Star Wars question.
 

OKAY!

My wife reportedly has never....HAS NEVER seen a Star Wars movie. My intentions are to sometime soon sit her ass down and force it down her throat (in a loving, nurturing kind of way).

But my real concern is...what order?

Do I start with the original trilogy? or do I give it to her successively?

Simple enough to answer, but I figured it could warrant some discussion.

Disregard the prequels altogether. They're not important, except MAYBE Episode III. The original trilogy are the only ones that matter.

I dunno. I'd figure Episode one is the one she would enjoy the most, since she seems to have no regard for anything "nerd". The first episode doesn't seem to attach to any of the other ones so deeply.

Watching the prequels first would shatter many of the dramatic effects IV, V, and VI inherently have, but it would also give some rare perspective on it given the hindsight she has by the time she arrives at Episode IV; nevertheless, it would be an excellent experiment to see how well the story is received when viewed in this order.

How might one view the original trilogy for the first time in light of the prequels?

well I know there's very few people who've actually experienced it that way.

The prequels should not be seen first.

Otherwise you would already know the twists about Darth Vader being Luke AND Leia's father, and the emperor seems a lot less mysterious. Plus, there are dozens of little winks/in-jokes to the original trilogy peppered throughout the prequels that you'd only pick up if you had seen 4-6.

Just because something takes place earlier than another thing doesn't mean it should be experienced in that order.

Right, but by seeing the prequels first, a new set of twists in the old trilogy would come about. The duel between Kenobi and Vader in A New Hope becomes a lot more meaningful, many of Kenobi's lines about the Force take on a new light, plus Vader throwing the Emperor down the Death Star shaft would be a huge climax given the knowledge of their history.

And many things in the prequels would be surprises as well. Perhaps she doesn't even know that Anakin falls in Episode III? We knew this already, so it was a matter of waiting for it, but to someone who has no clue that's coming? Or Padme's death? Hell, seeing two children born at the end of an extremely dark film would make me want to immediately watch Episode IV to see what happens next.

Of course many of the in-jokes and nods are lost, and it's certainly not the order meant to be seen in, but I for one would love to watch I-VI with someone who's never seen any of them, just to see how they respond to things that I'd never responded to. Like I said earlier, it would be a fascinating experiment.

Personally if it was me I'd watch the original trilogy first, theres just something about it that was more entertaining then the prequel trilogy.

I showed my girlfriend the original trilogy first as she had never seen any Star Wars as well. She enjoyed them.

Seeing the prequels first might change her perspective, but that might be a bad thing, too. It might sour her experience and make her wonder exactly why the Star Wars films have so much meaning to you.

I think you're best off showing her the ones that mean the most to you first (and I'm just guessing here) which means the original trilogy. Personally, I think the mystery surrounding the Star Wars universe is what made it cool to begin with. When you set off and make a fictionalized and fully realized world, anything seems possible. Adding on to that world can sometimes just restrict it for a lot of the audience.

Just look at what happened with the Matrix sequels. The first was the best because of how much it left to the imagination. Once they started narrowing options down for the audience it wasn't nearly as interesting.

I once had a marathon of watching the prequels before the originals and somehow it didn't seem the same. Darth Vader as a character didn't seem as daunting once I knew his background. So i'd show her the originals first, then say "oh hay, this is how Vader became so grumpy".

Why hasn't everyone just forgotten the prequels even exist?

George won't let us. :(

If I could change just one thing about Star Wars right now, it would be fucking young Anakin at the end of Return of the Jedi.

Gonna agree with JazzFlight on this. Start with the originals, than after that go with EpI. EPIII pretty much tells how Anakin was..well suckered into the darkside(though part of me wants to believe that certain Jedi council people were too stuck up to accept him), but a first time watcher doesn't need to know that right off the bat. Build some suspense for her.

I think you should take advantage of the rare chance to show someone the movies beginning with episodes 1-3. Sure, it might change the way she feels about the series, but you said she doesn't really have much of a fondness for nerdy things anyway, so no big loss.

How often does the opportunity come around to perform such an experiment?

I go to school with Jake Lloyd*. I can back him into a corner and pressure him with questions of a threatening nature, if you wish.

*Seriously, I do.

I'd rather you kick whoever's ass that played grownup Anakin.

I'm more inclined to show her the prequels first, now. But at the same time, I'll think I'll explain it to her and let her decide.

Exactly. No matter what Lucas originally intended, what was actually created was: Ep IV-VI --> Ep I-III. Films like Reservoir Dogs start at the end and then work backwards<-->forwards, you wouldn't watch the end of Reservoir Dogs and then rewind to the beginning would you?

Start with the OT then go back to it after watching the PT. Takes a while but you do get more of an emotional vibe from it.

I've heard that it's kinda cool to watch Ep. IV and V, then go back and watch I-III, and finish with Ep. VI. So you can see how everything began right before it ends, like a really long flashback or something.

The original trilogy should definitely be seen first if you're watching it for the first time. Especially with the revelation of Vader in The Empire Strikes Back. The problem with watching the prequels first is that you lose that sense of anticipation (wondering how everything will end) going into Return of the Jedi.

The other reason to not watch the prequel trilogy first is that it can be disappointing watching lightsaber fights in the original trilogy when you're expecting the same fighting from the prequels. Same goes for the technology issue. People wonder why everything suddenly looks dated when they get to Episode IV (I mean, they plan their assault on the Death Star with a screen from Atari, for crying out loud...)

Columbia College Chicago. It's a film school.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...6/DSC06725.jpg

Now that I can agree with.

Leia being Luke's sister isn't too much of a revelation, and even then it's only spoiled at the end of Episode III, which is about when you'd then be watching Episode VI anyhow.

I think that might be the best way for a new viewer to see all of the Star Wars films in one go.

You know what... for once, I'm going to agree with Brent.

My initial reaction is "forget the prequels, watch the original trilogy!" But then it hit me just how incredibly, unimaginably different the experience would be if I had watched the prequels before the original trilogy. I can almost guarantee anyone who's seen the prequels before the original trilogy would insist that the prequels be watched first, and that it's only because the original trilogy was around for so long that we all insist on it being watched first. Yes, it is clearly superior, but we've had 30 years to build up a bias as well. Why limit everyone to our experience of watching the originals first when they actually have a chance to watch all six movies "in order" in the FIRST go?