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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

PT Those who saw the PT first, what was your first experience like?

Discussion in 'Prequel Trilogy' started by DrDre, Jan 2, 2017.

  1. BadCane

    BadCane Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 28, 2015
    To be honest, I think PT bashing is at an all time low.

    Guys, check the comment section in this video



    So cool to see people openly supporting the PT.
     
  2. Jar-Jar Binks

    Jar-Jar Binks SWC Late Show With JJB Host star 8 VIP - Game Host

    Registered:
    Nov 17, 2016
    I was 13 in 1999 and loved The Phantom Menace and still do.

    AOTC was entertaining the first time I saw it but the next day when I saw it again I know I didn't like it as much as Menace.

    I saw ROTS 9 times in the theater so I must have loved it. I don't think I like it as much as I use to though.
     
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  3. Davak24

    Davak24 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 15, 2015
    I liked TPM and still do.

    AOTC I loved and still do as well.

    ROTS I did not like at first, but have warmed up to it over the past few years.
     
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  4. Subtext Mining

    Subtext Mining Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 27, 2016
    It's so rare to meet other people who also had this experience. The general public consensus is "I don't like I or II, but III is pretty good." I had the opposite experience. I loved I, was very pleased with II, but I found III severely disappointing and immensely unsettling. Though I too have come to love III over time, which in turn rekindled my love for I & II.
    I recommend the RotS novelization for those who have not read it.


    In regards to the theme of the thread, I was born shortly before Star Wars and it's been my life's passion. Except from 2005-2015. That's how much Episode III turned me off [face_laugh]
    But hey, have you ever met someone you didn't like at first, and then later you realized they were awesome and you regret all that time you spent avoiding them? mm hm.
     
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  5. DaffyTheWizard

    DaffyTheWizard Jedi Youngling star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 4, 2017
    The Phantom Menace was the first Star Wars movie that I saw. I was like 8 or 9 when the movie came out and I loved it. I remember Jar Jar was actually my favorite character. XD I also thought Padme, Obi-Wan, and Anakin was cool, still do. I don't remember having many Star Wars toys growing up but I do remember having a Jar Jar toy and that was my favorite, and then I lost it at the beach. :/

    I also saw Attack of the Clones in theaters too. I liked it a lot but not as much as the first one. I was actually disappointed that Jar Jar was not in the movie that much, also I was still very young so the romance between Anakin and Padme kind of grossed me out. I was young don't judge me. :p But I still thought it had a lot of cool moments like when Yoda started to get into the fight, I'm totally blanking on who he was fighting but that was like my favorite lightsabor fight ever. For some odd reason I probably saw this one the most out of any Star Wars movies because any time that I would see a Star Wars movie on TV it was always Episode II, weird.

    Revenge of the Sith was great too. I remember being surprise that the movie was rated PG-13, but when I actually saw it I totally understood why it was. It's been awhile since I watched it but I remember loving it, and liking it more then Attack of the Clones. I actually didn't watch the originals until after I watched the prequels. I don't know I guess the numbering threw me off, it felt wrong going out of order. Even though I do like the originals when I hear the word Star Wars my head will always automatically think of the prequels first.

    It wasn't until a few years ago that I notice that the Prequel movies were so hated. When I was younger I would only go on the computer to look for Sonic the Hedgehog or Harry Potter stuff so I guess any hate that Star Wars was getting went over my head. I was actually surprise by that, I know all of them was financially successful so I just assumes that meant that people liked them.
     
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  6. starocean90

    starocean90 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Feb 19, 2014
    I only finished watching the OT in 97-98. So the next year the PT came out in TPM.
    so you can say I'm a child of both trilogies, was 8 when TPM was released, love all 6 movies.

    funnily enough I never watched a single ad or trailer for TPM. Had no idea what it was going to be about or even who the characters in the film were going to be.

    than comes time to watch the film and the movie starts with Kenobi and his master and I got overexcited at seeing Kenobi in his youth and than seeing all the other characters like Anakin/3PO/R2/Palps got me even more excited.

    I knew Jinn was going to die because he's the teacher and those guys always perish. Also knew the moment I heard Palpatine being mentioned on Naboo that he was the future Emperor, cause I recall at one point seeing an OT book at the library and the Emperor was called Emperor Palpatine. So seeing his plotting and scheming while knowing he was Sidious was fun . Also knew from Padme and Anakin's interactions that she was going to be Luke/Leia's mother.

    What can I say about TPM, it was a blast of a movie, you had little Annie who was around my age flying podracers and ships and saving the day twice in the film and about to become a Jedi while knowing that older Anakin will eventually betray and kill the Jedi....but I didn't care since I was enjoying the moment. You had kickass Jedis in Kenobi/Jinn and cool Sith in Maul, still hard to beat the Dual of Fate and that 3 way dual. You had a fun adventure movie that's ultimately about leaving one's prejudice and joining together with your "enemies" for the greater good while Politics were leading nowhere so one had to take action themselves, while the future Emperor who orchestrated the whole thing rose in power. I still remember being don't listen to him Anakin when Palps was like "we will watch your career with great interest." knowing it was a tease for the future.

    I think my favorite finale in SW since I saw it as a kid and in the cinemas was the 4 way battle in TPM
    -ships in space with Anakin
    -Padme and Panaka and the guards
    -Kenobi/Jinn vs Maul, lightsaber duals
    -Gungans/Jar Jar vs what I thought was cool, in the droid army, also provided comedy


    all crucial and necessary to win the day, the Gungans were about distraction and actually lost while the other 3 barely won the day. Kenobi was like an inch for falling to his death. Padme wasn't that far either from losing while Anakin got lucky by destroying the ship from inside. I knew they wouldn't die since their story has just started but it was pretty close stuff.;)
     
  7. Darth Jaster

    Darth Jaster Jedi Padawan star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 5, 2017
    So growing up with the PT when I was younger and so no fault in them at all. If anything I preferred them bc of their flashier action scenes. Older now, I see faults with the PT, but these faults don't overshadow my enjoyment of them. I'll rattle off the things that bother me a bit in the PT: The pacing was sometimes slow and bogged down with heavy politics. The political scene was kind of interesting, but it should have been a backdrop, not at the forefront of the film. Jar Jar was a no no. Anakin turned to the dark side a little extremely. Despite these gripes there are many awesome things in the PT. The lightsaber fights are sick, seeing the jedi all together is great, and there are is a bountiful assortment of interesting locations when the world was in its prime.
     
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  8. ezekiel22x

    ezekiel22x Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 9, 2002
    OT VHS generation here, but the PT brought me back long after Star Wars had started to become little more than one of my old childhood favorites. Well, AOTC specifically brought me back, and ROTS made me stay for the long haul. Initially I didn't react strongly to TPM one way or another, but as the years went by I gained a real appreciation for its uniqueness.
     
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  9. {Quantum/MIDI}

    {Quantum/MIDI} Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 21, 2015

    Same. Dropped out of SW for good since there was nothing to talk about anymore than repeating yourself about something you love. No new perspectives, nothing. Were basically "Oh some great campy movies in the 70's and 80's.".

    PT is what fired me up into film and the depth of SW again.
     
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  10. Subtext Mining

    Subtext Mining Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 27, 2016
    Who I would love to talk with are young people who grew up with the Clone Wars cartoon series. Ask them how they feel it compares to other cartoons of it's genre.

    As someone who grew up with GI Joe, Transformers, He-Man, Thundercats, Ninja Turtles, DC & Marvel, etc. I watch TCW and feel it's the grandaddy king of the "Saturday morning" war cartoon genre.

    All of the aforementioned cartoons have your good guys vs. your bad guys premise. The same thing goes for TCW, but as your sitting there watching them battling each other, at any moment you can always step back and look at how *****d up it all is.
    The sad tragedy.
    Palpatine, the beloved Chancellor, the puppet master of it all.

    And the male and female lead heroes are married, but it's a secret.
    The ethically questionable use of clones.
    The (unrivaled imo) closeness between Anakin & Ahsoka
    The Jedi's good intentions to fight but at what cost?
    Knowing what will become of everyone. (I'm curious to hear which viewers knew and which didn't and their reaction when they eventually saw Rots and the OT).
    And all because of a vendetta between two mystically-involved factions.

    Idk, I feel like Lucas, Filoni and crew took the genre to whole other juggernaut of a stratum that grabs you on every level.
     
  11. darkspine10

    darkspine10 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Dec 7, 2014
    One of the other great things about TCW (and I suppose the PT too in a way), was how it grew with the audience.

    A lot like the Harry Potter books, the early instalments are much lighter, with each year of the show becoming gradually darker.

    By season 2, we had an arc about domestic terrorism, by season 3, an arc about the spiritualism of the force, by 4, an arc about the darkness of war, about deserters and corrupt generals and Clones killing each other, and being driven to their deaths, by 5, an arc about the Jedi training a group of terrorists, by 6, an arc about how no one man can challenge the corruption in the heart of the Republic, dying before anyone can believe him.

    Of course, there were still lighter arcs in later seasons, but the overall tone of the show veered darker. The intensity of heavy arc plotting also increased, to where you have an arc where the two biggest previous arcs (Maul and Madalore) collide, producing incredible results. Had the show continued, these 2 arcs would also have been bound up with Ahsoka's arc as well, and possibly even some of Rex's.
     
  12. Samnz

    Samnz Jedi Grand Master star 3

    Registered:
    Sep 4, 2012
    Growing up in Central/Western Europe, Star Wars was "known". Certainly not as widespread and detailed as in Nothern America, but most people had a vague idea of what it was all about. When I was young, I knew basically just names. Luke Skywalker (the hero), Obi-Wan Kenobi (the one with the crazy name), Darth Vader (the bad guy) but I never watched any of the OT movies. With my friends and were I grew up, Harry Potter was much more popular and dominant at that time - at first through the books, later the movies to some extent as well.

    Star Wars wasn't a big deal. That said, I used to play the PC game of Episode I with my best friend and I loved it. He was more familiar with Star Wars and told me some things, which absolutely confused me. That little boy we play, Anakin, is Luke Skywalker's father and later Darth Vader? My innocent child-brain couldn't process, I was like: Luke = adult, Obi-Wan=adult, Anakin=child - so how is it possible for Anakin=child to be Luke's=adult's father? Didn't work and I had no idea about the timeline. Star Wars was again forgotten afterwards.

    It was in 2005 when ROTS was released that I got truly interested in Star Wars while reading news about Episode III and what it was really about: The thing about Palpatine's rise to power, about a good men turning bad in the masquerade of a silly blockbuster movie fascinated me. Nonetheless, I never got to see the movie but I remembered the time playing the Episode I game and thought it might be fun to play the Episode III game on PS2. So I eventually bought it and was intrigued by the movies scenes that were integrated. It took again some weeks or months until I bought the Episode III DVD (it was already 2006, by then) and I loved it. The imagination, the visuals, the suffering of the characters, the parallels to the real world - I was completely in love with the movie and subsequently bought the other episodes.

    I ultimately watched ROTS first, then AOTC, TMP, TESB, ROTJ and last but not least ANH - which is why it always amuses me when people claim ANH has to be watched first as an "introduction" because noobs wouldn't get it otherwise. I absolutely got what the six movies were about and I watched ANH last, and ROTS first. Some might say I had a basic knowledge about it, sure, but my mother (who watched them first with me too) also got it and she knew nothing about Star Wars apart that it took place in space.

    Until today, I'm a great fan of the six movies that George Lucas created. I like them all, but the Prequels are definitely my heart's darlings.
     
  13. Skywalker Family

    Skywalker Family Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 15, 2017
    The experience was great for me. They are what got me into Star Wars. My dad joked that I acted just as obsessive about the Prequels as he did the Originals. The prequels were my first taste of a theatre reactions. I had seen people laugh and stuff at a movie but nothing like this. The second people saw the Lucasfilm logo they started to cheer and clap and that was new to.

    I saw the TPM 3x in the theatre.

    AOTC I saw 4x. That was more fun because I was a few years older so my parents dropped me off to see it but then I was picked up right after.

    ROTS is my record holder I saw that 6x. I love the Prequels but Sith man that one for me was best. On a shallow note I still have about 11 magazines with Hayden on them from the time of Clones and Sith.

    The lightsaber battles were great. The soundtrack was amazing. I wanted to live in Padmes apartment. Those were the first SW movies I did a countdown for. I made friends because of them.

    I love all of the SW movies but the prequels have a special place in my heart.
     
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  14. darkspine10

    darkspine10 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Dec 7, 2014
    The first Star Wars movie I watched was ROTJ, which was being shown of UKTV Gold if I'm remembering right. ROTJ is arguably the worst film for a newcomer to the series. I had no idea who any of the characters were, was spoiled about Luke's familial connection in the first film I saw, and saw that Obi-Wan died at some point. Still, I vaguely remember enjoying it. The scene that always stuck out the most from that first viewing was the one where Luke tells Leia about their relationship on the Ewok bridge.

    Eventually, TPM was also shown on Gold, and I watched that too. My memory of that viewing is limited to the Gungan battle on the plains. AOTC was shown after that, and my memory becomes even sketchier, with no concrete scenes I can remember.

    At some point after this, while visiting my cousins, they showed us ROTS on dvd. I remember a lot more of that, the key images being the burning of the Jedi Temple, Utapau, and Palpatine's reveal, along with the climactic birth of Vader.

    The next Star Wars films I watched was when we got the original trilogy boxset (for some reason we had TPM and ROTS by that point, but not AOTC, which I only bought to fill in the gap about 3 years ago, reigniting my love for the PT). We watched ANH and ESB over the next few days. My memories of how I felt about all of this are very hazy now.

    I remember once at school in Year 6 (I was 10 or 11), we were allowed to bring in a movie for the class to watch. I brought in The Empire Strikes Back, which was my favourite at the time. Sadly we didn't end up watching it.

    The first Star Wars film I watched in the cinema was The Clone Wars, and I loved it. A great start to the show. Scenes I remember from that viewing largely revolve around the cliff battle sequence with the Walkers. It took me a while to actually get round to watching the tv show, but once I saw Ambush (after some later episodes I think) I was hooked.

    During the next few years my Star Wars fandom was pretty much limited to either TCW or a few Star Wars video games, such as Battlefront II, The Force Unleashed 1 and 2, and Republic Commando.

    I decided on a whim one year, to just buy AOTC to fill in the gap in my collection, as I had only seen it the once (or maybe again some point in the interim). This rewatch reminded me that I really liked AOTC, and the rest of the prequels a great deal. At some point after this I decided to get the soundtracks to all 6 films. This kicked my fandom into overdrive. I often find that if I like listening to a piece of media's music, I find myself enjoying the piece of media more. I think it's because you can listen to the music anywhere, and can recreate the experience of watching or playing the media without being restricted to just watching the film or playing the game.

    That happened with Star Wars for sure, especially the PT, whose soundtrack I love. I mainly listened to the music while on holiday in Italy one Easter. The music from Anakin and Padme's love side plot, such as The Meadow Picnic, Forbidden Kiss, The Naboo Palace, and Yoda and the Younglings are now forever tied to the Italian Alps in my mind (which is pretty appropriate considering that the scenes at the Naboo Lake Country villa were shot in that same region, just a valley or two over from where I was staying).

    Shortly after all of this, The Clone Wars Season 1-6 soundtrack was released. I was curious to know in which episodes the tracks played, and had read some threads on this forum before. So I signed up, and headed over to the TCW music thread to see what I could find. It turned out that I was able to fill in many of the gaps in the album. I'm so glad I joined here, seeing all the other PT fans and connecting with them has been incredible.
     
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  15. Daxon101

    Daxon101 Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jan 7, 2016
    Technically episode 1 was the first star wars movie i watched fully and that was only because the hype was huge back then.

    The OT didn't really interest me as a kid, my cousin used to watch it alot so id often catch bits here and there but i didn't put much thought into what was going on most the time.

    What actually got me and actually my younger brother more interested in learning more about star wars was the huge hype from the prequel films being released and the tie in video games like Jedi Knight which i played all the time, jedi outcast, jedi academy, jedi power battles ect ect and then the tie in games for AOTC.
     
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  16. Padema

    Padema Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Mar 11, 2007
    As I stated in another thread, since I was 11 in 1977, obviously I saw the originals first. But I didn't see them until they came on TV. I saw them when they were re-released in the theater.

    But The Phantom Menace was the first SW I saw in the theater that I had never seen before. My brother and his girlfriend were sitting in the row ahead of me. That was about 7 months before my niece was born, I may have to tease her about her being there as well (sort of).:)

    I remember reading beforehand something in a magazine about a queen named Amidala who would one day be Luke and Leia's mother. I didn't completely make the connection at first that Padme was the actual queen. Because I thought obviously it was Padme that Ani liked. I had suspicions about it, but wasn't for sure until she revealed her true identity to Boss Nass (and everyone else). JarJar was annoying, but not the worst thing ever.

    I liked Attack of the Clones. I think it has the best theme music. I thought the scenes on Naboo were lovely.

    A friend and I from work went to see Revenge of the Sith. I thought that Artoo was the comic relief with his antics on the enemy ship. The squealing, what he did to the other droids. :) A little diversion before things got really serious. It was kind of sad seeing Anakin and ObiWan getting along so good, when you know it's not going to last. The scenes at the end where the twins are each delivered to their adoptive families are bittersweet.
     
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  17. whostheBossk

    whostheBossk Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 16, 2002
    Growing up an avid OT fan, the PT reinvigorated the franchise for me. They may have taken their lumps over the years, but hearing everyone's stories on how they became a fan of Star Wars because of the PT era, is truly wonderful.
     
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  18. DARTH_BELO

    DARTH_BELO Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 25, 2003
    I had seen the OT films before the PT, but I wasn't really what I'd call a fan at that time. I was a senior in high school when TPM came out, and at the time Jurrasic Park was my favorite movie, and SW was simply a trilogy of cool movies that I had seen a few times-that's all. It wasn't until I had seen TPM several times that I started becoming the type of SW fan I call myself today. I then saw the OT in a new light, and once AOTC came out I was totally hooked! I'll never forget the level of anticipation and excitement I had for ROTS, in the 3 years leading up to it. I have to this day never had so much excitement for a movie-not even TFA!

    Some "wow moment" highlights that I recall from the PT in theaters were:

    -the Obi-Wan vs. Darth Maul duel
    -Yoda using a lightsaber for the first time
    -The exhilaration of the entire opening sequence of ROTS, ending with the arrival to the senate building (to this day my favorite opening of any film!)

    Sadly, I didn't experience that feeling at any point with TFA or Rogue One (even with the Darth Vader scenes). Hopefully I can get that feeling again for some surprising moment in TLJ!!
     
  19. fastcooljosh

    fastcooljosh Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Mar 15, 2017
    I was 6 when I saw TPM for the first time on VHS, that was also the first VHS I ever watched. ( Or Jurassic Park ?? [face_thinking] ).
    I was so blown away by the beautiful locations and the effects that I thought the podracers and coruscant were real.
    Loved darth maul too (I wish to this day that George didnt kill him off at the end. :( ) He would have been the perfect villain for the PT. There would still be a place for Count Dooku or Grievous somewhere in the trilogy.

    Afterwards my Dad (A trekkie) bought me fthe irst movies 4-6 on VHS after he realized how much I loved TPM.
    And I loved them too but the feeling was "different".
     
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