Yes, it's kind of interesting that George Lucas showed how easy you can go from a special effects cleanup to complete revision. I guess this is also one of the beefs I have with the Special Edition, that despite GL's insistence that he could not complete his vision, in the end the new scenes are mostly revision. The tone of the originals had nothing to do with budget constraints or special effects constraints. GL simply changed his mind over time and then pretended the new inconsistent tone is what he originally intended. He also tried to make the OT more consistent with the prequels, when he should have done the opposite.

I think the problem stems from the fact that he considers the PT as his pure undiluted vision for Star Wars, whereas the OT has in his eyes been diluted by the involvement of other producers and directors. This is why he has no problems altering what the rest of the world considers classic films into sequels to the prequel trilogy.