Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) — PICK
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) — PICK
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) — PICK

Suppose you’ve never seen a Star Wars movie (I know you’re out there!), or not in a long time, and you’re wondering whether you ought to catch up — and, if so, where to begin.

The short answer to the first question is “Yes.” For the long answer, see my essay “An American Mythology: Why Star Wars Still Matters” at DecentFilms.com.

As for the second question, here’s what not to do: Do not sit down and watch all six episodes in numerical order, from I to VI. As with C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, the correct order to be initiated into Star Wars is the order in which the episodes were released.

Actually, you don’t really need the numerically “first” three episodes, the prequel trilogy, starting with Episode I — The Phantom Menace (1998), at all. But if you do watch them, don’t watch them first.

Begin with the original Star Wars of 1977, also called Episode IV — A New Hope. This is the movie that introduced us to Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Princess Leia, Han Solo, C-3PO and R2-D2, Chewbacca and, of course, Darth Vader, one of the greatest bad guys of all time. It also introduced us to lightsabers, the Millennium Falcon and the Force. It was the movie that changed everything.

Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back is the archetypal sequel that bests the original. It’s the backbone of the saga, taking the story and themes into deeper waters. This is the movie that gave us Yoda, an amazingly expressive puppet whom we take seriously as a mentor and guru. It’s also the movie with one of the most stunning and celebrated spoiler twists of all time, a dark secret that reverberates through all the films that follow.

Episode VI — Return of the Jedi is the finale of the original trilogy, the defeat of Darth Vader and the downfall of the Empire. It’s the episode in which we finally meet Jabba the Hutt, an even more amazing puppet than Yoda, and are introduced to the Ewoks, which many fans find too cute by half. George Lucas ends his saga with a bold moral twist, making Darth Vader’s arc unique among classic movie villains.