Saga Viewing Order Post-TFA

Also at the begining of III we asked her how she would've felt watching it the other way and she commented that the effects in the originals would've really taken her out of it. "I get they were cool at the time but they just look like trash compared to the ones in the newer movies, so honestly not sure I could've watched through those if I had seen these newer ones first."

I know many on this forum probably disagree with that assessment, but I think it's interesting nonetheless. This girl is as average a modern moviegoer as you could probably find, so I found her reaction that is so at odds with the usual discussion around the PT visual effects to be fascinating.

 

What does it matter if she liked TPM and disliked ANH? She was going to do so no matter what order she saw them in and whether you leave one film out or not.

 

I found it somewhat surprising, as most people I know would not put ANH below TPM. More then that though I thought it was interesting how little regard she had for the original film period. When you've seen imitations of something your entire life, it's hard have a lot of respect for the original. She ranked A New Hope is the second worst film only behind Attack of the Clones. That is certainly unusual amongst Star Wars fans, regardless on where you fall on the prequels as a whole.

I also think it's safe to say peoples favorite films might change depending on the order the movies are watched in. In any case I haven't seen anything to suggest otherwise.

 

Not always. Some people can see a film in a franchise in a different order from others, but that does not always translate to the notion that they would come to hate a particular film, or like it more, after the fact. I started "Friday The 13th" with the fifth film, yet I do not like it any less after going through films six through eight and then coming back to see films 1 through 3, 9 and then 4. I think in your friend's case, it wouldn't matter much if she started with ANH or TPM. Sometimes people just have different tastes.

 

That was the case at the time of the making of them but for more regular viewers that have some knowledge now that doesn't really apply as they'll know the dramatic discovery. So really it all goes to the predetermined fate side for the OT as well.

The PT is itself though is more character based in the first place so that knowledge of Anakin's choices informs Luke's. Throw everything else out and at the end of the day you have the parallel and inverse journey's of Anakin and Luke at the core of everything.

The two main characters and their choices drive the saga. Knowing Anakin's first make's Luke's journey all the stronger. Now you can take it either way of course but I'd say the episodic way is stronger.

 

It's nice to see TPM getting some love. I also put it above ANH because beside the technical aspect of the time which does matter because of the cultural impact, its story is very basic. A simple story about good vs evil with the good guys triumphing in the end which could be also seen as strength. I definitively felt it was clearly a standalone movie though.

 

Depending on how Rogue One goes, I can see my preferred Order being TPM, Rogue 1, ANH, ESB, AOTC, ROTS, ROTJ, then 7-9, then any other anthology movies after that. I've always preferred flashback order after ESB, except it seems too long with TPM. I can't do Machete order because, like it or not, TPM is part of the saga,

In the order above, TPM works as a prologue as sorts to the saga, which makes sense as it is the most disconnected from the other episodes in my opinion.

We see the Republic and Jedi in their prime, but it ends with a master sith lord as chancellor of the republic. That can't be good right? Then we move to X years in the future, and we see what this has led to - the Jedi are no more (I'm assuming there will be some mention to the jedi being destroyed), and there is now an evil empire taking control of the galaxy. It's pretty much machete order after that. Thoughts?

 

I changed my mind...after watching Rogue 1 twice I think episode order (with rogue one between 3 and 4) will be my preferred viewing order.

 

1-3
Rogue One
4-7

 

Yup, I'll be adding Rogue One to the viewing order.

I, II, III, RO, IV, V, VI, VII

 

The last time I watched the whole saga was in the weeks preceding the release of The Force Awakens. We watched it in episodic order (1-6). I voted for flashback order in this poll since I've always wanted to watch the saga that way. In that case, the order would have to be:

RO, IV, V, I, II, III, VI, VII

 

Having said that, I-VII (including RO) in episodic order makes the most sense for several reasons.

 

I never understood why people put I, II and III right between V and VI in this order. I don't think it's necessary to interrupt the OT and go back to the PT, just because it was revealed that Vader is Luke's father and then return back to VI. I would first finish the OT and then go back to the PT. It doesn't change anything in any way.

 

Chronological order is objectively the "right" way to read a book (Begin with Chapter 1 and end with Chapter 9). I use the same logic when it comes to film and it's this logic that got my wife into Star Wars when I showed her the complete chronological order of the entire saga (TV shows and spin-offs included). I know this is a heated debate, but to me, there is no debate if you think about it objectively. I know this is fiction, which is mostly subjective, but I feel it makes the most sense from a story stand-point to experience the saga in a linear fashion.

 

I think watching Episode 1-3, then Rogue One, and then Episodes 4-7 is a good order. Maybe because The Phantom Menace was the first Star Wars movie that I saw seeing the other movies in chronological order just makes sense to me. I actually saw the prequel movies before the original ones and that didn't ruin the originals for me. Sure the "Luke, I'm your father" moment isn't that much of a twist anymore but its still a powerful moment in the series.

 

You get a different perspective of the Jedi, as well as some pretty serious dramatic irony, knowing that Vader is Luke and Leia's father going into ANH. Obi-Wan was willing to deceive Luke for the greater good. Starting from TPM also clarifies that while Luke is important, this is all about Anakin. He's the Chosen One and therefore the only one who can defeat Palpatine. Obi-Wan and Yoda really need Luke to convince Vader to do it.

 

Yes! If only other folks understood that Star Wars is all about Anakin. This is how it was meant to be viewed!

 

The original novelization of Star Wars was subtitled From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker. "Anakin" has been stealing Luke's rightful spotlight for far too long.

 

Yeah, thats what I think the cool part is. It also makes seeing Vader choosing Luke over Palpatine better too because we knew that the real Anakin was still in there and finally remembers who he is. Also seeing all of the movies in chronological order also makes the original movies feel more big and epic.

 

I actually think seeing the PT before the OT makes the latter trilogy feel smaller in comparison. The film that makes the OT, and specifically ANH, feel larger than its actual scale is Rogue One. I think the film might finally make linear order work for me.

Also, Star Wars was at one point about Luke. Then it was about Anakin. But it's not any longer; now the Saga itself is about the Skywalker family (the official website's article confirming Woody Harrelson's involvement in the Han Solo film referred to it as the "Skywalker family saga"). The standalone films, though, make clear the series' point as a whole, which is about broken people finding completion in each other.

 

I don't think that is objective. For two decades, Episode I didn't exist. You have to think of a book where that is true for the comparison to be valid. The fact is that Episode IV was designed and created as the first episode - it was designed as an introductory episode. It contains explanations of the Force, the Jedi etc.
A prequel is designed to tell the story of what happened before another story. By definition, the prequel wasn't written or published first - if it had been, it wouldn't be a prequel. You can choose to read or watch a prequel before the story that it precedes, but it wasn't designed that way. It was designed to be watched by a group of people who had previously watched IV to VI.
If you watch the PT first, you ruin the whole joke in V where you initially don't know that Yoda is Yoda!

Similarly, although RO is an excellent prequel to ANH, it works better if you already have a knowledge of the characters and events of ANH. So for a new viewer, IV, V, VI, I, II, III, VII is best, with RO slotted in either after VI or on either side of VII. For returning viewers, chronological order is fine.

 

This is still YOUR subjective opinion. Lucas himself stated that 1-6 is the correct way to watch it. That's good enough for me since it's coming from the creator's mouth. I am also speaking from the modern context. The films are numbered for a reason. Isn't that valid enough to show they should be watched in the numbered sequence? At the end of the day, enjoy SW the way you want, but also be willing to acknowledge that the creator's way is truly the correct way. I suggest you watch "The Chosen One" documentary and let GL explain it in the way he can. Lucas always intended these films to be watched in the order of 1-6 but didn't have the tech to make the prequels first. If in 1977 he had 1999 technology, you better believe TPM would have been released first. I don't see this as a debate, because I take what Lucas himself says as Gospel when it comes to SW. Anything else is merely someone's opinion - which they are entitled to.

 

I think we have more than enough evidence to suggest that this really isn't true at all. Lucas, for all of his genius as a storyteller and worldbuilder, has frequently spun tall tales regarding how much material he had and how planned out the story was from the start. We can chart how his initial drafts, which have elements of the PT in them, evolved into the script that ANH was shot from, and how that was edited into the film that was put in theaters. We saw how Splinter of the MInd's Eye was initially intended to be the sequel to that film, and there are transcripts of Lucas in story meetings for that novel. Then there's the development for TESB, where eventually Lucas decided Darth Vader would be revealed as Luke's father, where before they were two separate characters. The PT cannot exist without the story of Anakin's fall to the Dark Side, and that concept didn't exist until a few drafts into TESB. Thus, there's simply no way TPM, let alone AotC or RotS, could have existed in any capacity in 1977.

 

I'll just correct you on one point: I didn't say that my opinion was objective. You were the one who made that assertion with respect to your own view. I said that yours wasn't objective, but not that mine was.