well i have, but only the originals on a small telly years ago.
now i've got all but the most recent on a hard-drive to watch.
so what order should i watch them in? in order of release or chronologically according to the 'plot'?
and are they suitable for my 6 y.o. daughter?
Some part may be; she'll see people get killed, cut in half, that sort of thing. Som of the characters do look evil too.
As for order, I would say to go with numerical. Episode 1 is bad, episode 2 less so, 3 reasonable. Throw Rogue 1 in next, then go for the originals and you'll get the complete experience but seeing them improve in quality.
Go for machete - 4, 5, 2, 3, 6
I would ignore 1,2,3 and go 4,5,6,7,8, R1. Save the others until she's old enough to feel the crushing disappointment/enjoy the nuanced discussion of Republic trade treaties.
and are they suitable for my 6 y.o. daughter?
They’re kids films.
I would agree with Martin - ignore 1, 2 & 3. they're pants. I'd say watch Rogue 1 first then 4, 5 & 6, then into the newer films. You don't need to watch 1 - 3, shame really because the back story is good, but the films are so pants and will ruin your overall experience. Machete assumes the viewer has been living on another planet and isn't actually aware that Darth Vader is Luke's father and that the story is told as one long coherent story, but if you ignore the first 3 then you get a pretty coherent story and 1 - 3 were made to provide the backstory so not made to be part of one long coherent story.
In numerical order and start with low expectations.
I wouldn't ignore the first 3 as its all Star Wars and therefore there's always some good that can be got from them...plus you/others may not like them but your 6 year old might like them
For a 6 year old def do 1,2,3 first (3 quite dark). 1,2 are awful but my kids really enjoyed them at that age. For your sanity have an alternative source of entertainment (tablet with singletrack?) during 1&2 (esp 1). After 3 do R1 then 4,5,6. R1 then 4 back to back is great cold afternoon time waste. Keep tablet handy again for Ewok parts of 6. Then 7 (again tablet handy to minimise boredom in middle stages) and finally 8. By then you’ll be yearning for some pod racing action.
sorry have thought much too much about this, MrsH must never see this post
4567RogueOne8
I'd be tempted to avoid the first 3, but they are probably the most kid friendly.
So I'd watch them 1, 2, 3, R1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 will probably be available by the time you get through all that.
3, R1 and 5 are the least Kid Friendly.
and are they suitable for my 6 y.o. daughter?
They’re kids films
100% agree with this. More suitable for a 6 y.o than an adult! Don't understand why there's such an obsession over them.
4, 5, 6, then stop.
I tried to watch 2 recently after wondering if they were as bad as everyone said - I couldn't really remember, didn't make it to the end.
I'd agree you can go R1 before E3 but it's a 12A so not really for a 6 year old and a lot darker
Don’t understand why there’s such an obsession over them.
It's because in the 1970's films were a bit shit.
Then Jaws and Star Wars arrived and forced Hollywood to up it's game considerably.
Don’t understand why there’s such an obsession over them.
Neither did George, hence the fact that in many ways ep 123 absolutely take the magic of 456 away and shouldn't be watched. I'm sure there's a fan edit somewhere that works, but I haven't had the time to trawl through and find it.
4 then stop. Actually I can't usually call it 4, it's just Star Wars. Similarly never watch a sequel or a reboot. (Series of existing literature, fine, new movies written to cash in on success of first one, nope)
It was actually episode 3 that got me into starwars in my mid 20's. I'd seen some of 4,5 & 6 on tv over the years but didnt think much of them!
Episode 3 is still my favourite...closely followed by Rogue 1 now.
I'd say start at episode 1
I know Godfather, taxi driver, french connection, exorcist wewe absolute pants 😀
Maybe he meant kids' films were a bit shit in the 70s. 🙂
Machete order Vs release order http://www.nomachetejuggling.com/2011/11/11/the-star-wars-saga-suggested-viewing-order/
Edit: There's also an update to that blog post which suggests any new numbered Episodes in order after Machete Order, no matter how many they make, with stand alone films (e.g. Rogue One) at any time you like.
Nah, I meant that throughout the 60 's and the 70's movies tended to be relatively bleak brutal affairs, mostly portraying stories which were slightly exaggerated versions of real life scenarios. (I'll give you the Exorcist though)
They had mostly lost the epic qualities of the 40's and 50's where people went to the cinema to be wowed by what they saw. There were many great films but nothing you'd queue round the high street for an hour to get in and see.
The quote that sums it up for me was the one printed on the front cover of the first VHS copy of Star Wars that I owned.
"The rebirth of cinema as spectacle"
I would say machete too - episode 1 is pointless but 5 followed by 2 then 3 explains why 'I am your father'
Go for machete – 4, 5, 2, 3, 6
This. Explained properly here - removing ep1 takes away a lot of boring stuff and confusing bits of plot; you can always go back and watch it later (along with the other films and TV stuff like Clone Wars).
You start with a film that's pretty much self-contained and is best at establishing the main characters and the universe. You then get to the "I am your father" from Vader in Empire Strikes Back so you watch 2 and 3 to fill in the Anakin/Vader back story. You end with Return of the Jedi which has the best ending.
But 2 and 3 are some of the worst films ever made! How can you possibly recommend them?
If you want the backstory, it's better to read a couple of paragraphs explaining them and fill in the gaps with your imagination than watch that bollocks.
imo
3 is not suitable for a 6 y-o.
Lego Star Wars shorts are good.
INTERIOR: NABOO LAKE RETREAT, LODGE, FIREPLACE ALCOVE - TWILIGHT
A fire blazes in the open hearth. PADMÉ and ANAKIN are sitting in front of it, gazing into the flames.
ANAKIN:
From the moment I met you, all those years ago, not a day has gone by when I haven't thought of you. And now that I'm with you again, I'm in agony. The closer I get to you, the worse it gets. The thought of not being with you- I can't breathe. I'm haunted by the kiss that you should never have given me. My heart is beating, hoping that kiss will not become a scar. You are in my very soul, tormenting me. What can I do? I will do anything that you ask...
Silence. The logs flame in the hearth. PADMÉ meets his eye, then looks away.
ANAKIN:
If you are suffering as much as I am, please, tell me.
PADMÉ:
...I can't. We can't. It's just not possible.
ANAKIN:
Anything is possible, Padmé, listen to me...
PADMÉ:
No, you listen! We live in a real world. Come back to it. You're studying to become a Jedi. I'm - I'm a Senator. If you follow your thoughts through to conclusion, it will take us to a place we cannot go...regardless of the way we feel about each other.
ANAKIN:
Then you do feel something!
PADMÉ:
I will not let you give up your future for me.
ANAKIN:
You're asking me to be rational. That is something I know I cannot do. Believe me, I wish that I could just wish away my feelings...but I can't.
PADMÉ:
I will not give in to this.
There is silence as they stare at the fire. ANAKIN is thinking.
ANAKIN:
Well, you know it - it wouldn't have to be that way...we could keep it a secret.
PADMÉ:
We'd be living a lie - one we couldn't keep even if we wanted to. I couldn't do that. Could you, Anakin? Could you live like that?
ANAKIN:
No. You're right. It would destroy us.
MACHETE!!!!
ANAKIN:
- I can’t breathe.
Yeah mate, you can.
Famous for it.
It’s because in the 1970’s films were a bit shit. Then Jaws and Star Wars arrived and forced Hollywood to up it’s game considerably.
Just no. Not least for the fact that both Jaws and Star Wars were 1970s movies 😉
1970s:
Apocalypse Now
Deliverance
The Exorcist
Star Wars
The Omen
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
The Deer Hunter
Alien
Taxi Driver
The Godfather
Month Python's Holy Grail
Dirty Harry
Manhattan
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Carrie
Marathon Man
Enter The Dragon
Mad Max
The Stepford Wives
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Wicker Man
Superman
So in effect the game was already 'upped' by the 1970s (compared to the sixties) and the 1980s somehwat lost the plot by going big on special effects yet the content was effectively processed cheese from top to bottom.
70’s movies tended to be relatively bleak brutal affairs, mostly portraying stories which were slightly exaggerated versions of real life scenarios. (I’ll give you the Exorcist though)
...e.g such excellent movies as
Apocalypse Now
Deliverance
One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
The Deer Hunter
Taxi Driver
The Godfather
Dirty Harry
Marathon Man
The Wicker Man
....or such excellent post star wars movies as....
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
Alien
Mad Max
Superman
The Exorcist had the same effect on the horror genre that Star Wars did for the more mainstream films which is why there are many excellent post 1973 horror films on your list.
We recently did…
R1 & IV
V & VI
VII
and then the new one at the cinema
Rouge one 45236
I wouldn't watch Rogue One before ESB.
It would ruin the whole AT- AT Hoth ice battle sequence if you had already seen better animated AT-AT's getting casually destroyed by X-Wings.
This is the order that my son watches them in.
4,6,2,3,7,R1,R1,R1,2,3,2,3,4,4,4,6,7,7,7,R1,4,4,R1,3,3,3,6.
He's a kid. He just loves watching the films whilst playing with his action figures.
He can't be bothered with 1, or 5 for that matter.
just go for the Family Guy versions. Much better.
Although - having said that - the last couple of disneyfied ones have been okay.
They're all on youtube
I have this dilemma, never seen them, (not my thing) but I have a 6yr that would probably enjoy them. Think I’ll just go in order, I doubt he’s sophisticated enough to get the ‘machete’ reasoning.
DRAC
They’re kids films.
Obviously the original 3 were but it strikes me that the rest have been films designed to be like kids films but are aimed at adults. What's the audience for Rogue One or the Han Solo franchise other than adults who are already invested?
Do it old school style.
Watch the original trilogy now.
Wait 30 years.
Watch the others, if you can be arsed.
Or dont.
4, 5 then 6 and then Rogue One...the rest are all rehashes of the 4, 5 and 6 - so not really worth watching in my detail.
HtS makes a good point, don't worry too much about it - depends on your 6yo though, my 7yo can't face any kind of peril or distress in a film and won't watch films
you don't have to fit Rogue1 in because the big yellow scroll does the job of the fill in
Ignore 1,2,3 and go with 4,5,6,7....
I don't believe they're suitable for young children. Obviously depends on the child in question, but I'd be looking at min age of 8-11.
As above, they're kids' films. 1 &2 were panned because the people watching them generally forgot they're aimed at 8year old versions of themselves not 40 somethings.
3 was dire mind.
Watch them in episode order and accept they're more for your 6 year old than you and it'll be fine. Don't expect to be wowed, they're not that good, enjoyable don't get me wrong but not great. In the 70s this might not have been true but it is now. Same with indiana Jones, back to the future, ET etc, good (in terms of watchable) films in their day, not great now.
A story is a story and a good story endures, which is why I think the original start wars films are as good now as they were back in the 70's, and for me getting better - the more CGI takes over the more I appreciate the models and sets of the original films. They are flawed if you look closely, but are far more real than a lot of the modern Sci Fi films. In fact I'm struggling to think of a Sci Fi film in the last 20 years that have been any good and will endure as a piece of cinematic history like the original Star Wars films have. I still enjoy them and my kids do, so not just a nostalgia thing.
Are 1&2 suitable for kids? I watched 3 recently to see if it was suitable for kids and it isn't- I assumed 1&2 would have the same level of violence/ blood etc
(I have seen them but cant remember a bit of what happens!)
Oh - I forgot. If you are watching 4, 5 and 6 and if you are computer savvy, get the Harmy Despecialized versions*
They are superb. He's working on some new 1080p versions at the moment, but no need to wait - the current ones are great.
(*once you legally own an HD copy obviously).
Don’t forget
Caravan of courage
&
Ewoks: The Battle for Endor
which slot in somewhere before 6
reckon you can forget the Star Wars Holiday Special which is after 4
As much as it pains me to say it has to be in numerical order 1, 2, 3, Rogue One, 4, 5, 6 & 7.
The 'prequals' (1-3) aren't brilliant, but the set up the back story and kids actually seem to like them - my 11yo rates Attack of the Clowns (sorry Clones...) as his favourite. Revenge of the Sith is quite dark, but my 7yo has no problem with it or any of the others.
Rogue One is up there with the best of them - Empire & New Hope.
Dangeourbrain
As above, they’re kids’ films. 1 &2 were panned because the people watching them generally forgot they’re aimed at 8year old versions of themselves not 40 somethings.
3 was dire mind.
Watch them in episode order and accept they’re more for your 6 year old than you and it’ll be fine. Don’t expect to be wowed, they’re not that good, enjoyable don’t get me wrong but not great.
The "made for kids" defence is something Lucas said when his films got panned. There's no logic to it, it's not even accurate because the term is family film. Postman Pat: The movie is a kids film and we can forgive it some degree of simplicity because it is actually aimed at 3 year olds, but family films should be good enough to entertain most if not all of the family. For kids isn't a synonym for shit.
Take the Harry Potter franchise, the main target demographic obviously isn't adults but they are decent well made films. Some are weaker than others but not because they are more kid-centric. The same is true for most Disney films, Pixar films, any good family film for that matter. After the original three Star Wars films everything since has been aimed at 30+ men, regardless of quality.
I think you should include at least the Rebels cartoon and the Clone Wars.
Rebels is really good and fits with the story arc and Clone Wars adds a chunk of back story to ep3 (and the now irrelevant EU ) although it can be a bit long winded.
You can't really ignore Ep1 as in the Machete order because you lose out on two really cool spaceships and Qui Gon.
and lets not forget midicloreans, and Ja Ja Binks! Yes, Episode 1 is the gift that keeps giving.
I've been disappointed at the latest films Rogue 1 excepted. I would have loved them to be a bit darker and more sinister, but have to remind myself they are essentially kids films, or at least aimed more at kids than adults. They are owned by Disney at the end of the day and they know that what really makes the money is the merch, and for the merch they target the kids.
Actually I think the Harry Potter films did a great job. They started out as out and out kids films with a bit of an edge and got quite sinister and dark towards the end. Star Wars should follow the same format going forward but they're playing it safe.
Haven’t even the originals (456) been dicked around with now though? I was interested in having a Starwars odyssey myself. Not 1,2 & 3 obviously. But the originals and all the newer ones.
Somebody told me that Lucas keeps fiddling with the originals by inserting new stupid characters and dodgy CGI, so unless I own the old VHS tapes i’ll be disappointed.
is that true?
Yeah he was forced to do that for the kids.
Yes George has messed about with them.
All sorts of annoyances in there, mostly for no reason.
That's why the Harmy Despecialized versions are great. He's gone back to the cleanest versions of the originals (including a 35mm print) and combined them with the best untouched bits from the blu-ray.
He's posting editing videos on Facebook too so you can see the amount of work that goes into it.
Look them up!
I’d be inclined to watch them in the sequence they were released, so like us your children can be as confused as we (we’ll certainly me) are regarding the storyline links 🤦♀️
Similarly never watch a sequel or a reboot.
Which is why Aliens is such a shit film, then...
Watching the prequels before the original trilogy could reduce the impact of certain parts of the originals, particularly the end of Empire.
I watched the original trilogy as a kid, I probably saw Star Wars and Empire when I was 6 or so, then Jedi when it was released and I was 8. I haven't had to evaluate the kid appropriateness of the prequels. Episode 1 should be fine but it's been so long since I last saw 2 or 3 that I can't really say if there's anything too bad (in terms of child friendliness rather than quality) in them.
After the original three Star Wars films everything since has been aimed at 30+ men
30+ men who don't have girlfriends and never will
Which is why Aliens is such a shit film, then…
Aliens is a shit film though
The thing with them being made for kids Jimjam is they're intended to appeal to children and they do, very well, of the various under 10s in my family every one of them would choose ep1 over empire every time. Only two of them that i know of have managed to sit through the whole of new hope without getting bored and wanting to do other things.
Sure you can make films which apeal to the whole age spectrum but you don't have to. I give you frozen, watch it with a 3 year old and see which of the two of you would watch it again immediately after and who is glad of the chance to do something else.
As children's films ep1 -3 are fine* as family films they're fine, as something other than starwars films they're ok as films for dads** to watch and use their children as an excuse they're rubbish.
Watch space balls instead (may not be ok for kids, can't remember, but it is a more enjoyable film)
*3 may have unsuitable content for some kids.
**mothers may also do this, I've however never meet a mother who wanted to call their child Leia or bought scalextric/mechano/lego etc "for the kids"
Dangeourbrain
The thing with them being made for kids Jimjam is they’re intended to appeal to children and they do, very well, of the various under 10s in my family every one of them would choose ep1 over empire every time. Only two of them that i know of have managed to sit through the whole of new hope without getting bored and wanting to do other things.
I would posit the reason your under 10s prefer Episode 1 is that the central character is a child and in addition to that it's brimming with CGI creatures colours and noise.
Sure you can make films which apeal to the whole age spectrum but you don’t have to. I give you frozen, watch it with a 3 year old and see which of the two of you would watch it again immediately after and who is glad of the chance to do something else.
You're making my point. Frozen is a bad family film, not a film for 3 year olds. 3 year old girls will also sit mesmerized by Shimmer and Shine or Barbie and the Diamond castle and so on, doesn't make them great. Adults will not. On the other hand take Moana. It's no less "aimed at kids" than Frozen (because they are both family films) but it stands up to repeat viewings from children and adults because it has a reasonably coherent plot, interesting characters, a clearly defined lead character (Moana) and she has a satisfying developmental arc. Instead of Moana you could have Toy Story, Elf, Wall-E, Up, Nightmare Before Xmas, Monsters Inc, Princess Bride, Snow White, Spirited Away, Kubo and the two strings, Labrynth, How to Train your Dragon, Despicable Me, Jungle Book..........and many many more films that can be enjoyed by children and adults alike, or to put it another way, films that one could enjoy as a child and still enjoy in adulthood. It's harder to make a great family film than a film which will only entertain very young children but you don't set out to make a film for six year olds and base it around the political intrigue of the intergalactic EU and the complexities of interplanetary trade agreements.
As children’s films ep1 -3 are fine*
This is another way of saying "they are bad films". As adults we are the arbiters and "for children" does not excuse shit quality in anything.
Having deleted my long winded reply...
If i accept your supposition not having broad appeal is a mark of a bad [s]children's[/s] family film, have you tried watching the original SW trilogy with a broad selection of adults who've never seen them before? I suggest you'll be disappointed to discover a they also fail your test.
If i accept your supposition not having broad appeal is a mark of a bad
children’sfamily film, have you tried watching the original SW trilogy with a broad selection of adults who’ve never seen them before? I suggest you’ll be disappointed to discover a they also fail your test.
I'm not arguing about the quality of the original trilogy. My point is simply that the prequels are substantially worse, and "they are for kids" isn't an acceptable excuse. The first three Star Wars films are extremely generic, derivative adventure movies with laser swords and space ships.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6ODqcl1WxE
Notice the complete lack of small children in the above clips from Star Wars and Jedi's original release. It was a cultural phenomenon at the time because it had revolutionary VFX. Children obviously saw it and were impacted by it, but that doesn't make it a children's film.
If the Star Wars prequels are "for children" why do they centre around complex intergalactic politics? Why do they feature genuinely scary villains and show decapitations, people cleaved in half, the "hero" murdering a tribe of sand midgets and ultimately having his arms and legs cut off by his mentor? These things don't emerge from a vacuum.
I completely lost interest in Harry Potter after the one with JaJa Binks in.
why do they centre around complex intergalactic politics?
That's just there to stop them being standalone spin offs milking the fan base. (Oddly auto correct changed fan to cash)
The bits which make them ep.1-3 are a big part of why they're rubbish fan films.
Sorry, my question was rhetorical. What I should have said was - you don't start out to make a kids film that is largely focused around politics and trade deals, that also features fairly substantial amounts of violence.