Again, compared to what Lucas has done, what was done to Titanic is nothing. It is literally insignificant in comparison.
I don’t think it’s insignificant, remember most people are actually happy with the Special Editions, just as most people are probably happy with the version of 2012 Titanic, or the re-graded versions of The Good The Bad The Ugly and Jurassic Park.
What editing changes were made?
There were no editing changes made to the 1997 Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi either, and of the two important editing changes in Star Wars, the Jabba Scene and the Luke/Biggs scene in the rebel hanger, I think most OOT fans actually like the second of those scenes.
From all the previous posts I’ve read, nothing was changed that affected he story or even the run time. Where even Blade Runner has been edited in ways that affect the run time (though he was nice enough to include the 4 previous releases if you bought the full set). And Star Wars has been edited with every new release going clear back to the original 77 releases (at least three effects shots were replaced after the film was released). JC just cleaned things up and tweaked some sky shots for the HD released. That is not a new thing to do. If that was all Lucas had done to Star Wars in 97, I don’t think this site would even exist.
The 1997 Special Edition was made under the same mandate. To remaster the badly degraded effects shots - optical wipes, the speeder scene through Mos Eisley, reduce visible black matte lines, etc. That is a restoration, but it’s not a preservation of the films.
JC has gons through a number of his old films and digitally “fixed” errors/mistakes/limitations of the originals, including Titanic. This transforms a film that was shot and edited entirely on film into something it’s not.
Anyway it’s fine if you like the 2012 version, just as it’s fine for people to like the Special Editions. All I’m interested in is preserving the original theatrical version.