Saga Rate The Six George Lucas Films, Favorite to Least Favorite (poll added)

Fine. I shall break my silence

As I've stated before, SW is a collective. I prefer to see each Ep not as a separate movie, but as a chapter in a larger book, one small plate of a mural, a single brush stroke in a painting. I could go on and on with the metaphors, but to me, there is only SW, and there is not a second of it that I do not love with my very innermost being

So this "list" of mine will be analyzing chapter by chapter, not critically, but the way I view each one analytically

AOTC
ROTJ
TPM
ANH
TESB
ROTS

Now, to explain my ordering -

AOTC hits the top of the list because it's the most interesting in the sense that it's a complete tone shift from TPM, and it has a tone not seen in any other part. A lot of it really sinks you into the universe (which I believe is the intention) while keeping things interesting. For example, we get personal, seeing Padme's apartment and bedroom, Jango's apartment, a diner, the house of Padme's family in the deleted scenes, etc. Things like this are what bring you further into the GFFA (and assuming you're watching it I-VI, preferably as a marathon, this is when the emotions REALLY start seeping out.) Aside from this, it's where things start to take a turn for the worse. The stability of the Republic is crumbling, the Clone Wars have begun, the Separatist Movement will still be powerful, and there are a good deal of Anakin's darker moments that stick out. The ending sequence leaves me with a feeling of "whoa.... that was intense. How are things going to turn out now?"

ROTJ next because it is like a completely random toss of the dice. Its events are totally unexpected. Luke's revelation about his sister, his acceptance that his father is Vader, but the fact that he believes there's good in him, his willingness to save his father coming before the wish to fight for the Rebels, etc. Luke is at his most dynamic at this point in the story, and ROTJ carries this heavy feeling throughout, I can feel the doubt and insecurity resonating in Vader's mind. Then at the end, when we see Anakin's redemption.... this is the single most beautiful moment in storytelling history. We once again see Palpatine's wrath. We know how this ends every time. We've seen Anakin in this same position before, and we know the mistake he made. So we're watching Luke die painfully by Palpatine's hand, and we have come to despise this monster now after all he's done, and just BEGGING Anakin to return and save his son. And then he does. And he dies. It's such a huge blow. A mere 10 seconds, and so much to take in.

TPM take third place because of how perfect an introduction it is. I see a lot of complaints going toward the fact that there isn't a definite main protagonist in TPM, the exposition of the Force, Jedi Order, etc is vague. Qui-Gon's name isn't even dropped until 30 minutes in. And details like those are why it is so perfect to me. It's what speaks to me that it's a real place that you're dropping into. Of course you don't know these people, or how these things work. It's like TPM is part of a story we stumbled onto while it was in progress. Overtly explaining all the detail is unnecessary, even for a first time viewer. Discovering all of this along the way adds a sense of satisfaction not gained when simply told what it is in the course of a minute. I would describe the tone of TPM as "misty" or "foggy," which I think is emphasized by the environments of the swamp on Naboo. Why is the swamp so important, despite seemingly having little relevance to the story itself? A swamp is a prime source of life, and life requires at least some form of symbiosis, which is in itself a central theme of TPM. It has a very subtle way of expressing itself.

ANH comes fourth because, as a self contained story, it's godawful. As a continuation of everything else before it, it feels perfectly natural picking back up from where we left off. We're assured that it's still the same universe by seeing 3PO and R2 within the first few minutes, and then Vader's appearance. I adore the way that Luke and Leia are introduced. ANH has a slow tone in general - we just went through this gigantic, massive ordeal in ROTS. We need a breather, while still delivering the next part of the story. ANH has, in the best way, a tone of simplicity and innocence. Luke's general naivete of everything, the lighter, cheerier music, etc. Seeing Obi-Wan explain the Force to Luke feels like destiny beginning to sprout, and Luke's resolve to go to Alderaan to learn the Force is a simplistic, largely unnoticed poetic verse to me. Everything after Mos Eisley suddenly has another tone shift midway through this episode, and it begins to give you the feeling of what the GFFA is like after so much change. It works out quite well.

TESB is second last because, of all the parts of the story, the least occurs in this one. To quote someone whom I can't remember, "the Empire still kicks *** and Luke gets some daddy issues." I think it is much, much more than that of course, but in the long run of things, TESB sets up more than it achieves in terms of story completion. I think that the cold feeling we begin with on Hoth persists throughout the ep, even further reinforced right near the ending by the chilled gusts of wind in Cloud City. It's quite stressful to watch, seeing the Rebellion be completely decimated by the Empire, and Han and co just escaping the Empire time and time again by the skin of their teeth. Yoda's training Luke with the occasional intervention of Obi-Wan's ghost adds much more depth to the feeling of a nearing destiny established in ANH. I think that what truly makes TESB fascinating though is to see Vader's development. It's clear that he's confused, and so vents himself in the way he has all along, except now much more aggressively, being immersed in the dark side. And at the very least, I, who have a personal connection to Anakin, can feel what he does throughout TESB and sympathize with his actions and wishes. Vader is the key point of TESB, I think.

ROTS.... oh boy. Why is this on the bottom of the list? One simple reason - it's depressing. It contains perhaps the most complicated part of the story to tell, and executes it perfectly imo. It has a dark, DARK story to tell, and it does it perfectly. In fact, too perfectly. I don't usually like opening up, but I'm a very sensitive person. I don't like dark stories and I'm mentally fragile in general. ROTS is almost too heavy for me to handle. It just..... everything goes wrong. To see Anakin fall, and fall so far, against his will tears at my heart. Stories are NOT supposed to have the hero fall. The hero is supposed to save the day. Sure, maybe they have a few dark moments and personal struggles, but they always beat the baddie in the end. Until now. It catches you COMPLETELY off guard because it defies all of what good storytelling is. It defies what you expect, what you want. It's like the story is punishing you for expecting the right thing to happen, as if cruelly slapping you in the face for telling it to end a certain way. Honestly, every time I watch SW, I expect the story to end at ROTS. I expect Palpatine to be defeated, and Anakin to fulfill his destiny as the Chosen One and perhaps his and Padme's children would be accepted by the Jedi, they would become more lenient and allow open love and attachment. That's the way the story is supposed to go.... but it just doesn't. It's stupid that it doesn't go the right way. I hate feeling sad, and it instills the most sadness. That is why ROTS is possibly the most enjoyable

 

1. Episode V- Empire Strikes Back
2. Episode III- Revenge of the Sith
3. Episode IV- A New Hope
4. Episode VI- Return of the Jedi
5. Episode II- Attack of the Clones
6. Episode I- Phantom Menace

 

1. ESB - A
2. ANH - A
3. ROTS - A-
4. ROTJ - A-
5. AOTC - B+
6. TPM - B+

 

V
IV
VI
II
III
!

 

ROTJ
ROTS
TESB
TPM and AOTC
ANH

 

Least favorite to most

1. The Phantom Menace
2. Revenge of the Sith
3. Attack of the Clones
4.A New Hope
5. Return of the Jedi
6. The Empire Strikes Back

 

Seems like no time since ROTS was closing in on TESB.

 

1. Empire
2. New Hope
3. Jedi
4. Sith
5. Clones
6. Menace

I love them ALL, but if I had to put them in order, that would be it. Just a side question, Why do so many people think Attack of the Clones is the worst?!

 

Whilst TPM has its detractors, it at least kind of 'rhymes' with other SW films. AoTC doesn't really. It's a love story and a detective yarn. Not really what most people think of when they think SW.

 

1. ROTJ
2. TPM
3. AOTC/ESB
4. ANH
5. ROTS

 

Heh, the detective yarn is what I like about AOTC . Depending on how you choose to look at it, it may not feel much like a Star Wars movie, but I think it's definitely a Jedi movie. Shows another side of the Jedi besides just fighting all the time.

 

Yes, quite. I wasn't really knocking it on those grounds. I just think they are part of the reason many people struggle to connect with it.

 

Fair enough

My real point was just that it's funny that one of the things that some people have problems with in AOTC is one of the highlights for me

 

Oddly enough, I sort of agree for a different reason - it's the 'mystery' aspect of AOTC which often feels the most like what I envisioned the PT to be, although I wasn't necessarily expecting a detective story, just a lot of sinister plots and betrayal, which Obi-Wan's investigations begin to uncover. GL actually said as much in 1981:

Although AOTC remains my least favourite of the lot, certain aspects like this are what I like about it, because it's so different. ROTS has this element as well, but the more subdued approach AOTC takes towards the impending doom is often even more effective.
(And there's nowhere near enough in TPM, despite all the political stuff)

 

Wow. That idea could've been interesting to see play out!

 

LOL. The results are exactly how I feel about the entire saga!

 

It is simply amazing to see all the various orders that fans come up with. Though many orders are similar, there are very few that are identical to mine.

 

I've said it before, there are 720 ways to rearrange the films
So, until post #720, there is no statistical chance we could have seen all of them.

 

Polls are interesting. ROTS and ESB are the top dogs. People love to see the badguys win.

 

That isn't the only reason for current results, you know.

 

Here is my list in order

The Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi
Revenge of the Sith
A New Hope
Attack of the Clones
The Phantom Menace

 

Episode V: The locations were amazing in this. I never tire of seeing Hoth and Dagobah, and Vader turned from a one dimensional villain into a character.

Episode I: A great taste of the Republic Obi-Wan Kenobi spoke of to Luke, while showing what it was turning into.

Episode III: I know I'm on the defending side of this one, but I enjoyed it. Sure I wished someone else had written the screenplay, and Anakin had maturity closer to what was better shown in Labyrinth Of Evil, but it was a great end to the Anakin Skywalker Saga.

Episode IV: Just a great film from start to finish, especially in an era where people were used to seeing the villains winning.

Episode VI: Not a bad entry at all, just the previous four outshine it. Jabba's palace was great, Vader's inner conflict was balanced just right, and Ian McDiarmid was perfect as Emperor Palpatine. The only thing that bothered me was it lost the serious feel of the previous two and felt more in tone with the prequels.

Episode II: It had some great points. The ominous feel of things to come was perfect, and Obi-Wan's meeting with Jango in his apt, along with the battle on the landing platform was great. I just felt this film should have had a more serious tone, considering what was about to happen.

 

Empire
Jedi
Hope
Sith
Menace
Clones

For me, it's because it failed at it's primary task, which is to reach into the heart of Anakin's conflict and give us insight into why he fell so quickly to the Dark Side in Sith. They didn't dramatize nearly enough his conflict with the Jedi way of life and how Padme fit into that. They made it look more like an awkward teenage crush than a desperate plea for emotional stability. TPM was written just as badly, but it didn't fail in it's task, which was simply to introduce the characters and situation.



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Does anyone rank them in numerical order? Most people almost do, but Empire and Jedi are reversed.