@CWO:
I can understand the rationale for watching them in Star Wars universe chronological order, but an argument can also be made that a brand-new viewer should first watch them in release order, and that watching them in universe chronological order is something that is best done after you’ve already watched them once.� This essentially has to do with how much the viewer is assumed to know about the previous releases while watching any given movie.� With the original film (now called Episode IV), the viewer was assumed to be starting fresh because there had previously been no Star Wars movies.� With Episode V, the viewer was assume to have seen IV.� With VI, the viewer was expected to have seen IV and V.� And so forth.�
If you watch the films in universe chronological order, you won’t get this systematic build-up of knowledge about the Star Wars universe, and this will have two basic effects.� First, the films won’t make as much sense.� In Episode I, for instance, we’re thrown straight into a conflict that supposedly revolves around “a dispute about the taxation of galactic trade routes”.� I’d seen all the previous films, and even then my reaction was, “Huh?� This is a movie about taxes?” – so I can’t imagine what a complete neophyte would think.� The movie also assumes right off the bat that you know what a Jedi Knight is, whereas Episode IV didn’t and it introduced the concept in a more easily graspable way.� The second problem is that, even if you can make sense of the movies by initiallty watching them in universe chronological order, you won’t “get” any of the ominous or tragic or funny or suspenseful or continuity touches that depend on knowing what will happen in the original releases.� For instance, the Episode I line of dialogue “Anakin Skywalker, meet Obi-wan Kenobi” is just a routine introduction on the surface – but if you’ve seen the original trilogy, you’ll realize that it’s actually a momentous and pivotal moment of the entire Star Wars saga.� And on a purely technical note, it may be a bit jarring to go from the moderm CGI-heavy prequel trilogy to the 1970s-era special effects of Episode IV (even in its upgraded release), whereas in release order you can see the F/X technology improving as you go along.
Totally agree. But tbh I think that people can watch in whatever order they want and still love the movies haha. Because Star Wars is a legendary series. It is also my childhood memory. However, I do agree that if you watch it in release order before chronological order is the best for newbies.