thanks to this--

http://static.nomachetejuggling.com/machete_order.html

specifically, the "machete order" of IV, V, II, III, VI.  he makes a great argument for that flow.  now, no more kid anakin, much less jar jar, etc.

Very.... Iiiinnntteeerrrestttingggg....

Quote from: beeber;518731thanks to this--

http://static.nomachetejuggling.com/machete_order.html

specifically, the "machete order" of IV, V, II, III, VI.  he makes a great argument for that flow.  now, no more kid anakin, much less jar jar, etc.

Interesting approach.

Outstanding!  I can see how the story would flow better in that order.

Me too, but I will not be watching any of them again any time soon.

Quote from: Aos;518764Me too, but I will not be watching any of them again any time soon.

yeah, if i had 1. the time sink available for it, and 2. copies from the library of episodes 2 & 3 handy (and in good condition, an unfortunate rarity) then i'd go for it.  my original trilogy is the black-box vhs release, so no hayden-anakin at the end of RotJ for me ^_^

As a guy not adverse to the Prequels trilogy (don't stone me, guys), I actually find his arguments really strong for it, and from a storytelling point of view this totally makes sense.

I did watch all the movies in Episodic order and it does change the nature of the original trilogy profoundly. I am really tempted to give the Machette order a shot, now. I think I'm gonna do it.

You like the prequels?
Accept who you are and play D&D 4e.

I really like his point that episode 1 is entirely disposable... the silmarilion of the series so to speak...

Also, since I try not to have more content than the OP in my posts, this sort of opening is really really hard to discuss... with that rule. Which I may have just violated by explaining... that rule.

Quote from: Aos;518788You like the prequels?
Accept who you are and play D&D 4e.

I did and didn't like it. I guess that makes me that weirdo that doesn't really belong to a team, doesn't it?

i also like how the post's author states

Quote from: machete guyIt's not part of the main viewing, but more like an expanded universe kind of thing, like playing a video game or reading a Star Wars comic book or novel.

really, the only missing stuff in ep. 1 is the shmi is a slave thing, and anakin created threepio.  hells, you could pull a lucas and tweak some dialogue in 2 or 3 to get that info inserted, and you could ignore 1 completely LOL

I have a similar order it goes IV, V, VI - done.

Quote from: Benoist;518785I did watch all the movies in Episodic order and it does change the nature of the original trilogy profoundly. I am really tempted to give the Machette order a shot, now. I think I'm gonna do it.

My experience was that, after seeing Anakin in the prequel trilogy, I actually worry about Luke falling to the dark side in RotJ. Huge shift for me: Without the context of Anakin falling (and Luke is so very similar to his father), Luke is just The Hero of the Trilogy. Of course he's not going to fall.

So now there's this whole new dynamic in the finale.

I think the proposed order makes a lot of sense: Maintain all the surprises of IV and V, add some really great context to VI. Best of all worlds.

Quote from: Spike;518792I really like his point that episode 1 is entirely disposable... the silmarilion of the series so to speak...

I'd disagree. In terms of Palpatine's plot, it's actually fairly essential. And since I consider Palpatine's plan to be the only thing executed with consistent excellence in the prequel trilogy, its omission is problematic.

OTOH, TPM is certainly the film with the worst "special edition foibles". My general theory on the prequels:

Quote from: The AlexandrianI have a theory when it comes to the Star Wars prequels: I think that they are, fundamentally, stories and theatrical experiences with the same depth, scope, grandeur, and quality of the original trilogy. This fundamental strength, however, is masked by the peculiar foibles that have, unfortunately, become emblematic of George Lucas' recent work: The fart jokes. The anachronistic comedy. The self-indulgent special effects sequences.

But I would further hold that these foibles are, in fact, only cosmetic in nature. In fact, I think an analogy can be drawn to the Special Editions of the original trilogy. Here, too, we see the same foibles: The sinister rendered comical. Droids performing Three Stooges routines. Scenes reinstated which should have (and did) hit the cutting room floor because they lessened the films.

But if you take away all the foibles and sweep them away, you still have the fundamentally great movies we all remember and love.

I think the same thing is true of the prequels. The only difference is that we were never given the chance to see the great version of these films. Instead, all we've ever seen are the "special edition" edits — complete with all the foibles and flaws that turn greatness into heartbreaking mediocrity.

I actually executed a fan edit on AOTC and did a rough cut of TPM that removed this "special edition cruft" from the movies. There are still some problems*, but the fundamental movies are pretty good.

One of these days I should really finish that edit of TPM. (Just needs audio smoothing across the edits.)

* For example, the decision to switch from Maul to Dooku to Grievous instead of investing a single character with the totality of that arc was a huge mistake. Most likely driven by a desire not to "upstage" Vader (there's an interview out there where Lucas talks about omitting stuff from the prequels in order to maintain the "wow" moments of the original trilogy), it's nevertheless a huge error.

With respect to the Phantom Menace and Palpatine's Plan, you are wrong.

Essentially all we miss is how he went from Senator of Naboo to Chancellor of the Senate and his initial efforts to goad the Trade Federation to War.

But really, we don't know how he got to be a Senator from Naboo, or positioned to be the first choice for Chancellor... and as far as II and III goes, we don't really care about the Trade Federation. They are just one of a half dozen or so factions of the Separatists at that point.

Because, ultimately, TPM is a fucking mess of a movie with just plain bad choices that had people scratching their heads up and down. Amidala's falling for a kid much younger than her (or alternatively, being insanely young to be elected queen of anything other than the corn dance...), the pointless introduction and death of Darth Maul, the pointless introduction and death of Qui Gon Jin (seriously, I can't find a single point he made about its exclusion I don't agree with, and I'm willing to tack on more regarding the sheer harm it does to the narrative flow of the arks presented!... not least of which, from the entire point of the question (how do you show all of these to a newcomer so that it makes maximum sense?) it subtracts substancially from the narrative arc by destroying parallels built by its exclusion.

Your dissection of Palpatines plotting is certainly insightful, portraying him less as a master manipulator and more as a masterful opportunist, who happens to be a SKILLED (rather than masterful) manipulator... which might also help explain his utter failure with Luke at the end...

But again: We can always go back further, find more details. Who trained Palpatine, how did he decide on politics as his avenue to destroying the Jedi, what was he like as a young man???

We have some fifty years of backstory on the Emperor that is just missing. Excluding a few months, no matter how interesting or key to his plans from a decade back won't hurt.

Honest.

And this way we can ignore Jar-Jar for free..

Amidala was 14, Anakin was 10 I believe. 4 years ain't that much of a difference.