Star Wars - How to Properly View

[JM4CY]

Update: finished the first movie. It obviously is pretty critical to remember when the movie was made. However, it wasn’t as hard to get past that as I thought it might be.

When listening to the score, I didn’t even realize how many different parts of it I had heard before. I think that says something about how big and influential a movie is. I’m not a big movie score guy.

The boy was super pissed when I said the movie was over and wanted more. I let him get a taste of the first 5 min of Empire strikes back to keep that train going. Found myself not wanting to turn it off once I started that too. Thanks for the tips fellas!

 

[VeloClone]

Update: finished the first movie. It obviously is pretty critical to remember when the movie was made. However, it wasn’t as hard to get past that as I thought it might be.

When listening to the score, I didn’t even realize how many different parts of it I had heard before. I think that says something about how big and influential a movie is. I’m not a big movie score guy.

The boy was super pissed when I said the movie was over and wanted more. I let him get a taste of the first 5 min of Empire strikes back to keep that train going. Found myself not wanting to turn it off once I started that too. Thanks for the tips fellas!

Be aware that many put The Empire Strikes Back at or near the top of the list of best SW movies so temper your expectations from there.

 

[JM4CY]

Be aware that many put The Empire Strikes Back at or near the top of the list of best SW movies so temper your expectations from there.

Noted.

 

[Sigmapolis]

Update: finished the first movie. It obviously is pretty critical to remember when the movie was made. However, it wasn’t as hard to get past that as I thought it might be.

When listening to the score, I didn’t even realize how many different parts of it I had heard before. I think that says something about how big and influential a movie is. I’m not a big movie score guy.

The boy was super pissed when I said the movie was over and wanted more. I let him get a taste of the first 5 min of Empire strikes back to keep that train going. Found myself not wanting to turn it off once I started that too. Thanks for the tips fellas!

The score is the best thing about it.

Sure, Williams is somewhere between influenced by and straight lifting stuff from luminaries such as Holst, Wagner, and Stravinsky, but the total effect is probably the most powerful in cinema (even if not all that original from a compositional perspective).

 

[mj4cy]

During quarantine, my kids and I watched all 9 (plus Rogue One). Now are watching Mandalorian.

I had already seen 4-6 so I had the kids start with that. Then we went back and did 1-3 followed by 7-9.

If you've never seen it before, I'd go that route though it could be fun to start at 1. I'm also hearing you could go 5-6-2-3-Rogue-4 then 7-9. Skip 1 because its not very helpful to anything.

 

[VeloClone]

The score is the best thing about it.

Sure, Williams is somewhere between influenced by and straight lifting stuff from luminaries such as Holst, Wagner, and Stravinsky, but the total effect is probably the most powerful in cinema (even if not all that original from a compositional perspective).

When I was a kid I discovered an album of the original score at our local library. I checked it out and played the hell out of it until it was due. This was between release of Episodes 4 and 5.

 

[cyclone4L]

Who is that?!?!?!?!?

Guessing you were too busy to look at the search bar...

 

[Bader]

Update: finished the first movie. It obviously is pretty critical to remember when the movie was made. However, it wasn’t as hard to get past that as I thought it might be.

When listening to the score, I didn’t even realize how many different parts of it I had heard before. I think that says something about how big and influential a movie is. I’m not a big movie score guy.

The boy was super pissed when I said the movie was over and wanted more. I let him get a taste of the first 5 min of Empire strikes back to keep that train going. Found myself not wanting to turn it off once I started that too. Thanks for the tips fellas!

I can't imagine getting into the first few minutes of Hoth and then stopping! Enjoy the memories you're creating. I agree with the common sentiment of watching them in release order (456 123 789).

If your son is really enjoying the universe I'd suggest you give the Rebels series a try. It is set between Episodes 3 and 4. The Clone Wars is the other major cartoon series and is also good, but Rebels IMO has a better story arc. If you get into the sequel trilogy and he enjoys that setting there is a Resistance series that has one of the major characters in it, but I haven't watched any of it.

 

[JM4CY]

Guessing you were too busy to look at the search bar...

To busy looking at something....

What am I missing here? What does she have to do with Star Wars?

 

[cyclone4L]

To busy looking at something....

What am I missing here? What does she have to do with Star Wars?

it's Jabba the sl*t.

Sorry, couldn't resist

 

[cmjh10]

During quarantine, my kids and I watched all 9 (plus Rogue One). Now are watching Mandalorian.

I had already seen 4-6 so I had the kids start with that. Then we went back and did 1-3 followed by 7-9.

If you've never seen it before, I'd go that route though it could be fun to start at 1. I'm also hearing you could go 5-6-2-3-Rogue-4 then 7-9. Skip 1 because its not very helpful to anything.

But 1 has pod racing!

 

[Sigmapolis]

When I was a kid I discovered an album of the original score at our local library. I checked it out and played the hell out of it until it was due. This was between release of Episodes 4 and 5.

I have always wondered if A New Hope and the rest of the series would have obtained its cultural firepower if it was not for that score. It really makes the film much of the time. What if Star Wars had an electronica soundtrack (such as the original plan before Lucas and Williams conceived the symphonic score)? What if it was merely an average Hollywood score, and not something as transcendent and iconic as what we now have?

Would it have went down in history as the pop culture Death Star that it is? The score does so much to narrate the tone of 4-6, from the cosmic and warlike themes stolen from Holst, to the occult strangeness from Stravinsky, and, of course, to the operatic pretenses from Wagner. I bet Star Wars has about half of its impact without that score. It does so much to set the mood, build tension, and even build the world and drawing you into it.

But 1 has pod racing!

The racing sequence from The Phantom Menace basically encapsulates everything magnificent yet terribly wrong about 1-3 for me. Strapping two jet turbines together and racing them like Roman chariots in space? How cool is that!

Sure, it is directly stolen from Ben-Hur (and its wonderful racing sequence, which does live up to its reputation), but Lucas made a career out of remixing the elements from other and usually better science fiction and fantasy writers and forging his own wholeness and vision out of it. A scifi Ben-Hur sequence should have been amazing.

But... it wasn't. The execution was flat, in no small part because of the awful casting of the lead and him being too young and "gee whiz" about what should feel like a dangerous and harrowing activity and the unnecessarily convoluted series of bets and plot points wrapped around the proceeding. The CGI has not aged well, for that matter.

Lucas' screwy ideas in the hands of a competent writer and a competent director to bring it all together equals movie gold. The fact a guy like J.J. was not around for the prequels but then Lucas was not around for the sequels killed them both.

 

[Frak]

I have always wondered if A New Hope and the rest of the series would have obtained its cultural firepower if it was not for that score. It really makes the film much of the time. What if Star Wars had an electronica soundtrack (such as the original plan before Lucas and Williams conceived the symphonic score)? What if it was merely an average Hollywood score, and not something as transcendent and iconic as what we now have?

Would it have went down in history as the pop culture Death Star that it is? The score does so much to narrate the tone of 4-6, from the cosmic and warlike themes stolen from Holst, to the occult strangeness from Stravinsky, and, of course, to the operatic pretenses from Wagner. I bet Star Wars has about half of its impact without that score. It does so much to set the mood, build tension, and even build the world and drawing you into it.



The racing sequence from The Phantom Menace basically encapsulates everything magnificent yet terribly wrong about 1-3 for me. Strapping two jet turbines together and racing them like Roman chariots in space? How cool is that!

Sure, it is directly stolen from Ben-Hur (and its wonderful racing sequence, which does live up to its reputation), but Lucas made a career out of remixing the elements from other and usually better science fiction and fantasy writers and forging his own wholeness and vision out of it. A scifi Ben-Hur sequence should have been amazing.

But... it wasn't. The execution was flat, in no small part because of the awful casting of the lead and him being too young and "gee whiz" about what should feel like a dangerous and harrowing activity and the unnecessarily convoluted series of bets and plot points wrapped around the proceeding. The CGI has not aged well, for that matter.

Lucas' screwy ideas in the hands of a competent writer and a competent director to bring it all together equals movie gold. The fact a guy like J.J. was not around for the prequels but then Lucas was not around for the sequels killed them both.

I'll die on the hill that E1 would have been a decent movie if they would have cast a teenage Anakin rather than a little kid. That and made JarJar a more serious character. The droids were enough comic relief for the OT and there was no need to make the Gunguns a bunch of clowns. I get that Lucas wanted to make it for kids, but as a kid in the late 70's/early 80's, I thought 4,5,6 were the coolest thing I'd ever seen.

Also, it's not a coincidence that most feel Empire is the best when Lucas brought in Kirshner to help with things and he didn't have free reign to mess things up.

 

[Frak]

The score is the best thing about it.

Sure, Williams is somewhere between influenced by and straight lifting stuff from luminaries such as Holst, Wagner, and Stravinsky, but the total effect is probably the most powerful in cinema (even if not all that original from a compositional perspective).

I actually thought the score was the one thing that let Rogue One down.

 

[Frak]

Be aware that many put The Empire Strikes Back at or near the top of the list of best SW movies so temper your expectations from there.

I'd put it at or near the top of ALL movies.

 

[kcbob79clone]

For a sci fi series to have so many really really bad movies and still be revered is beyond amazing. Waste of time to watch so many movies, it will be time you will never get back.

To date I have 5 Agrees and 4 Disagrees on this.

Let's discuss the franchise more here. How can it be so revered with:
- Jar Jar
- 1978 Holiday Special which was awful and should have been our first clue where the franchise was headed
- Ewoks
- Director's Cuts of 4,5,6 which moved things around
- Solo
- Renaming a movie, are you serious?

Seriously only 4 and 5 are worth watching again.

 

[Fitzy]

To date I have 5 Agrees and 4 Disagrees on this.

Let's discuss the franchise more here. How can it be so revered with:
- Jar Jar
- 1978 Holiday Special which was awful and should have been our first clue where the franchise was headed
- Ewoks
- Director's Cuts of 4,5,6 which moved things around
- Solo
- Renaming a movie, are you serious?

Seriously only 4 and 5 are worth watching again.

I don't want to speak for others, but the first sentence in that post wasn't what I clicked "disagree" for.

 

[cmjh10]

To date I have 5 Agrees and 4 Disagrees on this.

Let's discuss the franchise more here. How can it be so revered with:
- Jar Jar
- 1978 Holiday Special which was awful and should have been our first clue where the franchise was headed
- Ewoks
- Director's Cuts of 4,5,6 which moved things around
- Solo
- Renaming a movie, are you serious?

Seriously only 4 and 5 are worth watching again.

STFU, Ewoks are great

 

[Beerbrat]

To date I have 5 Agrees and 4 Disagrees on this.

Let's discuss the franchise more here. How can it be so revered with:
- Jar Jar
- 1978 Holiday Special which was awful and should have been our first clue where the franchise was headed
- Ewoks
- Director's Cuts of 4,5,6 which moved things around
- Solo
- Renaming a movie, are you serious?

Seriously only 4 and 5 are worth watching again.

 

[Sigmapolis]

- Jar Jar

Nobody in their right mind likes the prequels.

- 1978 Holiday Special which was awful and should have been our first clue where the franchise was headed

The Star Wars Holiday Special is one of the best times I have ever had watching anything ever. It is a hilarious round of 1970s pop culture kitsch.

- Ewoks

The Return of the Jedi has its problems, but it is unfairly maligned. It provides a satisfying conclusion to 4-6, and it is way better than anybody since.

- Director's Cuts of 4,5,6 which moved things around

Yeah, I am rather sick of these, too. They should have just quit after 6.

- Solo

Never saw it -- the stories of its troubled production were pretty funny, though.

- Renaming a movie, are you serious?

Agreed.

Seriously only 4 and 5 are worth watching again.

ROTJ is fine to wrap up that set of story arcs. After that, nothing much to miss.