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Let's say 5(+) years from now (after all 6 films have been released), you have a kid. Or you meet someone who haven't seen ANY 1 of the six. Say you decide to introduce him with SW. In which order will you show him the movies - In the order they where originally released or in the "correct order" (1-6) ?
I would have to go with the original order, just for the "I am your father" scene !
i'd go correct chronological order, so that i can see someone who has no idea of what went on can see the surprises that GL had originally planned. we all know what happens, but the "I am your father" line is intended to be a surprise to the viewer. i'd like to see someone's reaction to that...
George Lucas has stated that the films are meant to be viewed in chronological order, so I'd go with that. Sorry, I can't remember which interview he said that in, but I remember it specifically.
The transition from EP3 to ANH should be quite a shock to someone seeing it for the first time.
"How come this one looks so different?"
But I don't see how the Empire revelation will be as powerful. Remember, Lucas had an outline for the entire saga, but each film changed and evolved as it was made, especially in the original trilogy. I don't think we can expect every little piece to fit together perfectly. The Vader revelation was meant to be a shocker, but if you watch the prequels then you'll know who Vader is before Luke tells him. The only one surprised is Luke. So the original shock value will be lost on the viewer. Just for that reason I think I'd let someone watch the originals first.
It's interesting that in a few years kids will be able to watch the trilogy in Episode order without the original trilogy coloring their judgement or providing them with background info. Can you imagine what it would be like to watch all six films that way?
it would probably be incredible!
It'd be more than that. Mindboggling.
Jedieb, I have to disagree. Yeah, the revelation will not be a shock, but I think the scene will still be powerful. That scene does not rely on its shock-value to be powerful. It is emotionally powerful and emotionally suspenseful. I still get chills every time I see that scene. I still feel the suspense. It's not a shock, but there is still a build and release to that point -- just imagine how much greater the build and then the ultimate release will be when there are almost five full films rather than almost two building up to that point!
Yeah, the shock value played a huge part when the film was first released, but the fact that that scene is still powerful twenty plus years later shows that the power of the scene does not rely on shock, but emotion and suspense. When suspense is done right, it remains suspenseful, even after the mystery is gone.
I had never seen SW till a few years ago, but I already knew that Vader was Luke's father from silly spoofs and jokes at SW. Will that be true for the next breed of SWFANS(.Net:) )?
Oh I didn't mean to say the scene won't be powerful Doc. It will still have a great impact. But it just won't resonate the way it did when both the audience and Luke learned Vader's identity. I just remember feeling completely stunned when Vader said those words. For me, knowing Vader's identity ahead of time just won't pack the same punch. But the scene will still work and still be one of the best of the entire saga for someone who watches them in episode order.
Well, it's quite possible it won't be revealed in the prequels that Vader is Luke's father. We might be lead to believe that he's a distant relative of some kind...granted, the last name makes it hard to dissassociate Luke from Vader, but I think it could be done.
I guess it's always possible that the prequels can end with the audience thinking Anakin was killed...
no logic in making them think that he was dead - why?
The logic in making the audience believe Anakin is dead would be to preserve the "surprise" of ESB. I, personally, have come to the conclustion that the surprise does not have to be preserved for the scene to still be powerful. But IF Lucas wants to preserve the secret, there are things he will have to do:
1. He will have to have a separate character who is a pupil of Obi-Wan's named Vader.
2. He will have to make it appear that Anakin is killed by Vader, after Vader turns to the dark side (while the truth would be that Anakin kills Vader and assumes his name while working in the guise of the Sith.)
3. Then he would have to make it seem like Obi-Wan is fighting Vader -- not Anakin -- and that it is Vader that falls into the molten pit, emerging and then donning the mask.
I think in order to preserve the secret, the story line will get too convoluted -- and it will lose the focus of this being a saga about the rise, fall, and redemption of Anakin Skywalker.
yup. obi wan whups anakin, and gives him the mask. that is the best way to go about it. keeps the story out of angela lansbury's hands, if you catch my drift...
Yeah. I want to see Star Wars! Not Star Wars She Wrote. :)
or Matlock Wars
i still think the most powerful scene in SW is the "i am your father" scene, and one of the thing that makes it so powerful is the complete surprise by the viewer. i'll still show is 4-6 and then 1-3
I agree that it is the most powerful scene in the saga. I disagree, however, that it is the total surprise by the viewer that makes it powerful. Think about it. How many times have you seen the movie? How many times has the scene been powerful? For me, it is powerful -- and it sends chills down my spine -- EVERY time I see it! If the total surprise by the viewer is what makes it powerful, then the only time it would have been powerful was the first time.
It is the emotion and the building of suspense in that scene that makes it powerful; and it remains powerful regardless of whether or not it is a surprise.
When it is a surprise, the information is a shock. But the shock does not make the scene any more powerful, nor does knowledge of the truth make the scene any less powerful.