TomH1138
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My family and I are currently in the middle of a re-watch of the Skywalker Saga. Changing it up again just for fun, this time our viewing order is 1-4-7, 2-5-8, 3-6-9. We're watching @ebumms' edits for the prequels (thanks so much to @greenturnedblue for providing them!), and @Hal9000's Ep. IV and VII. We'll switch back to HAL soon, but we're taking a quick detour to the Grindhouse version of ESB.
Interesting things to note with this order so far:
So there ya go. Halfway through, and some things are better in this order, some are worse, and some are just different. If anyone's interested, I can post my updated overall impressions once we're done!
Interesting things to note with this order so far:
--Darth Vader's reveal has not yet fully been spoiled! We know about Anakin Skywalker from I; in IV, Ben tells Luke that his father (not named) was betrayed and murdered by Vader, and Luke later identifies himself as a Skywalker; and VII reveals that Kylo Ren's grandpa is Vader, linking him to either Leia or Han (neither have shown Force abilities at this point). A first-time viewer still might not make the connection, and be waiting for Vader to show up as a separate character in III, except for one thing...
--The opening crawl to VII mentions that Luke is Leia's brother. A bombshell like that shouldn't be given away in the crawl, and that makes the link between Vader and Leia stronger, since her brother shows Force sensitivity. Mind you, these edits weren't designed with this weird viewing order in mind. But we're on V now, and it's at least still possible someone might not figure out the Vader/Anakin connection.
--The Yoda reveal is of course lost because he already appeared in I and II before showing up in V. But a new mystery is created. Yoda's behavior is so different at first, one wonders if the events of the prequels drove him nuts. We still haven't seen III at this point, so we don't know if something happened to drive him off the deep end. It's still an effective reveal that he remains a wise Jedi master after all.
--Music: There's Anakin's theme in Ep. I; no version of that theme in IV; a couple of subtle hints at the Imperial theme in Ep. VII; and then a full-blown version of it as the Republic troops march in Ep. II, looking very stormtrooper-like. Vader's theme and the Imperial March still aren't fully connected until V, and if a new viewer noticed it, it would be chilling to wonder how the heroic Jedi ended up on the run from the same forces working alongside them in II.
--I downloaded the Grindhouse version of V on a lark because it was readily available. I assumed my family would go for a cleaned-up later version, and was surprised when this version caught their fancy instead. So far, the roughest part visually was the Fox logo and opening crawl. The graininess of the film subdues a lot after that (although it shows up a bit again when Luke gets to Dagobah). Seeing all the lines and scratches did bring back fond memories of watching movies in second-run theaters back in the '80s and '90s.
--I thought I remembered that there were only AT-ATs in V, and AT-STs weren't created until VI, but sure enough, one went by in the background for one shot that lasted a few seconds. I didn't catch it anywhere else. I wonder if Lucas added more for the SEs.
--I've always preferred puppet Yoda to the CGI version, but going straight from II to V, and especially with the rough quality of the film in the Grindhouse version, puppet Yoda has never looked more wobbly to me than now. I still wouldn't want him to ever get digitally replaced, but that's one thing that hasn't worked as well about this order.
--What has worked well is that one doesn't spend too long with one set of characters/tone/style, etc. Going from Rey and older Luke on Ach-To in VII to the chase through the neon streets of Coruscant with young Obi-Wan and Anakin in II was a delightful contrast. Somehow it does all seem like the same universe, but there's a lot of variety in this viewing order. I feel like Forrest Gump enjoying his box of chocolates.
--The opening crawl to VII mentions that Luke is Leia's brother. A bombshell like that shouldn't be given away in the crawl, and that makes the link between Vader and Leia stronger, since her brother shows Force sensitivity. Mind you, these edits weren't designed with this weird viewing order in mind. But we're on V now, and it's at least still possible someone might not figure out the Vader/Anakin connection.
--The Yoda reveal is of course lost because he already appeared in I and II before showing up in V. But a new mystery is created. Yoda's behavior is so different at first, one wonders if the events of the prequels drove him nuts. We still haven't seen III at this point, so we don't know if something happened to drive him off the deep end. It's still an effective reveal that he remains a wise Jedi master after all.
--Music: There's Anakin's theme in Ep. I; no version of that theme in IV; a couple of subtle hints at the Imperial theme in Ep. VII; and then a full-blown version of it as the Republic troops march in Ep. II, looking very stormtrooper-like. Vader's theme and the Imperial March still aren't fully connected until V, and if a new viewer noticed it, it would be chilling to wonder how the heroic Jedi ended up on the run from the same forces working alongside them in II.
--I downloaded the Grindhouse version of V on a lark because it was readily available. I assumed my family would go for a cleaned-up later version, and was surprised when this version caught their fancy instead. So far, the roughest part visually was the Fox logo and opening crawl. The graininess of the film subdues a lot after that (although it shows up a bit again when Luke gets to Dagobah). Seeing all the lines and scratches did bring back fond memories of watching movies in second-run theaters back in the '80s and '90s.
--I thought I remembered that there were only AT-ATs in V, and AT-STs weren't created until VI, but sure enough, one went by in the background for one shot that lasted a few seconds. I didn't catch it anywhere else. I wonder if Lucas added more for the SEs.
--I've always preferred puppet Yoda to the CGI version, but going straight from II to V, and especially with the rough quality of the film in the Grindhouse version, puppet Yoda has never looked more wobbly to me than now. I still wouldn't want him to ever get digitally replaced, but that's one thing that hasn't worked as well about this order.
--What has worked well is that one doesn't spend too long with one set of characters/tone/style, etc. Going from Rey and older Luke on Ach-To in VII to the chase through the neon streets of Coruscant with young Obi-Wan and Anakin in II was a delightful contrast. Somehow it does all seem like the same universe, but there's a lot of variety in this viewing order. I feel like Forrest Gump enjoying his box of chocolates.
So there ya go. Halfway through, and some things are better in this order, some are worse, and some are just different. If anyone's interested, I can post my updated overall impressions once we're done!