I remember dragging Father to cinema in the 80s to see “The Empire Strikes Back”, only to discover I had to continually whisper clarifications during the movie as he was confused who and what was happening. It dawned on him halfway through the movie The Empire was the bad guy. I was appalled. How could he be so dense when it was so easy and obvious to follow? Well, Time has had his laugh as is his wont. The tables have turned and I can’t remember much about the series, other than The Empire is the bad guy and C3PO was a whiny drama queen throughout.
I have a fancy to re-see these spectacles, although I am befuddled how to go about doing this. There have been more than a handful of new ones since I saw the first lot. I don’t know if it is better to see them in order of appearance or in order of story-timeline. Either way I need some Star Wars enthusiast to hold my hand and tell me what to see.[1]
My memory of ‘Star Wars’ resembles that of a man peeking through an old-fashioned keyhole of a door into a room. I see some things clearly, a few things are fuzzy on the periphery, but most of the room is not visible. Funny the things I do remember. I remember there was a line in the first movie [2] I found hilarious. It the one where the two droids walking into a cantina bar in which there are all sorts of creatures only to hear the bartender shout “We don’t serve their kind!” I remember several times questioning the laws of physics and biology being bent if not entirely discarded for the sake of a good story. Perhaps I was taking it all too seriously but I know some folks who take this Star Wars stuff quite seriously; Doubting their devotion is an effrontery along the line of questioning their religious beliefs.
I didn’t care for the shoot-em-up scenes nor the sword fights (which were sort of boring) but I liked the aliens and beasts. I like monsters and there were plenty to be had in the Star Wars movies. [3] I especially liked The Jawas, as they sounded like intoxicated chipmunks and I despised The Ewoks as too-cute-for words. I also liked Mr. Williams’ music which was well-matched to the movies, provided you could hear it over the blasts and roaring of the spacecraft, which by the way, would not happen in space as there is no air.
Yes, I want to view these movies again and see if I will as bedazzled as I was in the 70s-80s when I first saw them. I’ve longed to to choke someone using ‘The Force’, not for their impudence but for bad manners and dangling particles – Yoda excepted. The dear! He wasn’t speaking poor English but a sort of Middle English syntax. I still have my two inch-tall Yoda ‘action figure’ (don’t call it a doll). No, I haven’t seen “Baby Yoda” nor do I care to. Whoever made up that monstrosity can go suck a Bantha.
[1] Spo-fans who knows these sort of things: please give advice. I would be most grateful.
[2] I think the first movie is now considered the fourth movie – or maybe the fifth or the sixth by. The titles keep getting rearranged. Oh the pain.
[3] I wonder if some Star Wars nut-job put together a bestiary book. I am particularly intrigued to learn more about the what-do-you-call-it thing in which people were being thrown into its mouth in the desert scene. I say ‘mouth’ but it looked uncannily like an anus. Somebody in the drawing room was having fun wit this one.
42 comments
May 13, 2022 at 2:06 AM
David Godfrey
Not me, only recently I figured out that Star Wars and Star Trek are not related to one another in any way. I am largely clueless.
May 13, 2022 at 6:41 AM
Urspo
It is acceptable to forgo Star Wars, but to dismiss Star Trek seems like blasphemy. They are as like a Woodford reserve and Southern Comfort. Oh the horror.
May 13, 2022 at 2:08 AM
DwightW.
I avoided the whole Star Wars Franchise. Don’t know why just lucky I guess , Loved Indiana Jones, Loved Just about anything and Everything else, but never got Star Wars Fever. I read all the Harry Potter Books and saw all the Movies. I love a good serial adventure. Then again I’ve had Disney at my Beck and Call for 50 years and have only gone twice , I think they own Star Wars Now.
May 13, 2022 at 6:42 AM
Urspo
Yes The Mouse own Star Wars; I think they are going to town on the thing, much to great and different emotions. People get awfully queer about Star Wars.
May 13, 2022 at 3:17 AM
BadNoteB
I remember the first Star Wars as remarkable cinematic overload for the time, an impressive Williams music score in even more impressive Dolby stereo, C3PO, R2D2, and a captivating Cantina scene. The actual story line? Not so much… and I’ve never had a desire to view any of the sequels/prequels that followed.
I realize I’m the odd duck when it comes to the fantasy genre. Hobbit/Lord of Rings? Harry Potter? I’ve attempted the books and tried the movies but am just unable to experience the attraction that millions of people – over and under 4 feet – seem to immediately connect with. For reasons I don’t understand, my imagination just refuses the journey. The thought of needing to order segments of the Star Wars saga, by either storyline or release date, makes me need a nap.
May 13, 2022 at 6:44 AM
Urspo
When in doubt, get horizontal.
A lot of ink has been spilled on what Star Wars is exactly. The first one is arguably a fairy tale set in space, not ‘science fiction’ per se.
May 13, 2022 at 4:49 AM
Moving with Mitchell
I would love to watch these all again. I think I missed one somewhere in the middle… and maybe even the most recent one. I went to see the first one with friends when I was still living in New York. I can even remember us standing in line outside the theatre.
May 13, 2022 at 6:45 AM
Urspo
I remember being in a very very long line to see the “Empire” movie, and a friend took umbrage he was doing to have to pay five dollars to see it
May 13, 2022 at 4:52 AM
Debra She Who Seeks
I’m afraid I don’t know all the ins and outs of the Star Wars saga. I’ve only seen bits and pieces here and there. However, if you ever need advice about the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), I’m your gal — I know every exhaustive detail about those movies and series, LOL! Especially the Captain America and Winter Soldier plot lines, of course.
May 13, 2022 at 6:46 AM
Urspo
Does the MCU include The Wonder Twins? I often use them in simile with patients, only to realize few know who they are.
May 13, 2022 at 6:59 AM
Old Lurker
Uh oh. Someone (not Someone) is asking for a stern talking-to. Let us hope Sassybear is too busy to visit your comments today. The Wonder Twins are not the property of Marvel/Disney but of their eternal enemy publisher DC Comics. Eventually Disney will own everything so it won’t matter, but until then it is critical to get your intellectual-property holders right.
As far as I know the Wonder Twins were never comics superstars in their own right. They were created specifically for the animated TV show. So it is not surprising your patients are unfamiliar with them.
May 13, 2022 at 7:22 AM
Debra She Who Seeks
Thank goodness that Old Lurker, with his encyclopedic knowledge of nearly everything, could address this controversy and clarify the situation! I have never heard of the Wonder Twins. But it IS correct that Disney will eventually own everything.
May 13, 2022 at 8:01 AM
Urspo
No Wonder Twins? say it ain’t so! Wonder twin powers – activate!
May 13, 2022 at 5:11 AM
Linda Practical Parsimony
The original SW may be the only one I have seen. Well, I did see one just a few years back. I get Star Wars and Star Trek mixed up half the time. I know they are separate movies and stories, just say the wrong one.
The Hobbit was stupid, but I love Harry Potter.
I loved Star Wars when it came out and saw it a few months ago. Loved it still. Sometimes, I lost the story line but the visuals were still great.
Google your question and someone, somewhere has asked or answered it if you get no help here. Sorry!
May 13, 2022 at 6:48 AM
Urspo
No harm asking.
Lots of folks confuse SW with ST, which sounds horrid to thems who watch both as they are quite different cups of tea.
I’ve read the Hobbit in German.
May 15, 2022 at 4:52 PM
Richard Portman
I wonder what that was like? Probably pretty good. My German teacher had us read Siddhartha and All Quiet on the Western Front. I don’t use that language anymore, but i did have some good teachers.
May 13, 2022 at 6:29 AM
Old Lurker
Well, somebody is fishing for comments with this entry. I am no Star Wars nerd but there are a good number of Spo-fans who are.
“A New Hope” was always labelled Episode 4 for mysterious reasons. It is possible that George Lucas had always intended there to be Episodes 1-3, but there was a long gap (from 1983-1999) between Episode 6 (“Return of the Jedi”) and Episode 1 (“The Phantom Menace”, starring the infamous Jar-Jar Binks).
As the hype for Episode 1 was building, they remastered and re-released Episodes 4-6. I went to the theatre to watch Episode 4 and was sorely disappointed. The Muppetty aliens were fine but I found the wanton violence a turn-off. (I liked the laser sword fights, though.) I suppose rewatching the series might be worthwhile but don’t get your hopes up.
The giant mouth/anus is from Episode 6, “Return of the Jedi”. This beastie is known as a Sarlacc. If you are looking for a bestiary you could do worse than the Wookieepedia online, although I am sure there are printed and bound books you can purchase as well.
As for which order to watch things: who knows? I will leave this to more dedicated Spo-fans. Episodes 1-3 are generally considered the worst. Episodes 4-6 are the classics. Episodes 7-9 are the ones where Disney took over, and thus were carefully manufactured to be crowd pleasers (although Episode 8 “The Last Jedi” was extremely controversial with fans). I personally had seen “Return of the Jedi” too many times to count, “A New Hope” and “Empire Strikes Back” a handful of times, “The Phantom Menace” once, and then I gave up in disgust. There are also many spinoff shows and movies, some of which were well-received.
May 13, 2022 at 6:52 AM
Urspo
I write what the Muses or someone like them provides me. Apparently they recently were on Netflix.
I didn’t know Wookiepedia was something; hot puppies!
I also looked up Sarlaac and was fascinated to see how much interest and fan fiction there is on the topic. The ghost of Freud must be cackling over this modern example of anal fixation.
I think I will see these suckers (if I do) in chroniclogal order
May 13, 2022 at 7:02 AM
Old Lurker
The Muses were probably not on Netflix, since Disney owns the properties and have their own lucrative streaming service. Maybe the Muses have a Disney+ subscription? (Now you have me wondering whether Disney owns the intellectual property rights of the Greek Pantheon…)
May 13, 2022 at 8:06 AM
Urspo
You are a witty as you are informative
I have neither Netflix nor Disney stalling the Mouse from taking over a little longer than is inevitable.
May 13, 2022 at 6:34 AM
Paul Brownsey
I have never seen a Stars film. I have never seen a James Bond film. I have never read a Harry Potter book or seen a Harry Potter film. I have not read Lord of the Rings or seen any of the films (though I did read The Hobbit as a student.)
No wonder I get snowballs thrown at me.
May 13, 2022 at 6:56 AM
Urspo
Who managed your childhood I wonder.
I’ve seen only a few Bonds movie; they seem all alike to me and not worth seeing in general. I think I lost interest in Star Wars past the third one for similar reasons – but these are movies.
I give Ms. Rowling credit. She wrote good stories that keep the reader turning the page to find out what is coming. Good for her! On the other hand Mr. Tolkein’s lofty tome is Cooper-like you have to slog through a lot; the plot grinds to a halt often with a song or a poem, which I remember skipping over to get back to the plot.
I still prefer Dickens, which gets bricks not snowballs.
May 13, 2022 at 8:54 AM
Paul Brownsey
But I did stamp my little foot (metaphorically) and insist on being taken to see every film that came out starring Alan Ladd.
May 15, 2022 at 5:00 PM
Richard Portman
My brother is like you. He refuses. I love him. He says he won’t pollute his brain. I say, it might be crap, but it is part of our culture. Sorry about the snowballs.
May 13, 2022 at 7:32 AM
Robzilla, Native Of Slam Diego
The Empire are the bad guys, yet “Darth Raider” can be found at Raiders games nowadays.
May 13, 2022 at 8:05 AM
Urspo
Oh the horror.
May 13, 2022 at 8:09 AM
Brian Dean Powers
The original three movies were fun in their time. Of those, “A New Hope” and “Return of the Jedi” still hold up more or less as long as you’re willing to go along with the basic premise of the tale. The three prequel movies are not worth your time.
May 13, 2022 at 9:00 AM
Urspo
I have no memory of these three, perhaps it is a mercy?
May 13, 2022 at 8:24 AM
jefferyrn
Not the big fan of Star Wars. I did see the first one. I think I was more interested in Star Trek. Ricardo Montalbán to be specific. But that’s just a fantasy, pun intended.
May 13, 2022 at 9:02 AM
Urspo
It seems Spo-fans – at least the ones commenting – are more Trek-fans than that of the Wars of the Stars. Curious.
I adored the Star Trek/next generation series the most. I haven’t seen the later ones.
May 13, 2022 at 9:27 AM
Lori Hawkins
No Star Wars or Star Trek for me.
May 13, 2022 at 9:56 AM
Urspo
Another one I ask ‘who managed your childhood?” hohoho
May 13, 2022 at 9:41 AM
johnmichael42003
I was not a Star Wars fan growing up. However my next door neighbor was and we were friends (he also later came out–so maybe we both had that as a commonality). I played with the figures and the ships that he had. We both wanted to play with the Princess Lea figure (surprise).
May 13, 2022 at 9:57 AM
Urspo
A testimony!
I thought Princess Leia was sort of whiny at the beginning, I didn’t care for her. I liked the aliens most.
May 13, 2022 at 9:52 AM
Bob
I remember hearing that the first three released are actually the middle three of a nine part thing and that confused me so much I just gave up.
May 13, 2022 at 9:58 AM
Urspo
I think a lot of folks did, especially the die-hard fans who were majorly letdown when the first (second) trilogy came on board.
May 13, 2022 at 9:59 AM
Glenda
I never got into Star Wars. The wars part put me off. Now Star Trek I really liked. But why didn’t they use seat belts on the bridge. They always got tossed out of their seats during turbulence and in Second Gen. they always tugged on their too short shirts.
May 13, 2022 at 11:26 AM
Urspo
hohoho
I hadn’t thought of that
Truth be told one can drive oneself to distraction watching these sorts of things and thinking about the physics and such
I remember reading a fun book called “the science of star wars” (or something like it). In it they looked at the ‘reality’ of things and nearly all came up improbable if downright impossible.
It is sort of like Santa Claus and how he gets around to all house one night. Best not to think about it too hard.
May 13, 2022 at 5:56 PM
Pipistrello
I remember seeing ‘Star Wars’ at the cinema with my parents – v. exciting all round! I still call those Danishes-over-your-ears hairdos the Princess Leia ‘do and wish I could pull the look off.
Despite loving sci-fi books and early Star Treks and Dr Who etc etc, I cannot abide the unutterably wet and wimpy way these franchises have descended. So much discussion of Feelings and Interpersonal stuffs in the canteen when they need to be getting down to business.
I saw one of the later ‘Star Wars’, cannot say if it was sequel or prequel in nature, and spent a lot of time eye-rolling when I wasn’t completely baffled by the plot, so beware, you may end up never getting back precious hours if you watch them all go to whoa. Take the Board with you and report back when you do. I’d love to know what they thought!
May 15, 2022 at 6:46 AM
Urspo
The Boisterous Board once put in a private cinema (Heorot Johnsons I) but it didn’t last. Someone foolishly brought in a bunch of Ingmar Bergman films which evoked hysterics and ructions and that was the end of that.
May 14, 2022 at 4:45 AM
JR~
https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/how-to-watch-the-star-wars-movies-in-the-right-order/
May 15, 2022 at 6:46 AM
Urspo
thank you! I think I will try to do this this Memorial Day Weekend.