How to watch Star Wars

[Syt]

Now what might hurt a modern kid watching Star Wars is that space exploration, and the whole space opera genre, is kind of passé. But not the movies themselves.

Still, the original movie told a very classic, timeless, accessible (fairy-tale) story - young boy from the farm becomes a knight, rescues the princess and strikes a blow against evil.

[Barrister]

It helped invent the modern blockbuster.

Wrong.  That was Jaws.

The word was "helped".

You might as well just say that the modern blockbuster was invented by Steven Speilberg and George Lucas and be done with it.

[CountDeMoney]

Then let's.

[grumbler]

Still, the original movie told a very classic, timeless, accessible (fairy-tale) story - young boy from the farm becomes a knight, rescues the princess and strikes a blow against evil.

The original trilogy was a re-telling of The Hero with a Thousand Faces.  Luke = Dorothy = Frodo = Ulysses = Xuanzang (fictionalized version), etc.

[crazy canuck]

For a fourteen year old today, the movie was made twenty two years before he was born; the equivalent of 1950 in my case.  The original "Star Wars" would have been the equivalent of "Treasure Island" (the Disney version) or "When Worlds Collide."  At 14 I though the former was a fine film; but certainly no "Return of the Jedi."  The latter (and the whole of 1950s Sci-Fi) I found dull, plotting and filled with abysmal special effects.

Based on my own experience I think a fourteen year old of today would find a film as old as "Star Wars" difficult to access; today movies are quicker and special effects are better.  I would recommend he watch the prequels and skip the originals.  For an older viewer, I would recommend the watching them in the order they were released.

Not sure what experience you are basing this on but I can tell you that my teens enjoy the original movies.  We have them on disk and they pull them out every now and then to watch them.  We have the prequals also.  Those dont get watched at all.

In fact on our last ski vacation our oldest (then 15) brought the three original movies up with us so that he and his friends who were staying with us could watch them during the vacation.

[Syt]

Still, the original movie told a very classic, timeless, accessible (fairy-tale) story - young boy from the farm becomes a knight, rescues the princess and strikes a blow against evil.

The original trilogy was a re-telling of The Hero with a Thousand Faces.  Luke = Dorothy = Frodo = Ulysses = Xuanzang (fictionalized version), etc.

Well, yeah.

[alfred russel]

"Star Wars" came out when I was five, and turned thirty six this year.  For a fourteen year old today, the movie was made twenty two years before he was born; the equivalent of 1950 in my case.  The original "Star Wars" would have been the equivalent of "Treasure Island" (the Disney version) or "When Worlds Collide."  At 14 I though the former was a fine film; but certainly no "Return of the Jedi."  The latter (and the whole of 1950s Sci-Fi) I found dull, plotting and filled with abysmal special effects.

Based on my own experience I think a fourteen year old of today would find a film as old as "Star Wars" difficult to access; today movies are quicker and special effects are better.  I would recommend he watch the prequels and skip the originals.  For an older viewer, I would recommend the watching them in the order they were released.

Even though I'm a bit older, I disagree. War of the Worlds and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea were released in the first half of the 50s and I was completely absorbed by those movies as a kid. I think good movies hold up.

[alfred russel]

Still, the original movie told a very classic, timeless, accessible (fairy-tale) story - young boy from the farm becomes a knight, rescues the princess and strikes a blow against evil.

Then makes out with the princess and discovers it is his sister, then blinds himself in shame...wait I'm getting this story mixed up with another old tale.

[Eddie Teach]

Still, the original movie told a very classic, timeless, accessible (fairy-tale) story - young boy from the farm becomes a knight, rescues the princess and strikes a blow against evil.

Then makes out with the princess and discovers it is his sister, then blinds himself in shame...wait I'm getting this story mixed up with another old tale.

Not to mention that his actions lead to his father's death.

[Josquius]

I'd think modern kids would still be able to enjoy the original Star Wars films.
Thinking back to when I was a kid...old was old generally.
Black and white was obviously the days of yore, unwatchably old, and then early colour films had something about them that just rendered them too obviously old.
But any decent colour films from the mid 60s through to the 80s- they were all equally old in the "are they watchable?" stakes.