What order to watch the movies in?

When Episode III comes out on DVD/video, what order should you watch the movies in if you've never seen them before?

 

I'd say the correct order: 1,2,3,4,5,6 just becuase it wouldn't ruin any of the surprise.

 

I'd have to say the correct order too. Ep I, II, III, IV, V, VI. You get the start, middle, and end of the story in a 12 hour block.

 

When I have kids, and I show them SW for the first time, it'll be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Only way to go. That's the way the story is supposed to be told.

 

I like the old ways. But if I was to show a person who never saw them all at once, I would do it in order: 1,2,3,4,5,6.

 

Id'd do it both ways, First 4,5,6,1,2,3 and then 1,2,3,4,5,6. TThat way you get the suprises of the OTand still get to see all parts in a row.

 

I would watch them 4-5-6 and then 1-2-3...but I am strange like that. If you watched them 1-2-3-4-5-6, then you would miss out on the dramatic "Luke, I am your father."

 

I think having the new generations watching them 1-6 would be best, that way Anakin's acts in Episode 6 have so much more meaning.

then you would miss out on the dramatic "Luke, I am your father."

Well I think everyone misses out on "Luke, I am your father" because its not an actual line in Star Wars.

 

If I introduce them to someone it would be 4,5,6 and then 1,2,3 but from now on I will always watch them 1,2,3,4,5,6 or what ever episode I feel like watching that day.

 

I'll watch I-II-III-IV-V-VI because of Palpatine's background story. I like his rise to power

 

If Lucas didn't intend for the movies to be watched in any particular order, he wouldn't have assigned episode numbers to them.

 

As someone here old enough to remember when ANH came out the first time...

When I have kids, I'll probably show them in the order I saw them.

1) Star Wars: A New Hope is by far one of the greatest movies of all time. A classic in its standalone form.

2) I dont' want to spoil the "surprise" element of "Luke, I am your father." (paraphrase of the real dialogue) Even kids aren't stupid enough to not catch the fact that the little Anakin kid and Luke have the same last name. Also, I don't want to spoil the "Sister" thing either... (provided Ep III shows twins).

3) I think it'll teach a good lesson that anyone can be redeemed. They'll see Vader for all the bad he is. Then see him do something good and sacrificial in saving his son and killing Palpatine.

4) Then they can see Episodes I-III. That way they can then see everythinn in a new light and understand.

5) And this may be heresy to some of you, but I think that the OT has been the better of the movies thus far. Yes, TPM and AOTC are great flicks, but imho, ANH, ESB, and ROTJ are just better.

6) And after seeing 4-6, they can catch all the irony and foreshadowing in 1-3. One of my favorite scenes in TPM is when Qui-Gon introduces Anakin and Obi-Wan. It sends a chill down your spine thinking... "Obi-wan, meet the guy who's going to kill you one day."

7) It could even be a nice morality tale. "Do you want to become a bad guy like Darth Vader one day?" Ask them that after they see the OT. When they say "No," show them the PT. Show them the negative character traits in Anakin and use it to enforce the positive traits of the other characters.

I could go on, but I'm at work.

 

I will watch it in correct order. 1,2,3,4,5,6

 

I would do it IV-V-VI-I-II-III. It's because this will help to further the surprise in the saga, as well as help show the ironies of what happened in the Prequels. If it's shown in order of 1 to 6, I'm afraid that we may grow to take the entire story for granted and not wonder about what happened before, the way we did in the order that it was released.

 

ANH
TPM
ESB
AOTC
-III-
ROTJ

 

poweranger: why such a strange formation?

 

'Cause hes a comedian.

 

i used the formation 4-1-5-2-3-6 because i love backstory. if i'm explaining sw to someone else this is the order i would choose. by starting with 4, you may have a viewer or two who would like to know more about old ben, so then i show 'em 1.(this would also fill in more detail regarding the force) with his backstory out of the way i would continue with 5, showing the further adventures of luke & co.

but then i would want them to see yoda doing more than just advising/instructing so i would take them straight to 2. but 2 leaves you with too many loose ends, so i would go right on to 3. i split up 4,5, and 6 because they are stand alone stories despite being connected. and 1 is so self contained that it appears to be a standalone. i'm using the new trilogy as a flashback sequence, so that anakins loss would be fresh in the mind of the viewer when watching 6.

this mixing might even make it easier to keep the prophecy in mind during the saga, and not quite so distant from the OT.

 

The way I will presented to my children someday.

Anh, ESB , ROTJ.

And the the PT, 'cause that what they are, prequels.

There is no reason to started from Episode 1, ANH is a much better movie to begin the saga with.

 

I'd encourage people who are new to SW to watch them in the order 4,5,6,1,2,3 because that's the way just about everyone has seen them. It would spoil some of the dramatic moments in the OT if you watched the PT first - like somebody already said, the "No, I am your father" would not be nearly as effective if you knew it all along.

It will be interesting, though, to watch them in the order 1 through 6 once Episode III comes out.

 

1-6.

The much bigger surprises of Palpatine being a Sith, the Republic collapsing, the Jedi being killed, and Anakin falling to the Dark Side.

Then the suspense of whether Luke, when faced with similar trials will fall to the Dark Side.

Plus all the wonderful dramatic irony of us knowing more about the characters' histories than they do.

All reason to watch them in the order they were meant to be. The only major one I've really seen for 4-6,1-3 is "But what about 'I am your father'?" First of all, most everyone knows that already. It's part of pop culture. Second, I think the advantages I mentioned above far outnumber one surprise.

 

Episodes I - VI. For the exact same reasons that Lord_Hydronium mentioned.

 

I agree with Lord_Hydronium for 101%

If we should make a list (hint ) with 'surprises' of the PT and OT, we'll see that the PT has a lot more in it.

 

I would watch them in numerical order, like most people here. As for the "No, I am your father" line, we haven't seen E3 yet, so how can we summise what is actually revealed in the movie?
How do we know what GL will leave unexplained, or what exact time will transpire between the end of 3 qand the beginning of ANH.
We have a general inkling of what has to happen, but as to what point of detail is revealed in the movies is another question. To reveal too much in E3 leaves newer viewers watching the OT with no real surprise, but not enough makes the two trilogies too seperate.

If we could only have a new movie,
Darth Vader: The Lost Years - a home movie of all his adventures between the end of E3 and ANH.......!!!

 

Another reason for watching I-VI: the music!! The mystery of the Imperial March for those who never heard of it before.

In TPM: only very brief, people won't pay much attention to it.
In AOTC: the theme returns with the slaughtering , people think " I heard it before, in TPM, what should it mean.". Then it returns after the confession scene, they think: "Mmm, every time something bad happens, the theme reappears". And then, the finale (with the clones marching and Palps on the balcony), a grand blow out of the Imperial March. People think: "WOW, that doesn't predict much good"
...

Only a silly thought of the moment