I agree that the original version of THX-1138 should be preserved. But what caught me off guard is that the new DVD set has his original student film school version of the movie on it (unaltered). That struck me as odd considering his propensity towards abandoning early "drafts" of his movies.

I actually bought THX-1138 yesterday because, even if I rent the movie from Netflix, I won't be able to get the bonus disc from them with the student film and that's what I'm really in it for. However, I never saw the original version so I won't be able to say whether it improves it or not. I'll just be able to say if it's any good. We shall see. First impulse buy for me in quite a while. Shhh. Don't tell me wife I haven't seen it.