Star Wars: Chronological by production date or by time in the star wars universe?

Colt45

My girlfriend has never seen any of the Star Wars films and she needs to. Being a true American, I think she should watch the original trilogy first and then see Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. However, this weekend my parents are taking the family out to see The Phantom Menace in 3D at the theater. So, I'm wondering if we should watch the first three movies before Phantom Menace and then watch the other two prequels, or should we watch episode one first and then come home and watch the rest in order.

Cameron_Talley

Watch the OT first. If you watch the Prequels first, the impact of Darth vader's revelation to Luke is lost.

reVerse

4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 6.

Librarian

This is more of a H/A thread.
But the correct answer of course is: Watch the OT, then tell your girlfriend there are no other Star Wars movies.

Phillishere

Production. The mystery behind Vader and Luke and Leia works better if you come to it fresh.

KalTorak

Production. definitely.

Drakeon

If your set on watching the prequels, at least watch the OT first. They are far and away better (yes even ROTJ).

Colt45

I think so too, not to mention if she sees the prequels first she might like them better and we'll have to break up lol. Fortunately I still have the original trilogy in a VHS box set so she can see it as God intended.

Gaddez

Colt45 wrote:

I think so too, not to mention if she sees the prequels first she might like them better and we'll have to break up lol. Fortunately I still have the original trilogy in a VHS box set so she can see it as God intended.

Also if you make her sit through the prequels she might quit half way through attack of the clones (christ what a horrible name).

Atomika

We very much have a thread for this kind of thing.

Colt45

Atomic Ross wrote:

We very much have a thread for this kind of thing.

Sorry I searched the forum for both "Star Wars" and "Movies" before I made this thread and I saw nothing relevant.

Tube

Atomic Ross wrote:

We very much have a thread for this kind of thing.

We also have a moderating staff who are quite capable of making these kinds of judgments. The report function is the proper venue for bringing such things to our attention.

Yar

4, 5, 6.

The end.

Witch_Hunter_84

Someone said this before on these forums, and I've been enormously happy with this arrangement of films since then. The best order is:

A New Hope
Empire Strikes back
Return of the Jedi
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Temple of Doom
Last Crusade

Yar

Witch_Hunter_84 wrote:

Someone said this before on these forums, and I've been enormously happy with this arrangement of films since then. The best order is:

A New Hope
Empire Strikes back
Return of the Jedi
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Temple of Doom
Last Crusade

The only problem with this is that it isn't immediately obvious why the Jones character inexplicably morphs into the Han character in Temple.

Witch_Hunter_84

Yar wrote:

Witch_Hunter_84 wrote:

Someone said this before on these forums, and I've been enormously happy with this arrangement of films since then. The best order is:

A New Hope
Empire Strikes back
Return of the Jedi
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Temple of Doom
Last Crusade

The only problem with this is that it isn't immediately obvious why the Jones character inexplicably morphs into the Han character in Temple.

How else would he save that movie?

override367

Jones is just a con by Han Solo on a primitive planet he found to recover ancient jedi artifacts for Jabba, which he then has to eject when an imperial ship shows up, leading to episode 4

jothki

Witch_Hunter_84 wrote:

Someone said this before on these forums, and I've been enormously happy with this arrangement of films since then. The best order is:

A New Hope
Empire Strikes back
Return of the Jedi
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Temple of Doom
Last Crusade

Myself, I'm more a fan of

A New Hope
Empire Strikes Back
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Temple of Doom
Last Crusade
Return of the Jedi

Caveman Paws

override367 wrote:

Jones is just a con by Han Solo on a primitive planet he found to recover ancient jedi artifacts for Jabba, which he then has to eject when an imperial ship shows up, leading to episode 4

GENIUS!

No really I like this version.

Henroid

There's nothing gained, narratively, from watching it in chronological order. Just watch it in production order. It establishes a lot of important context on why whatever is good, and whatever else is bad.

override367

Caveman Paws wrote:

override367 wrote:

Jones is just a con by Han Solo on a primitive planet he found to recover ancient jedi artifacts for Jabba, which he then has to eject when an imperial ship shows up, leading to episode 4

GENIUS!

No really I like this version.

Sean Connery is actually Chewbacca after being shaved

wandering

Witch_Hunter_84 wrote:

Someone said this before on these forums, and I've been enormously happy with this arrangement of films since then. The best order is:

A New Hope
Empire Strikes back
Return of the Jedi
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Temple of Doom
Last Crusade

But what about The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones

Greeper

wandering wrote:

Witch_Hunter_84 wrote:

Someone said this before on these forums, and I've been enormously happy with this arrangement of films since then. The best order is:

A New Hope
Empire Strikes back
Return of the Jedi
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Temple of Doom
Last Crusade

But what about The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones

Oh yes. Let's just watch kingdom of the crystal skull while we're at it.

Or at least a review.

Henroid

A roomie of mine was watching Crystal Skull and I just so happened to come into the room for the refrigerator incident. It was my first viewing of anything from the film. "Oh sweet, Indiana Jo- what."

Yar

The refrigerator incident wasn't quite on-target, but I do sort of get what they were going for. They were trying to take your typical Indiana Jones opening scene, and wrap it in some 1950s, and it just came out a bit off-key. Could have been way worse.

syndalis

Indiana Jones 1-3 was 30s and 40s pulp.

Indiana Jones 4 was 50s Cold War Pulp, which also included a lot of sci fi.

It was a perfectly okay movie with some good moments, that kids loved.

We are not the kids we were when Raiders came out.

Also, Indy 4 is better than Indy 2.

Witch_Hunter_84

syndalis wrote:

Also, Indy 4 is better than Indy 2.

Kali ma shakti de!

KALI MA SHAKTI DE!!!

Yar

Yeah Cold War, nukes, aliens (or other-dimensional beings?), these are the Nazis and Christianities of the 50s. More or less.

Gandalf_the_Crazed

reVerse wrote:

4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 6.

I really like this suggestion, actually.

BubbaT

Librarian wrote:

But the correct answer of course is: Watch the OT, then tell your girlfriend there are no other Star Wars movies.

This.

After the OT, have her play TIE Fighter or Dark Forces/Jedi Knight or KOTOR for any additional Star Wars fixes.

SammyF

Gandalf_the_Crazed wrote:

reVerse wrote:

4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 6.

I really like this suggestion, actually.

Uh, yeah, this is actually fucking brilliant. You preserve the shock of The Reveal in The Empire Strikes Back, and you wedge the overarching theme of the prequels (the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker) in right before you jump into Return of the Jedi and get into Darth Vader's redemption.

I'm going to show them to my children in this order.

BubbaT

SammyF wrote:

Gandalf_the_Crazed wrote:

reVerse wrote:

4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 6.

I really like this suggestion, actually.

Uh, yeah, this is actually fucking brilliant. You preserve the shock of The Reveal in The Empire Strikes Back, and you wedge the overarching theme of the prequels (the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker) in right before you jump into Return of the Jedi and get into Darth Vader's redemption.

I'm going to show them to my children in this order.

I don't see why anyone who watches the PT would even care if Anakin/Vader is redeemed. The PT ruins his character, it turns him from conflicted lawful evil into a whiny idiot lashing out at the universe.

Atomika

BubbaT wrote:

SammyF wrote:

Gandalf_the_Crazed wrote:

reVerse wrote:

4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 6.

I really like this suggestion, actually.

Uh, yeah, this is actually fucking brilliant. You preserve the shock of The Reveal in The Empire Strikes Back, and you wedge the overarching theme of the prequels (the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker) in right before you jump into Return of the Jedi and get into Darth Vader's redemption.

I'm going to show them to my children in this order.

I don't see why anyone who watches the PT would even care if Anakin/Vader is redeemed. The PT ruins his character, it turns him from conflicted lawful evil into a whiny idiot lashing out at the universe.

At most, I think all you'd need is:

4, 5, 3, 6


It hits all the callbacks from from the OT, and shows just enough of the good times to give gravitas to the bad.


But skipping the PT totally doesn't hurt.

SammyF

BubbaT wrote:

SammyF wrote:

Gandalf_the_Crazed wrote:

reVerse wrote:

4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 6.

I really like this suggestion, actually.

Uh, yeah, this is actually fucking brilliant. You preserve the shock of The Reveal in The Empire Strikes Back, and you wedge the overarching theme of the prequels (the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker) in right before you jump into Return of the Jedi and get into Darth Vader's redemption.

I'm going to show them to my children in this order.

I don't see why anyone who watches the PT would even care if Anakin/Vader is redeemed. The PT ruins his character, it turns him from conflicted lawful evil into a whiny idiot lashing out at the universe.

The problem is that the same narrative challenge exists within the original trilogy, as well. In Episode IV, Vader presides with Grand Moff Tarkin over the annihilation of billions of people before heading down to the hanger to cut down Luke's mentor. When last we saw him in Empire Strikes Back, he was doing a double take as the the Millennium Falcon suddenly jumped to hyperspace on what he was assured to be a deactivated hyperdrive, and you knew that he was trying not to completely flip his shit. Then, all of the sudden, Luke announces to the ghost of Obi Wan Kenobi in a swamp on Dagobah, "there IS still good in him!" Uh, okay, Luke. I, uh, I guess we'll just have to take your word for that, then. And I mean literally that we'll have to do that because that unsubstantiated idea is going to drive all of the character drama remaining for the balance of this trilogy.

The PT brings a little something to the table in its attempt to humanize Anakin Skywalker. It's supposed to be a classical trilogy as described by Aristotle's Poetics: a likeable, upstanding character is ultimately felled by his own tragic flaw in a way that's supposed to make the audience feel pity and fear in a cathartic way. One might argue that it failed to tick enough of Aristotle's boxes to effectively deliver a proper tragedy, and I certainly wouldn't argue against that. But it at least took a shot at it.

Alfred J. Kwak

Atomic Ross wrote:

At most, I think all you'd need is:

4, 5, 3, 6

I'd suggest this order:

5

atat23

you are all wrong, the order should be 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 4, 5, 6, 4, 5, 6, ad infinitum

I like the prequels but not much point in watching them more than once

Unknown

This content has been removed.

SammyF

electricitylikesme wrote:

Whatever order you watch them in, I would say you can skip 1 entirely.

Stipulated.

PantsB

reVerse wrote:

4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 6.

Atomika

electricitylikesme wrote:

Whatever order you watch them in, I would say you can skip 1 entirely.

There's almost no reason to watch it. You can more or less infer the entirety of Anakin's backstory from 2 and 3, and it really works better that way.

Ep1 really is a terribly pointless movie. And so is Ep2, really.

Styrofoam Sammich

Be a good boyfriend and just act like Lucas died suddenly upon completing Return of the Jedi.