AxiaEuxine said:
I was over exageratting the quality of film in the late 70's to make a point which unfortuantly has become the focus of this debate.

Then lets look at the remainder of your "point". You say that we "hate" the SE. That's not true. There are people on this forum doing restorations of the 1997 SE. We aren't the ones trying to eliminate films from history - that would be GL. HE is the one that has made it clear that HE destroyed the original 1977 film, and that he will never release it. WE do not hate either film. We hate that GL will not preserve the film in its original form. You might not care about preserving a piece of history - but don't begrudge those that are.

It might be fair to say that some of us "resent" the SE. We love the original Star Wars, and the SE is a reminder that we may never get to see it again, at least not in its original glory. I can't think of another major motion picture that the producer actively refuses to preserve, and even proudly claims he has destroyed.

If the OT was preserved, I would be more inclined to enjoy the SE for what it is, a rather cool edit of a great motion picture.