Star Wars: The Complete Saga (1977-2005)

[CreasyBear]

I really long for the days when gif's were not a thing.

[madridista8700]

I have finally finished my custom covers for Star Wars. Are you looking for a uniform look on all your releases? Go to http://www.hirescovers.net/forum/index.php and download these!

[bobbyh64]

Originally Posted by CreasyBear

But it's not the beginning. It's the fourth chapter. Simply put, to put everything into proper context, the landscape of the galaxy in Episode IV makes a lot more sense and is more fulfilling when you have the background presented in Episode I-III. When Obi-Wan reminisces in Episode IV, it's more meaningful because you've seen that relationship between he and Anakin and the failure of Obi-Wan that you can hear in Alec Guinness' voice is even more powerful.

Like it or not, this is a six film saga and it's been designed as such. To start in the middle, purely out of nostalgic reasons, is fruitless.

Do you really think when people saw the movie in 1981, which is when “Episode IV” was added to the title, they were thinking “I don’t have enough context to appreciate this movie. I did in 1977 when it was just called Star Wars, but now that I know it’s the fourth chapter I feel like I’m missing stuff.” It was only the fourth chapter in writing. And it stayed that way until the prequels came out.

The original Star Wars is a self-contained movie. They only made sequels and prequels because it made a lot of money. Just because the prequels take place before the OT doesn’t make “starting in the middle” fruitless.

[Gold Ranger]

This is the best viewing order:
Star Wars
The Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi
Episode 1 The Phantom Menace
Episode 2 Attack of the Clones
Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith
Solo
Rogue One
Episode 4 A New Hope
Episode 5 The Empire Strikes Back
Episode 6 Return of the Jedi

[chewbabka]

Originally Posted by bobbyh64

Do you really think when people saw the movie in 1981, which is when “Episode IV” was added to the title, they were thinking “I don’t have enough context to appreciate this movie. I did in 1977 when it was just called Star Wars, but now that I know it’s the fourth chapter I feel like I’m missing stuff.” It was only the fourth chapter in writing. And it stayed that way until the prequels came out.

The original Star Wars is a self-contained movie. They only made sequels and prequels because it made a lot of money. Just because the prequels take place before the OT doesn’t make “starting in the middle” fruitless.

IDK, he has a point. If you haven’t seen Clones before Star Wars, where is the fruit?

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by Gold Ranger

This is the best viewing order:
Star Wars
The Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi
Episode 1 The Phantom Menace
Episode 2 Attack of the Clones
Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith
Solo
Rogue One
Episode 4 A New Hope
Episode 5 The Empire Strikes Back
Episode 6 Return of the Jedi

[chewbabka]

Originally Posted by imsounoriginal

I'm going to guess the former refers to the theatrical cuts, and the latter the Bastardized Editions.

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by chewbabka

I'm going to guess the former refers to the theatrical cuts, and the latter the Bastardized Editions.

Why watch the latter at all, especially if you're already gonna watch the former?

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by bobbyh64

The original Star Wars is a self-contained movie. They only made sequels and prequels because it made a lot of money. Just because the prequels take place before the OT doesn’t make “starting in the middle” fruitless.

That is wrong on so many levels.

Lucas had a huge sprawling saga in mind from the beginning. The success of the first movie simply enabled him to continue telling the stories he first dreamed up in the early 1970s

Remember, the Saturday matinee serials that inspired Lucas typically had 12 episodes. It's just that they were 20-minute episodes and they were spaced a week apart.

[dml1988]

I am a huge fan of watching them in this order: IV, V, I, II, III then VI last. That way you get the introductions of Luke and friends with Episode IV, the continuation of that with Empire Strikes back with the Vader reveal, then episodes I through III for the Anakin story. Have it all come back with Return of the Jedi, with Anakin and Luke's story fresh in mind. To be honest you could probably cut I and II from the viewing if you wanted to and just do IV, V, III and VI. That way you can skip the BS of I and II and just show Anakin and Obi-Wan fighting in the Clone Wars.

[Gold Ranger]

Theatricals, then the Specials, as the Theatricals are more of a "Stand-Alone" and the Specials feel more a part of the Saga.

[drush9999]

Originally Posted by dml1988

To be honest you could probably cut I and II from the viewing if you wanted to and just do IV, V, III and VI. That way you can skip the BS of I and II and just show Anakin and Obi-Wan fighting in the Clone Wars.

The funny (or sad) thing about skipping I & II is everything you need to know is in III and could easily just watch that as Anakin's "back story".

[dml1988]

Originally Posted by drush9999

The funny (or sad) thing about skipping I & II is everything you need to know is in III and could easily just watch that as Anakin's "back story".

Lol that's what I was trying to say, couldn't quite get it. It's such a cool feeling going into Return of the Jedi knowing Luke's story and Anakin's story to that point

[chewbabka]

Originally Posted by drush9999

the funny (or sad) thing about skipping i, ii & iii is everything you need to know is in sw, empire, and jedi, and could easily just watch them as anakin's "back story".

ftfy

[steel_breeze]

Originally Posted by CreasyBear

But it's not the beginning. It's the fourth chapter. Simply put, to put everything into proper context, the landscape of the galaxy in Episode IV makes a lot more sense and is more fulfilling when you have the background presented in Episode I-III. When Obi-Wan reminisces in Episode IV, it's more meaningful because you've seen that relationship between he and Anakin and the failure of Obi-Wan that you can hear in Alec Guinness' voice is even more powerful.

Like it or not, this is a six film saga and it's been designed as such. To start in the middle, purely out of nostalgic reasons, is fruitless.

Look, I'm a huge fan of watching in full Episode order. That's pretty much the only way I've been watching 'em for the last ten years. But it's simply my opinion that PHANTOM MENACE makes for a rough beginning, whereas STAR WARS '77 is a historically perfect way to introduce the universe. And I say "historically" because that's how we -- human beings on the planet earth -- were introduced to that galaxy far, far away in the first place. PHANTOM MENACE depends a LOT on a viewer's knowledge of the original trilogy, in order to make sense of things like the Force, the Jedi, the Sith. I would argue that even the emotional stakes of PHANTOM depend entirely on secretly knowing what Palpatine will become and who Anakin will become. And I guarantee that if PHANTOM MENACE had been the first film released instead of STAR WARS '77, there would have been no sequels and we wouldn't be having this conversation.

[stvn1974]

The Prequels are skippable. I prefer the OT explanations where Obi-Wan and Anakin were good friends and Leia remembers her mother who died when she was young. Much better than bratty Anakin and Padme dying .003 seconds after giving birth to Leia. Everything not the UOT is proving to be skippable, before and after.

[Hardback247]

Originally Posted by 2sday

I've always considered only two viewing orders:

For someone that has never seen them: RELEASE ORDER
This makes sense from a historical standpoint.

For someone that has never seen them: CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
This makes sense from a canonical standpoint.

Everything else just seems silly or different for the sake of being different.

Wait, so those BOTH of those viewing orders are good for people who never saw Star Wars before, or did you make a typo? I'm confused.

[Hardback247]

Originally Posted by 2sday

typo for sure

Personally, I think the only way I'll watch the OT is through Adywan's Revisited fan edits. He's currently working on Return of the Jedi Revisited and an HD version of A New Hope Revisited at the same time.

[steel_breeze]

Originally Posted by Hardback247

Personally, I think the only way I'll watch the OT is through Adywan's Revisited fan edits. He's currently working on Return of the Jedi Revisited and an HD version of A New Hope Revisited at the same time.

Ugh. To each his/her own... but I'm the opposite: happiest when watching 4K77 v1.4. The less the original has been mucked around with, the greater my happiness.

[crissrudd4554]

Ooooooooffff where do I begin?? It’s been SOOOOOOO long since I last commented in here but I feel there’s been enough discussion in the last few pages to warrant my rejoining this topic. Anyways MY preferred order?? Release order mostly cause I feel that’s the more principal thing to do with any franchise (how many watch Temple of Doom before Raiders???) but I also appreciate the saga order from a story concept even though there’s various story aspects that don’t always mesh. But I’m not here to talk about that.

As for what the saga was meant to be as there’s too many different ways to look at it. Lucas wrote Star Wars as ONE film! Not THREE, ONE! Problem was it was TOO big a story to condense to ONE film. So he had no choice but to divide it into three parts, each becoming their own movie. However the first would need to be a hit in order for the other two to be made. From that angle it made total sense for the first film to be more or less self condensed. Yes doors for a sequel are left open (Vader’s survival, mention of an Emperor, etc) but the story more or less wraps around. A farm boy from a dessert planet wants to join the Rebellion and fight the Empire and lives out his dream. Every one lives, more or less, happily ever after. Blah blah blah.

Lucas may have wanted this to be part four but the studio intervened. Kicking off a potential series in the middle will throw off your audience so it was just STAR WARS. No more no less. It was only out of the success of that film that they were willing to go forward by having the series take place in the middle and eventually give it the ‘A New Hope’ title. Another thing to keep in mind was although Lucas had plans to go back to the beginning after 4-6 were completed, making the OT proved exhausting and thus he basically gave up on those plans. It wasn’t until the early ‘90s that he began to feel inspired enough to proceed with the PT. However that doesn’t change the fact for nearly a decade chances of a PT were slim.

Even to say the saga was always meant to be six parts is not fully accurate. Some of the actors as well as Lucas noted there were potential plans to do a 7-9 at some point in the future but ultimately those plans were dropped for a time as well. It wasn’t until after completion of the PT that Lucas declared it was all meant to be a six parter.

As for my opinions on each film, ANH and ESB are nearly perfect films for me. ROTJ is flawed but still entertaining and fun. TPM I actually enjoyed when it came out and too an extent still do. Is it flawed and does it not live up to its three predecessors?? Hell yes! AOTC I was ‘mehhh’ about even when it came out. Not terrible but far from the best. ROTS I enjoyed very much when it came out. TFA I liked but felt it didn’t fully live to its potential. TLJ for better or worse I really enjoyed. It’s flawed don’t get me wrong but it was at least trying to be different. Sometimes it paid off sometimes it didn’t. Haven’t seen R1 and have only seen Solo on TV but I frankly wouldn’t throw them in with my viewings of the saga films anyways.

One more thing for the order debate, in my many attempts to get my mother interested in SW at one point I decided to skip E1 and E2 by just showing her the first half hour of this DVD and just skipping to E3 and just go forward from there!