I agree with you on a lot of what you're saying, CO, but I disagree about Empire having no beginning, middle, or end. The introduction and the presentation of the conflict between the rebellion and the evil empire are far more subtle than they were in the original Star Wars, but they are still clearly present. After that the main plot to the movie flows as the rebels attempt to evade the evil empire as a simultaneous struggle occurs between the elite, Jedi warriors of each side. The emotional climax of the movie is when Luke realizes he is the son of Vader and as Han is carried off by a bounty hunter. It's dark and the good-guy rebels don't win, but it's a complete story in its own way. It ends with some cliffhanger elements to be sure (the good guys plan to rescue Han, and clearly Luke's struggle will continue), but these cliffhangers were presented in the epilogue and the original Star Wars had the same thing to a degree; the beginning, middle, and end to Empire Strikes Back are not ruined by them.

Anyways, I don't mean to say that Empire is better than the original Star Wars to the degree that it doesn't need it. In fact, on its own, it's definitely not as good as the original film if you ask me. But, it's still an amazing film on its own, and coming from the perspective of the OT saga, I believe it is the best of the bunch.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and about what George said, it's kind of sad that our minds are conditioned to believe he could have seriously meant that. Clearly he was making a joke at a publicist award show, but at the same time he clearly lacks respect for the entire series (in its originally-beloved form) to some degree.