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

Sorry! Here are my thoughts behind those rankings:

ESB - this is in near perfect tier because, thematically, it achieves everything that it sets out to. Relationships are developed (the comradery and friendship between Luke and Han is more fleshed out, Leia and Han get entire scenes dedicated to build up to their love announcement), characters become more tightly defined (Luke suffers for his arrogance, Han must become a leader and not run away, Leia learns to love after being detached for so long), the plot is slowed and scaled downward to create stronger plot points (it's no longer about the Empire or Rebels as much as it is about Luke, Leia, and Han versus Darth Vader and Boba Fett). The score is perfect and the film has great editing. Wonderful cinematography. It's slower than the rest of the movies but I think that leaves more breathing room.

ANH - it's the one that started it all and responsible for much of what cinema has become today (warts and all). The film mostly relies on archetypes (the wise old man, the innocent adventurer, the kind but cold woman) and standard plot points, which is okay as they use this as a solid foundation and frame a well-made movie around them. A lot of the physical effects still look great for their time and while the Tatooine half can drag on a little bit, George's directing makes a lot of good choices, allowing us to sink into a foreign universe that entices us and draws us in. It's only by pure preference that I have it lower than Empire.

ROTS - sometimes I think it is far better than Jedi, sometimes I think it is far worse. Objectively, as a whole, I'd probably place it above since there was nothing as bad as the Endor segment in Sith. The film has good acting by Ewan McGregor and Ian McDiarmid and gives them just as much spotlight in this one as Anakin. The story is more grand and epic in scope compared to the other two prequels - we get to see the consequences of the Clone Wars. We see beloved Jedi die in different moments in different worlds. We see friends turn on friends. We see Anakin's fear turn against him and ironically against the love of his life. The score is gorgeous and my favorite of Williams's prequel scores. Padme's Ruminations is a highlight.

ROTJ - good but the writing gets a little sloppy between the bizarre Tatooine rescue and the Endor segment in general. Han and Leia are both kind of phoning it in after Han is rescued from the sail barge; Luke's development as a character is a bit of an abrupt change following Jedi. The movie is saved by how powerful the throne room confrontation between the Emperor, Vader, and Luke is. Lighting and cinematography are on point throughout that entire battle (Luke half-bathed in darkness as he hides in fear, wondering if he can resist the dark side) and the music is so well done. It's a great personal story of redemption hidden underneath the Rebel/Empire plot.

TPM - I like this one more than most. It was the first movie I had ever seen in a movie theater and my cousins and I would rewatch it over and over again and have parties where we would portray different characters. The political intrigue speaks to me personally - the conflict itself is so small but the ramifications set the whole saga into order. The art is some of Star Wars's best - Natalie Portman's Queen Amidala and Ray Park's Darth Maul became iconic figures of the 90s because of it. I don't dislike Jar-Jar because I kind of find his waifishness a bit charming but it was too pronounced throughout the movie for me. The pod-racing scene is favorite of many but I never really liked it or much of the Tatooine segment (or maybe I just don't like Tatooine in general lol). The tone seems a bit off, going straight to kiddy simplicity to high politics. I like it.

AOTC - this one was a favorite of mine for a couple of years when I was about eight or so. The best moments of this movie are when Obi-Wan is on his own, investigating and fighting his own battles on Kamino, looking to find the answers he needs. It was different for Star Wars. The dialogue in Clones, especially the romance plot, falls flat and sounds a bit strange at times. I think that Hayden and Natalie had great chemistry with each other; you could see it in how they reacted with each other. A lot of the dialogue failed them in developing their romance. A lot of the digital effects aged poorly for this one. I wouldn't skip it but it wouldn't be my first choice to watch.

 

I agree, but I would switch TPM and AOTC's places.

 

My order'
ESB
ANH
TFA
ROTJ
ROTS
TPM
AOTC

 

III
V
II
IV
I
VI

 

Signature heh

 

If we are just doing the first six , here is my list.

V
IV
VI
III
I
II,
I enjoy watching all 6,but the originals are far superior.

If we included VII then it would be between IV and III

 

ROTS
ESB
TPM
AOTC
ANH
ROTJ

 

Here's mine
(Worst to best)
6. Attack of the Clones
5. The Phantom Menace
4. A New Hope
3. Return of the Jedi
2. Revenge of the Sith
1. The Empire Strikes Back
------------------------------------------
If I'd include TFA it would be between TPM and ANH, seriously
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ratings
6. AoTC - 6/10 - No action at all except that ****ty Geonosis.
5. TPM -6.5/10 - It wins AoTC cause Darth Maul.
4. ANH - 7/10 - I dislike Kenobi's duel with Vader. And all an all the only other great thing is the Battle of Yavin.
3. RoTJ - 8/10 This is a great leap. There is a number of actions here. We see a confident Luke. Space Battle on Endor, and Luke//Vader duel, and Vader's
redemption.
2. RoTS -10/10 - Oh I can'd describe it. Damn, Tense war battle. Conflicts and the Jedi's suspection of Steve. Good Plot (Although spoiled significantly by the OT) and a ****load of duel. (Mustafar nuff said)
1. TESB - 11/10 - Hoth. Star Destroyers and Executor. Han's lolwat against Star Destroyer. R2 saves the day. And a lot more. Also. "No, I am your father."
oh yeah, the introduction of the Imperial March.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TFA - 6.8 - Repetitive plot. Duel on Starkiller is meh. But good techniques and the return of Luke.

 

This is my current order:

ANH
ROTJ -
TPM
TFA
ROTS
ESB
AOTC

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

ESB
ANH
RotJ
RotS
AotC
TPM

Have recently swapped the places of RotS & RotJ.

 

ESB
ROTS
ANH
ROTJ
AOTC
TPM

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk

 

TPM
ROTS
ESB
AOTC
ANH
ROTJ

 

Here's my favorite perspective:

........................ROTJ - TPM
....................../.........\../........\
................TESB-------------------AOTC
......................\........./..\......../
.........................ANH - ROTS

Current point of interest: "ROTJ - TPM".

 

From favorite to least:

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

 

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

 

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


My reasons/thoughts:


RotS
Best film imo in terms of story/ connecting the arc of the entire saga. We finally get to see Anakin don the armor of Darth Vader, the immolation and suit surgical construction scenes are among the most iconic of the Saga.

The music is some of John Williams' best in the series, from the erie undertones of mood and sound that creep in during the scenes where we see Anakin graduallly slipping to the Dark Side- his thoughts after killing Count Dooku, his moral confusion when discussing his conflicting allegiances placed upon him by the war, and the Jedi- not least of all the Chancellor, to the scenes were Palpatine strokes Anakin's dark side tendencies into ultimate seduction into the Dark Side. These musical cues interpret then events of Anakin's Story and amplify them on a level not seen in the other films, and culminate in the climactic conclusion of the film like a sonic boom denoting Anakin's tragic, conceding, and all but morally cementing fall into the Dark Side and the full peron of Darth Vader. When we see Darth Vader rise up on the medical space aged gearney, we realize the song orignally played at Qui Gon's funeral is actually the funeral dirge for none other than the death of Anakin Skywalker, upon finally noting the resemblence in musical structure between Anakin's theme in Episode I, the theme of his romance with Padme in Episode II, the song of Anakin's funeral being the final iteration of the musical masterpiece that translates itself into the loathsome Imperial MArch of Darth Vader. We see the events that had been catalyzing by the begininng of The Phantom Menace finally conclude themselves in the Epic Tragedy of Darth Vader, not only in story but interpreted musically as well.

It's also the film where we get to see Ian Mcdiarmid's character come into full fruition from Chancellor into the evil Emporer Palpatine. His acting is by far my personal favorite in the series and I believe it to be the best out of all the characters of the series. When seducing Anakin we just see this dichotomy of intelligence and shrewdness intertwined with an egotistical underbearing of sadistic and even reptilian emotional expression, all so carefully executed with a subteltyand care that I just don't see in the preformances of any of the other characters. Maybe it's just the personality and character type tha makes me think this, and only the fact that the more down to earth acting performances ofthe other characters in the series just seem too plain and familiar to seem amazing to me. Wierdness fascinates me.

In terms of visual spectacle and seamless choreography, this film also has the best lightsaber duels in the series for me. We see the fighting stances and the way Anakin holds his lightsaber in a way alluding to Darth Vader, and Jedi Grandmaster Yoda duel with one of the greatest and most powerful Lords of the Sith of all time, to the confrontation of Anakin and his former Jedi master and friend- All of the lightsaber in this film seem to be themost fun and intense to watch, eachof them carrying great significance to each of the characters' plotlines as they converge on one another. The duels in Revenge of the Sith really do succeed at fleshing out the idea of a "Final Showdown", like none of the other films, dare I say even the original trilogy. (excluding Luke and Vader from ESB)

Anyways, those are among my reasons for thinking RotS is the best.


EST
I mean, it's Empire Strikes Back. Not only does it hold great significance to Star Wars as itdid to the film industry as a whole in terms of defining what a quintessential sequel to a hit movie could be.

The Battle at Hoth is one of the most iconic faces of Star Wars in terms of the scenery, vehicles, troopers, etc.

The movie has the second best imo of John William's Star Wars scores, being the first to introduce Vader's iconic Imperial March, Han and Leia's romance themes, the music played in Cloiud City and the ones played when Han is frozen in carbonite. A lot of the most iconic audio effects of Star Wars are in this film.

In terms of spirit, the lightsaber duel between Vader and Luke in this one is the best in the series.

The only reason I exclude from the number 1 position is that the choreography, as with the rest of the special effects in the OT, is oudated and inconsistent with the rest of the newer films.

But I believe in terms of two figures battling for justice, no other characters in the Star Wars universe better represent the polarity between the Light and Dark Sides of the Force than Luke and Vader. We have Luke, in all his innocence and youthful sense for fighting for what is good aghainst Vader, decrepit and old, but monstrous and fearsome in contrast to Luke's young figure. I do hope they do an eventual final remaster of the OT and re-choreograph this duel at the level of filming caliber that we see in the Prequels, it deserves to have afinal rendition that gives it the amount of spectacular visual eyecandy splendor it deserves.

ANH
I'm getting a little too tired to explain all of this.

I put ANH next up because it is the most effective at introducing the foundation of Star Wars to anyone who hasn't seen the movies before. It has Alec Guinness (my second favorite Star Wars actor), recount and recall the history of a mysterious age including the CLone Wars that preceded the events of ANH, and introducing the concept of the Force to young Luke Skywalker. The music accompanying the scenes compliments the topics and story introduced and discussed with quitessence.

We also get to see Luke walk out of his home at during a Tatooine evening with the first ever playing of The Force Theme in the background, where Luke looks up at the sky with desire for a greater destiny and place in the galaxy. He looks up at the Binary Sunset of Tatooine, which I believe is a physical represtation of figurative themes defining the StarWars Universe such as the relationship between the Light Sides and the Dark Sides of the Force, or the relationship between father and son, mentor and student, or doing things good for others verses pursuing personal interests to name a few.

Also it has Grand Moff Tarkin.

RotJ
I put this one so low, because while it concludes the OT, I don't believe it does the best job at doing so as it could have. The dueling chamber and Throne Room of the Emperor aboard the Death Star are unimpressive in scale, and some of Luke's dialogue throughout the movie is rather clumsy. It's just a film that has yet to live up to it's full potential (visual/audio/special effects and overall film remaster please!!!!!!!! BUT WITH ORIGNAL ACTORS/ACTING SEQUENCES(Boba Fett's scenes cna be entirely redone, and the lightsaber duels rechoregraphed. Emperor Throne Room could be A LOT bigger so we can hear theEmperor'sa ryptic voice croak and echo from the same viewing platform but rescaled to 500% times the size. 8D!!!!!!!!) .)

AotC
Important to the story but it sucks. Kamino and Obi-Wan vs Jango was sweet though. Also love Christopher Lee.

TPM
Jar Jar. Little Annie. Now this is podracing. Yuck. *Spits it out*


))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

 

My latest, after a recent PT marathon:

SW
TESB
ROTJ
TPM
AOTC = ROTS

 

The OT with 68% of the votes compared to 32%. Is that what people would've expected?

 

I really like this! The idea of a sort of parallel ranking system is interesting to me. I enjoy both TPM and RotJ a lot, but for different reasons. It's always been hard for me to rank the Saga in absolute terms.

 

That's interesting in light of 60.8% apparently favoring episodic viewing order. It's easy to jump to conclusions about fans of certain viewing orders or fans of certain episodes/trilogies, but these poll results pretty much prove that there are more kinds of fans than just two or three.
Now, the two polls probably haven't been getting votes from the exact same boarders, but many voters are likely the same and since the polls have been active for a while, they should reflect the sentiment of the In-Depth boarders fairly accurately.


EDIT: ...with the exception of those of us who haven't voted because there's no "All of them" option, of course

 

The OT,
ROTS,
TPM,
AOTC.

Just got done watching ROTJ on the TNT channel.

Episodes 4-6 just feel like one complete story to me.
I couldn't differentiate between the 3 on this most recent watch-through.
I like the PT movies but they just don't compare to the OT imo.