Board 8 > How do I watch the Star Wars movies for the first time?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Need to prepare before the eigth movie and finally see all of them
Only saw the 7th and the Rogue One movie

I thought about watching them by release order because obviously this is what should be done almost always
But then people said NO! watch them by chronological order!!

And I don't get it
Besides watching a 1977 movie after watching a 2005 movie sounds so weird to me, it will have such cheap special effects
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release order and chronological happen to be the same

star wars
episode 5
episode 6
episode 7

if you wanna watch the prequels then do release order
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Release order and watch the OT on VHS if you can
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I always get suggested the Machete order (IV, V, II, III, VI) because it supposedly makes things a little less confusing.
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Always release order

Unless you want to do Machete Order
4-5-2-3-6, forget 1 exists
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4 5 1 2 3 6

Machete order without skipping 1.

Machete order is the only way tbqh
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lol 9-0
Yeah this poll is over, going to go with the logic and board 8 opinion

Gotta love those so called "experts" that say you should watch something in a different way for no reason
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yeah, the machete order is a stupid thing that got popular for no reason.
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For any movie series or book series, there is very rarely a good reason to experience any of them out of release order. Star Wars is no exception.

This machete thing, like I guess I can see the logic but it's still dumb and not a good reason to go against release order.
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I don't think someone ever made a poll this one sided in the history of this board jesus christ

I thought it would be a 50-50 kind of thing
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Almost everyone dislikes the prequel trilogy. No one wants to introduce Star Wars to new viewers with the prequels first, because it might turn them away from the much better original trilogy.
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Nanis23 posted...

Besides watching a 1977 movie after watching a 2005 movie sounds so weird to me, it will have such cheap special effects

the effects in the originals are better than the shitty cgi in the prequels IIRC.
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Yeah, you'll probably be surprised how much better the OT looks.
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The machete order is the dumbest thing.
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IV, V, I, II, III, VI

I don't have strong feelings about where Rogue One should go. Probably after III.

Don't watch TFA at all.
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Watch the original trilogy, then I guess you could watch The Force Awakens if you want to refresh yourself on that before watching The Last Jedi.

Ideally if I wanted to introduce Star Wars to someone, I'd just show them the original trilogy and then tell them to watch whatever else they're interested in.
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LinkMarioSamus posted...

Watch the original trilogy, then I guess you could watch The Force Awakens if you want to refresh yourself on that before watching The Last Jedi.

this makes no sense. if you suggest watching the original trilogy, why would you rewatch tfa to refresh yourself on it? episode 4 is part of the original trilogy
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I've never heard of this Machete Order until just now. I'm only asking rhetorically (because I don't want the topic to turn into a big spoiler-fest), but WHAT is so confusing about the OT such that people would suggest breaking up the order in order to better understand/appreciate it? The OT tells a simple story.
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Basically:

4 and 5 tell the story of Luke and you get the reveal of FATHER (which if you watched the OT first would be spoiled)

Then 2 and 3 are basically an extended flashback telling the story of how Anakin rose and fell, and the birth of Luke (1 adds almost nothing that isn't rehashed later anyway)

Then we come back to 6 and you can see the parallels between Luke and late-Anakin and you get the culmination of both Luke's and Anakin's stories. Plus if you're watching the new cuts, when ghost Hayden Christensen shows up at the end you aren't all confused if you just watched the OT
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Biggest problem with the Machete Order (that I'd only heard of just now) is that it implies Attack of the Clones is of higher quality or more necessary viewing than The Phantom Menace.
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As far as having tangible connections to everything else, it really is though.
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It doesn't really have tangible connections that needed to be elaborated on, no. Pretty much exclusively serves as build for Episode 3. But given that the net effect is losing hype for Episode 3 when you watch it it's poor at doing this.
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my problem with the machete order is the implication that AotC is a good movie that adds to the overall star wars viewing experience when in reality you should only watch it if you're a star wars completionist.

it's like inserting the star wars holiday special after a new hope because "it makes you see chewbacca in an entirely different way when you watch empire" or something. it's just dumb.
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Mr Lasastryke posted...

my problem with the machete order is the implication that AotC is a good movie that adds to the overall star wars viewing experience when in reality you should only watch it if you're a star wars completionist.

If I recall, the machete guy said, "Really, just watch the OT. But if you insist on watching the prequels too, then do it in this order."
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Grab the despecialized versions of the original trilogy, then watch The Force Awakens and Rogue One.
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I think you either watch none, watch just 3, or watch em all. Trying to put 2 on an island from 1 in any way is foolishness.

That being said I think watching in release order is a better viewing order even if you're just watching 3. I feel like you kinda ruin Palpatine's role in RotJ in a lot of ways if you see him in RotS first. And I love Palpatine in RotS.
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Gatarix posted...

If I recall, the machete guy said, "Really, just watch the OT. But if you insist on watching the prequels too, then do it in this order."

ok. but it's still dumb because inserting AotC doesn't do anything to make AotC or the experience of watching all the movies better. it's just inserting a bunch of horsecrap in an enjoyable trilogy.
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My opinion is to watch 4, 5, and 6, and then 1/2/3 are optional. Don't watch in machete order unless you ABSOLUTELY INSIST on watching the prequels. I don't recommend it. Just watch the original trilogy - those are the ones that people think of when they think Star Wars - and then you can watch the prequels if you really want afterwards.

4, 5.
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