I'll reiterate the popular (and correct) opinion. Start with IV, V, VI, then I, II, and III. If you end up disliking the prequels like I did it's because they were bad movies compared to the masterpieces that the originals were. I'm of the opinion that it's because Lucas had way too much control over the production of the new movies and actually had some people to tell him his ideas were stupid when making the first three. Watch these "reviews" by Red Letter Media after you watch all of Star Wars, you'll get what I mean.
Watch the original trilogy first, then go watch the prequels. After that, what these RedLetterMedia reviews of the prequels. Not only will you appreciate the original trilogy more, but fully understand why those who grew up with the originals hate the prequels.
I really wouldn't bother. They are children's films.
Ok, first of all 1-3 are intended for dumb kids.
Second, even if 4-6 were kids movies, it still doesn't detract from the quality. Are you saying you would skip over Toy Story or Finding Nemo just because they are kids movies?
I would recommend neither finding nemo nor toy story to adults. I would highly recommend them to children. I can understand that some adults may take something away from these films, I however am not one of them, and consequently I would not recommend them.
I would definitely start with the original trilogy, as that is the way the films were chronologically released. Also, some of the revelations in the prequels will ruin some of the great reveals in the original films. I'm not one of those "purists" who think the prequels are trash. I'm young enough not to have any nostalgia for the original series and actually found the prequels quite enjoyable. Also no matter what anyone else will try to argue, Episode I has the best lightsaber fight period (i.e. Ray Park is an actual martial artist; also the original movies didn't seem to take into account that lightsabers, aside from the hilts, are essentially weightless)
Watch the trilogies in whichever order you want with whichever version you want. I watched all of them for the very first time only a few years ago and while I agree that 1-3 aren't as great as 4-6, you'll find that the the more devout fans like to over react and complain about everything.
Just don't even bother with 1-3. They're not good movies, and Star Wars is not SO good that you need to see the entire saga. Just watch 4, 5, and 6. If you can get your hands on the 25th anniversary DVDs that came with the original unaltered films, go for it, but watching any other version other than the Blu-Rays should still be okay. The handful of things he changed in the Blu-Ray edition are poor enough decisions that it's better to just watch them on DVD. But, yeah, skip 1-3, they're not good movies.
My fiance and I are currently watching them in the order of:
Episode IV: A New Hope
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Episode I: The Phantom Menace (3D)
Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Watching it that way makes the prequels feel like a flashback after the the cliffhanger of Empire and before the resolution of Jedi.
@Twilight: From Lucas' standpoint, the movies are meant to be watched 1-6. I disagree because it takes the fun out of Empire's revelation for those completely new to the saga.
I don't recommend you watch the prequels at all. I still haven't seen episode two, just one and three and that was bad enough.
Not allowed to link to this sort of thing but a serious fan of the original trilogy made his own high definition upgrades; splicing together parts from different sources and essentially removing all of the new nonsense Lucas thought was necessary to add now, so many years after release.
Again won't link to the files themselves but this link goes to an article from screened.com describing some of the amazing work 'Harmy' did. Best versions available.
You should just ask people you know in real life instead of the batshit insane people on the internet who want to murder George Lucas for wanting to ever make any changes to something he created.
So, from the perspective of a not insane person:
I don't really care for Star Wars. I also like the 123 trilogy more than 456. I feel like as a cohesive story it's probably better to watch it 123456, but I'm sure a ton of people are going to tell you (and probably already have, I only skimmed the first page of this thread and I'm sure as hell not going to read more of it) that you'll be robbed of any payoff or whatever if you don't watch it 456123. These people are also crazy, and you should know that. I'd be incredibly surprised if you didn't already know the basic plot points of the story anyway.
But most important of all, just watch them in whatever order you feel like. It's just two fucking trilogies set in an expanded universe, not something sacred that is forever tainted by some scene alterations or not watching them in the "correct" order.
People really like to nerd rage over the the prequels but they're really not terrible and to be honest most of the problems that exist in the prequels exist in the original trilogy. If you're coming in fresh without the nostalgia the original trilogy really only has one movie that stands above the rest.
If you want to change it up watch 4-5-1-2-3-6 and look at the prequels as a flashback between 5-6. The Empire Strikes Back has two of the best cinematic reveals of all time so hopefully you've managed to stay in the dark about them but I highly doubt that.
You must only watch the theatrically released versions, however, you will only be able to find the Laser Disc prints of them on DVD these days. This is somewhat unfortunate as it isn't the very best quality in the world, but still more than adequate. My girlfriend and I have been watching one per weekend just recently, and they still hold up as completely awesome sauce.
These are the only versions of the DVD release that came with the unaltered theatrical films.
I only saw the original trilogy for the first time last year. I watched the laserdisc copies on the trilogy DVDs and I was satisfied. So yes, I'll quote this.
4-6 then 1-3. Then the cartoon TV shows and throw in some of the comics, games like Republic Commando, KOTOR and KOTOR II and then if you still like it get into the expanded universe and read some of the novels. Despite all the hate it gets the clone wars time line is pretty dam cool when in the right hands. The republic Commando games and novels are amazing and some of the best clone wars era star wars you can get. The first season of the cartoon is rather kiddie, but it gets pretty dark and started to get more mature when after that initial season when they realized a lot of adults were watching it.
@Hunkulese: There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who think the prequels aren't that bad, and those who have seen the Plinkett reviews.
So anyone who can formulate an opinion by themselves think that they're not that bad and people who let other people make their opinions for them think they're trash.
Everything that people complain about in the prequels was present in the original trilogy. The biggest thing that 4-6 have over 1-3 is Han Solo. All the movies were filled with terrible actors, bad casting, ridiculous dialogue and annoying characters. The special effects in the original changed how movies were made and is why the movie made such an impact on people watching it in 1977.
If you're going in fresh to Star Wars today you'll think 5 of the movies are so-so and one is pretty awesome.
@Hunkulese: There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who think the prequels aren't that bad, and those who have seen the Plinkett reviews.
So anyone who can formulate an opinion by themselves think that they're not that bad and people who let other people make their opinions for them think they're trash.
Everything that people complain about in the prequels was present in the original trilogy. The biggest thing that 4-6 have over 1-3 is Han Solo. All the movies were filled with terrible actors, bad casting, ridiculous dialogue and annoying characters. The special effects in the original changed how movies were made and is why the movie made such an impact on people watching it in 1977.
If you're going in fresh to Star Wars today you'll think 5 of the movies are so-so and one is pretty awesome.
It's not so much that I'm just letting someone decide for me, It's that someone makes a flawless argument. Do I really have to formulate an opinion and test for myself whether or not the world is round? No, because people smarter than me have already proven that.
And I really did like the prequels at one point, but then I saw a review that breaks down the entire movie piece by piece and easily explains how all of it is awful. It's not a matter of opinion, there is the truth and there is pretending the truth isn't there.
Someone already linked this, but I'll reiterate this, Harmy's release of the original trilogy is where it's at. I have the original trilogy on Laser Disk and Harmy's changes are pretty true to the original. You get the fidelity of the DVD versions without the horrible 90's CG that plagues the DVD release.
Watch Harmy's release of 4,5,6. Then watch episodes 1,2,3. Then watch the DVD/Blu-ray version of 4,5,6.
I was the biggest Star Wars fan as a kid. Devoured every game, every book. Then, one day, during my senior year, my friend got us midnight passes to the release of Episode 1.
you guys are coming into this with the mindset of those who watched IV, V, and VI first. 1, 2, and 3 are not the worst thing to happen to cinema if you watch them first ;)
@Hunkulese: There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who think the prequels aren't that bad, and those who have seen the Plinkett reviews.
So anyone who can formulate an opinion by themselves think that they're not that bad and people who let other people make their opinions for them think they're trash.
Everything that people complain about in the prequels was present in the original trilogy. The biggest thing that 4-6 have over 1-3 is Han Solo. All the movies were filled with terrible actors, bad casting, ridiculous dialogue and annoying characters. The special effects in the original changed how movies were made and is why the movie made such an impact on people watching it in 1977.
If you're going in fresh to Star Wars today you'll think 5 of the movies are so-so and one is pretty awesome.
It's not so much that I'm just letting someone decide for me, It's that someone makes a flawless argument. Do I really have to formulate an opinion and test for myself whether or not the world is round? No, because people smarter than me have already proven that.
And I really did like the prequels at one point, but then I saw a review that breaks down the entire movie piece by piece and easily explains how all of it is awful. It's not a matter of opinion, there is the truth and there is pretending the truth isn't there.
Thanks for reinforcing my point.
It's not a matter of opinion? It's only a matter of opinion. We're talking about people's opinions of movies but in the case of Star Wars it's only some crazy obsessive guy's opinion that counts? Breaking down any of the Star Wars movies isn't a good idea because none of them are actually well made movies and it wouldn't be that hard to make an hour long review of Star Wars that highlighted everything wrong with it and made it look like garbage. If you remove yourself from the crazies you can enjoy all the Star Wars movies you even said so yourself.
Firstly, watch them in the order that they came out. Don't start with Episodes I, II, and III otherwise you will probably just flat out say "Fuck it" and not bother with the good ones. 3 isn't particularly terrible, but 1 and 2 are cringe inducing at times. Secondly if you have the option dust off an old VCR and get the VHS versions for Episodes IV, V, and VI. They're as close to proper as you'll get, at least before talentless George got his talentless mitts all over them. Thirdly if the VHS versions are absolutely not an option, ever, to the point where Hell freezing over and stopping the Earth wouldn't get that option going then watch the DVD versions. Avoid the BluRay's like they're the fucking bubonic plague.
@Twilight: I'm sure you can find the original trilogy w/o changes easy enough, and as I'm an old schooler i'd suggest to watch them as they originally were released. However, as superfluous as Lucas's changes are, they won't hurt the viewing experience for you. As for the prequel trilogy, well, you're better off watching Plinkett's reviews on redlettermedia.com than the movies themselves. You'll be far more entertained. Then again, watching 1-3 will gave you a frame of reference for the greatness of the originals, and it's sort of interesting to see just how off the track Lucas got in the prequels. And hell, maybe you'll end up liking em.
Depends how old you are. When I first watched the prequels when I was really young I loved those first 3 movies but when I got older I just realized how fucking stupid they were
@Hunkulese: There are two kinds of people in this world. Those who think the prequels aren't that bad, and those who have seen the Plinkett reviews.
So anyone who can formulate an opinion by themselves think that they're not that bad and people who let other people make their opinions for them think they're trash.
Everything that people complain about in the prequels was present in the original trilogy. The biggest thing that 4-6 have over 1-3 is Han Solo. All the movies were filled with terrible actors, bad casting, ridiculous dialogue and annoying characters. The special effects in the original changed how movies were made and is why the movie made such an impact on people watching it in 1977.
If you're going in fresh to Star Wars today you'll think 5 of the movies are so-so and one is pretty awesome.
It's not so much that I'm just letting someone decide for me, It's that someone makes a flawless argument. Do I really have to formulate an opinion and test for myself whether or not the world is round? No, because people smarter than me have already proven that.
And I really did like the prequels at one point, but then I saw a review that breaks down the entire movie piece by piece and easily explains how all of it is awful. It's not a matter of opinion, there is the truth and there is pretending the truth isn't there.
Thanks for reinforcing my point.
It's not a matter of opinion? It's only a matter of opinion. We're talking about people's opinions of movies but in the case of Star Wars it's only some crazy obsessive guy's opinion that counts? Breaking down any of the Star Wars movies isn't a good idea because none of them are actually well made movies and it wouldn't be that hard to make an hour long review of Star Wars that highlighted everything wrong with it and made it look like garbage. If you remove yourself from the crazies you can enjoy all the Star Wars movies you even said so yourself.
If you honestly think all 6 movies share the same quality, and the people who piss and moan about the prequels do it for no reason, then I would like to see that video. You said it yourself, if it wouldn't be that hard to do.
And I'm not one of those crazy people. I'm only 21, so I'm not old enough to have my childhood ruined by George Lucas. I just know that the prequels are terrible movies.
You should just ask people you know in real life instead of the batshit insane people on the internet who want to murder George Lucas for wanting to ever make any changes to something he created. So, from the perspective of a not insane person: I don't really care for Star Wars. I also like the 123 trilogy more than 456. I feel like as a cohesive story it's probably better to watch it 123456, but I'm sure a ton of people are going to tell you (and probably already have, I only skimmed the first page of this thread and I'm sure as hell not going to read more of it) that you'll be robbed of any payoff or whatever if you don't watch it 456123. These people are also crazy, and you should know that. I'd be incredibly surprised if you didn't already know the basic plot points of the story anyway. But most important of all, just watch them in whatever order you feel like. It's just two fucking trilogies set in an expanded universe, not something sacred that is forever tainted by some scene alterations or not watching them in the "correct" order.
But who is more foolish: the fool who listens to the advice of "crazy people" who love Star Wars and would likely advocate an experience that they found positive, or the fool who takes the advice of someone who says they don't like Star Wars and seems to have a hidden agenda based on flipping good advice on its head for the sake of being a contrarian?
You should just ask people you know in real life instead of the batshit insane people on the internet who want to murder George Lucas for wanting to ever make any changes to something he created. So, from the perspective of a not insane person: I don't really care for Star Wars. I also like the 123 trilogy more than 456. I feel like as a cohesive story it's probably better to watch it 123456, but I'm sure a ton of people are going to tell you (and probably already have, I only skimmed the first page of this thread and I'm sure as hell not going to read more of it) that you'll be robbed of any payoff or whatever if you don't watch it 456123. These people are also crazy, and you should know that. I'd be incredibly surprised if you didn't already know the basic plot points of the story anyway. But most important of all, just watch them in whatever order you feel like. It's just two fucking trilogies set in an expanded universe, not something sacred that is forever tainted by some scene alterations or not watching them in the "correct" order.
But who is more foolish: the fool who listens to the advice of "crazy people" who love Star Wars and would likely advocate an experience that they found positive, or the fool who takes the advice of someone who says they don't like Star Wars and seems to have a hidden agenda based on flipping good advice on its head for the sake of being a contrarian?
I don't have any hidden agenda. I'm just saying that the only reason the re-releases are "garbage" is because it ruins people's nostalgia. They aren't suddenly insufferably bad movies because of a few added special effects and redubs. Since he never saw the originals anyway, he wouldn't even notice the alterations.
The order is a matter of opinion, and I said myself that the order in which you watch the trilogies doesn't really matter.
Since he never saw the originals anyway, he wouldn't even notice the alterations.
I respectfully disagree here, have you seen how jarring and out of place a lot of those additions look?
I feel like for a lot of them that's only because we have the originals as a reference point. I mean, do you think dude would notice "WAIT A MINUTE, HOW DID R2 GET HIMSELF TRAPPED IN THAT CAVE" the first time he saw the movie?
you guys are coming into this with the mindset of those who watched IV, V, and VI first. 1, 2, and 3 are not the worst thing to happen to cinema if you watch them first ;)
Ugh. This is what happens when you talk about Star Wars, or George Lucas for that matter, anywhere on the Internet.
Watch IV, V, and VI, then I, II, III. The original trilogy has some amount of mysteries that are explained in the prequel trilogy, so it's best to watch it in that order.
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