For someone who really avoided this over the years, I feel the need to give it a chance.
With sequels and prequels, what is the best order to watch the movies?
Watch IV (A New Hope, aka “Star Wars”), V (The Empire Strikes Back), and VI (Return of the Jedi).
Then stop.
I’d say watch IV, IV, IV, IV, IV, IV, IV, IV, V, IV, V, IV, V, IV, V, IV, V, VI, IV, V, VI, IV, V, VI. Then, watch I, II, III. After that, you’re on your own.
Kidding aside, the best order is IV, V, VI, I, II, III.
Watch them in the order they were released. But be warned, as Jayjay implies, the second trilogy is far worse than the first.
Agreed
No, then you play The Knights Of The Old Republic video game. 
It’s kind of funny but even if you’ve been avoiding Star Wars I’m sure that you already know most of it. It’s leaked into culture on all kinds of levels.
Star Wars has lost its impact over the years but it’s the place to start. You can’t understand the phenomena until you see the beginning. Empire Strikes Back is by far the best of the movies and I’d like to say that you should watch it and stop but Star Wars is the foundation and Return of the Jedi is the resolution of the cliffhangers that Empire leaves off with. So then Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, finally Return of the Jedi.
The new movies are spectacles and depending on your tolerance for that you might be able to watch them, but they’re awful movies and possibly even an obscene destruction of the structure built in the beloved originals depending on how seriously you take these things. Those movies go The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith.
One last thing, the DVD versions may be awful but watch the original versions of the films. Lucas came back to his movies decades later and packed them with poorly integrated CGI, extra shots and scenes that damage the pacing, and one particularly infamous moment that guts the characterization of one major character. For nearly a decade he insisted that the original versions were gone, never to be seen again until last year they finally put the original versions on DVD. Those are the ones to get; cheesy models and all.
I’m afraid you’ve been misinformed. Lucas was killed in a car wreck shortly after the release of Empire, thus the trilogy was never completed, there were no revisionist versions, and certainly no prequel trilogy that looked like a poorly written absurdist parody of the original. I don’t know what you’ve been smoking.
And if inclined, watch the animated Clone Wars in between II and III. If Lucas had a neuron left, he’d have dropped Phantom Menace into a black hole somewhere and made the prequel order AotC, CW, RotS. But he be too arrogant.
there was a big discussion on this after epi. iii. someone (i don’t remember who) came up with:
1,2, 4,5, 3,6.
i think that is best. while it does seem odd to break it that way; consider this, you still have the big revelation of 5, with the (bizarre) expl. of 3 after it.
Then, definitely watch Robot Chicken Star Wars. They parody some of the great (and not-so-great)* moments of the various movies.
*Darth Vader haunted by the Force-manifestation of Jar-Jar comes to mind. Oh, Ani! Ani! Meesa so happy!
I’m going to second this. The new special effects are pretty and all, but Lucas completely destroyed the pacing of some of the best scenes by dicking around with them. If you’re familiar with the original movies you can look past all the visual clutter and enjoy what’s going on, but if you’re a noobie you may just be baffled.
And unless watching IV, V, and VI turns you into a big fan, I wouldn’t even bother with I, II, and III. They’re pretty crappy.
To be fair, whilst everyone know the big “secret”, not so many know the other one. So there’s still a level of suprise (and, er, squicking out).
I’d say rather that especially if IV, V and VI turn you into a big fan, then skip I, II and III, actually…
[SPOILER]Are you talking about the ritualistic cannibalism or the child sex slaves?[/SPIOLER]
True Star Wars fans hate Star Wars.
Edited to add: major spoilers!
Worth reading for this phrase alone:
It’s deeper than that. Jedis, the Death Star, Darth Vader, and so on are part of our culture now. The wonder that drove the original films into the hearts of every person who saw them as a child simply cannot be recaptured. I doubt that any adult watching the films for the first time now is going to be able to connect with the movies.
I don’t mean to say “Don’t watch them,” kanicbird. The films are culturally important and if you’re communicating with nerds at all then seeing them will help you understand them. Just don’t expect magic.
I agree with order everyone else is espousing (IV, V, VI, I II, III).
However:
It is possible that you will NOT in fact find the prequel trilogy to be of markedly lower quality than the originals, since you are not seeing the originals at a very young age and spending 20 years building them up to mythic, unapproachable status in your mind.
IV, V. Stop there and never listen to anybody who said there were any more than those two.
ok - I give - what’s the “other” big secret (and you may want to put it in a spoiler box)