HN

<-- 3 times

once with some buddies
2nd was with other buddies that didn't see it
3rd was to see what all the hoopla with digital presentation was all about

Shannon Nutt

I saw it twice in the theater, but for opposite reasons. Saw it at the midnight showing and went again later that weekend because I figured I must have just been tired and it couldn't have possibly been THAT bad.

kefrank

As terrible as The Phantom Menace was overall, it was worth seeing in the theater multiple times just for the Obi Wan/Qui Gon/Darth Maul lightsaber battle on the big screen with Duel of the Fates playing on a theater sound system.

devilshalo

With the way that fight was interrupted with cuts back to Anakin in space, it hardly made it worth sitting thru multiple times.

Timber

As much as people say the TPM sucked now, and it does, there was a nostalgia element that had people seeing it multiple times. It was the best movie going experience I ever had from the LucasFilms logo up till we see Qui-Gon and Obi on screen. At that point you were trying to figure out what you were watching and it went downhill from there. Still you had to try to convince yourself that it wasn't that bad so you were willing to give it another chance.

Timber

Not just Anakin in space but the Gungan battle on the ground. The lightsaber battle was cut to shit.

devilshalo

I saw Meet Joe Black, to see the fucking TPM trailer before and after that film, more than I saw TPM in theaters.

devilshalo

Thanks, I finally had forgotten about that Gungan/JarJar BS.

kefrank

A fair point. It's been so long that in my mind, I have blocked out everything except the good stuff from the sequence.

BrewCrew

Of course, it would be pretty rare to find a Star Wars fan that waited 15 years that didn't watch it again to make sure it really was that bad. You didn't?

Sean O'Hara

Not in theaters. I rewatched it once on VHS and again on DVD.

Hell, I've never seen AotC all the way through -- I've only watched it on DVD, and I skipped every scene with Anakin and Padme until the climax. And I've only caught a few bits of RotS when channel surfing.

Big Boy Laroux

For me, EVERY scene with Anakin and Padme is a climax...

hanshotfirst1138

It was.

Mike86

I saw The Phantom Menace a few times in theaters too. I was twelve and right at the age where Star Wars was still awesome to me no matter what. I went to the movie at least once with my dad and brother and again a couple more times with friends. I think even then though I always liked the Original Trilogy better. I watched all the prequels various times but I always liked the originals more.

Bandoman

I saw each of the prequels once int he theater. I have all the BDs, and I rewatch the original trilogy a lot, but the prequels get little play in my house. I will rewatch them all in advance of Force Awakens.

The Valeyard

I watched Phantom Menace twice in theaters. The first time was like a punch in the gut. I saw it again a week later to make sure I wasn't wrong about it sucking.

I watched Attack of the Clones once in theaters and tapped out on Star Wars for a very long time because of it. Between the first two Prequels, TPM is much better than AOTC. At least it feels like a Star Wars film. AOTC is just shit.

I never saw Revenge of the Sith in theaters (much to the surprise of all my friends). A few months after it came out, my friend sent me a bootleg of it and said I had to see it by hook or by crook.

The last Star Wars "film" I sat through in theaters was the Star Wars: Clone Wars animated film. I enjoyed it. Possibly because my expectations for Star Wars were at an extreme low by that point.

Mondo Kane

Since the Holiday Special has gone on to become more respected than the prequels, why aren't people demanding a BD release of that to go with the original unaltered OT?

Shannon Nutt

I don't think this is true. The Holiday Special is the worst Star Wars ever created. It's not even "so bad, it's good" - it's just really bad...and dull.

Indy Jones Fan

I tried to watch it last Christmas season and couldn't make more than 30 minutes. All the rumors and myths are true. It really is THAT bad.

Mike86

I've never really sought out to watch the whole thing but have seen bits and pieces of it. It never seemed like it was worth watching despite loving the Original Trilogy.

stvn1974

Put the Holiday Special and the two Ewok specials in one package and I would buy it. Same goes for the Ewoks and Droids cartoon.

Mike86

Honestly I don't think the two Ewok movies are that bad for kids movies. They aren't great or anything but I could see kids liking them well enough.

Solid Snake

Kids are kids. They need visual appeal. Quality be damned. Kids like crap all the time. That doesn't make the crap good in the overall.

Mike86

They aren't terrible movies though, they're just kids movies you take for what they are.

Solid Snake

How popular were they?

I remember watching parts of one of them but I couldn't handle it. Bored the hell out of my kid self.