Preferred Way to Watch "Skywalker Saga"? (1 Viewer)

[ManW_TheUncool]

SOLO: A Star Wars Story
Rogue One
A New Hope
The Empire Strikes Back
The Phantom Menace
Attack of the Clones
Revenge of the Sith
Return of the Jedi
The Force Awakens
The Last Jedi
The Rise of Skywalker

The reasoning is that "Solo" takes place ~10 years before A New Hope while Rogue One leads directly into that film. Treat the Darth Vader origin trilogy as a mid-story flashback between the superior Empire and Return, then bring it all home with the final trilogy (which, IMHO, is mostly a reimagining/remake of the original trilogy).

There's likely a better way but I'm going with that for a run through because it sounds valid and then back to my mostly ignoring all of them but the original trilogy.

IF you're gonna treat an entire (prequel) trilogy as flashback (of a most terrible kind, IMHO ), why not also treat SOLO as a flashback between ANH and ESB? Actually, throw Rogue One in there as flashback too while you're at it...

IMHO, starting a complete series marathon off w/ anything other than ANH just doesn't really work.

But yeah, I'd probably rather just skip the prequels altogether... and maybe stick Rogue One between ANH and ESB and then SOLO between ESB and RotJ. That might work best for flashbacks -- Rogue One and SOLO are not meant to be so epic and serve better as flashbacks... plus you'd only have single-movie flashbacks this way... and SOLO probably works well as flashback after ESB w/ his fate part of the cliffhanger.

Then, if you really must, treat the prequels as some historical artifact and reference collection that isn't meant to be a particularly well told saga, and you're best off just skipping around to what you wanna check out, especially after you already seen it a couple times and know what you're looking for (and what you don't care to see again)... Maybe even treat much of it as a vast compendium of blooper reels, LOL...

_Man_

 

[TravisR]

Breaking up Empire and Jedi is an abomination.

I think it's a neat idea if someone somehow has no idea that Vader is Luke's father but other than that, I don't see a need to break up the trilogy like that.

 

[SamT]

Preferred way to watch is while sitting of course.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I saw Empire in the theater and was so pissed off that it wasn't a complete movie that I refused to see Jedi for over 10 years after it was released.

I was 13 when "ESB" hit and it never occurred to me to view it as an "incomplete movie".

I understood that it didn't wrap things up and that it left room for the next story, but it still seemed "complete" to me.

Now "Back to the Future 2"... THAT one pissed me off!

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I think it's a neat idea if someone somehow has no idea that Vader is Luke's father but other than that, I don't see a need to break up the trilogy like that.

I appreciate the thoughts in this thread, but I'm now pretty much set on watching them 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9.

Just a different way to watch the whole set, like when I burned CDs that put the Beatles' entire catalog in the order they recorded the songs!

 

[Sam Favate]

Why?

I’m just joking, of course. Everyone should watch the movies the way they think best.

Truth be told, I’m not much a fan of Jedi. To me, it’s a huge disappointment after Empire.

No offense intended.

 

[Tommy R]

I have occasionally watched a sequence, 1-3 or 4-6, but many times, actually most of the time, I’ve just watched individual films, particularly 4, 5 or 6, and I can totally randomly watch any of the OT if I feel the calling, regardless if I’ve watched one recently or if I intend on watching more.

 

[BobO'Link]

Truth be told, I’m not much a fan of Jedi. To me, it’s a huge disappointment after Empire.

Same here. Once I finally watched it I found I didn't care for much of it. When watching it on disc I skip several segments with most being in the last quarter. IMHO it's the one that began the series downhill slide into fantasy action movies designed mostly for kids (i.e. far too many kid friendly elements), not that the first two are totally aimed at the adult film goer. They just don't pander nearly as much or as often.

 

[Mikael Soderholm]

Three pages and no-one has mentioned the machete order (by name) yet? Well, I will, here it is: https://www.nomachetejuggling.com/2015/12/28/machete-order-update-and-faq/
It's basically what some of you propose, but skipping TPM altogether, so, 4, 5, 2, 3, 6.
It is quite interesting to read the thoughts behind skipping TPM. While it is no favorite of mine, I still watch it occasionally, because of the epic fight scene with Duel of the Fates, and the cool bad guy Darth Maul. The pod race is highly overrated, IMHO.

So watching it machete keeps the focus on Luke and his story, watching it in episode order tells Anakin's story.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I’m just joking, of course. Everyone should watch the movies the way they think best.

Truth be told, I’m not much a fan of Jedi. To me, it’s a huge disappointment after Empire.

No offense intended.

I'm not offended - I didn't make the movie!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I think it's a neat idea if someone somehow has no idea that Vader is Luke's father but other than that, I don't see a need to break up the trilogy like that.

When I break it up that way, it has more to do with knowing that I often feel like watching ROTJ after ROTS. The Anakin-Palpatine thread that runs through the prequels is mostly dormant in the first two movies of the original trilogy but is the heartbeat of Jedi.

 

[Kevin Lamb]

For me it will always be:

SW, ESB, ROTJ (original theatrical editions)

then

TFA, TLJ, TROS

That's with regard to binging. OT/ST will forever be my "core six" though I do thoroughly enjoy RO and Solo (especially RO) and will often revisit those films individually.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

Capping the thread to indicate how I'm actually watching the Saga:

3/31: Star Wars and ESB
4/1: Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones
4/2: Sith and ROTJ
4/3: Force Awakens, Last Jedi and Rise

I wanted to watch in 3s but the set came too late yesterday for me to pack in more than 2, so the final trilogy will be my only 3-movie day!

 

[BobO'Link]

I started my run through using this order:

Solo: A Star Wars Story
Rogue One
A New Hope
The Empire Strikes Back
The Phantom Menace
Attack of the Clones
Revenge of the Sith
Return of the Jedi
The Force Awakens
The Last Jedi
The Rise of Skywalker

I've only seen Solo once prior to last night and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it this time. It played well and there are hints and teases towards the events of Rogue One and A New Hope all through the film. At this point I think it makes a great way to start the series. Nothing is given away about upcoming events and you get some of Han's back story, which I think may make it work better in context when brought up in the later films.

 

[TravisR]

I just started watching the box set in the order they were released. I've got even more time on my hands than usual so I think I'm going to watch all the special features from the other DVD and Blu-ray sets as I go from movie to movie too.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I started my run through using this order:

Solo: A Star Wars Story
Rogue One
A New Hope
The Empire Strikes Back
The Phantom Menace
Attack of the Clones
Revenge of the Sith
Return of the Jedi
The Force Awakens
The Last Jedi
The Rise of Skywalker

I've only seen Solo once prior to last night and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it this time. It played well and there are hints and teases towards the events of Rogue One and A New Hope all through the film. At this point I think it makes a great way to start the series. Nothing is given away about upcoming events and you get some of Han's back story, which I think may make it work better in context when brought up in the later films.

The biggest negative to watching "Solo" as part of the package is that it means we know he's a "good guy" by the time we get to "Star Wars". His moral redemption comes as no surprise because we know he's not just a selfish mercenary.

Of course, we've all seen these movies so nothing at all is a surprise, really, but I like to think of them from the "never saw any of them" POV!

 

[Colin Jacobson]

BTW, having watched the whole set the way I did, I feel more strongly that the "Machete Order" doesn't make sense.

Without "Menace", you don't get the basics of the Anakin/Obiwan/Padme relationship. You don't know Anakin's mother. You have no idea who Jar-Jar is - yeah, I know some think that's a positive, but he's still an important participant, especially in "Clones".

You don't see the roots of pre-Emperor Palpatine. You don't get the origins of various political conflicts. You have no clue who the Trade Federation guys are.

And most importantly, Padme makes little sense without "Menace". You have no idea of her background or why this very young woman is such an important politician.

When we meet her in "Clones", Anakin is very nervous because he's not seen her in 10 years. This lacks the same importance/impact without "Menace".

I won't go so far to claim that the Prequel story's incomprehensible without "Menace", but I have to believe "Clones" and "Sith" make a lot less sense without it.

Sure, you can figure out the general picture, but the same would be true if you watched "ESB" and "ROTJ" without "Star Wars" first!

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

BTW, having watched the whole set the way I did, I feel more strongly that the "Machete Order" doesn't make sense.

That's partly why I said earlier, "Then, if you really must, treat the [entire] prequels as some historical artifact and reference collection that isn't meant to be a particularly well told saga, and you're best off just skipping around to what you wanna check out, especially after you already seen it a couple times and know what you're looking for (and what you don't care to see again)... Maybe even treat much of it as a vast compendium of blooper reels, LOL... "

Don't treat them like they belong in a truly good, lengthy, marathon viewing experience all that much (at least in their original entirety).

For me, Revenge of the Sith is probably the most (re)watchable of the prequel trilogy, but of course, not really good enough to bother inserting it somewhere in the flow to try to make sense. After the first time (w/ my kids), I really only ever bother to watch any of prequel trilogy when I have nothing better to do and my kids choose it themselves -- I also don't really care for the animated Clone Wars episodes either.

For me, the prequel trilogy might as well never happened... at least not quite as they are anyway... Just treating various parts as distant memory vignettes like how flashbacks generally work is probably perfect, but not as 2-hour-plus, feature-length movies to be rewatched in entirety... as one lengthy trilogy on top of the rest of the saga no less...

Maybe someone should churn out some sort of OT fan cut, compendium version of the prequels for those of us feel similarly... that is, if multiple good attempts don't already exist and are readily available... IF not, maybe I'll get to it myself someday...

_Man_

 

[Colin Jacobson]

That's partly why I said earlier, "Then, if you really must, treat the [entire] prequels as some historical artifact and reference collection that isn't meant to be a particularly well told saga, and you're best off just skipping around to what you wanna check out, especially after you already seen it a couple times and know what you're looking for (and what you don't care to see again)... Maybe even treat much of it as a vast compendium of blooper reels, LOL... "

Don't treat them like they belong in a truly good, lengthy, marathon viewing experience all that much (at least in their original entirety).

For me, Revenge of the Sith is probably the most (re)watchable of the prequel trilogy, but of course, not really good enough to bother inserting it somewhere in the flow to try to make sense. After the first time (w/ my kids), I really only ever bother to watch any of prequel trilogy when I have nothing better to do and my kids choose it themselves -- I also don't really care for the animated Clone Wars episodes either.

For me, the prequel trilogy might as well never happened... at least not quite as they are anyway... Just treating various parts as distant memory vignettes like how flashbacks generally work is probably perfect, but not as 2-hour-plus, feature-length movies to be rewatched in entirety... as one lengthy trilogy on top of the rest of the saga no less...

Maybe someone should churn out some sort of OT fan cut, compendium version of the prequels for those of us feel similarly... that is, if multiple good attempts don't already exist and are readily available... IF not, maybe I'll get to it myself someday...

_Man_

All I can say is that I really enjoyed my 4-day, 9-movie marathon - and packing them in close together made me enjoy each Episode more than would've been the case if I'd omitted some or skipped around.

I appreciated the connections and links more than otherwise would've been the case, and as noted, I think the 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 6 order works out really well.

I just love "Star Wars" and find a lit to enjoy/appreciate from each one!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

When my 3D disc of Rise gets here from the UK, I was thinking of doing a marathon of just the final entry of each trilogy.