i'm hardly the person qualified to answer your question..

i think that by showing that i really haven't watched it that much....

(although i do think the original 'a new hope'-'star wars' is one of my all time favorite/influential films..)

i can't really say that Lucas has 'lost it'..

i've only seen the 'SE' versions once or twice, and i liked the changes....they didn't bother me..

i like the fact that the SE versions (which I HAVE watched on laserdisc) are great/clear quality...with amazing sound...

i'm totally the wrong person to ask about the comparison of Lucas from back then until 'now',

because for me...................there is hardly any difference (and yes, i know about ALL the changes)..

to me , George Lucas was a genius back then, and still is, i liked the prequels (but i don't own them, except for EP 3),

i liked some of the animated Star Wars, and i'm looking forward to the new CG animated theatrical version...

yeah, he's made mistakes, yeah he's done some unpopular things, yeah, he's aggravated people...

but i don't really care....because I HAVE ALL THE ORIGINALS in a ton of different formats, so i really don't get

too worked up about trying to

1) wonder if there's something wrong with Lucas

2) wonder if i should bother getting yet another version of star wars (unless there's reason to)...i'm more of a collecter

3) wonder if the changes in the SE should have been made or not, because THEY were made, and you are free to ignore them,

as many people here on these boards do...

so, yeah, after watching a ton of documentaries, this is what i get out of it.............[along with opinions from these boards]...

1) limited budget -> more creativity -> not quite what George wanted (but fans seem to want it)

2) high budget-> different creativity-> more of what George wanted (but not necessarily what fans wanted)

later

-1