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Should you watch the original trilogy first, or should you watch them in chronological order, I-VI? What are the pros and cons of each?

My opinion is that you should watch the OT first. Episodes I-III have too much politics. It is far easier to watch the OT first, then watch the new triliogy and go "Ooh, that makes sense." That being said, I have recently introduced my three-year-old brother to Star Wars, and I had him watch Episodes IV-VI first. Then, when he watched the prequels, I found it far easier to explain what is going on in terms of the OT. "See, that is Darth Vader when he was a little boy." And he understands it.

Perhaps you may even want to mix it up more, jump around from II to IV or whatnot. State reasons, though.

Opinions, comments, suggestions?

I'd say you pretty much have to watch the OT first if you're seeing the movies for the first time. Ep. IV is the only movie that makes complete sense while knowing nothing of the other movies. (I suppose Ep. I could, but I think a lot of it would seem irrelevant without the knowledge of where it's eventually going.)

Episode IV just makes for a better introduction to the series, I think. The main character is Luke, and he's just as clueless about things as a first-time viewer, so everything important gets explained. In TPM all the characters are pretty well seasoned apart from Anakin and there's not half as much explanation of things from what I remember. Episode I may, arguably, make a better introduction to the overall story arc of the series, but Episode IV does a far better job of drawing a first-time viewer in and making the world make sense to them.

the only movie that makes complete sense while knowing nothing of the other movies

I like the fact that now with all six out, you can start with Ep.I and gradually unravel everything as the episodes go by, rather than have a partial summary of I-III in the first hour of IV.

IV-VI first, then watch the prequels. It is really interesting to see all the parallels in the series.

I heard once that the best order is 1, 4, 2, 5, 3, 6, and I'm rather partial to that theory, so I voted "other"

Qwerty 42 wrote:I heard once that the best order is 1, 4, 2, 5, 3, 6, and I'm rather partial to that theory, so I voted "other"

Just wondering, why?

I'd probably choose to view them in chronological order, simply becuase I want the story to unfold naturally, and I personally view Vader is a sypathetic character, something that is easier when the PT is witness first.

Did hear an interesting alternate though, a flash-back of sorts; IV,V,I,II,III,VI. Doing it that way, ANH still serves an intro into the universe, the Vader revelation is preserved, but you see the entire saga before the finally, putting more weight on the fates of the characters, Vader and Palpatine especially.

Sometimes I wish I had never seen the Original Trilogy simply so I can watch the entire series in the correct chronological order with a completely fresh outlook on it. Oh well, if only if only.

What's the rationale behind the 1,4,2,5,3,6 order? That just seems inane.

I guess that order would really parallell Anakin and Luke, episode by episode.

Noble Ire wrote:Did hear an interesting alternate though, a flash-back of sorts; IV,V,I,II,III,VI. Doing it that way, ANH still serves an intro into the universe, the Vader revelation is preserved, but you see the entire saga before the finally, putting more weight on the fates of the characters, Vader and Palpatine especially.

Very interesting. It makes a lot of sense. If I had to re-watch them all, this is probably the way I would do it.

I think Lucas wants people to see them 1-6, since he intended for Vader to be a tragic character, rather than the epitome of evil that he looked like in the OT until the end of ROTJ. However, ANH is the best intro to the series (basic concepts like the Force and hyperspace travel are explained), and the Vader's revelation loses all its impact if you already know who he is. Also, if you see the PT first, all those C-3PO and Chewbacca scenes in the PT just look strange instead of being cameos by known characters.

Noble Ire wrote:Did hear an interesting alternate though, a flash-back of sorts; IV,V,I,II,III,VI. Doing it that way, ANH still serves an intro into the universe, the Vader revelation is preserved, but you see the entire saga before the finally, putting more weight on the fates of the characters, Vader and Palpatine especially.

Wow, that seems like the perfect way to watch the saga. Now, instead of being some guy who just showed up briefly (via hologram) before ROTJ, the Emperor would be fully fleshed out. By the final film, the audience would probably love to see the manipulative bastard get his.

Frozen Han: Hey, what about me, ya son of a bitch! I stay frozen for three frickin' movies now!

Sonnenburg wrote:Frozen Han: Hey, what about me, ya son of a bitch! I stay frozen for three frickin' movies now!

Would that explain why han gained 10 pounds in his frozen state?

Noble Ire wrote:Did hear an interesting alternate though, a flash-back of sorts; IV,V,I,II,III,VI. Doing it that way, ANH still serves an intro into the universe, the Vader revelation is preserved, but you see the entire saga before the finally, putting more weight on the fates of the characters, Vader and Palpatine especially.

I would watch them in this order: IV, I, II, III, V, VI. The reasoning is this. I agree with Crazy_Vasey in that IV is a better introduction to the series. All the major OT characters (except Lando) are intoduced (the Emperor is only mentioned in IV by Tarkin, but he's still introduced). Then I'd watch I-III to get Anakin's backstory (the Vader = Anakin secret is revealed, but I think the net gain is worth this loss). At the end of III the viewer gets so pissed off at Vader that when he/she watches V and VI (where the redemption of Anakin begins to unravel) the viewer finds him/herself in such an emotional quandry that he/she doesn't know whether to root for Vader to die or redeem himself. I think that that would make for a really good viewing experience.

Cos Dashit wrote:

Qwerty 42 wrote:I heard once that the best order is 1, 4, 2, 5, 3, 6, and I'm rather partial to that theory, so I voted "other"

Just wondering, why?

It keeps the plot relatively intact by dragging out the eventual fate of Anakin Skywalker until the revelation at the end of Episode V, for those who didn't guess already, and then you get to see his fall to the dark side and redemption.

Original trilogy first:

1) The prequels are really underwhelming in my opinion, especially the first two. If they didn't have the Star Wars name, who would have remembered them five years from now? If you start with the prequels, you have to start with the weakest of the series, so it's better to avoid that bad impression and go with 4-6.

2) The dramatic surprise is better. "Luke, I am your father", vs. Anakin's turn to the dark side that can be seen from over a movie away.

The first one is the main reason though. The prequels are just so much weaker as films, with too many pacing/bad dialogue/CGI-obsession/etc flaws to be a good start.

I typically agree with the whole starting with IV-VI for beginners, I-III for veterans.

Though the IV-V-I-II-III-VI sequence sounds like an interesting way to show it.

Civil War Man wrote:Though the IV-V-I-II-III-VI sequence sounds like an interesting way to show it.

I agree.