Those are some well made points. Plus, a concerted effort of celebrating something that isn’t actually available would seem strange, and likely raise more unwanted questions.
I do find it ironic that many a 1997 Special Edition fan having to come here and look around for those preservation projects, especially given attitudes, insults, and actions of many of those early SE fans back in the day to fans of the theatrical cuts.
That would include a considerable number of fans from the likes of the staunchly pro-SE TFN, even their moderators and staff, who were part of the purging of OOT fans on TFN back in the early/mid 2000’s. I wonder if many of their views and positions have changed over time, with more releases of the Special Editions with further alterations.
I’m surprised that 1997 SE fan preservation projects like Calibrated 1997 Scan of Star Wars: A New Hope - Special Edition haven’t yet reached their funding targets.
It looks a great project too.
I thought given the number of Special Edition fans out there, and who have also visited here asking for 1997 SE projects, that it would have been funded by now. Huh.