I actually had a falling out with someone over this. He was very insistent about how “The GOUT is what it looked like in theaters. And the 2011 versions are the true definitive versions. And that’s that, so you have nothing to complain about.” Then, when I tried explaining otherwise, he shifted to saying “Fans don’t deserve the original cuts, cause they drove George away,” which misses the point and importance of film preservation. It’s frustrating to talk to people like that.

The sad thing is, this mindset will probably only become more and more common, as there’s now a whole generation of adult fans who’ve mostly never seen the original cuts. And many of them are pretty intent on defending George’s vision for his hexalogy.