Here's the email I sent to the writer of that article:
Nice article, Joel. BUT, it would have been a GREAT article if you mentioned George’s insane campaign to quash the original 1977, 1980, and 1983 award-winning versions of the Original Trilogy out of existence.
Here’s a quote for you:
"In the future it will become easier for old negatives to become lost and be 'replaced' by new altered negatives. This would be a great loss to our society. Our cultural history must not be allowed to be rewritten."
-George Lucas to a Congressional Hearing on the colorizing and altering of classic films, 1988, just a few years before he altered the Star Wars films and buried the originals.
And a couple sites to consider:
http://originaltrilogy.com/index.cfm
http://savestarwars.com/
This is a dire situation, not just for “fanboys”, but for our cultural heritage, and the history of American cinema. Until the original versions are released in the best format possible (they are NOT included in next year’s Blu-ray release), I’m afraid that forgiving Mr. Lucas is absolutely OUT of the question.
-“JediTray”