Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Star Wars Question.

Not sure if any Star wars thread has ever covered this (I couldn't make it through all the pages),


But here is the question....

Soon my son will be old enough to start watching the movies with true enjoyment but I am lost as to which movie to show him first.

Do you start with I or IV?

Any ideas?

Ben

Start at the beginning. #1. Don't make him watch the last three, then the first three, then the last three again.

If episode 1 was meant to be seen first, don't ya think it would have been the first movie made!

You will take away the shock factor when Darth Vader tells Luke he's his father.

While the story should flow in sequence from E1-E6, keep in mind that watching them in that order as a first time Star Wars watcher, he will have a different perspective on the event sthan you will.

By this I mean that a guy at work watched them as many of us did, starting with E4-E6 and then the prequels E1-E3... To him (and us) his point of view centered a little more around Luke, then Luke, whose father is Darth Vader... His son has the perspective from Anakin's point of view, with the story around Anakin, then Anakin becoming Darth Vader, then Anakin having twins (even though he doesn't know there is more than one child), and then the story of Anakin's son, and so forth.

Neither is wrong, or bad, but I just wanted you to be aware that his viewpoint will be different if you saw them starting with E4 and he starts with E1.

Good points Nick. This topic is actually a pretty big debate for some fans.

George said they should be viewed in chronological order. He has stated before that episode 4 was made first simply because that one was the easiest to make at that time and is mostly a self-contained adventure. You do lose the key moment in Empire, but I don't think George wanted the prequel trilogy altered to simply cover the shock value of that moment. Which way is better? Depends on the person and perspective as Nick noted. George has said he did the prequel trilogy to alter your perspective of the original trilogy. After the solid Episode 3 I know I do. But would I be as big a fan if I had started my Star Wars experience with Episode I? I doubt it.

Neb,

You no doubt will have the patience to explain the meaning of life to your son. Explaining Stars Wars will be easy!

Now that IS a question.....

Today I'd say No.1 first....

Tomorrow I might say....

I had an English Lit. instructor who would habitualy take opposing sides in every discussion and was able to be "Right" on every ocassion, fascinating.

Probably though, I'd suggest that someone just old enough to understand general "Plots" would be better served by watching the series in chronological order(I-VI)while an older individual able to see the technological advancements in movie making would perhaps have more fun vewing the series in the order of release.

Ask me again tomorrow....

My 6 year old is a die hard Star Wars fan, he was a little confused as he has watched the first trilogy on tape, and then I-III recently. It took me a bit to explain this history. I guess I would have to say start from the beginning for your son, but that is just my opinion...

Randy

i think 1 - 6. my daughter was 7 when we watched the first trilogy then watched ep 1 & 2 she still has not seen 3 it was a bit confusing for her shes got it now but i think at that age they cant grasp how shocking it is for darth to be lukes father. especialy the way society is today. lol

I'd say you should start with Star Wars and go forward chronologically. I mean, you want them to actually be willing to watch the good ones, right?

I agree, an interesting question.

Star Wars Philosophy 101...

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I mean, you want them to actually be willing to watch the good ones, right?

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Mini-Rock will be along soon to administer your beating.

lol

now come on, i don't think anyone can say that the prequel trilogy is better than the OT. i mean, i love star wars as much as the next marginally obsessed fan but let's call a spade a spade. out of the six, which three are the best? at the most you'll only get one of the new ones in there and it's Episode III.

Ash get ready for your beating too.

As for me I think all 6 movies are a life-altering experience as Rock knows where I live.

While I have already cast my vote(s) I'm really not qualified to do so!

I have yet to see no.3

I'm waiting for it to come out on DVD before I see it, as the last three or four movies I've seen at the theater are not as satisfying as seeing(and hearing)them at home!!

So.....I'll get back with y'all.

I'm waiting to see 3 until all the fanboys are out of the theaters. <cue raucous laughter>

Hi Ben:

As been expressed, there have been many, and sometimes heated, debates regarding the order the movies should be viewed for newcomers to the saga. GL says 1-6, and many of the OT purists say start with the originals that they grew up with, and fell in love with for over 22 years, to keep the surprise at the end of ESB. As much as I love that scene, it doesn't make sense to sacrifice the rest of the story for that one moment. I guess this "fanboy" is in the minority who thinks the "new" movies are every bit as good as the originals, and both trilogies are even more meaningful as a whole. Your son is lucky because he gets to see all six for the first time and go into them with a fresh start, and without 22 years of bias or the high expectations of a new SW movie in 16 years. No matter which trilogy you choose to go with first, it will be a great experience for you and your son to share together; and, it will be something he will always remember.

LOL! You crack me up man!

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it doesn't make sense to sacrifice the rest of the story for that one moment.....Your son is lucky because he gets to see all six for the first time and go into them with a fresh start, and without 22 years of bias or the high expectations of a new SW movie in 16 years.

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Well said. And I am not just saying that because Ash and Ken are going to be visited by a very large human being named Vito. It really was well said.

hey, i'm a prequel trilogy apologist too, but come on. do the new flicks invoke that same sense of wonder and adventure as the old ones? hell, we already knew what was gonna happen, but we watched it to see if the journey to get there was gonna be good. the answer: sure it was. but it wasn't great. i'm just ecstatic that it wasn't like Titanic, we knew the ending and everything getting there was mind-numbingly boring. they prequels weren't Han Solo great, but they weren't Ewok bad either!

The sense of wonder was there from the original because you were a kid then (most of us anyway). I would be curious which trilogy kids today, watching all the movies for the first time, would like better. I'm not sure that the original 3 are so much better then most recent three, or if the greatest movies of all time couldn't compare to the original 3 because of the way some people have built them up because of that original experience of wonder and adventure they remember watching them as a kid.

This is not directed at anyone in particular - just something worth thinking about.

When Lucas was trying to get a studio to run with "Star Wars", he was turned down by EVERYONE. Finally, Alan Ladd Jr. from 20th Century Fox approved the deal for a single movie, with a $5 million budget. At the time, Lucas was "pitching" Star Wars as a single Space Epic movie - not "Episode IV", so Fox thought it was just going be a single movie. Even the "screen crawl" at the beginning did not have "Episode IV, A New Hope" in it.

It came in at about $10 million - and Lucas was sweating bullets, as 20th Century Fox was really nervous about even breaking even. Lucas was also having a hard time with the cast, who mostly wanted to make the movie more "campy". Alec Guiness really saved Lucas during filming, when he pretty much told Ford, Hamil, Fischer, etal... that this was a serious movie, not a 50's sci-fi flick.

Of course, the movie was a huge hit, and we know the "rest of the story" ...

I only wonder how, thirty years from now, with whatever technology will then be available, the entire six episodes will look like; all tied seemlessly together in one "superflick" in "Surround Everything"?

Hey! They may even add "three more" and the discussions will continue!!

It has often been said that “Things were never as good as you remembered them…or as bad.” Well, said by me anyways. The thing is Star Wars was a phenomenon that will never be reproduced for you child the way it was for you. If you were anything like me, you remember standing in line for HOURS (or minutes, I was young and had a short attention span) and you could FEEL the excitement in the air (or static electricity from kicking your shoes against the carpet). Regardless, you KNEW you were a part of something special. It was the first movie I ever saw more than once in the theater, and my parents had to take me. You would have to go through extraordinary lengths to reproduce that experience for your child…….sooooooooooooooooooooooo.

Now, as a disclaimer, I am not actually advocating that you implement any of the following advice as it could be dangerous, is most certainly illegal, and quite possibly scar your children emotionally and physically for life. Ok, so your boy is 6 and you want them to have an “authentic” Star Wars experience. Hmmm….

You could lock them in a room for a few years with little to no human contact, then release them and give them a long hug while watching the movie. Most certainly be emblazoned on their minds as a positive and life changing experience – but the wife might not approve.

You could sit down and explain to them, in excruciating detail, all the economic, political, and societal factors in play during the time of the movie's original release, and ask them to view the movie in light of all of the contextual cues at work in your life at the time – though who wants to do all that homework?

You could have them watch every sci-fi movie ever made before Star Wars in chronological order of release so to help them understand exactly how groundbreaking it really was – but that would totally tie up your Netflix list for like…a year or something. Totally not worth it.

No, I think the way to go is to send the little one to live with an Aunt and Uncle, have them tell your little one that you’ve been killed, adopt a Cambodian daughter (long hair a must if you are going to tie them up in those buns), then give her away to some politician somewhere, don a black suit, cape, and helmet and take over the Universe…errr…World! The last, and most important, step is to wait 15 years or so and ask your son to join you in Ruling the Galaxy…err…World together as father and son. If he says “No”, you’re golden. Stop right there and let him know that this, THIS is what made Star Wars so great.” If he says “Yes”, slam the helmet down and say, “No, No, NO, you are supposed to say NO! You mess everything up! Go to your room.” Either way, he’ll have an unforgettable Star Wars experience.

Now the real question is whether you should make him watch the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings cartoons before the Peter Jackson masterpieces. That one will keep you up at night!

What scares me,...really scares me, is that I think I understand what you are saying!!!

Right up to the question at the end.......hmmmmm......

Vito got too expensive, so I have to do everything myself now dammit!

I just dont't know... I think what biothers me the most about starting with I is the special effects drop off at IV. You will have this story WOW etc then blam.... silly looking speeders and no camera panning. I always remember watching movies with my Dad and thinking his favorites looked so antiquated. I still like Aliens tons better than Alien. But again is not like the last aliens were than good either...

Ben

Interesting discussion all. Seeing as how Mini-Rock is pretty tight with Mr. Lucas, maybe he could get him over here for an Axiom chat to answer some of these questions? What do you say Rock?

Yeeeah, but then he will expect me to put out, and that's just too much flannel for me.

Ben: I think by the time your son is done with EpIII, he'll be hooked and will want to complete the saga regardless of the change in effects. Personally, I still think the OT FX hold up well even by todays standards.

OK, after seeing Ep3, I'm sticking with my original answers. Far too many spoilers in that. I mean, the whole Luke and Leia brother/sister thing was a big shocker in Jedi, yet here we are...

While Lucas may have intended for the viewers to watch them in 1-6 order, that's not how he made them, and, although it's kind of depressing, I'd still go chronologially (in our universe!)

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No, I think the way to go is to send the little one to live with an Aunt and Uncle, have them tell your little one that you’ve been killed, adopt a Cambodian daughter (long hair a must if you are going to tie them up in those buns), then give her away to some politician somewhere, don a black suit, cape, and helmet and take over the Universe…errr…World! The last, and most important, step is to wait 15 years or so and ask your son to join you in Ruling the Galaxy…err…World together as father and son. If he says “No”, you’re golden. Stop right there and let him know that this, THIS is what made Star Wars so great.” If he says “Yes”, slam the helmet down and say, “No, No, NO, you are supposed to say NO! You mess everything up! Go to your room.” Either way, he’ll have an unforgettable Star Wars experience.

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hilarious!!!