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It just struck me that people new to Star Wars aren't meant to watch the films in numerical order, from Episode I to VI, but from Episode IV to VI and then from I to III. If someone new to the movies would watch it from I straight through to VI, there would be no surprise in V about Vader being Luke's father and would ruin the whole experience. Kinda stupid, eh?

I know if I were to introduce someone new to the films, I would have them watch the OT first.

IRG CommandoJoe wrote: If someone new to the movies would watch it from I straight through to VI, there would be no surprise in V about Vader being Luke's father and would ruin the whole experience. Kinda stupid, eh?

There was some interview I heard on this somewhere. Apparently its no longer going to be "OMG! He's his father!", to "OMG! He's finally found out!", or something like that.

I get the impression Lucas intends them to be watched I -VI.

Unless Lucas intends to make it seem like Anakin dies in ROTS and then Vader suddenly shows up -- but yeah, it does ruin it.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lucas said that in his opinion, it should be viewed in story order (I-VI), to accurately depict the complete story.

While that's the order I and most others will choose for things like marathon viewings, I'll be showing it IV-VI, then I-III when introducing my future children to the saga, to preserve the surprises.

It's like I've always said, make it where Anakin falls in the molten pit and seemingly dies, then Vader some new Sith Lord shows up. Easy tie in.

Well I'll reserve my judgement until after ROTS. But it seems to me that Vader being Luke's father had been so integrated into our culture that even people who havent seen Star Wars (heaven forbid) wouldn't be that surprised by the scene.

DoctorPhanan wrote:Well I'll reserve my judgement until after ROTS. But it seems to me that Vader being Luke's father had been so integrated into our culture that even people who havent seen Star Wars (heaven forbid) wouldn't be that surprised by the scene.

It's so shit down here that the last time the movies were shown on TV the fucking twist at the end of ESB was revealed in a 30 second commercial. Fuck you, Channel 9. Seriously this is on par with advertising a Whodunnit by showing the killer revealed at the end. This kind of contempt for the viewing public is obscene, and one of the many contributing reasons I no longer watch TV.

IRG CommandoJoe wrote:It just struck me that people new to Star Wars aren't meant to watch the films in numerical order, from Episode I to VI, but from Episode IV to VI and then from I to III. If someone new to the movies would watch it from I straight through to VI, there would be no surprise in V about Vader being Luke's father and would ruin the whole experience. Kinda stupid, eh?

But then there WOULD be surprise about Anakin becoming Darth Vader.

Praxis wrote:

IRG CommandoJoe wrote:It just struck me that people new to Star Wars aren't meant to watch the films in numerical order, from Episode I to VI, but from Episode IV to VI and then from I to III. If someone new to the movies would watch it from I straight through to VI, there would be no surprise in V about Vader being Luke's father and would ruin the whole experience. Kinda stupid, eh?

But then there WOULD be surprise about Anakin becoming Darth Vader.

Since that's what RotS shows, not really.

Stofsk wrote:It's so shit down here that the last time the movies were shown on TV the fucking twist at the end of ESB was revealed in a 30 second commercial. Fuck you, Channel 9. Seriously this is on par with advertising a Whodunnit by showing the killer revealed at the end. This kind of contempt for the viewing public is obscene, and one of the many contributing reasons I no longer watch TV.

Yeah its like showing the last 15 minutes of The Usual Suspects right before the movie in it's entirety. Actually, alot of movie previews really spoil the ending completely. Which is also why I rarely go to movies anymore.

I think I'd want to show/watch the movies OT then I-III just because in a sense going I-VI does tend to change some stuff about Vader. I just like him as the cool badass villian that we then go back and find out how he got there.

I don't want to go through six movies of the tragic life and times of Anakin Skywalker, his fall and redemption. While that is certainly a valid story and might be an interesting way to watch the movies from time to time.

I don't know, I might have to give it a try after III is out, but I would think another reason to watch them the order of their release would be because of the changes in effects over time. It might end up being less noticable by the time Lucas is done tinkering with them and releases the final versions but right now I'd still think it's best to go OT and then I-III.

For me...OT then PT.

The OT shows the rebellion and the Empire which is honestly the main thrust of this tale. The life and times of Anakin Skywalker even know is a bit weird when I do watch them in order. Vader is so different as a character that unless ROTS shows some immense changes...well we'll see.

Also for me the whole revelation should come as a shock to the viewer in ESB...not "Yadda, yadda". Which if one shows in chronological it would be. Especially if I was going to show it brand spanking new.

Actually, if they don't reveal in ROTS that Luke and Leia are Anakin's children, or if GL fucks with our minds and makes it look like they're just some random kids, there might still be a certain surprise element. Otherwise, I agree-- and in any case, it'd be pretty hard to do so... of course, in a few decades, the next few generations aren't really gonna know much about the whole OT, so it'll be more of a surprise for them than it is for us.

Isn't part of what's interesting about the Prequels knowing what's going to happen to Anakin, and seeing how the Republic progresses towards becoming the Empire? I can't imagine the plotting of Sidious being all that interesting if you don't know he's Palpatine, or that he will eventually be the ultimate baddy, the Emperor.

It would be interesting to get someone's opinion who (at some future point) starts off seeing them in numerical order.

Damn, I totally forgot about Palpatine and his rise to power...

So it seems you're a bit screwed either way.

Tsyroc wrote:Isn't part of what's interesting about the Prequels knowing what's going to happen to Anakin, and seeing how the Republic progresses towards becoming the Empire? I can't imagine the plotting of Sidious being all that interesting if you don't know he's Palpatine, or that he will eventually be the ultimate baddy, the Emperor.

It would be interesting to get someone's opinion who (at some future point) starts off seeing them in numerical order.

When I get a bunch of rugrats...I'll let you know.

And yeah that's another added element. Not knowing what Palps truly is...it becomes "So who's this old geezer, and what the heck?"

Ghost Rider wrote: When I get a bunch of rugrats...I'll let you know.

Well get working on that.

According to one of Zor's Off Topic threads I may not have much time.

I've been of the opinion that the movies should be introduced to kids by the first three movies, but have since changed my mind. I think they should be shown in numerical order.

The numerical order may seem to give people less info about the Force and the Jedi/Sith, but I feel it gives enough info at the beginning to keep people interested/curious until Ben´s speech in ANH (and a possible speech by Palpatine in ROTS). There´s also the added benefit of not knowing if Obi-Wan or Anakin will survive their perils since you don´t see them as old men at the beginning.

I also fail to see how some people can justify not accepting the Sith as badguys in Ep. I, just because you don´t get clear motives, and at the same time accept Sauron as the enemy in LOTR, when we almost get no more explanation for his motives either.

Sauron: Take over Middle Earth, cover the lands in darkness, for some reason... ok.
Sith: Get revenge on the Jedi, for some reason...ok. See, not much difference.

This reminds me of the controversy over Narnia books and the story order vs. publishing order.

The difference here is that C.S. Lewis is no longer with us...


Personally I saw the films in this order: 6, 4, 5, 1, 2 (and then 3 in the future)...

So it was kinda cool to see where it all began, when Luke wasn't this awesome Jedi yet, and just a whiney farm-boy, and Darth Vader was just a henchman, and Han Solo didn't care about anything but money, etc.

there would be no surprise in V about Vader being Luke's father and would ruin the whole experience. Kinda stupid, eh?

I think showing him becoming a bad-guy in three, along with the Republic as a whole, then watching him chase his son in IV without knowing who he is, then wondering when he´ll tell him the truth in V, will all contribute to keep people in suspense.

The alternative is a shock reveal in V then a lesser shock in VI, both concerning Luke´s family. Every action-sequence in I-III will be lessened ´cus you already know the characters have to survive to be in IV. Knowing the Republic become the Empire also limits the suspense audiences can have.

Just give it 10-20 years and people will be watching from I-VI, Vader-surprise not withstanding. Even if older people tell them to watch IV-VI first, not everyone will buy that idea. Normally people don´t watch a series from the middle, then go back to the beginning, ya know. (If you didn´t miss those episodes, that is )

Actually the biggest problem I see with watching them in order is that 4-6 lose a lot of value, but also 1-3 have some eh to it.

Okay number 1 largest and biggest draw is "See where they came from". Take that away and you get

1. A kid with some power.

2. A half built droid.

3. An relatively unknown astromech.

4. A bunch of old geezers sitting in chairs.

5. A snot nosed Jedi Knight.

6. Some chick with a love of big hair and make up.

In 2 you get to continuation of basically the Kid, the Chick and the Snot nosed Jedi.

Three is their last adventure...with the big revelation of Palaptine and Sidious are one in the same(as long as you willfully remained ignorant and didn't at once look at the two of them).

Then you get to the OT...wherein all the big revelations are really....pointless. Anakin is evil thus having him reveal to Luke may be of secondary concern. He's evil, he's nasty, he does bad things...in fact you're wondering why he's not also searching for Leia.

Then you see Yoda...you already know...anything of the intial *who the heck is this funny thing?* is pretty much gone, and actually you're probably asking why is he acting so nuts...in TPM-ROTS he was all calm and sane.

Also the PT relied on a lot of actual feeling towards the OT. The big draw of it...you got to see where they came from and what they were doing. Regardless of my feeling towards the Clone Wars...they showed that, they showed who Anakin was...and who Luke and Leia's mom was. You got to see why Obi-Wan was reckless, and really how bad and mean the Emperor was. Without it, the characters do not stand on their own as well as the OT counterparts, because they are not as engaging.

Cal Wright wrote:It's like I've always said, make it where Anakin falls in the molten pit and seemingly dies, then Vader some new Sith Lord shows up. Easy tie in.

But then when Obi Wan says "It was Vader who betrayed and killed your father" (or whatever his exact words were) in ANH, people who are watching 1->6 will know he's bullshitting and probably put 2 and 2 together anyway.

I have a friend who has only seen Ep. I and II, she refuses to see the OT before Ep. III comes out. Haven´t heard if she´s faltered yet.

And people can bitch as long as they like, the fact is: people will view these in chronological order one day. And I´m sure there´s many people who will love I-III as much as people love IV-VI today. There are probably many series out there that have characters like the ones in the PT and where the story starts out a bit dull like in Ep. I, doesn´t mean these stories don´t have a fanbase.

I swear, if you start off as a fresh viewer with no pre-conceived notions about the series, you´re bound to be more interested, especially with the somewhat mysterious origin of the Force and the two mystic orders. In every series, the way to keep folks interested, is by keeping secrets from them, in order to keep them watching to find out more. I don´t see why this can´t apply to SW as well. You get just enough hints and clues early on in the story, so when Ben comes along with his simple explanation to Luke in IV, you put the pieces better together. Yoda´s teachings in V helps cement this. If the Force is presented differently in the PT and the OT, the viewer might learn along with the characters as well.