How's that work when there was a version of ANH SE with young wormlike Jabba and another with essentially the same one seen on ROTJ?
To each his own. If some people want only unedited original versions, fine. If others like the SE, fine. If other's like parts of each, that's fine, too.
I do get tired of people having to trash all the changes ad nasuem, though. It's impossible for anyone to start a thread on and of the movies at all without someone chiming in that the SE's are trash and trashing Lucas for not giving them updated/cleanedup versions of the originals.
Just to be clear, I don't have a problem with Lucas playing with the various versions. I just want three things:
1.) That when he plays with them, he provides us with an "archive" copy of the originals. There is something to be said for preserving film history, and frankly, I think it's important to show what he accomplished with the technology he had back then. Star Wars was an f/x landmark and it's important to preserve that.
2.) That he provide a "cleaned up" version of the otherwise unchanged originals. Don't pump the color artificially (or if you do, do so consistently), just remove some of the smears, stains, grit, etc. If Blade Runner can look as good as it does, you can do the same with the OT and have it look AMAZING.
3.) That whatever changes, fixes, cleanups, etc. he does, HE DOES THEM RIGHT AND WITH CONSISTENT ATTENTION TO QUALITY. Honestly, there is NO excuse for the flipped audio channels, or for the crappy color work in the DVD versions of the SE.
I don't have a problem with this or that version of Jabba, either. In fact, I think it's kind of cool if they at least keep a deleted scene on the disc of the '97 version of Jabba, just to show how far CGI came in only 7 years with the '04 version of Jabba in ANH. Again, it's about preserving film history, and, at this point, I think it's also important into understanding how the films evolved from one form to another. Don't just sweep it under the rug. Especially with Blu-Ray technology, we now have the ability to present ultimate archive editions that give the viewer a range of options.
Again, look at the Blade Runner 5-disc release. You have the "Ultimate Cut", the original theatrical cut, the european cut, a rough cut, etc., etc. You get to see the evolution of the film, the different versions, etc. It's FANTASTIC if you want to see how different markets get different versions, how subtle changes can strongly influence a story, etc.
Ultimately, I think the stuff that pisses off the "original OT" fans the most is George's desire to wave his hand and have us by the "These aren't the droids you're looking for" approach to pretending the older versions don't exist. I don't care if he mucks around with the films. Go ahead! Actually it's kind of interesting at this point to see how each new edition will handle it. BUT, I want the older versions too, so I can see the evolution. And I want a lovingly restored (RESTORED, not changed) version of the originals. That's it.
:thumbsup
