I became a purist very early on, around 2001. I grew up watching and re-watching the THX original versions in full-screen, and I was concerned because I had read that George Lucas would never release the original versions again and I wanted to get a widescreen version on laserdisc before they became impossible to find. I thought that widescreen VHS would be OK too, as long as I could digitize them.

I found a VHS copy of the widescreen Faces set from a store that posted their catalog and new acquisitions online (I don't remember what the name was). It was about $33 for the entire set in new condition (some shrink wrap was missing but that was it).

But I wanted more- I knew the laserdisc versions would be better quality. I was on prillaman's site a lot, reading about the DVD bootlegs and etc. They all looked good for different reasons (TR47 had the uncompressed soundtrack, Dr. Gonzo was anamorphic, another version had isolated score).

In 2005 I found this site.

I actually don't think I've ever seen the Special Edition trilogy all the way through, back to back (97, 04, or the new blu-rays). It was obviously inferior and it ruined the pacing.