Well for me it's-

ESB
ANH
RotJ
RotS
AotC
TPM

Although I should add this disclaimer - I think that RotS is far better than RotJ in almost every way but the one thing RotJ has over it is the Vader/Luke/Emperor sequence and that is just so powerful that it edges above RotS despite all of its other failings.

1. ESB
2. ANH
3. ROTS
4. ROTJ
5. TPM
6. AOTC

I agree with both Strider and Doc here in some aspects. I think that ROTS strengthens my views on ESB and ANH. Not only does it give a new perspective to appreciate them in light of, but it also allows you to realize how great a movie they are with the compliments of ROTS. I still rank both high because I think they portray the epitimy of a true Adventure and Good vs Evil story alone I can't really say that the PT would have done as good ranking wise without having the OT, whereas the OT was well off as it was.

Maybe It's just me, but the simultaneous storyline of ESB was very engaging and interesting throughout the movie, wheras in ROTS, I got a bit bored in the middle after the Jedi vs. Palpatine thing began. ESB and ANH kept me on my toes, whereas ROTS it just seemed like Ship landing, wipe, wideshot, wipe, ship landing looping throughout the film. ROTS really serves as a revelation to ROTJ and is why I place it at 4.

To be honest however, if it wasn't for ROTS, ROTJ would be back at 6, because I just can't appreciate the 3 simultaneous stories that Lucas tries to tell, like in TPM. Not so much as they drag on, but it seems we've done this already, like we were cutting between films. TPM and ROTS both had the ground, space, and Jedi vs Sith battle intertwined, and it justdidn't completely do it for me.

The parallells that you can see between ROTS and ROTJ however, Luke defeating the Sith to save Leia, and Anikan aiding the Sith to save Padme, make ROTJ that mush more important to me. You can look at Vader and see what his real motives are now and how Luke is the stronger image of his father when presented with the Emperor and his Lies. The entire battle at the end could have been done better I think in some ways not to draw it out so much or shift the attention so frequently, but ROTS helped me to better appreciate it.

TPM and AOTC wise, eh? I think agree TPM gives alot of backing to setting up ROTS politically, and is a great foundation to go back and watch the beginings of Palpatine. AOTC has some importance to it though but it just seems to contradict what ROTS reveals. The discouse between Obiwan and Anikan makes it seem like they are bitter enemies sometimes just biting their tongue throughout the whole movie, yet ROTS shows them acting in love for each other as actual brothers in the begining as if they go together perfectly. The clone wars was cool, but I would have taken the animated approach any day over the vague Geonosis battle we get. ROTS seems to sum up AOTC as well in about the time it takes to rescue Palpatine, they've told you the whole movie.

1. ESB
2. ROTS
3. ANH
3. ROTJ
4. AOTC
5. TPM

1.ANH
2.RotJ(only with all the changes)/RotS
3.TPM
4.ESB
5.AotC

See, nothing can beat ANH!

1. ESB
2. ROTS (Useless note to Lucas: Add Qui-Gon, and see where this one ends up)
3. ANH
3. AOTC
5. ROTJ
6. TPM

I hate to have TWO ties, but honestly it's:

1. ROTJ/ROTS
2. ESB
3. ANH/AOTC
4. TPM

I sometimes rank ANH a full slot higher than AOTC, but at this very moment, I feel they're tied for me as well.

1. ESB
2. ROTS
3. ANH/TPM
4. ROTJ
5. AOTC

1. ESB/ROTS
2. TPM/ROTJ
3. ANH
4. AOTC

Well I don't want to rank any movies because I don't see a point for me personally, but I will say this. I watched ANH a few days ago and it seemed like I was watching an entirely different movie. It all works so well together and I have to say it doesn't feel nearly as lighthearted as before.

ROTS also makes ROTJ really look like 1 hour and 40 minutes of filler and 20 minutes of story. Kind of a bummer.

Here are my ratings....

1. ROTS
2. ESB
3. ANH
4. ROTJ (Sorry, but those damn Ewoks really got on my nerves)
5. AOTC
6. TPM

ROTS overtook ESB as my favorite Star Wars movie just because I'm a sucker for tragedies. Not that ESB is not, it's just not quite as dark (and tragic) as the events in ROTS.

"Oh, this is going to be easy."

1. ESB
2. ROTS
3. ANH
4. AOTC
5. TPM
6. ROTJ

(and when i talk about OT, i mean the original movies on laserdisc. None of that stupid SE shit please:) )


ESB
ANH
ROTJ
ROTS
TPM
AOTC

1. ESB / RotS
2. ANH
3. TPM / AotC
4. RotJ

Two ties... how convenient.

I'm so completely thrilled at how RotS has played out. It is such a great movie.

1a. RotS
1b. ESB
2. ANH
3. TPM
4. ROTJ
5. AotC

My constant, never changing list before ROTS.

1. ESB
2. ANH
3. ROTJ
4. AOTC
5. TPM

My list now -- first time it has ben changed since AOTC came out:

1. ESB
2. ROTS
3. ANH
4. ROTJ
5. TPM
6. AOTC

An interesting thing I have noticed is that the parallels are truly similar. Before I thought Lucas was generalizing when he said they go through the same journey, but they do.

In TPM, Anakin is stuck in a go-nowhere situation but dreams of bigger things, joining the "good guys" and being a hero. That chance comes in the form of Qui-Gon, who connects Anakin to R2 and a young queen whom Anakin immediately has affection for and who represents the life outside the dreariness of Tatooine.

In ANH, Luke is stuck in a go-nowhere situation and dreams of bigger things, joinging the good guys, and being a hero. That chance comes in the form of R2, who connects Obi-Wan (qui-gon's apprentice) and a young princess whom Luke immediately has affection for and who represents the life outside fhe dreariness of tatooine.

Anakin gets his wish and by the end of the movie is a Jedi. Luke gets his wish and by the end of the movie is a fighter pilot.

Luke is showing grteat progress in ESB when he is tested in a way he never was before, by an evil Sith Lord who is dead set on turning him to the dark side to help him rule the galaxy.

In ROTS, Anakin is showing great progress when he is tested in a way he never was before, by an evil Sith Lord who is dead set on turning him to the dark side to help him rule the galaxy.

Anakin's soul is tested in the hell-like Mustafar, and he fails. Luke's soul is tested in the Heaven-like Cloud City, and he too fails.

Anyway, you get the picture. Even reading the spoilers I didn't know ROTS was going to make such a nice bookend to the movies, but after watching the OT it was truly a new experience.

1. ROTJ/ROTS
2. TESB
3. TPM
4. AOTC
5. ANH

I love them all. And it is pretty hard to rank them. ROTJ and ROTS were the most emotional ones.

If I had to break it down, ROTJ was about redemption. And that I believe is a powerful character-driven motive for the story.

ROTS; however, had better effects, fighting, and scoring. And, for the most part, since I'm a die-hard like many of you, I believe a lot of the scenes could've been restored and/or extended. The movie would've had more of an epic feel to it such as the roots of the rebel alliance through the petition of the 2000 scenes. Damn, Lucas. WHY?

Maybe it's cause I've read tons of spoilers?

I cant stop thinking that Return of the Jedi was made so much greater by Revenge of the Sith. That bit where luke says "I am a jedi like my father before me" is a much bigger moment now..it just makes the movie so much cooler. I used to think ESB was better than ROTJ, but im gonna be contreversial and put it like this..

1. ROTJ
2. ESB
3. ANH
4. ROTS
5. AOTC
6. TPM....

But that will al probably change in the morning.

Ahh fuck it, i love em all, so it dont even matter!!

I just downloaded a DVD called STAR WARS RARITIES from alt.binaries.starwars and it was very interesting to watch. It has a couple of specials from 1983 on the verge of ROTJ's release and boy has time changed people's feelings about the movies.

Siskel and Ebert both talked about ROTJ, which they had just seen days before taping their special, as being much better than ESB, which they felt was too dark and didn't really have an ending, although they did rave about how amazing Yoda was and how utterly believable everything looked.

The lame hosts of SNEAK PREVIEWS who replaced S&E when they went "indie" also were raving about ROTJ and how much more satisfying it was than ESB, which was so heavy and dark and just not fun.

Funnily enough, both of these shows, and the review of Tom Shales, film critic for NPR (you can listen to his archived review of ROTJ at NPR.org) all singled out the Ewoks as being completely wonderful and such a great George Lucas invention.

Boy, time has a done a 180 on these two films, hasn't it? Wonder how it will all look 30 years from now looking back at all six films as a series?

Interestingly, every single vintage piece of press on ROTJ on this disc does talk about the 3 trilogies - nine films. Even Richard Marquand and Mark Hamill are quoted as saying they talked to George about the 3 trilogies and that Mark would appear in #9, which wouldn't come out till waaaaaaay in the future - summer 2004!

I don't understand all the posts here. The original poster is asking the ranking of the films and how they've changed. I'm assuming he asking if they changed based on the release of ROTS, and how it has impacted the rest of the saga.

So with that in mind, my original ranking before ROTS was released was
ESB, ROTJ, ANH, AOTC, TPM.

Now after ROTS, my ranking is ESB, ROTJ, ANH, AOTC, TPM.

So to answer the question in the first post - no change.

And with three views of ROTS under my belt, my ranking right now for the entire saga is

1. ESB
2. ROTJ
3. ANH

1. ROTS
2. AOTC
3. TPM

Right now, I view the complete saga as PT and OT (OT meaning the current versions, not the uncompleted versions of '77-'83). If I'm going to watch an OT episode, it's going to be ESB. If I'm going to watch a PT episode, it's going to be ROTS, hense the way I numbered them. It's two trilogies forming one story. That's how I see it. (Off topic, directorally, Kershner and Marquand did a better job than Lucas.)

Empire was such a great movie, one of the best...as far as directing, editing, storytelling and smooth flow go.

1. AOTC
2. ROTJ
3.ANH
4. ROTS
5. ESB
6. TPM

That said, I loved all the films. Some had certain parts I didn't care for, but they were all very entertaining.

i truly deeply love you.

Seems ROTS has crept to the top of many peoples lists. I cant wait to see the same lists again in six months. Anyway heres mine:

ESB
ANH
ROTJ
ROTS
AOTC
TPM

when i was sitting throught aotc in the movie theater and that fireplace scene came on i was like George, time to show us how Luke and Leia where made.

The love dialog in AOTC is so damn unrealistic. A guy who whines so much to such a smokin lady, he'd get the shaft quicker than shit. That's why Han-Leia succeeded where Padme-Anakin didn't in AOTC. H-L were just teasing each other, and the relationship made a logical, fun progression. P-A stunk because Anakin was such a pussy and they were in love suddenly after not seeing each other for 10 years.

ROTS
ESB
ANH-ROTJ
AOTC
TPM

yeah Anakin came off so creepy in aotc, "ive thought about you everyday", "you look just as i remember you.....in my dreams" how creepy is that shit?

And those stalker-like looks he was giving her as she was walking away from him in scene after scene.

lol Yeah the dreams line really was crap. Really creepy shit.

"Don't let the kiss become a scar.... waaaah I'm angsty and my writer doesn't know how getting girls works anymore!"

Wasnt he ten when he last saw her? He didnt seem interested in getting with her then. That whole premise made no sense.

A tumultous ten years. Age 10 to 20 = puberty. A lot of lonely nights on Nar Shaddaa. Only hot chica he knows is Padme. That's a lot of thinking about her, and its possible that in ten years he could've developed some sort of sociopathic obsession with her.

lol Yuck

shes probally just one of the only girls hes seen...it can be hard for a boy being locked up in the jedi temple going through "changes" he shoulda hooked up with Aayla and none of this woulda happend.

lol, my thoughts exactly, if only the jedi changed that rule about masterbation....

Thinking about some chick he met when he was a kid?

A Star Wars movie is a genre unto itself.

You've got your James Bond movie, which should always include scantily-clad exotic women, some cool vehicles and gadgets, and a creepy-looking bad guy with a scar and a weird accent.

Well, Star Wars is like that too -- a well-defined genre. In a Star Wars movie, I think you should have: Space battles, lightsaber fights, gay robots bickering with each other, weird-looking aliens, limbs being cut off, melodramatic situations, cheesy dialogue, and over-the-top villains. Even if it's simplistic, that's OK. More than anything, it should whip you (the moviegoer) into an energetic frenzy and make you feel like you've had a great time when the closing credits finally appear.

That's pretty much it. I don't care about details (even though I find them entertaining). I don't care about the EU (even though it can be fun from time to time). I don't care about the inner workings of spaceship engines, I'm not picky about how lightsabers work, or what sandpeople eat, or any of that shit. I just want a really fun movie to watch.

Based solely on that criteria, I rate the movies:

1. ANH
2. ESB
3. ROTS
4. AOTC
5. ROTJ
6. TPM

The last few years have certainly been a fun ride.

OMG what do sandpeople eat!!!!

Babies

na rots is a good movie, even if someone just wanted an action movie, not caring for a good plot or anything.

No, it didn't, but ROTS raised my opinion of ROTJ. The whole Luke/Palpatine/Vader duel carries a lot more meaning for me now.

1 ROTS/ESB

2 RTOJ

3 TPM

4 AOTC

5 ANH

My 7 year olds list... and the reason for his pick:

1. ROTJ- Luke vs Vader
2. ROTS- Anakin vs Obi-Wan, all the other lightsaber duels
3. ESB - Luke vs Vader, Hoth Battle
4. AOTC- Geonosis Battle
5. TPM - Darth Maul, Gungan vs droid army
6. ANH - Obi-Wan vs Vader, "Sneaking" through the death star

AOTC is more pure entertainment that ROTS. I cant imagine sitting down to watch ROTS over and over again, I will just skip to the action scenes.

The reason ROTS is at the top of most peoples lists is because its new out. Give it a while and the lists should re-adjust themselves.

ROTS
ANH
TESB
AOTC
TPM
ROTJ

Although I liked AOTC alot when I first saw it, multiple viewings have shown me it's undercooked editing on all fronts. TPM in my opinion is a far superior movie, and a good film. ROTS, however, is the best edited out of all of them.

While I often debate putting A New Hope at the top just because it IS the original, Empire is a better film. Jedi's strengthened by the prequels, but alone it's average at best. And the Ewoks still don't help matters (Hell, in light of ROTS, you REALLY wish he did Kashyyyk instead of Endor).

So...

1. Empire
2. Sith
3. Menace
4. Hope
5. Jedi
6. Clones

I think...

After seeing Episode III for the 4th and final time, this is how it stands:

A New Hope
Revenge of the Sith
Attack of the Clones
The Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi
The Phantom Menace(and no, not because it's a bad film...it's just the introduction)

Revenge of the Sith would've been number one. I want it to be number one but there are three scenes in the film that lowered it to number two because I don't think Lucas trusted himself to let 2 or 3 scenes breathe in the middle. Now, if he fixes it for the DVD, Revenge of the Sith could jump up to number one easily....

I figured they just eat sandwiches or something.

No, I'm actually pretty sure of myself when I say ROTS is a far better film than AOTC. I have to skip through a good third of AOTC, and the stuff that's in there still pisses me off because of terrible editing and music tracking.

More importantly, how does ROTS affect the order in which your children will be shown the films?

I will only show people 1-6 from now on. But it was like that even before.

For me, anything to do w/ Kamino made AOTC a great movie. Kamino Saberdart, Dex, the planet Kamino, the Kaminos themselves, Clones, Jango, Obi Wan vs Jango, origin of Boba, ect.

I think all to do w/ Kamino was a highlight in the Star Wars saga.

my 2 cents:

1 : ESB - Still the best. It was a film, not just an action movie. It had a discernable emotional center pitch and stayed true to that. The acting, directing, and dialogue were great. I also liked the "blue" tint the whole movie seemed to have. A consistently wonderful film no matter how many times you watch it.

2 : ROTS - While it had a couple groan scenes, on the whole this was an amazing movie. The pacing was great, it was very dark and gloomy, the lightsaber battles were unreal, and the acting was far above that of either of the other PT movies. And Palpatine...man he owned the movie in my book.

3 : ANH - A milestone in moviemaking. Great movie, good direction, plot, acting. But it is edged out by the other two because of the sheer visceral intensity of ROTS and the subtle and powerful undertones of ESB.

4 : ROTJ - Ewoks suck. So does another Death Star. But I can faithfully give this movie this ranking purely because of the end sequence with Luke/Vader/Sidious, especially the music editing and JW score during the final part of the Luke/Vader duel where Luke gives in to his anger and defeats Vader. Every time I hear and watch it I get shivers and am hit by the full brunt of the emotional impact of the father/son duel.

5 : TPM - Darth Maul battle was awesome, of course. Some wooden acting, meandering plotline, and some bad dialogue. Jar Jar was the worst mistake in movie history. But all in all this just makes it out of the "worst of series" based on all around entertainment factor.

6 : AOTC - I think the main problems with the first two PT movies is that we, almost literally, spend no time with the bad guys. Sidious was in this movie for about 10 seconds. The love scenes were absolutely painful to watch and detracted from the film. There was no real pacing, the plot seemed to go all over the place, and the final duel was ok but very short. This one earns my vote for the stinker of the series.

1. ROTS
2. ESB
3. AOTC
4. ANH
5. TPM
6. ROTJ