I’ve been searching for a better Star Wars trilogy, on-and-off, since 1997, back when I naively thought the Special Editions were just an alternate cut that I could simply avoid buying when the OT was inevitably released on the then-new DVD format. And I waited, and waited, and waited… I eventually bought a set of CowClops DVDs of the Definitive Collection Laserdiscs from some disreputable bootlegger. And as it became clearer that Star Wars was never going to get a true DVD-quality release, and the prequels drove the point home that Star Wars and I were parting ways, I sort of stopped for a few years. I gave up looking for Star Wars.

Until I had kids. Then I broke out the Laserdisc transfers again and thought… this isn’t going to cut it. So I found this place, found dark_jedi’s GOUT upscales, which were only marginally better than the Laserdisc transfers I already had, but they were anamorphic! And I could watch Star Wars without the 1993 audio! And then Harmy came along, and negative1, both of them with crazy ideas that could never work, not with the resources we had, and I started searching again, looking for that better trilogy.

But something important just happened. I’m not searching for a new, improved Return of the Jedi anymore. For the first time since 1997, I’m actually entirely satisfied with the video options I have. I don’t feel the need to look anymore, and that’s a truly odd sensation after so many years.

Well, I’m entirely satisfied with Jedi at least. Still searching for the other two 😉