Ranking the Star Wars films — Page 86

It wasn’t meant to hurt your feelings. It’s because I’m lazy and don’t feel like looking your name up all the time.

There was a guy Ryan around here recently, who complained because some posters always bash the prequels or the SEs. Even though they have made their point hundreds of times that they think the prequels are bad, they continue to post about it and make offhand remarks, over and over again. Ryan felt like it was toxic, and you all told him to **** off.

You don’t see the irony in you turning around and complaining when other users continue to criticize some movies that you happen to like?

Alderaan said:

So here you are, and Fink, and Hasbro, and the others, continuing to post your adulation of some Star Wars movies, and your hatred of others, over and over again.

No, I don’t. I don’t post in this thread often – not to adulate a movie, not to disparage it. I won’t speak for the others, but what opinions I had to give on any of these films I’ve pretty much given; I have little desire to reiterate them.

When new users offer their new takes, here you are, posting your agreement with them or your disagreement with them. Always continually wanting to discuss the rankings of these films, and always wanting to react to other people’s rankings of these films.

Wrong. I don’t. I don’t care how much or how little someone likes a SW film or in what order they rate it, and I rarely comment to agree or disagree with them.

Apparently, you feel that you doing this is justified. Apparently, when people hold a different viewpoint from you, it is not justified. They are only allowed to post a few times, and then they should disappear. But you should get to post as often as you want.

I have no problem with your opinion. I do have a problem with how you express it.

Alderaan said:

There was a guy Ryan around here recently, who complained because some posters always bash the prequels or the SEs. Even though they have made their point hundreds of times that they think the prequels are bad, they continue to post about it and make offhand remarks, over and over again. Ryan felt like it was toxic, and you all told him to **** off.

Well unlike some here I don’t bash the PT at every turn and I remember at least sympathizing with his struggle even though I didn’t like the way he vocalized it. Also sending in that other PT fan (or making a sock account) for the sole purpose of arguing was fucking weak but that’s besides the point.

1. The Empire Strikes Back
2. Star Wars
3. Return of the Jedi
4. Rogue One
5. The Force Awakens

I don’t find Rogue One boring like some do. It takes a lot for me to get bored from watching a film. I haven’t watched the PT in 7-8 years so I can’t make an accurate ranking with them. I’ve been thinking of watching fanedits of them though just out of curiosity.

After having an “Easter marathon” my current ranking is

1./2. - Star Wars / The Empire Strikes Back
3. The Attack of the Clones
4. The Clone Wars
5. Return of the Jedi
6. The Force Awakens
7. The Phantom Menace
8. Rogue One
9. Caravan of Courage
10. Battle for Endor
11. The Star Wars Holiday Special
12. Revenge of the Sith

imperialscum said:

DuracellEnergizer said:

No, I don’t. I don’t post in this thread often

and I rarely comment to agree or disagree with them.

Like you said, you do not post very often and you rarely comment on anything useful. When you do post it is usually childish BS and false accusations:

http://originaltrilogy.com/post/id/1067098

Funny how the above applies just as much to you as it does to me. All except for the “do not post often” part.

pittrek said:

After having an “Easter marathon” my current ranking is

1./2. - Star Wars / The Empire Strikes Back
3. The Attack of the Clones
4. The Clone Wars
5. Return of the Jedi
6. The Force Awakens
7. The Phantom Menace
8. Rogue One
9. Caravan of Courage
10. Battle for Endor
11. The Star Wars Holiday Special
12. Revenge of the Sith

did you manage to fit those all in one marathon? :p

dahmage said:

pittrek said:

After having an “Easter marathon” my current ranking is

1./2. - Star Wars / The Empire Strikes Back
3. The Attack of the Clones
4. The Clone Wars
5. Return of the Jedi
6. The Force Awakens
7. The Phantom Menace
8. Rogue One
9. Caravan of Courage
10. Battle for Endor
11. The Star Wars Holiday Special
12. Revenge of the Sith

did you manage to fit those all in one marathon? :p

OK, a “marathon” split into 4 days 😃

1. Rogue One
2. The Force Awakens
3. The Empire Strikes Back
4. Star Wars
5. Return of the Jedi
6. Rebels (animated tv show)
7. Ewoks (animated tv show)
8. Droids (animated tv show)
9. Caravan of Courage (tv movie)
10. The Battle for Endor (tv movie)
11. Star Wars Holiday Special
12. The Phantom Menace
13. Attack of the Clones
14. Revenge of the Sith
15. Clone Wars (animated tv show)

My rankings of 1-6 fluctuate a bit, but right now I’d say:

1. A New Hope
2. Revenge of the Sith
3. Return of the Jedi
4. Attack of the Clones
5. The Empire Strikes Back
6. The Phantom Menace
7. Rogue One
8. The Force Awakens

But there’s a huge gap between TPM and Rogue One. I love 1-6 (yes, even the prequels), but I have not liked Disney’s Star Wars so far.

pittrek said:

dahmage said:

pittrek said:

After having an “Easter marathon” my current ranking is

1./2. - Star Wars / The Empire Strikes Back
3. The Attack of the Clones
4. The Clone Wars
5. Return of the Jedi
6. The Force Awakens
7. The Phantom Menace
8. Rogue One
9. Caravan of Courage
10. Battle for Endor
11. The Star Wars Holiday Special
12. Revenge of the Sith

did you manage to fit those all in one marathon? :p

OK, a “marathon” split into 4 days 😃

that’s still awesome!

pittrek said:

After having an “Easter marathon” my current ranking is

1./2. - Star Wars / The Empire Strikes Back
3. The Attack of the Clones
4. The Clone Wars
5. Return of the Jedi
6. The Force Awakens
7. The Phantom Menace
8. Rogue One
9. Caravan of Courage
10. Battle for Endor
11. The Star Wars Holiday Special
12. Revenge of the Sith

This sort of makes sense if I unfocus my eyes enough to move AOTC down to the bottom.

Also, which TCW are you talking about?

There are many ongoing disagreements. Since I am one of the few who actually like the Prequels I get a lot of flack for it. But that is fine. I actually think all 9 theatrical Star Wars films are very good. The OT is outstanding, the PT is adequate, Clone Wars was very good, TFA is less adequate than the PT and Rogue One is nearly as outstanding as the OT. I watch a lot of movies and my opinions do not always fall in line with others. I’m used to it. I happen to enjoy Frink. He reminds me of this disagreeable co-worker I have.

I keep coming back to this topic because they are releasing new movies and because I’m interested in other opinions. I may not agree with them, but sometimes others can give you fresh insight and make you question if your previously held opinion is valid. Try as he might, Frink has yet to successfully make me question my enjoyment of the PT. Mainly because I see in the PT a different style of film and I can appreciate that style. It reminds me more of old hollywood where the OT reminds me of the 50’s science ficiton and samurai films. If I were a teacher grading these films, each of the OT gets an A+, Rogue One is right there with them, but I haven’t decided what kind of A (A+, A, A-). Clone Wars is a solid B, the PT are C and TFA is D (so much right but some key fails - a good effort).

And I have something to compare it to as well. I am first and foremost a Star Wars fan, but in the 80’s, when Star Wars was just 3 films and 4 books (no new movies, books, or even an RPG), I became a big Star Trek fan. They had new movies throughout the decade and TNG started, plus a series of books (that I think still puts the Star Wars franchise to shame for volume). I can honesly say I like all 6 Star Trek films and I get a lot of flack for that. 1 and 5 are not often fan favorites and get greatly derided for their quality. But I look at both of them and instead of seeing inferior quality, I see two movies that are far more like the original series than the other 4 movies. Roddenberry gave us his unvarnished vision of Star Trek 3 times. The Cage, The Motion Picture (the story was titled In Thy Image), and Encounter at Farpoint. All three tend to be slow paced and lacking in some of the action, but they make up for it in thought provoking story. And the original series often ventured into mythology for story ideas and Shatner followed the same pattern when he came up with the story for The Final Frontier. What Star Trek V is is the single movie that is closest to the original series in tone and story style. Shatner’s vision was perhaps out of touch with the 80’s, but that movie fits very well along side Who Mourns for Adonis and Plato’s Stepchildren. Because of that, I like it. I rank it as the worst of the films, but that does not mean I don’t like it.

Tying that in to this conversation, while I think TFA is the most trouble ridden theatrical story we have seen, I still like it. I just think it is very inferior to the others. I probably like it more than many movies that I think are better done, but, like the prequels, it is Star Wars - a universe I love - so I automatically like it far more than any movie of similar quality. In fact, I probably consider it at a similar level to Star Trek V: the Final Frontier. Both have story issues that bring me out of the story if I think about them. But there is still a lot to like. The PT, to relate it to Star Trek, are more like Star Trek: The Motion Picture - not quite up to the same standard because the story goal was different. Now, Star Trek has hundreds of episodes so the quality of production and writing is all over the place, but nothing Star Wars has never sunk to the low that is the TOS episodes Let That Be Your Last Battlefield, Spock’s Brain, or Turnabout Intruder. I hate Turnabout Intruder so much that I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen it whereas the rest I could not begin to tell you.

So ranking is relative to each individual. This is a forum dedicated to the original trilogy and preserving the original version of it. I really consider the OT to be comprised of 7 movies. The original, unnumbered Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, and the special editions of each (I really can’t consider the different editions as different films because the home video tweaks don’t change that much compared to how altered the original SE are compared to the OUT). Similarly just because there are two opening crawls, two end credits, and four audio mixes, because there are no story edits, Star Wars and Episode IV: A New Hope always rank the same and might as well be the same movie - except that adding Episode IV: A New Hope forever altered it. One stands alone as an industry changing film and one is part of a Saga. That’s why I waste time rendering two different versions and why I keep plugging away at remastering the 1981 crawl/flyover. I guess you could say they are like twins with different birthdays and fingerprints.

Okay, this post is now too long. I hope I haven’t bored you.

One final point. I clearly remember what my ranking of the films was back in the 80’s. It was Star Wars, Jedi, Empire. I always put Empire last in those days. I did not come to appreciate the genius of the story (between Lucas, Leigh Brackett, Kasdan, and Kushner, they created a masterpiece that I think is one of the best films ever made) until the 90’s. And to put the SE of the OT in the mix, all I can say is I think the changes to TESB made it better, ANH teeters at about the same (the changes to Mos Eisley bring it down, but are countered by Jabba and Biggs - something I’d always wanted to see in the movie), and ROTJ falls (it just gets worse with each new edit).

yotsuya said:

Clone Wars was very good

Wait, the movie?

I happen to enjoy Frink. He reminds me of this disagreeable co-worker I have.

Thanks?

Try as he might, Frink has yet to successfully make me question my enjoyment of the PT.

I’m not sure what gave you the impression that I’m trying to do so. It’s certainly your right. I think it’s crazy to give the PT a C and TFA a D but I’m not having trouble sleeping at night because you did.

TV’s Frink said:

yotsuya said:

Clone Wars was very good

Wait, the movie?

It was in theaters, even though it really was cobbled together from episodes they originally planned on airing.

I happen to enjoy Frink. He reminds me of this disagreeable co-worker I have.

Thanks?

Try as he might, Frink has yet to successfully make me question my enjoyment of the PT.

I’m not sure what gave you the impression that I’m trying to do so. It’s certainly your right. I think it’s crazy to give the PT a C and TFA a D but I’m not having trouble sleeping at night because you did.

It is the way you tend to disagree. And I’m very glad my opinion of TFA does not keep you up at night.

pittrek said:

After having an “Easter marathon” my current ranking is

1./2. - Star Wars / The Empire Strikes Back
3. The Attack of the Clones
4. The Clone Wars
5. Return of the Jedi
6. The Force Awakens
7. The Phantom Menace
8. Rogue One
9. Caravan of Courage
10. Battle for Endor
11. The Star Wars Holiday Special
12. Revenge of the Sith

Ah… The two Ewok movies and THS added in. Well, I consider all those to fall below TFA in my ranking. I don’t get liking ATOC more the ROTJ, TPM, or ROTS. Care to explain why you rank it so high. Just curious.

yotsuya said:

TV’s Frink said:

yotsuya said:

Clone Wars was very good

Wait, the movie?

It was in theaters, even though it really was cobbled together from episodes they originally planned on airing.

No, I get that, I just thought it was generally considered to be utter trash. I haven’t actually seen it, mostly because it sounds so horrible that I have no interest.

I’ve recently been thinking myself about Star Trek while trying to figure out my relationship with the PT and other elements of Star Wars that aren’t my favorite. I only came to Trek in my late teens, so this might have more to do with the fact that I was never as invested in it as I was in Star Wars, but the stakes for any given Trek thing being good always seemed lower because there was always an understanding that there would eventually be more Trek. In the years between the PT and the Disney acquisition, when Lucas regularly insisted that there wouldn’t ever be any more Star Wars movies, I was really pissed off because it looked like they’d taken a thing that I loved, made it terrible, and blown it up, never to be brought back or continued. Now that we’re going to be getting new films indefinitely, though, pretty much all my negative feelings about the prequels have dissipated. Without that finality that ROTS once carried, they just seem to me like three subpar entries in an ongoing series that’s bound to have ups and downs, much like the Trek films and shows that I don’t care for.

1. The Empire Strikes Back
2. Star Wars/Return of the Jedi
3. Star Wars/Return of the Jedi (although most of the time, if I had to pick just one of the two to watch in a single sitting, I’d probably pick Jedi; those throne room scenes are just too epic to pass up, “Oh, I’m afraid the deflector shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive”…evil smile)
4. Rogue One (finally, the first good Star Wars film since the originals)

-------------- This is the cutoff separating the good movies from those that I really have no desire to ever watch again---------

5. The Force Awakens…meh…
6. The Phantom Menace (although I’d rather just watch the Duel of the Fates scene)
7. Revenge of the Sith
8. Attack of the Clones (romance…dialogue about sand…What’s not to love?)

And, it goes without saying (except I’ll say it anyway), this list refers to only the original incarnations of the films (not the “special” editions), and I consider anything outside The Original Trilogy to be basically just EU anyway (regardless if I think it to be good or bad).

Considering the fact you like Rogue One why would you consider it to be EU? It also fits pretty well with STAR WARS and is more than suitable substitute for the PT.

joefavs said:

I’ve recently been thinking myself about Star Trek while trying to figure out my relationship with the PT and other elements of Star Wars that aren’t my favorite. I only came to Trek in my late teens, so this might have more to do with the fact that I was never as invested in it as I was in Star Wars, but the stakes for any given Trek thing being good always seemed lower because there was always an understanding that there would eventually be more Trek. In the years between the PT and the Disney acquisition, when Lucas regularly insisted that there wouldn’t ever be any more Star Wars movies, I was really pissed off because it looked like they’d taken a thing that I loved, made it terrible, and blown it up, never to be brought back or continued. Now that we’re going to be getting new films indefinitely, though, pretty much all my negative feelings about the prequels have dissipated. Without that finality that ROTS once carried, they just seem to me like three subpar entries in an ongoing series that’s bound to have ups and downs, much like the Trek films and shows that I don’t care for.

That has always be the biggest problem with Star Wars fanboyism. The fans don´t judge the movies on there own merit but keep comparing them to the originals.

Not that the PT would be that much better received by the general public were they not connected to the original Star Wars but it is a problem within the fandom.