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What order to watch Star Wars?

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AstroZombie polycounter lvl 18
So my son is quite a few years away from being an acceptable age to watch the Star Wars saga. However, I am anxious to share this with him. Honestly, almost since his birth I have contemplated in what order I will share this bit of epic sci-fi geekdom with him; will we watch the films in order of their original theatrical release(IV-VI, I-III) or in chronological order(I - VI)? Or, is it best to watch episodes IV-VI and never speak of episoded I-III? Curious what others thoughts / opinions are on this matter...

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  • El Z0rR
    IV-VI original versions where han solo shoots first ;p
  • aesir
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    aesir polycounter lvl 18
    I've always wanted to make someone, who had never seen star wars before, watch them in the proper order and see what their reactions were. Make him watch it from in order from first to last.
  • pior
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    pior grand marshal polycounter
    Make him read the books first!
  • AstroZombie
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    AstroZombie polycounter lvl 18
    pior wrote: »
    Make him read the books first!

    ah hell, we'll probably start that long before the kid is ready to watch the movies. He is already book obsessed as it is :-)
  • Gav
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    Gav quad damage
    I'm saying 4 - 6 then 1 -3. Granted, I HATE the first 3...but i bet your son would enjoy them because he wouldn't have the same nerdiness childhood love for the original trilogy that most of us do.

    Gav
  • Tumerboy
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    Tumerboy polycounter lvl 16
    LOL Matt Miller A.K.A. Positron, current lead designer on COH/X had shown his son (5 maybe?) the first Star Wars (A New Hope) and when his son asked to see the next one, Matt told him he'd have to wait 2 years to see it, just like his dad had!
    HA HA HA HA.
    I thought that was a bit cruel, but I think the originals first, (agreed, ORIGINAL, not the Lucas 'improved' ones) and then the new ones.
  • Emil Mujanovic
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    Emil Mujanovic polycounter lvl 18
    I made my last girlfriend watch the original trilogy because I was tired of her not getting my Star Wars jokes/references. She hasn't seen nor does she want to see episodes I - III, and I had no influence on that decision either. I guess she's just trying to relate to me more by trying to act all Star Wars hardcore :P
    To be honest, if your son watches all six films, he'd probably love Jar Jar from episode I, and he'd love the Ewoks in episode VI. Everything in the middle won't be Harry Potter.
    Also, it really depends on what age your son is and if he's old enough to understand the story and lore behind Star Wars to appreciate it like you do. If you just want to show him films he's going to enjoy, I don't think it will really matter what order you show it in (and I don't think he'd really care if its the original trilogy or the special edition trilogy).
    My $0.02

    -caseyjones
  • Saidin311
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    Saidin311 polycounter lvl 11
    I'll go against the general grain here. I like the production quality of I-III. I can fully appreciate and respect how revolutionary IV-VI is. But I like the special effects from I-III, and most of the light-saber fights are much better.

    After recently seeing The Phantom Menace I don't mind the pod-racing. The accents on the Trade Federation still bother me a little, but Jar-Jar is the modern generation's C3P0 and is just another character if you take him for what C3P0 was, comic relief. And beyond those 3 specific parts theres really nothing else wrong with the movie.

    Anyways, I happen to not mind watching them in the order 1-6 and 1-3 have grown on me quite a bit over the last few times I've seen them.
  • Tulkamir
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    Tulkamir polycounter lvl 18
    4-6 then 1-3 of course. Order of release ensures he gets the best/intended experience, and trying to not let him watch 1-3 is silly. He'll want to see em after he's seen the others, even if you don't tell him about them he'll know they exist, unless you keep him in a cave. :P
  • danr
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    danr interpolator
    he should watch them in the same order that everyone else watched them, and the way it was intended. I mean, if a story starts halfway through it does so for a good reason ... (sort of)

    i would keep him the hell away from the special editions though - it's not because of all that gittish "oh greedo shoots first, what a travesty" nerd bollocks, its just cos they were shit, looked rubbish, and were totally unnecessary.
  • hawken
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    hawken polycounter lvl 19
    save the best till last. Like pudding after your dinner. 1 to 6

    Why eat your pudding first?

    maybe splice up the proceeding with ewoks. after ep 5 - think of it as an after eight mint
  • Keg
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    Keg polycounter lvl 18
    Saidin311 wrote: »
    I'll go against the general grain here. I like the production quality of I-III. I can fully appreciate and respect how revolutionary IV-VI is. But I like the special effects from I-III, and most of the light-saber fights are much better.

    After recently seeing The Phantom Menace I don't mind the pod-racing. The accents on the Trade Federation still bother me a little, but Jar-Jar is the modern generation's C3P0 and is just another character if you take him for what C3P0 was, comic relief. And beyond those 3 specific parts theres really nothing else wrong with the movie.

    Anyways, I happen to not mind watching them in the order 1-6 and 1-3 have grown on me quite a bit over the last few times I've seen them.


    Seriously Jar-Jar is quite a bit more annoying than C-3PO ever got. Also remember C-3PO was in episodes 1-3 so there goes your argument about him being this generations C-3PO. You forgot the retarded midichlorians crap? seriously that alone made me hate it. Ruined the whole mystery feel. Then from a continuity standpoint everything in the past is more advanced than future technology (yea yea use the excuse of when the movies were made).

    Then there's the horrific love story in episodes 2 and 3. Who can forget the epic writing of "i love you" "no I love you more" "no I love you more" of episode 3? Lucas couldn't pull a decent love story out of a wampa's entrails.
  • danr
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    danr interpolator
    "Seriously Jar-Jar is quite a bit more annoying than C-3PO ever got."

    No. Not possible. I refer to you Attack of the Clones. You are wrong.
  • McBradd
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    McBradd polycounter lvl 12
    Watch 4-6 first. The supposed 'character development' in 1-3 is even less meaningful if you haven't seen the original trilogy.
  • Xenobond
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    Xenobond polycounter lvl 18
  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    My kids saw them in the original order because the new ones weren't completed yet, and while they love the originals, they seem to prefer the newer ones. I think you should start with the new, then go to the old.
    The newer ones were meant to target kids more (at least the first two were), so they would probably work best to hook your kid.
  • Asherr
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    Asherr polycounter lvl 18
    4-6, the first Ewok movie, then 1-3. :)
  • Asmuel
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    Asmuel polycounter lvl 17
    4-6, ewok movies, then 1. Forget the rest.
  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    My kids liked the Ewoks, but they don't exist until Return of the Jedi, and you can't start with that one ;) As much as I hate Jar Jar, he's in Episode 1, so there's instant gratification for the kids.
  • Rhinokey
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    Rhinokey polycounter lvl 18
    as the only person on these forums you truly trust and respect. 1-6 even tho i thought the new ones were poorly done. i really wish i didnt go in them from the start knowing the kid would be vader.
  • Mark Dygert
    I plan to show them to my daughter in IV-VI (non special edition) then I-III, or "chronologically" not logically. Then if she wants to view the special edition versions she's on her own.

    It was a story told in a specific order, it doesn't matter if that was on purpose or if by accident, thats the way it was told. I'm not going to use scene selection on Memento so she can get the whole story spoon fed to her. That destroys one of the major plot devices of the movie, same with Star Wars.

    - Hardly any of the ground breaking moments in IV-VI are all that important if you watch I-III first. I feel like I would be Homer Simpson coming out of V spilling the beans, why bother watching... Oh and by the way, Santa and the Easter Bunny told me to tell you, they are real but they aren't coming around any more.

    - Watching V-VI first you get to know the Good Vs Evil universe within minutes. It was that clear, well established line that made the movies so interesting. Going I-VI bypasses those back and forth moments and really destroys what little I-III has to offer

    EDIT: As for the whole not knowing Anikin was Vadar. My nephews watched IV-VI before I-III came out and they didn't put it together right away but when they did it was mind blowing. I guess it depends on what age they see it if they pay that close of attention. I guess it comes down to watching someone descend slowly into evil over time.
    Or
    Seeing what that evil is in all its brutality and bitterness front and center. Getting to know its humanity, wondering how it got like that, and then finding out it started out pretty much like you a little kid. That was worth more then having the story logically and methodically explained from A-Z.
  • rooster
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    rooster mod
    hawken wrote: »
    Why eat your pudding first?

    the pudding is indeed the best bit. eat the pudding and dump the chewy overcooked steak in the bin
  • Matthew Blake
    But when are you going to show him the Holiday Special?
  • McBradd
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    McBradd polycounter lvl 12
    Never. There was never a Wookie Christmas. Ban that Apocryphal experience from your mind.
  • Xenobond
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    Xenobond polycounter lvl 18
    Now that I think about it, you should have them watch I-VI and see how they feel about it. Since they never had the original trilogy to grow up with knowing only that, it'd be an interesting (and safe) experiment to subject your children to that.

    Or take it to the next level, and have one child watch I-VI and another IV-VI/I-III. Then put them in a pit and fight it out.
  • I_luv_Pixels
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    I_luv_Pixels polycounter lvl 17
    its funny


    As i read this thread my 3 year old came up and asked if he could watch STAR WARS....lol

    my kids are obsessed with the star wars saga....lol

    Its also funny because my kids hate the old GOOD episodes and only like the new trilogy..

    guess all the flashy colors really appeal to kids .

    I say let him watch them 1-6 because im sure the new episodes will make him interested enough to set through the old ones.

    My 2 kids obsess over episode 3....for some odd reason....guess its the light sabers.
  • Jeremy Lindstrom
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    Jeremy Lindstrom polycounter lvl 18
    Yes I agree 4,5,6 and then 1,2,3. Too many cliffhangers in 4-6 that are ruined if you watch 1-3 first ones. Especially if you know Luke is Leia's sister, Darth is daddy.. those take ya back if you see 1-3 first you know all of this before hand. :(
  • Justin Meisse
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    Justin Meisse polycounter lvl 18
    You fool! you forgot Turkish Starwars
    make them watch that first
  • Waz
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    Waz polycounter lvl 17
    I just finished watching episode IV on VHS while I ate dinner awhile ago, took like 2 weeks watching 10min at a time, and it still was so awesome. Been quite a few years since I had seen it and felt like a new movie. Love the old series but I do really like episode III as well. The fx in III are awesome and so is the art direction.
  • Asherr
  • Murdoc
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    Murdoc polycounter lvl 11
    Just skip ep 1-3, save your sons brain cells.
  • notman
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    notman polycounter lvl 18
    You know, I don't think I ever saw the holiday special, but thatś the most god damn ridiculous thing I´ve ever seen related to the series.
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