Would there be as many SW fans if.....

[Hart Kenobi]

Episode I was the first movie out instead of Episode IV? Many people think EpI was one of the worst SW, so do you think that SW would have become as much of a hit if it started off with Phantom Menace?

[wookie boy 2000]

I dont think so ,But ill have to give why later.




buffjedi/wookieboy

[Bromine]

Star Wars, viewed as a series, is popular. I think TPM didn't seem as amazing because we have already been introduced to lightsabres, the Force, and the many things and concepts that makes Star Wars so popular. People were expecting TPM to be another ANH, and it could never be.
If TPM did come out first (1970's vs. 2000 SFX technology notwithstanding) it would have blown us away and we'd be wondering now whether ANH was as good as the "original" movie, TPM.

[Jedi Master Kyle]

Well, I like to think that the free-spiritedness of ANH is one of the reasons why it appealed to so many. I find, and I may very well be wrong, but TPM didn't have the same care-free, happy-go-lucky attitude to it.

[Probe Droid]

I can't see there ever having been much interest in a follow-up if
"TPM" had debuted in 1977. There's just not enough there. It's SW, so I love it, but looking at "TPM" analytically, it's pretty weak on character and story.

[Doc Milo]

I don't think there would be any difference, really. ANH had almost exactly the same types of reviews back in 1977. Mostly favorable, just like TPM, and a lot of loud noise-makers who claimed it to be a big special effects, weak on plot, weak on character development sci-fi movie worth seeing only for the revolutionary special effects.

ANH was the phenomenon it was at that time because of the special effects. The story was secondary in peoples' minds. It was a classic mythology-type story, no big deal. But the SFX were what drove it to success. It was only after ESB and RotJ were made that the Star Wars saga got hailed for its storytelling as well as it's SFX appeal.

TPM, with these effects, without any Star Wars before it, would be more revolutionary in the area of SFX (remember without SW and ILM we wouldn't have had such leaps forward in SFX, so TPM would be that leap.) So yes, there would be no difference -- especially if you consider that Ep2 and Ep3 would be made. TPM would hook people with its effects, and it would then be lauded for the story once the trilogy was completed.

And ANH would have come out to people being disappointed. "Where are the Jedi?" "I want more lightsaber duels" "Vader didn't kill Skywalker. There's a continuity error here...." "How come Threepio and Artoo don't remember Tatooine."

Etc...

[Jedieb]

I voted for less fans. For TPM to have been first then you have to look at it in two versions. A 1977 version with 1977 special effects, or the version we have now and a 1999 release. Which means you'd get a 2007 version of ANH to go along with it. ANH has the broadest appeal of all of the SW films. You see ESB and TPM edge it out in fan polls all the time but neither of those had the impact that ANH did. As much as I love ESB, it was still viewed by many as simply a sequel. The same goes for Jedi and TPM. The SE releases are a good example of how SW movies rank witht the general public. ANH still beat out ESB and ROTJ even after all these years and I think you'd see it beat out the other 5 SW movies if they were all released 20 years from now. Just my take.

[patsmear]

I think this poll needs to be answered by 7 yr olds.

When I was that age I saw star wars for the first time. It was like a deer in headlights. It opened my eyes into another world, pure magic! when we saw TPM it was more like we were critics, mentioning all of the flaws in the movies than the little kid seeing something magical for the first time.

Pat

[Darth Hez]

I voted for the same amount. There would still have been the whole lightsaber/special effects thing attached to the film to gain it some popularity, but thats looking at it if TPM was released in '77.

If it was released as the first film NOW however (i.e. bring ANH out in 200:cool: , then I don't think it would do as well. Someone else would have developed the special efects instead of him and it would basically be just another blockbuster movie. It would have done well, but it probably wouldn't have gotten the box office take it did (through people like us going to see it multiple times) and certainly wouldn't have the huge following it has now.

[Bromine]

I like Doc's point about people complaining if ANH came out after TPM. I can just hear them now complaining that instead of having Jedi and the Galactic Republic, they had this dumb military rebellion. And what's with Anakin's whiny son? And no one ever even uses Force powers! And why is Yoda (who kicked butt WAY BACK in Episode 2;) ) now hiding on a swamp planet?:)

[Darth23]

There would have been less fans, but they woudl have been of a higher quality.

;)

Sorry. was that elitist?

:p

[Bromine]

Maybe, but I know what you mean.;)

[Mike Grafton]

Well, if they had started with TPM and gone in order, its possible that slight changes here and there could happen to the storyline......and there might have been Gungans in the trilogy.

How's that for a nightmare? Although I do think a meeting between Jar Jar and Chewy would be quite the scene.

Mike

[Hart Kenobi]

Jar Jar disgraces Chewie's honor. I'd give so much money for him to just rip his arms off.

[Jedi Master Kyle]

why not just get it over with and pull out his voice box!

[Darth Renegade]

If TPM had been released first, there wouldve been far less fans in my opinion. Part of the reason everyone liked it so much, was due to the special effects. They were revolutionary for the time, and like Lucas said, he had to basically invent a lot of them. Plus the generation of fans has changed, and the idea of a space science fiction movie doens't have the same appeal it would've but in the 70's. We see them come and go now, and they don't phase up like they would've back then...

Incidently, TPM has Jar Jar and that's a major fall back

[Darth23]

Jar Jar Rox dude!

Belive it or not, there ARE people who were entertained by him.


TPM woudl have been a much different movie if it had come out first. The Prequels ARE prequels. They are sequels that take place before TOS, but it's assumed that the viewer has some familiarity with the others.

ANH is the only film in the series that was made to work independently, mainly because Lecas wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to make another one. The hanging ending of ESB was only possible because of the success of the first one.

What made the first film such a big hit wasn't the special effects, it was the entire story. The look, the feel, the mishmash of Westerns, samauri, WWII and swashbuckler movies. Plus the attidude. (I think that's what a lot of TPM critics really wanted from TPM). The effects were cool, but there were plenty of imitators that came along after witht he attitude that you just needed cool effects to have a hit. (Black Hole, anyone? or maybe Star Trek: The Motion Picture? how about Battle Beyond the Stars? :p ).

[Starquest aka AndyR]

If TPM had been released in 77 instead of starwars, it would've been out done by battle beyond the stars in 1980 with john-boy in it, and this would be a battle beyond the stars message board instead of a starwars message board.... ;) hehe!

BTW battle byond the stars is on dvd, why isn't starwars????

[sthlord]

No diffrence I think.

I dont think that bad about jarjar.I even named my pet iguana after him.

-SC :evil:

[Jidai Geki]

That question can be easily answered by how much interest there remains in TPM at this point. Answer...not much. It is not even talked about anymore, except on boards like this.

It was so anticipated for so long, yet was forgotten so quickly. It just stunk. Period. When people hear the name Star Wars, they think OT. TPM is just some sci-fi movie.

Story was lackluster. Boring characters. No chemistry. Terrible script. Obviously "fake" special effects. Nothing captivating about it.

[Darth23]

That's not a fair assesment. TPM was the 4th Star Wars movie released. How much buzz about ESB was there 2 years after it was released? People who were talking Star Wars were more interested in the next movie that was coming.

Plus, TPM would have been a different movie it it was rteleased first. it woudl be more of a complete stroy, instead of the opening chapter, because GL wouldn't be sure if he'd ever be able to make another one.

[ReaperFett]

I think as many talk about TPM as the others. DIfference is, one is a one film stretch, the others are on a three film stretch

[obiwan shinobi]

interesting question

I think it would depend on how old I was when I saw the movie, regardless of whether it was Phantom Menace or A New Hope

for example, I first saw ANH when I was around 8 or 9- at that age, you tend to be more impressionable. Therefore, lightsabers, blasters and flying ships captured my imagination. So, if I had seen PM at that age, it would have probably had the same effect. In fact, I might have even liked it more because Jar-Jar probably wouldn't bother me as much. Because I'm older now and have such high expectations for Star Wars, PM was a disappointment.

So it depends on context. Or a certain point of view :)

[DaBoSsNaStY]

I believe it would have the same fan base!

Also, IF GL made TPM any bigger, who could he come back and make ep.2 and 3 even bigger to keep the fans "happy", he could have made TPM the second coming of Christ, but I believe his is saving that for Ep.3. Like most good story tellers, they do this to keep the people coming back to the story!

[PropReplicator]

I would LIKE to believe it would be the same, but I have to believe that the design aspect of the original trilogy is far better than TPM. I think that's what pulled a lot of people in, is the "look" of ANH.

[obiwan shinobi]

yeah, the OT just has this "look" that Episode 1 was not able to reproduce - in fact, everytime I watch PM, it's hard to believe that it's part of the Star Wars family - it just doesn't look or feel like a Star Wars movie

[DaBoSsNaStY]

I like the idea that it did not looked like the OT, its a new Trilogy with new characters having different adventures. I am sure if TPM was not different than you would have people complaining about: "TPM is the same story like ANH, just watch that instead!" So I believe what ever GL would have put out, people will not be happy with it regardless.

I am sure most of OT fans that did not care for TPM, but fell all over ThE mAtRiX, because they followed the OT formula, and told the same basic story that SW told and still telling. Meaning that the lost SW fans of TPM, are not ready for a new story. They want to see the same thing that they saw for the last 16 to 20 years.

Thankfully, there are not too many of these fans out there, if there were the Matrix would have made a lot more money at the boxoffice... ;)

[Hart3584]

Every weapon, ship, and building is sparkling new in TPM. In the original trilogy, the ships were outdated, rusty, and with the classic Millenium Falcon, prone to breakdowns. This is what made Star Wars so ahead of its time.

Also, the story of the original revolved around the poor life of Luke Skywalker, which more people can relate to. People can relate to Luke Skywalker, his dreams and his wish for excitement, and his sadness. It's very hard for people to relate to characters like Qui-Gon Jinn, and young Obi-Wan, and Amidala. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are already trained and established Jedi that act more like monks than a real person, and Amidala is a leader of a planet. There's nothing for Joe Movegoer to really get excited about. I think that's the big flaw with TPM. It should be based around Anakin's life, not around Qui-Gon's.