I think Tony is write, Lucas wants to bring Star Wars together as a whole, and honestly there in lies the problem (or part of it anyway) He does all these little things just to make bridges between the two. Yeah, the 'foreshowding' of greedo's untimely demise gave me a chuckle when i saw the scene, but its totally fake, its put in specifically just for that. There is no reason to have greedo in any scene except the one where he gets fried.
Also, greedo being a terrible shot does nothing to make han look better, in fact it could even make him look worse, because he almost got killed by someone that is a pretty shitty bounty hunter (cant aim worth shit) Before, he was so much better than greedo that he had the one up on greedo, plus, he still goes for his gun way early, so he was expecting the possibility of needing it, so why when that time came did it take so long for him to respond that greedo got a shot off even though Han knew it was coming.
Showing Jabba does take away the suprise because the first time we see him is in ROTJ, Jabba wasnt needed in TPM as MagFan showed in his edit. its another one of those forced bridges imho. And as a Film student, you should realize that just because he intended it to be in the film doesnt mean it wasnt cut for good reason. Directors film tons of scenes that they think they want and that end up on the cutting room floor. The scene was cut for good reason, and wasnt even filmed with the design of Jabba as a 'slug' in mind. More reason to not include it because Han is now stepping all over (one of) the most ruthless ganster(s) in the universe. And yes he is bad ass, Does a mob boss go out and do their own hits, or do they have Boba Fetts to do that for them? Jabba is one evil SOB, He's not even afraid of Jedi, but if you dont think he's a bad ass feel free to slap him in the face and see what happens to you. And just cause he runs tatooine doesnt mean he goes to every public event.
Hayden as the ghost: your explanation is flawed, sorry but it is. he was redeemed at the end of ROTJ and was once again a Jedi. So I guess he rose from the dead since he had died physically and spiritually in ROTS. Maybe they should put both ghosts shown, because now he's two people (actually 3, pre sith jedi, sith lord, post sith jedi)
Im sorry that me enjoying the Star Wars movies as I like to, and being a fan the way i want to (be that liking all the movies as is, liking them but having gripes with them) apparently doesnt make me a STAR WARS fan. Do you like every book with the Star Wars name on it? Do you love the Holiday Special. Do you think all the officially licensed Star Wars merchandise is great? if not i guess you're not a STAR WARS fan because you dont like everything Star Wars, your just a Star Wars movie fan.
And yes, changing the movies, without at least making the original versions available (Heck, Lucas says those versions no longer exists which is even worse) is a slap in the face to anyone who fell in love with the OT. It lucas telling you what you fell in love with was incomplete, and that it wasnt good enough. There is no need to update the movies for newer generations. If the movie is truely a classic it will stand that test of time without being updated.
-Darth Simon
ps. Gaffer, I noticed
