But would we still consider the originals “erased” if the only changes were recomped effects? That’s the approach the D+XX project takes, and I don’t see anyone kicking up a big fuss about how it’s not “really” original.
Maybe so, but it still would be getting rid of the groundbreaking effects that won the film an Academy Award.
Those efforts would still be there. All the original models would be preserved, just recomped for better quality. If anything, that would only emphasize how good the models were by presenting them in the best quality possible. And the other categories that Star Wars won, like creature design, editing, and music, would still be preserved in their original form.
Agreed. I’ve never minded removing matte lines or recomposites, since the old composites had unfortunate artifacts of the optical printing process. Heck, redoing the optical on finer-grain film (like the wipes) would’ve been welcome too.