I wanted to sit down to watch the whole thing in one big go with a friend of mine who's never seen any of them. Insane, I know, but follow me here. Got down to thinking about the order it should be watched in. Filming order? Chronological order? Neither seems ideal for a new viewer, it seems to me. Watching them either way creates for spoilers in whichever trilogy you watch second.
I got to thinking about it, as well as the obvious parallels the two trilogies each have within their three installments, and I decided that the best way to keep some mystery in the entire shebang is to watch it sorta in a chronology similar to Godfather II.
Namely, as follows: I, IV, II, V, III, VI. It neatly elides the trilogy structures while maintaining some things spoiler-free. For example: "No, I am your father!" You get to watch two generations progressing together and slowly get a sense of the larger picture of what happened, seeing it from both timelines.
Most of us will not be able to attempt this with fresh eyes, but won't someone please think of the children?
(Note: this is not an attempt to defend the prequel trilogy, only to make it more palatable for future viewers.)
― Walter Lurch, Wednesday, 15 March 2006 01:27 (twenty years ago)
watch the originals first, then tell your friend they never got around to making the prequels.
― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 02:27 (twenty years ago)
That was not a productive comment, s1ocki.
― gbx (skowly), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 05:17 (twenty years ago)
the children should just watch Lord of the Rings instead.
― Shakey Mo Collier (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 17:34 (twenty years ago)
still though i can't imagine how weird it would be to watch the series for the first time in chronological order!
― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 17:49 (twenty years ago)
watch the originals first. if you watch the prequels first, your friend will get bored and be like fuck watching these movies.
― gritty sanskrit (sanskrit), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 17:51 (twenty years ago)
Try all combinations, hitting your friend on the head with a rock between each marathon screening thus erasing his memory. Make a note of which he enjoys the best and get back to us.
Your non-chronological idea is actually a good one. I would add my voice to those saying IV, V and VI first, though, because they are NOT CRAP.
― chap who would dare to be a stone cold thug (chap), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 18:18 (twenty years ago)
You do not need to watch the prequels
You do not care why Vader became evil
You will not confuse escapist films with digital fetish objects
― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 19:51 (twenty years ago)
also House Party 1-4 (or is it 5 now? i forget)
― latebloomer aka rembrandt, the fifth ninja turtle (latebloomer), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 21:26 (twenty years ago)