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Originally posted by: Anakin's Mannequin
See this is a hard question for me. All three have a different flavor to them.
ANH was epic and had constant movement from place to place, revealing just a dab of every aspect of the universe while showing a great story line that covered up an even greater story line to come.
ESB was dark and expanded on existing characters much more, while introducing some new ones as well. You saw that Darth Vadar was merely human instead of just a two dimensional bad guy (putting his helmet on facing from behind him, and later announcing that he was Luke's father). Lots of tragedy as well as twists and turns throughout.
ROTJ had a more lighthearted feel about it with the Ewoks and celebration at the end, but with all of the battles that took place in it (Jabba's palace, the Death Star, Luke/Vadar/Emperor fight), it definately balanced the tone.
If I were forced to pick one, I'd go with Empire Strikes Back, mainly because I like darker films. But honestly, I still like the other two just as much.
ESB is my favorite, although as my brother says, it's like asking what my favorite ice cream is...they're ALL good.
ANH definitely had many great moments, including the binary sunset with the poignant (sp?) music (what kid hasn't been able relate to Luke at that moment?) and the Battle of Yavin. Although I think overall that it moved quite slowly in the beginning (especially with the droids getting lost on Tatooine).
ESB was almost non-stop from beginning to end. The sense that the Falcon was 1/2 second away from being captured at all times just adds to the excitement, as well as the betrayal at Bespin. The music took a leap forward from being already legendary, especially the scene when Han is lowered into the freezing pit...the music combined with Chewie's screaming ratchets up the agony, and is still emotionally powerful.
ROTJ had some awesome points: The Tiberium Shuttle debut (which got screwed up in the Spec Editions) in the beginning was cool. The saber duel at Jabba's palace was good. The entire sub-plot between Luke and Vader was very cool, and the visuals when they're on screen are extremely polished. The throne room battle scenes are still impressive, and the music when Luke whigs out on Vader is very appropriate somehow. I like the new music from the Spec Editions (take your pick which version), and the celebrations on Curruscant make more sense now that we've actually seen what it looks like. Also, I prefer the ORIGINAL actor in the ghostly trio at the end...not Hayden Christensen.