StarDestroyer.Net BBS

Scenario:

Due to an accident with an irrational particle accelerator, a pair of rubber bands, and a liquid lunch, you are transported to the year 2025 and placed in charge of a movie theatre. After getting used to this, you decide to show all of the Star Wars movies in a row. The question is, since several people who come to the show will have never seen it before, what order will you show them in? If you do IV-V-VI-I-II-III, Anakin's turn to the dark side is spoiled in ESB, but if they're shown I-II-III-IV-V-VI the identity of Luke's father is spoiled.

What order would you show them in?

IV-V-VI, I-II-III.

The order they were made, the order they make sense in, no matter what lucas thinks.

Agreed, I think the better suprises are "I am your father..." and Yoda

I, too, say that the Original Trilogy should be watched prior to the Prequel Trilogy. After all, so what if you know that Anakin falls into the Dark Side? Ruining much more important moments of both ANH and TESB, particularly Darth Vader's true relationship with Luke, and even the "there is another..." scene of TESB, are all far greater crimes.

what version of the original trilogy are we talking about here? Is it the unadultered version, or Lucas's "remastered" edition?

Matt Huang wrote:what version of the original trilogy are we talking about here? Is it the unadultered version, or Lucas's "remastered" edition?

Hate to break it to you, mate, but the "unadulterated" version is ALSO Lucas's.

Contrary to modern popular opinion the original films were not made by Jesus Christ and then purchased from him by George Lucas so he could mess them up for his own nefarious pleasure.

Me? I'd watch them I, II, III, IV, V and VI. If only because I've not really had chance to do that yet.

You know, if you watch it 1-3 then 4-6, it's kind of icky seeing Luke and Leia flirting and kissing.

Sorry to be a snob, but didn't we have this thread a month or so ago, only it was phrased "Which order would you show them to your children in? "

I have to agree with the masses, and show them IV V VI , I II III. The "No. I am your father" moment is for me the ultimate moment in the whole saga and showing them the other way around ruins it. However, it doesn't matter which order you show them in, Obi Wan Kenobi still comes out looking like a spaz with that whole 'That boy is our last hope.' "no there is another" exchange.

In regard to the "I am your father" moment. Lucas brings up an interesting point about watching the movies in Episode order or in the order that they were released.

In Release Order the emphasis on "I am your father" is shock and horror. Poor Luke. Vader you bastard.

In Episode Order the "I am your father" moment engenders a triumphant "YES! he finally knows now maybe he can save his father." It also paints Obi Wan and Yoda in a more negative light that they would actively lie to Luke and try and get him to kill his father.

He's right how the interpretation of that moment changes with viewing order.

I´m a proponent for I-VI, though no-one has had the chance to really see the saga this way until now, so the verdict is still out on whether it´s better/worse/the same. I´ll say this though, most action-sequences starring the main trio is rendered mostly useless when you know they have to live to Episode IV and beyond, so that´s definitively lost with IV-VI first.

I'd prefer to watch them IV-VI and then I-III, if only to preserve the surprises of ESB - Yoda not being some mighty warrior but in fact being a small green zen dude was a great symbol of the whole force business for me, and I quite like the surprise of the father stuff - if you take those things away, then ESB becomes more like filler material for the last one.

I heard of a good idea on a webcomic site somewhere:

IV, V ~~insert wavy flashback lines here~~ I, II, III ~~insert back to the original story wavy flashback lines here~~ VI

What does everyone else think?

Lusankya wrote:I heard of a good idea on a webcomic site somewhere:

IV, V ~~insert wavy flashback lines here~~ I, II, III ~~insert back to the original story wavy flashback lines here~~ VI

What does everyone else think?

Shouldn't that be wavey flash forward lines?

Lusankya wrote:I heard of a good idea on a webcomic site somewhere:

IV, V ~~insert wavy flashback lines here~~ I, II, III ~~insert back to the original story wavy flashback lines here~~ VI

What does everyone else think?

Wait I got it! Watch V, IV, II, III, I, VI...

If only to make sure you don't watch the ludicrous stuff until the end.

Got to be I,II,III,IV,V,VI. The whole Vader redemption story works better for me if he is fallen and then redeemed, rather than redeemed and "what the fuck happened before"?

Brian

The freedom is there to view it as you want. However the order makes a difference on how you view the overall saga.

Is it the Adventures of Luke Skywalker with Darth Vader's backstory then you watch it as:
IV, V, VI, I, II, III

Is it the Rise, Fall and Redemption of Anakin Skywalker? Then
I, II, III, IV, V, VI

I, VI, III, IV, II, V.- Because I can.

If someone's seeing the movies for the first time, I'd say the IV, V, VI, I, II, III order would be ideal, because some of the moments in the OT wouldn't be as surprising if the PT was viewed first, while the enjoyment in watching the PT was seeing how everything got the way it was. If someone who's familiar with all the movies already was to sit down and watch them, then the I, II, III, IV, V, VI order would be best.

I II III IV V VI

Because I will never be able to watch the SW saga unfold in its chronologic order fresh, without knowing what will happen. Besides, I think Anakin's path to the Dark Side makes the originals all the better.

If it's someone that's never seen it before...

IV, V, VI, I, II, III

Because I think a lot of things that make the prequel trilogy powerful and significant come from the fact that they're referencing things from the original trilogy.

In the future, however, I think I'll probably alternate between chronological and episodic order.

I'm still undecided on this. I do think ROTS should be watched before ROTJ though since I think the ending of Jedi with the ghosts is a perfect way to end a viewing, as opposed to Siths.

The OP indicates that the viewing order is for the benefit of others, rather than for myself, so I would be most inclined to go with IV-V-VI-I-II-III. I believe ESB would lose most of its emotional punch if seen second-to-last. However, if the audience is a group of sophisticated filmbuffs, then I think it would be very interesting to show the films in the order I-IV-II-V-III-VI as another poster here suggested. (I am sorry to say that I have forgotten whose original idea that was.) That saves most of the punch of ESB (except for the Yoda-reveal) and pairs up the birth of Luke & Leia with the revelation of their kinship in RotJ, as well as pairing Vader/Anakin's "join me and we can rule the Galaxy" speeches.

From the point of view of people who have only seen the OT before the PT, it seems like the logical way to maximize the impact of the hexology (meh, hexology).

What about the revelation that benevolent Senator (later Chancellor) Palpatine is Darth Sidious? And that Sidious wasn't trying to take over the galaxy through the Separatists, but manipulating events so his alter-ego could usurp control of the Republic?

Oh, but that can't possibly be a surprise. That's all as obvious as something I've known all my life!

Yeah the darth Palpy wasnt as subtle as Anakin Vader.
now that’s an odd thought

Thinking about this... the order that really makes sense to me most for enjoyability is 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 6. So thus, you get the main bulk of the OT, which is ANH and TESB, with the Vader revelation.. then you flashback twenty years to the PT, see Anakin's fall and the empire's rise, before fast forwarding to ROTJ, and seeing Vader's redemption, the Emperor's death and restoration of the republic.

Well I voted for 456-123, I also think that 45-123-6 seems like a good idea...