Star Wars

[Shadow]

I voted for the first one that came out in 1977, whatever you want to call it.

Anyone besides me remember seeing the Revenge of the Jedi trailer back in 82-83?

[Torgo]

The 1st one is still my favorite though Empire comes a close 2nd.

[Ometiklan]

I Liked Empire the best and Jedi the least....Ewoks Why did it have to be Ewoks?

[Mr. DS]

Did anyone watch the Family Guy Star Wars episode the other night?

[ulthar]

Did anyone watch the Family Guy Star Wars episode the other night?

Yes.  Both my wife and I watched, and lauged our &^%es off. 

[indianasmith]

The first one was IT.  I remember sitting in the theater at age 13, with the lights going down and that unforgettable theme music echoing in my ears . . . my girlfriend (now my wife) was forgotten for  the next two hours as my jaw dropped lower and lower with each new ubelievable scene . . . there had NEVER been a movie like this!  I LOVED IT!!!


And so a nerd was born . . . .

[Scott]

Wow, IndianaSmith you married a girl you went to STAR WARS with when you were 13? That's amazing. God Bless both of you.

[indianasmith]

We were chasing each other around on the playground in second grade . . .


I guess it was meant to be!

[ghouck]

Did anyone watch the Family Guy Star Wars episode the other night?

How about the Robot Chicken Star Wars Special? It had some pretty funny stuff in it. The "phone call" between Vader and The Emperor after the first Death Star was destroyed had me laughing. It was rumored that Lucas himself help with it.

[KYGOTC]

The trilogy was great.......and then the new trilogy came out..........why? Why?




And then, why cant anyone see it the way it was seen in theaters anymore? All these "special" editions and altered versions are all you can get now, so now the original trilogy sucks, too. ........Sad times.

Did anyone watch the Family Guy Star Wars episode the other night?

"Great, kid! Don't get penisey!"

[Mortal Envelope]

It's all about Empire for me - I like them all but this was the darkest, most gripping story for me.  I liked that it had a downer ending and we really get to see just how bad Vader can be.

[Allhallowsday]

Anyone besides me remember seeing the Revenge of the Jedi trailer back in 82-83?

YES !!!

As for this:

The 'proper' title for the first movie is "Star Wars".   "A New Hope" was the rerelease's title.

I saw STAR WARS in the theatre during it's original run, and I *DO* have a vague recollection of the opening, scrolling, title sequence saying "Episode IV: A New Hope."  I know that my somewhat old and battle worn VHS copy (made pre-DVD days) has this sequence.
Anyone else remember this specificically from the theatrical run?

I believe the opening title sequence was added on after the release of EMPIRE STRIKES BACK... I do also believe that George Lucas had a vision of a background history for his original film, that swiftly developed into at least one superb sequel.  Somewhere buried around here I have TIME and maybe NEWSWEEK magazines with STAR WARS covers.  I recall in one of the juiced-up cover stories about the release of EMPIRE, the writer excitedly describing the scrolling sequence at the beginning of the film and that EMPIRE was "Episode V...!!"  It may be the same article where LUCAS describes a nine film cycle... !!
If that "Episode 4" title had been included in the very first release, it seems unlikely 20th Century Fox would have allowed it, but not impossible.  The  idea of it being the first film, yet "episode 4" suggests lost earlier episodes (which is cool and of course we get that story in the later series of films).  The idea is too great, and a bit too "grindhouse," embryonic if I recall those articles at all, and though inexpensive for a STAR WARS film ($11 million - a bargain even in 1977 considering it was the first film to exceed $300 million, it's closer to $800 million now)... $11 million was a lot of bread to risk on STAR WARS the unlikliest smash of all time !! 
My own favorite has to be EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, for reasons already cited by Mortal Envelope but, I have to go with the only true STAR WARS, the first film, which is incredibly fun and exciting, and the second film would not have been very interesting at all or so good for me without that first film...   

KYGOTC Mortal Envelope Shadow, and Ometiklan (Ewoks and Grace from REAR WINDOW )

[Him]

When it was made, it was titled with the ep. IV subtitle. Lucas envisioned three sets of trilogies, though I don't recall why he started with ep. IV. The idea was to trace the journey of C3PO and R2D2 in three major story arcs. Not that they would be the stars of the story, but they were to be the only characters that were present throughout the series. The first three episodes traced the rise of Obi Wan and Vader. Those characters are killed off in the second trilogy, and the rise of Luke, Leia and Han are presented. The third trilogy was to trace the story of Luke's child and bring the overall story arc to a close. Thankfully, even Lucas is sick of the movies and has abandoned plans to complete his original vision.

I think Lucas originally intended Star Wars to be just one film, but when it came down to writing the script, he realized he wouldn't be able to tell the whole story in just one film, so ihe came up with the idea of doing a series of films.

He started with "episode 4" because that was the beginning of the actual story. The events of the prequel trilogy were just backstory to be referenced in dialog. After he finished "episode 4" he decided that the back story was interesting enough to warrent its own trilogy. The sequel trilogy was essentially combined into one film. Return of the Jedi.

[Xenorama]

i went with STAR WARS as well, the first one.

Lucas claims he always wanted the "Episode IV" title at the beginning, but the studio wouldn't let him.  i find this, along with other spurious claims (such as knowing Vader was Luke's father from the beginning, the FX never living up to his vision) ridiculous.  in all the interviews i read with him back from 77-83 (he's only reclusive when he's not hyping something) he never once mentioned the effects not living up to what he wanted them to be.

i love the first movie, but quickly got sick of the massmarketing of the last three movies.  all those toys made in China- seems like George doesn't mind using an enslaved peasantry of a empire to make money for him...

David

[HappyGilmore]

Only two I saw were Episodes 1 and 2. 

Kinda didn't like them.

Jar Jar rocked though.