SW In One Day!

On December 23 2006 I tried the "great experiment", oft talked about by SW fans: I watched all six SW feature films, "the Saga", in a single day. I'm probably going to add to and expand this post in the future, but for now here are my thoughts:

Firstly, I found the actual experience less taxing than watching the six filsm over six consecutive nights, or over two days etc. Maybe it's because I haven't watched any of them since last May, but the instant gratification of going from one film to the next really helped keep my attention focused on the project.

The Schedule (concieved of with the help of a friend):
I set my alarm for 7:30am. Got up, grabbed breakfast, some fresh air, then started -
7:50am The Phantom Menace
10:00am Attack of the Clones
12:20pm Revenge of the Sith
2:30pm 2 1/2 Hour Break (Grabbed a nap, ran errands, ate supper)
5:00pm A New Hope
7:00pm The Empire Strikes Back
8:10pm 40 minute break.
9:50pm Return of the Jedi
Midnight - End of Marathon!

I kept physical fatigue at bay by not eating during the movies themselves, sitting in an upright (but comfy) chair, and getting up to stretch etc. at regular intervals. Iced-tea kept me caffinated. My tv is pretty easy on the eyes, although I did decide to reset my contrast etc. during AOTC, and that was a minor distraction.

The overall effect was amazing: the whole story fits together perfectly. Most of GL's big ideas work. Making he tone of TPM & RoTJ match, introductions and exits of characters (over the whole scheme), the pacing and tonal shifts etc. The effect was really that of a grand epic. As the sweeping landscapes and massive battles amassed, the full breadth and depth of GL's invented world, and the scope of his saga, impressed itself deeper and deeper into my mind. It brought to mind The Silmarillion, the Iliad and Le Morte D'Arthur, epic sagas that deal with all the big themes: family, friendship, true love, society, war, faith, self sacrifice, evil, hatred, generational change etc.

It did drag in a few places: AoTC can get a little tedious, especially in its drawn out middle section. In ANH when Luke & Co. are running around the Death Star hallways, I actually went into the other room and did some dishes that needed doing. Han & Leia's romance in ESB made my head nod sleepily more than once; I just couldn't bear to sit thru Leai's first meeting with Wicket, so I skipped it altogether. But for the most part, I found watching it as a whole easy and enjoyable.

The biggest effect was on RoTJ. It's just not a funny movie in the context of watching the Saga all at once. It feels deadly serious and profoundly heroic. The overall effect of everything that comes before washes away the initial effect of weird Muppets and bad Ewok costumes. The dramatic parts are almost unbearable. I had tears streaming down my face frequently throughout the last hour. Characters in the OT that benefit most from the PT are: Vader (naturally), Emperor (naturally), Boba Fett (it's surpising what a little backstory for this character does to flesh him out) and Yoda, in a major way - everything Yoda says seems to carry more weight than before.

The most impressive aspect of this viewing was how complete and self sufficient the story felt. Indeed, there is too much information. You have to choose one aspect and stick with it. I decided to focus on Anakin's journey. But I never felt the lack of any information. GL's mirroring and restating of themes is near perfect. It truly is a brilliant and unique work of cinema.

Would I ever do this again? It's doubtful. Maybe with a friend...but finding a day when absolutely Nothing is happening, and there isn't anything in particular to Do, is near impossible. And although I got to bed at midnight, I do feel pretty tv-lagged today (and my butt is sure achin'!). But I'm glad I did it just once. It is the ultimate geek indulgence, and I can now say "I did it and it was Cool!".

Happy holidays folks!

PS: A long while ago I started the "Watching SW In Sequence" Thread, but I

 

Sky TV here in the UK is doing a marathon on New Year's Day on Sky Movies 9 both regular and HD. I believe they are doing it OT/PT/OT so you can either watch in release order or story order. It starts around 6am and ends too late for me!

 

No mate they're doing it PT/OT then PT again over night.

 

Yeah - I double-checked the times and realized I'd put it up wrong.

Exact times are:

Sequence 1 - Story Order
6am - Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
8.30am - Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
11.10am - Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
1.40pm - Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
3.50pm - Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
6.05pm - Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
8.30pm - Star Wars - Shortened!

Sequence 2 - Film Release Order
1.40pm- Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
3.50pm - Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
6.05pm - Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
8.30pm - Star Wars - Shortened!
9pm - Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
11.25pm - Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
1.55am - Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

I imagine I will come in some time during the first AOTC showing and exit around the same point in the second showing.

 

I did it last Christmas Day....was going to do it yesterday again and make it an annual thing but I'd already done it a few weeks ago. Here's what I did:

8A.M. - Awake, got up and had breakfast...cooked dinner to heat up and eat later on.

9AM - Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

11:05AM - Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

1:30PM - Star Wars: Clone Wars - Volume 1

2:35PM - Star Wars: Clone wars - Volume 2

3:40PM - Break for dinner

4PM - Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

6:30PM - Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

8:40PM - Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

10:45PM - Late snack

11PM - Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi

1:15AM - Bed and sleep.

11AM - Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Extended Edition

3:30PM - Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Extended Edition

7:45PM - DInner

8PM - Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Extended Edition

1AM - Sleep

10AM - The Matrix

1PM - The Matrx Reloaded

4PM - The Matrix Revolutions (after dinner)

7PM - X-Men

9PM - X-Men 2

11:30PM - X-Men 3

1:30AM - Sleep.

 

No offense man, but I can't go one month without watching a SW movie, let alone a week or two, so I really don't know how diehard a fan you are compared to alot of us who watch SW a zillion times in our lives.

I think the thing that everyone misses is the replay value. Sure any one of us could watch the saga 1-6 in one day, one week, etc, if we hadn't seen it in a good bit of time, but the magic of SW, and mostly the OT movies, is I can watch them over and over and over and not get sick of them.

 

I really have to try that sometimes, or maybe I should say that I will try it sometimes.

 

For me the best thing about watching them inorder is how surprisingly well the end of ROTS matches with the start of ANH. Its all about the little things - Tantive 4, Tatooine, R2 seemingly knowing more now than he did in 1977. ANH seems a much darker film after just watching the PT as well.

 

I have been thinking about doing my own on New Year's Day, but probably after the Rose Bowl Parade, since Lucas and the SW floats will be on it.

 

2006 was a SW overdose year. I'm a Major fan, but I need to work up an appetite again

 

I havent watched ROTS for about a year, and I haven't watched any of the others since June 2005. It seems as though after ROTS everything died down for me, I want to watch them, but I just get so nostalgic and depressed because Star Wars movies are done.

 

It's been awhile since I've seen a SW dvd. I sometimes give myself a few months (year?) break from to watching them. So when I finally get around to popping them back in I am blown away by all the details I missed or forgot. Last time I saw TPM after a long break I was tearing up during multiple scenes

 

I attemped the marathon on new years day on sky HD. Had to do it in release order cause I was not getting up at 6am after a night of partying lol


I agree with many of you, sometimes im just not in the mood for star wars films. I cant see how people can call us 'not die hard' just because we have lives that take precedent over watching a film. Im on these boards everyday and doing various star wars things every week, but watching the films every month is a bit silly. I dotn have that much free time, what with A levels, going out with friends, family events and so on

Id love to watch star wars asmuch as I could, but other things are more important (i know, im going to get lynched now lol) but its true, wake up and smell life people lol

 

Good for you dude, but sadly some of us - unfortunately - can close our eyes and play an entire movie (more or less) in our heads without the aid of the television. Music, sound-fx, reciting dialogue the whole way through. For those people, like myself, movies sometimes have very little replay value. I've purposely not watched a SW movie in about 6 months and I'm gonna push that till maybe next winter so I can, hopefully, forget enough of the films to re-experience them again.

Same reason why I recently packed my LOTR DVDs away...just can't bare watching them anymore, it's a painful experience because my brain is always two steps ahead of the plot and visualising the shots before I see them with my eyes. Experiential dissonance!

 

Oh my God that is so awesome! I've done a Matrix Trilogy Marathon(lucky for me, the third is my favorite, so its best for last) but ya i sseriously need to do this marathon soon, but with freinds.

 

I did the SW saga marathon... in two hours!

I watched all six episodes simultaneously on my computer.

 

All ya need for the movies too feel like you're watching them all for the first time - a big fat doobie.

 

I'm surprised your brain didn't explode.

 

I have yet to do a SW Saga in one day. For my wife's birthday this May we're going to be renting a very big widescreen tv and are going to have a SW marathon for the weekend. First three on Saturday and last three on Sunday.

 

Her birthday?

Either she's as big of a fan as you, or I'd keep an eye on the milkman, bud.

 

She's as big a fan as me, bud.

 

Then I envy you.

My wife HATES Star Wars, although I may have made her sick of it!

 

Did SW Saga in one day on a projector screen with two friends.
No breaks, just brought up food when we felt like it. Started at 10 am,finished at about 11:15pm, with sore backsides and limited movement in our legs.
Great way to see the entire story and we're planning to do it again this year.

 

Hey your forgetting the 5 mins of duelling in attempted star wars gear lol

 

So i did