Originally posted by:Jumpman

And whether it was originally written that way or Lucas rethought the entire Saga, you can still watch it numerically and it makes for a very compelling story about the Skywalker family.

It may work a bit better in the way they were released but it works the other way as well.

I am not saying it doesn't work 1-6, cause it can work that way. The problem with watching the PT first, is it sets the OT up for the viewer like this, "More Anakin, I want to know more about this character."

And as I said, Anakin is not the protagonist of the OT as he was in the PT, so it keeps the viewer from enjoying the parts that were great BEFORE it was supposedly Anakin story now. You just said that Han & Leia don't have much story in ESB, and that is because, and don't blame you for this, you want MORE ANAKIN.

I guarantee you watch ANH, and while Luke, Leia and Han are running through the death star cracking jokes, you are waiting for the rematch of Anakin/Obiwan. Every OT movie has half of it with just parts that deal with the friendship of Han, Leia, and Luke, that is the moral of that trilogy, friends will do anything, even take one for the team, just to save their friends.

Lucas does a great job of establishing that in all 3 OT movies and that is why it is so easy to root for Han, Leia, and Luke, their friendship on screen is so well done, when they are in danger, you feel in your in danger, when Leia is heartbroken after Han is frozen, you feel her pain. When Luke leaves Dagobah to rescue Han & Leia, you want him to go but know he is in danger. Notice I didn't mention Darth Vader?

Darth Vader was just a subplot to the whole OT, and I will say a great subplot that added depth to a genre that sorely lacks it in many fantasy movies. The right way to watch the OT movies is through Luke, Leia, and Han not the continuing story of Darth Vader, cause if you are looking for Vader's story, watch all of 20 minutes of ANH, don't turn on ESB til about 40 minutes in, and the same with ROTJ, cause of a good part of those movies center around Luke, Leia, and Han, and that is why they are in all 3 montages in the OT, except for Han missing in ESB.

On the other end, many OT fans are watching the PT out of context, because they are looking for macro stuff (Clone Wars, Rebellion, etc.) that we all wanted to know about since 1983. The PT is a character study on Anakin, and if you don't love that story, you will never love the PT whether you think the movies are good or not. Lucas took a gamble focusing so much on Anakins story, cause that is the centerpiece of every movie (TPM= Young Anakin being found, AOTC = Anakin/Padme falling in love, ROTS = Anakin turning to the darkside)

What are the three biggest complaints about the PT:

1. Anakin as a 10 year old in TPM
2. Anakin/Padme love affair in AOTC
3. Anakins turn to the darkside in ROTS

That is why I can still see the saga 4-6 because that story never changed, it is about Luke, Leia, and Han and how they help the rebels defeat the Empire, with a nice sub-story of Luke redeeming his father, Darth Vader that adds some depth, and that is why I don't need the PT to complete my SW fandom, because I don't love the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker. Sorry, but it aint that interesting for 6 movies now.