Ronster said:

we are in 2014... Newer sound mixes of films leave the original star wars films and even the special edition standing in the shade.

Hmm, by my observations, most of today's sound mixes are overcompressed and sometimes below even CD standards. And editing seems a lost art. Just because the tools are better doesn't mean that today's editing is better. In contrast to what you have said above, I have yet to hear a "newer" sound mix of the original Star Wars films that measures up to the original stereo and 6-channel surround mixes from 1977.

I personally agree that the original mixes are better than the SE but they both can also be improved upon too without doubt in my opinion not only in terms of sound quality but also in terms of being better edited.

As for editing, it's hard to imagine improving on the artful editing of classic movies like "Gone with the Wind", or sonic movie masterpieces like Bernard Hermann's "Vertigo" or Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Sound of Music", regardless of the tools available. I shudder to think of how those movies would have turned out if they had been made today. I'd put Star Wars in that same category, and clearly the AFI does also.