Easterhay said:

Does it depress me? As a fan since 1977, no it doesn't. Serious things depress me, like the question of whether I will always be able to provide for my family, or the thorny issue of shooting unarmed terrorists because there isn't enough evidence to convict them in court, but does the fact that the older versions of some favourite films won't see the light of day on Blu-Ray depress me? No, course it doesn't.

Should they be available? Well, maybe as works-in-progress or from a curio's point of view, then perhaps. The fact that I haven't seen the originals since nineteen-oh-spit probably speaks volumes on my perspective on this most trivial (in my mind) of issues.

Beautiful comparisons you're making, you do realize you're posting on a SW-site? There are more important issues out there, yes, so why even bother to come here posting on such a "trivial" issue as film preservation? you should be out there on the streets right now demonstrating about more important things in life.