Hi. Lets say you were introducing a new person to Star Wars. What order should they see the movies; 1-6 or 4-6 then 1-3? I'm really not sure on this topic, but I have always wondered how cool it would have been to see Anakin turning Dark Side without knowing it was going to happen. So I am going to vote for 1-6.
1-6, for the reason you mentioned. The oft-mentioned "I am your father" surprise is still interesting in gauging Luke's reaction, even if the audience isn't surprised by the revelation. I wish I could find the blog post I read recently by a father who showed his son the films in 1-6 order. ROTS was far more heartbreaking than it was for those of us who knew that Palpatine was evil and that Anakin would turn.
Would definitely do in the "correct" order, episode 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, that is the best way to watch it by far
I voted for numerical order. Quite simply, I think ROTJ works best as an ending and I can't really fathom watching another movie after it during any kind of marathon. Really, both orders have merits of their own, but if someone is unaware that Anakin will become Darth Vader then 1 through 6 is definitely the best way to go, in my opinion.
I watched them the way they were released.It all depends on what you deem a bigger surprise:Anakin's fall or Darth Vader being Luke's father.
Definitely 4-6 then 1-3. If I'm gonna introduce someone to SW I want to get them hooked on the good movies, so they can more easily forgive the bad ones, rather than be immediately turned off by the prequels. Really TPM lacks a lot of the magic of ANH, and hasn't aged as well (my impression from watching the 3D release.) That'd be like watching Red Dragon before Silence of the Lambs. After the initial introduction, though, go ahead and watch them in numerical order.
I would agree wit Todd the Jedi. The two trilogies don't flow all that well going in order. I know I watched the movies 1-6 and was really frustrated with the OT because it seemed completely off from what the prequels had gave me.
It's all about personal preference - there is no right or wrong answer to this question. Personally, I would show them in order of release date just because I think that's how the movies flow the best.
I'd show them in order of release date. Though, I would some day like to try this order: 4, 5, 3, 6. I hear it produced some interesting reactions.
Definitely 1-6 in my opinion. Personally I think A New Hope is the worst Star Wars movie by quite a distance. Anakin's fall would be great to see for the new viewer, but then again you would already know about Vader being Luke's father so it would take away the surprise and tension of that scene.
Production order for me, numerical can obviously work as well. It's an old school vs new school debate, one that's pretty much impossible to resolve, largely because it's too difficult to be objective if you've already seen them all. 4-5-1-2-3-6 is the best suggestion I've come across that deviates from the usual headbanging "OT then PT" vs "PT then OT" argument.
4-6 then 1-3. Whichever trilogy you watch first will diminish the impact of the second one you watch, but I think the original trilogy would be more adversely affected by this than the prequels. Vader loses much of his threat, and we lose the two big reveals about Luke and Leia's origin. I can guarantee you my son will be watching the original trilogy first.
The Vader revelation in ESB is great, but even people who have never seen SW know about it. It's probably the most referenced and parodied scene of all time, so even if you show 4-6 first you will never get the sort of reaction to it that you want. 1-6 works well enough, though not as well as it should. Flashback orders make no sense because it doesn't indicate a flashback so the story suddenly goes from Obi Wan & Luke to Obi Wan & Anakin with no reasoning whatsoever.
I advocate for the order of production...but I have to agree that ROTJ is a very fitting ending for the saga as a whole. In that case I can see how it might be even more rewarding to watch as 4,5,1,2,3,6
It also doesn't work because the OT & PT don't follow the same sort of story arcs in simple episodic order. TPM & ANH are similar, but past that, the PT & OT episodes don't parallel each other in any way. I agree with those who believe that ROTJ is a good way to end overall, but ROTS also works just as well in terms of it all coming full circle. It's a non-conventional, somewhat bittersweet way to end the Saga. I originally envisioned the end of Episode III being a hideous Nazi-esque Imperial rally, composed in the same vein as the Throne Room scene at the end of ANH, with the Imperial March belting away, Palpatine cackling with Vader at his side, but that's not an ending, it's just a lead-in to Episode IV. The twin suns ending of ROTS took us back to where it all began, & finished off SW beautifully.
If I were introducing someone to the films, I'd do it 4-6, 1-3. Though I've heard people recommend 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 6 as @DarkEagle mentioned. The problem with 1-6 IMO, is that it completely ruins Episode 5, as far as taking away that films surprises. In Episode 6, when we find out that Luke is Leia's sister, you will already know. And Episode 1 kind of assumes that you already know what a Jedi is and what the Force is, and this is explained in episode 4 and further built upon in episode 6. In episode 4, when Luke first hears about the Force, he asks about it and you get an explanation. In Episode 1, you are kind of just dumped into references about "the living Force." It just assumes that you already know what these things are, which is odd if they are meant to be watched in numerical order, and the most in depth explanations don't come until over 1/2 way through the saga.
