What order does George Lucas want us to watch these films?

When all 6 movies are completed and ready for home viewing, what order does George Lucas intend for us to watch them? At first, I thought he obviously wanted us to watch them backwards, so that the shocking "I am your father" scene in Empire will still make mouths drop. But now, I am not so sure. Lucas has stated that he won't do the "cool" light speed effect in the PT because he wants it to have impact when you first see it in Ep. 4. This makes me think he wants us to watch them chronologically. He also said when we watch them 1-6, we will LOVE and cheer the scene when Anakin makes the switch back to the good side in Episode 6, because we now know his history. But there are other beneficial reasons to watching the series backwards. There are many "in-jokes" in the PT that people will never get if you watch the films 1-6:

1.) C-3PO to R2: They'll never get me on one of those dreaded star ships.
2.) Palpatine to Anakin: We'll be watching your career with great interest.
3.) Obi-Wan to Anakin: Why do I get the feeling one day you'll be the death of me?

Any thoughts on George Lucas' viewing intentions?

 

He wants us to watch it I-VI. Those little in-jokes about Palpatine watching over Anakin´s career and such are things that future audiences will notice when they watch the saga a second time

 

I agree its I-VI.

 

If he wanted us to watch them IV-VI, then I-III, I don't think he would have labelled them as such. The man has said multiple times that he's making one big movie.

Definitely I-VI.

No offense, but duh!

 

No, there's no "duh." I don't think it's that easy. If he wanted us to watch them 1-6 he would have written and released them that way. Everybody knows he wrote them 4-6 with brief backstories used as notes that have later over time evolved as 1-3. Since 4-6 was first, the more I think about it, the more I think the series is better if they are watched that way.

 

A huge majority of Star Wars fans have watched them in OT-PT order, and I've not heard of anyone dying from the experience.

He may want us to watch them in that order, but it doesnn't mean it will happen that way. I will always start with Ep.IV (non-SE), and will have to see if I'm in the mood to continue the saga after Ep. VI.

 

You almost HAVE to watch them 4-6, then 1-3. The definition of keys words like "jedi" and the "force" are introduced in A New Hope. If you watch them 1-6, you'll be lost until part 4.

 

1-6

 

I think 4,5,6,1,2,3. A lot of what's going on the PT works better if you know what happened in the OT.

 

None of us will ever know what it's like watching them 1 - 6 for the first time so we can't honestly say which way is better. We don't know what would or wouldn't make sense.
But Geirge has gone on record saying 1 - 6 is the desired order.
He released them the way he did because of technological issues and the fact that the story he had with ANH would make the best possible stand-alone film. He then edited and changed accoardingly.
But that's just his way. Hell, you could watch them 6, 3, 4, 1, 5, 2 for all I care. Hell, even just watch 4 and 5 and forget the rest if that tickles your fancy (though if I were you I'd hope and pray that he also sells them individually else you're paying a lot to only see a story you only like a third of).
I'll be watching them 1 - 6. But here's the catch. For each movie, I'll watch the second half first and then the first half! Oo! Beat that!

 

On a black-&-white t.v., placed up-side down, with the movies played in reverse.

 

I think he wants us to *watch* them and *introduce them to new viewers* I-VI.

I don't think that works (After all, as someone said already, we're not actually introduced to concepts such as the force, a lightsabre, a Jedi Knight, etc until IV.)

I think that he could have made much easier by adding some sort of scene to I that would introduce these concepts to people watching them "in order".

But obviously he didn't, so IMO, we are forced to show them to new viewers in IV-VI, I-III.

Note the difference between *watching* them in any order, and *introducing them to new viewers* in any order. As already knowledgable fans, we can watch them I-VI without getting the least bit lost.

But new viewers cannot.

 

episode one had the advantage of not haveing to introduce the force and lightsabers and jedi because it is now part of pop culture. it had no reason to explain what a light saber is. a light saber is what a jedi uses. the jedi are the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy. the force is there religion. if some idiot watching the films doesnt already know that. they still have it pretty much laid out for them in the first 20 minutes.

i think its stupid to not watch movies that are labeled 1-6 and not watch them 1-6.

who cares if episode 4 introduced the world to the force. it doesnt matter now. the world now knows what the force is. its like complaining that harry potter doesnt explain what magic is. or just what is a wizard?
the world already knows.

when i have the desire to watch the whole star wars saga. i will ALWAYS watch 1 then 2 then three then 4 then 5 then 6. you know why? cause its right there in the title. 1 2 3 4 5 6 ... you think its just a coincidence their titles have numbers in them? kindergarden taught me 1 comes before 4. now i am an artist and somewhat a hippie and i dont really like conforming to the man and his programed sheep culture. but hey. i'm still going to use numbers in their proper order.

just my two cents.

black and white TVs dont work up side down, silly.

 

In addition to those things being a part of pop culture, a lot of that stuff is explained in the opening scroll and throughout the movie.


It's just that most of us were told what these things in SW were. The new generation will be shown.

 

I've read in interviews with George that he intends the saga to be "one big" movie viewed in two hour segments. I assume that he meant to be watched I-VI.

Personally I just watch them in random order, with the majority being the original trilogy.

 

On a black-&-white t.v., placed up-side down, with the movies played in reverse.

Curses! Foiled again!

 

"What order does George Lucas want us to watch these films?"

In the order we buy them.

 

"black and white TVs dont work up side down, silly."

I could sit up-side down. Star Wars, "Batman"-style.

"Personally I just watch them in random order, with the majority being the original trilogy."

Star Wars, "Memento"-style. I like it.

"In the order we buy them."

ATTA BOY!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Don't forget about Yoda's introduction as well. For a while, Yoda's identity is secret and we the audience just think he's some random local who's gone nuts in his old age. Not only is the Force, a Jedi, and a lightsaber introduced in Ep. 4, not only do we still want Vader as Luke's father to remain shocking, but the Yoda revelation was important too. People kill me saying it should be watched 1-6...when after all, everybody on earth saw them OT then PT anyway. Why should future generations be deprived of all the secrets and surprises we experienced? We all turned out okay watching them backwards and future generations will, too.

 

not only do we still want Vader as Luke's father to remain shocking

You'd have a better chance of Hell freezing over and Satan giving the kiddies free sleigh rides.
Though I guess there's that one secluded village elder on the island of Wakoo-maka-ee-ee-p'tay that might not know about it.
Vader = Luke's dad
Anakin = evil
fair trade if you ask me.

 

To all those who say that all these Star Wars words are now part of the language -true, to a point.

My grandfather for one can't tell Star Wars from Star Trek. (OK, bad example!)And I'm sure there are many others who can't either.

And I'm mainly worried about future generations. What if they're like me, and tend to shun pop culture? They won't get it!

 

I agree that most people who wish to watch the Star Wars Saga would probably have some idea about Star Wars, and therefore would know about Jedi, lightsabres, and the force. However, it doesn't really matter what order you watch them in, as for me I just watch which ever one I feel like watching at the time which is usually ANH or ESB, and sometimes ROTJ or TPM.

 

Boy am I getting fed up. Star Wars is not as popular as people say it is. Don't get me wrong, it's my all time favorite film...but in reality, it's past its prime. It's impact will never be the same way it was back in the early 80s. Go to Toys R Us and tell me what you see more of. Star Wars characters, or Dragonball Z characters? The biggest core audience for Star Wars were children of the 70s and 80s. Star Wars was OUR big thing. New generations like NEW things: Lord of the Rings, Monsters Inc., Playstation 2, and Reality TV. Times have changed, people. Mike Myers, Adam Sandler and Tobey Maguire can practically gross the same at the box office as George Lucas. We can't just assume the WORLD loves Star Wars the way we do. I know more non-Star Wars fans than hardcores like myself. I think it depends on your generation (mostly.) A good example is how much the aging baby boomers (like my mother) still love Star Trek. It was THEIR big thing...but to the Star Wars generation, Star Trek sucks. I still think new generations who want to be introduced to the series should watch them the same way we all did. Why do people still think that OT then PT is wrong? It's the way WE ALL saw them!! It's the way it's supposed to be! It's the way it was written, it's the way it was presented! When the PT was written, it was written with the OT in mind. So even though the STORY takes place before, the PT is in fact a SEQUEL. It's like if you watch a movie with a flashback scene. You don't fast forward and watch the flashback first, do you? It was placed at a later moment of the film for a reason. Most often for greater dynamincs.

 

I find it hard to believe that there's anyone out there looking forward to the day when they can watch the whole saga back to back, starting off by putting A New Hope on one saturday morning, following it up with Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, then at about 5:00 in the afternoon, getting stuck into a night in of watching the prequels that set up the story that they've spent the morning watching...

 

Don't forget about Yoda's introduction as well. For a while, Yoda's identity is secret and we the audience just think he's some random local who's gone nuts in his old age. Not only is the Force, a Jedi, and a lightsaber introduced in Ep. 4, not only do we still want Vader as Luke's father to remain shocking, but the Yoda revelation was important too. People kill me saying it should be watched 1-6...when after all, everybody on earth saw them OT then PT anyway. Why should future generations be deprived of all the secrets and surprises we experienced? We all turned out okay watching them backwards and future generations will, too.

The thing is, the PT has as many, if not more, surprises.

Palpatine is Sidious
The Republic collapses
The Sith take over
Anakin falls to the Dark Side
Padme dies (presumably)
The Jedi are slaughtered
The good guys from AOTC, the clones, turn evil

Now, since we've all seen the OT, they're not surprises for us, but for future generations it will be a shock to see everything from the first two movies (TPM and AOTC), including several main characters, destroyed in Episode III.

Rather than furture generations having the surprises we have, they will have their own surprises. And Vader's revelation will still carry the same emotional impact, just like when you watch ESB, even though you already know the secret, it's still a powerful moment.

This is why I believe 1-6 is the right way to watch them, and I believe GL designed the PT so this would be the case as well.