danny_boy said:

Lucas could have released this footage on the home video market at any point from 1982 onwards.

I am just grateful to see it.

The dirt and scratches actually give it character.

Dirt ,scratches,weave,occasional soft focus(intentional or otherwise) are synonimous with film.....

I would hazard a guess that the print you saw of SW in 77' was scratched up as well.

Correct on all points and I agree. Not the point I was trying to make.

Regarding who cares; I do. Character of film vs digital is wonderful - and I'm all for it. However, does it really have to be left in as bad a condition as possible? For the record, I don't know what it takes to clean old film, so maybe it does have to be left that way. My point was - I'm suspect.