mean "Watching them in chronological order" by release date, or by story chronology?

If you watch them by story chronology, Lucas blows his whole "I am yr father" wad all over the closing moments of ep 3.

There is only one moment saving the whle 'ep 1-3 arc', and that is Palpatine discussing the difference between Jedi and Sith in a way that didn't make the whole thing a 'goodies versus baddies' comic book mockery. Unfortunately, that one scene isn't even consistent with the way he made the rest of that trilogy.

Shame really. One good character moment, carefully swamped in cartoonish crap.

and the Christmas special for S&Gs. :D

The ONLY part worth watching of that abomination was the cartoon introducing Boba Fett.

The rest of it was shit.

Really, I have to disagree about First Contact. The Wrath of Khan stands on it's own, I think. Actually some of the others probably do too, but I wouldn't know cuz by then I'd seen episodes.


I might entertain the argument for Khan, although it wouldn't be one I'd necessarily suggest, myself.


Egad, are you freaking kidding me? (http://www.imdb.com/gallery/mptv/1390/8864_0027.jpg.html?path=gallery&path_key=0087182&seq=2)

In all seriousness, I see nothing wrong with Sting in that movie. The character of Feyd is kind of shallow and pompous, a little artificial, and a little contrived. I'm not going to argue it is impossible that another actor could have played the part better, but I think Sting had the required attributes naturally.

The original trilogy, Lucas did not have complete creative control. The prequels, He did. Does Coincidence equal correlation?

The original trilogy, Lucas did not have complete creative control. The prequels, He did. Does Coincidence equal correlation?

Actually, by Jedi, he did have complete control. The Ewoks were the first sign of his downward slide.

4-5-6.

quoted for mighty truth.

you should watch STAR WARS, 1-2-3-4-5-6 in order, it gets the bad movies out of the way first

Or you could go 2-3-4-5-6-1

Or you could go 3-4-5-6-1-2

Or you could go 4-5-6-1-2-3

Or you could go 1-6-2-5-4-3

Or you could go.......................................

.........anyway...you should watch this first
http://youtube.com/watch?v=fVFI_Ra68F0

then you should watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwQV_JJXulM&NR=1

If you have the time and skill,

They should watch IV, V and VI first, then you need to edit I, II and III into a single film.

http://www.reignofthefallen.com/

Check this out.... it's better, in many ways, than the professional movies.

Do it Quentin Tarantino style. Just pop all the movies in and select random chapters to mix it up. Hours of confusing, somewhat painful movie watching.

Do it Quentin Tarantino style. Just pop all the movies in and select random chapters to mix it up. Hours of confusing, somewhat painful movie watching.

That might make the chapters 1-3 watchable.

3-4-5-6.

Skip the first 2.

Agreed...although I would recommend muting the sound during III...put some Bach in the CD player or something.

Plus you get to see Hayden Christiansen turned into an amputee and set on FIRE. I haven't had that much fun since watching Leonardo di Caprio turn into an icecube in Titanic!

We need to find a way to combine such excellent performances into a movie that doesn't last three hours.

Jedi is fine if you pretend that the Ewoks are Wookies like they were originally going to be.

If only... :(

"There's nothing medically wrong with her!"


Ugh.

Yeah...I actually walked out at that point.

Saw what I missed on DVD later, which was absolutely nothing of importance.

In all seriousness, I see nothing wrong with Sting in that movie. The character of Feyd is kind of shallow and pompous, a little artificial, and a little contrived. I'm not going to argue it is impossible that another actor could have played the part better, but I think Sting had the required attributes naturally.

Oh, he was fine for the part. It's just the whole thing was really... strange. I never read the books though.

The ONLY part worth watching of that abomination was the cartoon introducing Boba Fett.

The rest of it was shit.

It was worth watching because it was shit...

IV - V - VI - - - - - - III (as a look back to how it all happened)

Watch 4-6 and throw the discs for 1-3 against a tree. The only saving grace of 3 was that it had more sword fights in it than any other episode but that alone was not enough to save it from bad acting and vomit-inducing writing.

Besides,
http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/images/c/c2/Swordvsgun.gif
swords always fail to guns.

swords always fail to guns.

But...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/48/Ffviii_squalls_gunblade.PNG

...wait a minute, I'm confused. :p

In the correct chronological order, duh.

It's like reading a biography of a band starting with the most recent history of them.

Skip the movies completely and watch this fan project:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NE5elL30w4

Watch 4-6 and throw the discs for 1-3 against a tree. The only saving grace of 3 was that it had more sword fights in it than any other episode but that alone was not enough to save it from bad acting and vomit-inducing writing.

That's why...

If you have the time and skill,

They should watch IV, V and VI first, then you need to edit I, II and III into a single film.

4-5-6.

n-th-ed.

Suppose someone came up to you one day and said s/he was interested in watching the Star Wars series, had never seen a single movie of it, but was unsure of where exactly to start. What would your advice be?

Personally, I'd tell 'em to start with EpIV and watch them in order of how they were released. Starting from the beginning would just throw off some of the more shocking and memorable moments from the OT, like "I am your father!"

My opinion is start with Epsidoe I, then go to IV, then to II, then start V and stop it right before Vader says "Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father...", then watch III right to where Mace Windu is about to kill Palpatine, then finish the "I AM YOUR FATHER!" scene in V. After that go back to III and finish it, then bob back to V and finish that and resolve with VI.