Originally posted by: Skyranger

I am frustrated that we won't be getting decent quality DVDs...because they don't fit in with George Lucas' current "vision of the movies" (which seems to be constantly changing).

Exactly. He will never, ever, ever be satisfied. If he thinks the '04 set is his true vision of the OT, then he has some serious cataract action going on!

You just know he'll be sitting around watching that set some day and think "ehh, Jabba looks fake. Let's re-do him."

Here's one way I would put it: Like George Lucas, I am also an artist, of the pen and pencil variety. There are things I drew when I was a little boy (including tons of Star Wars stuff) that my mother cherishes to this day. Imagine if now, I say to mom "those old drawings really don't represent what I'm able to do now and I don't like them anymore! I'm sorry you fell in love with those old doodles, but I feel no need for them to be around anymore." Then I take out my pens and draw over all of them, adding more detail, shading, etc..., thus covering up the originals she loved. Or worse yet, I take a lighter and burn them all before her eyes. She would be very hurt. To a large extent, that's what it's like with the OT and the constant tinkering, apathy and bad feelings that Lucas, and by extension, Lucasfilm, have for it.

Anyway, I am also very "meh" about most anything Lucasfilm says or does nowadays as pertains the OT. I take everything they say with a heaping bowl of salt, knowing that they go back on things they say a lot (maybe one day in the resting home, Lucas will finally crack/have had enough and shout out "Fine! Take your stupid anamorphic sets! They've existed for years anyway!"). With the constant re-releasing of the movies, you know that money really is a driving force with them. It's too bad that they won't spend the relative drop in a bucket it would cost to really restore the movies to a level consistent with its legacy.

Whereas I'm not excited about the forthcoming official set, I must say that I am very excited about some restoration sets and bonus discs that RowMan and Rikter will be sending me. I could only have found out about such great things here, where people are so concerned about seeing the movies we love the way we remember them and want to see them, anamorphic or not. Thanks to all for everything I've gained by hanging out here!