Best Order to watch Star Wars for the first time

I came across an article that was talking about the best order to watch Star Wars for the first time (Note: I have seen all the movies many many times). There's the two obvious approaches with the first being in the order they came out and the second would be chronologically. There is some pretty interesting ideas on watching it. I think when/if I have kids or am introducing someone new to it I'd go with the Ernest Rister order, but in a perfect world I'd go with the time machine order, what do you think? Also, this just speaks to the main movies,so if you were to put in Rogue one where would that go? How about Clone wars and Rebels? would you put that into your own order?



Here's some other popular ways:



The Machete order - IV, V, II, III, VI, VII, VIII, IX skipping I entirely because the only good things about Episode I were the pod race scene and the Darth Maul lightsaber duel, please never, ever mention midi-chlorians, thanks. (left that in from the article, and had a good lolz)



The Ernest Rister order - IV, V, I, II, III, VI, VII, VIII, IX 



The Time Machine order - IV*, V*, VI*, I, II, III, (IV, V, VI,) VII, VIII, IX  the idea is that you watch the unaltered original releases first then the new versions after going through 1-3.

This would be my personal favourite and would put rogue one after episode 3, clone wars after episode 2 and rebels after episode 6

 
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Comments

  • I've never seen the Star Wars movies in their entirety, what's the different orders you're describing?



    I also just saw Karate Kid for the first time Sunday night, so I can now appreciate the avatar!
  • My daughter has seen IV, V, VI, VII in order.



    Don't own the prequels, and I'm putting off having to rewatch those for as long as possible.



    That said, these are "unaltered" releases in the sense that they are the "De-specialized Edition" (i.e. cleaned up film, but none of the stupid add-in scenes from the re-releases)
  • Find youtube clips of the podracing and darth maul duel and you're good to go.



    (3) (rogue) 4 5 6 (3) 7 (rogue)



    Titles in brackets can be in either spot. Fuck episodes 1 and 2. Haven't actually seen rogue yet, Not sure if chronologically it goes after 3 or not  
  • Originally posted by: jonebone



    I've never seen the Star Wars movies in their entirety, what's the different orders you're describing?



    I also just saw Karate Kid for the first time Sunday night, so I can now appreciate the avatar!

    Oh wow.....you just watched Karate Kid and you haven't watched all the star wars?! sorry I just need a sec to gather myself....



    Ok, ready. The different orders there were just someone's version of the sequence to watch it. If you ask George Lucas he says start with episode 1 but that's terrible in my opinion as the biggest reveal in Star Wars history isn't a reveal anymore and you'd be like duh. The order it came out would be 4,5,6 then 1,2,3,7 and so on, which I think is what most do.



    Karate Kid is amazing, one of the first live action movies I remember watching and I wanted to be the Karate Kid from then on. That score and soundtrack!!!! "you're the best around" "it's a cool, cool cool summer", watch part 2 and 3 now!! do not watch "the new karate kid" with the chick or the reboot with Jaden smith, they dishonour the originals and Miagi-do.



     
  • Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi



    Actually, as a bonus, throw Rogue One in after Return of the Jedi.
  • I would say watch them in order of release first then go back and watch chronologically with rouge one right before new hope
  • Originally posted by: arch_8ngel



    My daughter has seen IV, V, VI, VII in order.



    Don't own the prequels, and I'm putting off having to rewatch those for as long as possible.



    That said, these are "unaltered" releases in the sense that they are the "De-specialized Edition" (i.e. cleaned up film, but none of the stupid add-in scenes from the re-releases)

    Nice! Yeah the clean up is nice but those scenes were terrible, the extra Jabba scene was terrible cgi and the extra music scene was like uhhhhh, what the fuck is going on? Is that the one where Greedo shot first?



    Also, I'd be curious to know what color C-3po's leg is in your version.



     
  • Originally posted by: Bert



    Find youtube clips of the podracing and darth maul duel and you're good to go.



    (3) (rogue) 4 5 6 (3) 7 (rogue)



    Titles in brackets can be in either spot. Fuck episodes 1 and 2. Haven't actually seen rogue yet, Not sure if chronologically it goes after 3 or not  

    lol, that should be in the order instead of the whole movie "4,5,6, watch the pod race and duels on you tube, 2,3,7"



    You should peep rogue one, pretty good but nothing new just fills in the backstory.



     
  • Machete order for sure!
  • A friend of mine was laid up a few years ago and we had a pity party for him where we watched the prequel and original trilogy. We started at like 8am and finished sometime after 10pm. Loooong day. I used to be adamant to watch them in the order they came out, but my opinion somewhat changed after that. As ham-handed as it can get, Vader's character arc does work using that order, and it does build to a story crescendo. Though after finishing Revenge, I recommend a substantial break, as A New Hope's first 45 minutes drags a bit. I suspect the same would happen if you put Rogue One in there.



    Also, Topher Grace (Eric Foreman from That 70s Show) got into video editing and took footage from the prequel trilogy to make one feature length Star Wars film. By accounts of people who have seen it (it hasn't been released to the wild AFAIK), it's pretty good.
  • Originally posted by: TheDream

     
    Originally posted by: arch_8ngel



    My daughter has seen IV, V, VI, VII in order.



    Don't own the prequels, and I'm putting off having to rewatch those for as long as possible.



    That said, these are "unaltered" releases in the sense that they are the "De-specialized Edition" (i.e. cleaned up film, but none of the stupid add-in scenes from the re-releases)

    Nice! Yeah the clean up is nice but those scenes were terrible, the extra Jabba scene was terrible cgi and the extra music scene was like uhhhhh, what the fuck is going on? Is that the one where Greedo shot first?



    Also, I'd be curious to know what color C-3po's leg is in your version.



     

    "Despecialized"is the original cut, but the specialized edition scenes are used when they are otherwise identical (i.e. cleaned up, but no other changes to speak of).



  • Originally posted by: Tulpa



    A friend of mine was laid up a few years ago and we had a pity party for him where we watched the prequel and original trilogy. We started at like 8am and finished sometime after 10pm. Loooong day. I used to be adamant to watch them in the order they came out, but my opinion somewhat changed after that. As ham-handed as it can get, Vader's character arc does work using that order, and it does build to a story crescendo. Though after finishing Revenge, I recommend a substantial break, as A New Hope's first 45 minutes drags a bit. I suspect the same would happen if you put Rogue One in there.



    Also, Topher Grace (Eric Foreman from That 70s Show) got into video editing and took footage from the prequel trilogy to make one feature length Star Wars film. By accounts of people who have seen it (it hasn't been released to the wild AFAIK), it's pretty good.



    I totally agree, it also kinda sucks there is no explantion for Vader being an absolute bad ass, to what could be a few hours, to the slow old man having what looks like a cane fight with obi-wan.



    I'll have to see if I can find that and check that out! 

     
  • Originally posted by: TheDream

    I'll have to see if I can find that and check that out! 

     

    Good luck. AFAIK, Grace screened it a few times and then locked it away.



     
  • Originally posted by: arch_8ngel

     
    Originally posted by: TheDream

     
    Originally posted by: arch_8ngel



    My daughter has seen IV, V, VI, VII in order.



    Don't own the prequels, and I'm putting off having to rewatch those for as long as possible.



    That said, these are "unaltered" releases in the sense that they are the "De-specialized Edition" (i.e. cleaned up film, but none of the stupid add-in scenes from the re-releases)

    Nice! Yeah the clean up is nice but those scenes were terrible, the extra Jabba scene was terrible cgi and the extra music scene was like uhhhhh, what the fuck is going on? Is that the one where Greedo shot first?



    Also, I'd be curious to know what color C-3po's leg is in your version.



     

    "Despecialized"is the original cut, but the specialized edition scenes are used when they are otherwise identical (i.e. cleaned up, but no other changes to speak of).



  • Originally posted by: Tulpa

     
    Originally posted by: TheDream

    I'll have to see if I can find that and check that out! 

     

    Good luck. AFAIK, Grace screened it a few times and then locked it away.



     





    shiiiiiiit
  • Originally posted by: TheDream

     
    Originally posted by: Bert



    Find youtube clips of the podracing and darth maul duel and you're good to go.



    (3) (rogue) 4 5 6 (3) 7 (rogue)



    Titles in brackets can be in either spot. Fuck episodes 1 and 2. Haven't actually seen rogue yet, Not sure if chronologically it goes after 3 or not  

    lol, that should be in the order instead of the whole movie "4,5,6, watch the pod race and duels on you tube, 2,3,7"



    You should peep rogue one, pretty good but nothing new just fills in the backstory.



     



    I've purchased it on Bluray just havent had the time unfortunately   I got to see 7 in the theatres which was very nice, this time around I've been too busy. I'm definitely planning on watching it eventually  

     
  • Star Wars

    The Empire Strikes Back

    Return of the Jedi



    That's it.



    Bonus:



  • The other interesting video that I want to find again is the one where someone put all six (prequel and original trilogy) movies playing in the same frame. It was weird to notice things, like, when all six are going, C3PO and R2-D2 are almost always on screen in at least one of the six, and the two Death Stars explode about a minute apart (I can't remember which went first.)
  • Just watch them all the order they were released. Some poor dialogue in tge prequels but they are still fun overall. Its a story and showing them to a kid, theyll like them.



    Just watch them all the order they came out. Adults debating on whats good in star wars is tiresome and old. Kids will like all of them. They are made for them primarily
  • There is nothing really wrong with the prequels (though, I do really hate Attack of the Clones), my biggest problem is that they add absolutely nothing to the original movies... which was supposed to be the point. May as well throw in the Droids and Ewok stuff. They're as important to the Star Wars plot as the prequels.
  • Originally posted by: Loxx O)))



    There is nothing really wrong with the prequels (though, I do really hate Attack of the Clones), my biggest problem is that they add absolutely nothing to the original movies... which was supposed to be the point. May as well throw in the Droids and Ewok stuff. They're as important to the Star Wars plot as the prequels.



    Revenge of the Sith has 99% of the plot of the prequels and is the only one that remotely adds to the OT.

     
  • I'm waiting for my Blu-Rays of the despecialized original trilogy to come in, then I'm gonna watch Rogue One (finally) followed by them and then Force Awakens again...the prequel trilogy I don't really have an inkling to rewatch
  • Originally posted by: quest4nes



    Just watch them all the order they were released. Some poor dialogue in tge prequels but they are still fun overall. Its a story and showing them to a kid, theyll like them.



    Just watch them all the order they came out. Adults debating on whats good in star wars is tiresome and old. Kids will like all of them. They are made for them primarily



    I agree that kids will love them pretty much in any way but for an adult newcomer I think it would be cool to do it in a different order that creates more suspense while giving you backstory and then the follow through story.

     
  • Originally posted by: Gentlegamer

     
    Originally posted by: Loxx O)))



    There is nothing really wrong with the prequels (though, I do really hate Attack of the Clones), my biggest problem is that they add absolutely nothing to the original movies... which was supposed to be the point. May as well throw in the Droids and Ewok stuff. They're as important to the Star Wars plot as the prequels.



    Revenge of the Sith has 99% of the plot of the prequels and is the only one that remotely adds to the OT.

     

    Episode 1 is now only interesting to me to look for hints or clues and to observe the Darth Jar Jar theory, which I 100% do not believe to be true, but interesting to see what the theorist is referring to and makes me think more about the Star Wars universe which I enjoy taking up thought in my head. If 2 cut out all the lame Padme/Anakin stuff it and throw in more exlopring of worlds it would be better.
  • Whenever I go back and watch the movies again, I always watch them in chronological order.



    But when it's time for my son to watch them for the first time, I'm not sure what I will do. He is 3 right now and he hasn't seen any of the movies yet, although he recognizes and knows Darth Vader's name when he see pictures of him. I kind of want him to watch them in the same order that I did (IV, V, VI, I, II, III, VII). However, I might just have him watch them chronologically as well. I'm just trying to decide which method will get him to appreciate the movies as much as I do. Keep in mind, that at his age, he might get more enjoyment out of Episode I than most of us do.



    Just to clarify, this is coming from someone who thinks that the prequel trilogy isn't as bad as most people say it is. Before everyone starts throwing rocks, I will say that I prefer the original trilogy to the prequel trilogy. But I will still argue that the prequel trilogy gets way more hate than it deserves.



    I haven't watched Rouge One yet, but once I do, I will start including it chronologically with the others whenever I do my (usually annual) Start Wars binge.
  • My daughter, also 3, has seen about half of Rogue One and The Force Awakens. She likes them both. She actually saw Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back a long time ago, but no way she remembers it. She's got a pretty tall stormtrooper toy she plays with a lot and she's got a tiny BB-8 toy. She really like those a lot and has interest in the series. I actually bought her a blaster for her birthday this year.
  • Personally, If I were to show someone the whole Star Wars saga for the first time, I'd do it in this order:



    Rogue One, IV (Adywans Revisited Edition to be exact,) V (Special Edition, just to add better continuity to The Emperors appearance,) I, II, III, VI (De-specialized Edition,) VII.



    I MIGHT switch Rogue One and IV around, if only because IV has a slightly better reveal of the death star I think. (Although whoever I'm showing the movies to probably already knows what the death star is, granted.) Also, I honestly might try to edit in the music from the end of the Episode VI Special Edition in to the De-specialized Edition, since IMHO the music at the end of the Special Edition is WAY better than the original.
  • Why not the normal order?
  • Originally posted by: DarkTone



    Why not the normal order?

    What's the normal order?
  • I can't believe nobody has said this but watching the prequels first will (obviously) ruin the twists in the OT. Of course this assumes that the person literally knows nothing about Star Wars.



    Watch them in release order: IV, V, VI, I, II, III, VII, Rogue One. You can skip the Christmas Special lol.
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