TV's Frink said:
Whenever we have these "which order to watch" discussions I have to throw out the 4-5-1-2-3-6 idea.
*throw*
As far as incorporating the existing 'official' prequels into a complete whole viewing order of the six 'STAR WARS' movies, this is a notion that I've grown to REALLY like since it was first brought up a while back. So if I *had* to choose a complete saga viewing order for myself or anyone new to it all...then I'd definately favour the 4-5-1-2-3-6 scenario, personally.
What I like about it most is not just the way that this particular order manages to preserve the various main 'reveals' intact along the way...but that it also importantly retains a more dramatic structure overall that I far prefer...because it allows for the more powerful opening scroll and intro. visuals of 'A New Hope' to initially start everything off once again, which defines the impactful way that the 'STAR WARS' saga used to begin 'mid-action'...and alway should, as far as I'm concerned.
So rather than having to start the saga off on a far less satisfying note with a trilogy of disappointing movies that only retroactively became the new 'official' beginning...things can now hit the ground running for me with my two favourite episodes kicking the whole thing off instead, as they originally did.
And using this alternative order, I find that I can be slightly more tolerant of the underwhelming 'backstory' episodes now, even if unedited in their current versions...knowing that if they are slotted into sequence like this, then at least they won't give certain things away, before we come to them. In fact, I rather like a lot of the 'Anakin becomes Vader' imagery that's seen in 'Revenge of the Sith', when it's integrated into the context of this re-ordered 4-5-1-2-3-6 sequence. Although not the ridiculous "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" yell, obviously...
Speaking for myself, I would find it difficult to encourage anyone new to the 'STAR WARS' saga to progress through the movies in their current 'official' order of chapter numbering. My previous preference would have been for them to at least watch the two trilogies in their theatrical release order of 4-5-6-1-2-3...so that the prequels wouldn't dilute the effect of seeing what occurred in the Original Trilogy.
But I now reckon that the 4-5-1-2-3-6 sequence is an even better option if I had to watch the entire saga in future...since this would allow things to eventually conclude with the satisfyingly upbeat finale that the 'Return of the Jedi' movie offers, overall. :)
...which is why in an ideal world for me, NONE of the movies would be restrictively numbered... They would just go by their individual titles, so that they wouldn't seem to be out of their 'official' order, if anyone wanted to watch them in a different sequence to GL's retroactive order.
Anyway, where the prequels are concerned, I'm grateful for, and fully in agreement with the various relevant points that cap highlighted on this page - Here