Empire was favorite for many many years but I have come to appreciate Star Wars (or ANH as they call it today) as the cinematic love letter that it is. It's such a shame that the special editions crapped so much cgi all over it, including the totally redundant Jabba scene. The only changes I would have kept would be:

Coloring Vader's lightsabre in that scene after Ben's death

The hilarious changes with the Stormies during the Death Star romp

Biggs and Luke meeting again before the big trench battle.

And as a bonus I thing the original cut scenes with Luke at the vaporator with the treadwell droid as well as the Tosche Station scenes with 'the gang' and his talk with Biggs befor he defects to the rebels would make an awesome short film to play before the main feature.

Also I could gush just as much about ESB, but you all know how awesome that one is.

After my first viewing of Rogue One, my list was as follows

V

R1

IV

VII

VI

III

II

I

It wasn't until my third viewing that my list changed to this:

R1

V

IV

VII

VI
III

II

I

You gotta understand that even the nostalgia factor for Empire is there for me, considering i watched the movies as just a small child(unfortunately after the Special Editions but it didn't matter to 8 y/o me), so for Rogue 1 to top them all is impressive. Mostly, after soaking up just about everything the movie had to offer, it just impressed me more and more every time i watched it.

A thing to consider is that it is literally everything i could have ever wanted from a Star Wars movie. I'm very heavily involved in military communities and i'm quite a general military enthusiast, so Rogue 1 touched every weak spot for me; realistic infantry movement, being chiefly amongst them. And being an X-Wing player, the amount of starfighter combat was orgasmic. All this in addition to being a fantastic Star Wars movie on it's own.

RogueOne

after seeing R1 a few times now it just makes ANH better in lots of ways

So my own list would be

1. ANH
2. ROTJ and R1
3. ESB
4. Rebels (because they have a tv movie
5. TFA
6. Clone Wars (after watching it all twice i got to like it a lot)
7. the First Ewok film
8. the second Ewok film
9. Phantom menace (I like the pod racing but hated midichlorians)
10. there is a long gap to the last 2 films an only because I though
11. Hayden Christensen was such a bad actor
12. you know what Im putting the TV christmas special in before the last two
13. that were totally ruined by Hayden Christensen
14. ---------- The other 2 gow way down here in last spot only because of Hayden Christensen
    

V and R1 ex aequo at nr 1 spot.

VII and VI ex aequo at nr 2 spot.

III

IV

Rebels

Clone Wars

II

I

Return of the Jedi because of awesome battle of endor and Emperor.

1. ESB

2. ANH

3. R1

4. ROTJ

(small gap here in enjoyment)

5. TFA

6. III

(sizeable gap here)

7. II

(The grand canyon)

8. I

1. Empire Strikes Back

2. A New Hope

3. Return of the Jedi

4. The Force Awakens

5. Revenge of the Sith

6. Rogue One

7. Phantom Menace

8. Attack of the Clones

Wow! I didn't think I'd see the correct list in this thread -- and yet here it is!

Haven't seen Rogue One, yet. That said-

1. Sith

2. Empire

3. Jedi

4. Hope

5. Clones

6. Phantom

7. Awakens

I'd say my order is:

1. Empire Strikes Back/Rogue 1. These are two excellent movies, and I've seen R1 3 times in cinemas so far, so it might pull ahead in the future.

2. A New Hope. Han, Leia and Chewie at their best.

3. Return of the Jedi. Second-best fleet battle in Star Wars films. Its not first because of the whole "Empire defeated by Ewoks" thing.

4. Revenge of the Sith. Best Feet battle (Coruscant kidnapping) and 3 separate grudge matches (Yoda v Palp, Obi v Ani, Obi v Greivous). A visual spectacle, but a lack of plot means it doesn't place higher.

5. Attack of The Clones. Cool stuff, and the first battle of Geonosis was a plus. Jango Fett dying was a minus. Plus clones, and all their novels.

6. The Phantom Menace. Maul was good, the trade federation was good, and Qui-gon was good. Jar Jar and Lil' Anakin were bombad...

7...

8...

9...

10. The Force Awakens. I left the theatre disgusted by the monstrous plot-holes and one-dimensional characters. There are numerous plot choices that are just bizarre, etc, etc. I understand if you like it, because it had some great scenes, but I nearly gave up on Star Wars after this.

In TV shows, Clone wars is best, followed by Rebels, Then 2D Clone Wars, Then... Christmas Special, I guess.

It is fascinating how complimentary media can change ones perception of a movie. TFA is a movie I like a lot, mostly because of the little "before the awakening" book that paints the characters that much crisper. ANH gained an amazing sense of urgency through R1. "Darth Plagueis" took me from absolutely hating TPM to kind of enjoying it. And Battlefront 2 gives me some connection to AotC. My list would be

ESB, because it is kind of the only Star Wars movie (except R1, maybe) that is indesputably a good movie, too.

ANH, because it is lovely and knows its pacing very well. Oh and it manages to be incredibly tense along the way.

R1, since it does so much right. The first half has issues with pacing, things just kind of happen, but it manages to overcome that and had me fully invested by the end and oh my, what an end that was!

RotJ, mainly because the finale is done so well with the battle on three fronts. The throne room scene is one of the best things Star Wars for sure. However the first half is a bit too disconnected to the point where it feels like two seperate movies (In search of Mr. Solo and then RotJ). Also the beginning of introducing things purely for toys, which I don't actually mind in principle (would be a bit hipocritical as an X-Wing fan), but just could have been done in a less Ewok way. Love the other aspect of that, though, A-Wings and B-Wings are great!

TFA, because it gave me hope for the future of Star Wars. It stuck a bit too close to the heroes journey which many don't like, but to me that doesn't matter much. I have read and seen enough stories to not care about "uniqueness", because there really is no such thing. The actors did great jobs overall and the whole experience was enjoyable.

RotS, since it demonstrates the willingness to redeem the prequels that also bore the Clone Wars series. There are great things here. Overly choreographed fight scenes that leave too little room for actual character interaction and inconsistencies with the original stories hurt, though. Still an enjoyable movie!

TPM, as the unraveling of a grand scheme. Too bad the movie doesn't communicate that at all! There are more things bad here than good, but I get enjoyment from it anyways. Fantastic music helps for sure!

AotC remains the weakest movie in my opinion. Basicaly nothing works, the romance is awkward, the CGI takes up so large shots that it can't help but become noticable in a bad way (and I usually have a high tolerance for this, no problems with CG Tarkin here). The stuff that is cool gets almost no stage, which is baffeling. TCW shows how to handle clones right (because the rat tail of immorality they have is treated badly if not even glanced over), this doesn't.

Spots 2-5 are kind of interchangeable here and only represent my current feelings. I like all of these movies enough that watching one of them probably springs it back to the higher spots.

1. Rogue One
2. Empire Strikes Back
3. Star Wars

The prequels I like mostly for the well done graphics in the battle scenes. The original three, to me at least, as a bunch of editing errors. Lucas seems to care more for the graphics that getting the special effects and script to match.. Also for some reason Lucas loves Three Stooges jokes and bit which are plentiful in the prequels and, for some strange reason, added to the originals. I do like the Three Stooges but it does take away from the drama.

Note: I'm one of the few that still refer to the original Star Wars movie as Star Wars. Which was the 1977 title.

1a) Empire

1b) A New Hope

1c) Jedi

2) TFA

3) R1

4) Oral Surgery

99) TPM

100) AotC

101) TSHI

As someone who literally just went through my second oral surgery, I disagree, you're giving TFA way to much credit.

ANH: Trench Run, Cantina Scene, Escape from the Death Star, What is the Force?

Rogue 1: Made more epic by everything we know from ANH. Space battle. Land Battle. Grey zones.

RotJ: Luke's a Jedi now, Hutt Palace, Battle of Endor, Duel with Vader and redemption

TPM: Darth Binks, Battle of Naboo actually really epic. Our first ever double light saber. Back when Darth Maul was actually cool, Young Obi Wan and Qui Gon.

TFA: Not particularly memorable. Nothing new, Death star rehash. Mary Rey Sue. If it weren't for Finn-Poe bromance and Chewbacca I might actually put this movie right down at the bottom with AotC.

ESB: Vader reveal, Battle of Hoth, Boba Fett. Most of the stuff in the middle I personally found boring even though everyone else loves it.

RotS: Fight between Anakin and Obi Wan carries the whole movie. Order 66.

AotC: Boring as Hell. Horrible plot. Horrible Acting. Who the hell is Dooku and why did he just appear from nowhere?

1. Rogue One - pacing issues with the first half but as soon as it gets going, it is fantastic. Scarif, well, just unbeatable - every segment was excellent and the space battle was better than ROTJ.

2. A New Hope - I'm always usually swapping this around with ESB, but after having seen R1, it just gets better in every way.

3. Empire Strikes Back - Hoth, Vader vs Luke Round 1, character development abound.

4. The Force Awakens - Greatest Hits of the OT, mixed in with an excellent new cast. Only bit I wasn't too fussed on was the two gangs on Han's ship segment.

5. The Return of the Jedi - Second best space battle in SW, best duel with Vader vs Luke Round 2. Really let down by the Endor ground battle and not fussed on Jabba's segment (even though required).

6. Revenge of the Sith - the only prequel that is watchable after repeated viewings - Order 66, Kenobi vs Anakin. Palpatine ftw. Epic failure with Padme's death - non-sensical in every way - I usually fast forward past this scene as it spoils the rest of the film.

The other two I just can't decide. Maul fight is good in Ep1, Dooky vs Anakin & Kenobi is good in Ep2. Pod race, Anakin and Binks in Ep1 are just some of the worst things ever filmed in the history of the world ever. Baby-Boba is cringe-worthy, Anakin/Padme "romance" is beyond a joke...

I'm going to stop there. Probably best.

End on a high note - R1, Gold Squadron ion attack. Oh my awesome.

7, Rogue 1, 5,4,6,3,2,1

Surprised at the number of people putting g at least some of the PT so high!

I may actually try to find a spiritual calm and try to rewatch the PT with an open mind.

I've always accepted they hadba few good bits. Maul, Qui-Gon and young Obi-Wan should actually have been a pretty solid centre for TPM for example.

Not sure I can honestly do it with a clear mind but screw Yoda.. I can try!

Surprised at the number of people putting g at least some of the PT so high!

I may actually try to find a spiritual calm and try to rewatch the PT with an open mind.

I've always accepted they hadba few good bits. Maul, Qui-Gon and young Obi-Wan should actually have been a pretty solid centre for TPM for example.

Not sure I can honestly do it with a clear mind but screw Yoda.. I can try!

For a while there were some fan edits on Youtube that replaced Jar-Jars voice with generic alien garble and reduced the number of his scenes to the vital ones. I did enjoy these a lot, but nowadays it is difficult to track them down.

Hmmm.....

Too hard to chose. No need for a favourite - just watch them all, again and again...

4-7 & R1 are all pretty awesome

1-3 have some cool lightsabre fights (yoda aside, that was just CGI weirdness) - rest of the film was pretty meh (except for Vader's first breath... that was just great)!

while you are thinking about it watch Turkish Star Wars to help you decide

This movie is some CRAZY F****D UP S**T!!!

1. Revenge of the Sith
2. Empire Strikes Back

3. Rogue One
4. Return of the Jedi
5. The Force Awakens
6. Attack of the Clones

7. A New Hope

8. The Phantom Menace

I love the scale of Revenge of the Sith and pulling everything from the prequels to its dark resolution with Vader/Order 66/Mustafar. I grew up with the prequels so don't hate them, and I was so excited for Sith coming out it I can't not place it top. I was surprised at myself to put Rogue One first, I'll see if it stays there actually as the first half is slow.

So for fun I did some number crunching of the users who ranked most if not all the movies.

The final rankings are:

1) Empire / High:1 / Low:6

2) Rogue / High:1 / Low:6

3) Hope / High:1 / Low:7

4) Jedi / High:1 / Low:6

5) Force / High:1 / Low:8

6) Sith / High:1 / Low:8

7) Menace / High:4 / Low:8

8) Clones / High:2 / Low:8

A few notes about what I found...

- Menace and Clones were virtually tied mainly because of several users lumping the prequels together in their rankings instead of differentiating them.

- Menace only had a high ranking of 4, but three users ranked it 4.

- Clones had a single ranking at 2, but all the rest were 5 or lower.

- Sith had every ranking except 3.

- Force had less 1's and more 8's than Sith but still came out ahead.

- Jedi had all but one ranking at 1-5 and had fairly equal amounts of each of them.

- Hope had more 1-2 rankings than Rogue, but also more 5-8 rankings which made the difference.

- Rogue by far had the most 3 rankings but still managed to be 2.

- Empire is no surprise at 1. Had only 6 users rank it 3 or lower.

If you go by critical reception, Revenge of the Sith is the most well-received Star Wars film. Here, among fans, it appears to be the most divisive. As the film that closes Lucas' saga, I think it will prove to be the one that we'll keep coming back to and the most 'cinematically' significant of all of Star Wars.

That's interesting, Mark. Thanks for adding all those up.

I think Lucasfilm has been surprised (along with many others) by just how successful Rogue One has been (it has far exceeded their expectations). Personally, I expected this from the time they first announced what the movie was about. A return to the original timeline combined with a great cast and an excellent director can only lead to a successful movie.