I see what you're saying Dan, but I also think there is a valid case for the work mebejedi is doing. personally, it's too mind numbing for me to envisage doing, kudos for him to go through the film and erase dirt. (psssst...mebe, when you're done I'll send a hard drive, copy me over your cleaned but as yet unadjusted or color corrected interim file. ta
)I think your both right in different ways.
danielb, preservation of the original version as it was shot, as it was made. admirable. I'm doing it myself as you know. but coming to this forum has also opened my eyes to other possibilities.
the SE fixed various fx goofs from the original. example, digitally recompositing the space battle. forget the CGI, I'm talking about the actual original fx shots.
good example, the explosions of the ywings in the trench attack. the explosions are more vibrant and more full because all of it is there and is no longer comped out. For me, that is a restoration, not an alteration, not a self imposed edit.
same goes for vaders sabre pole in the docking bay when they escape. it was missed from the original movie due to time constraints. for it to be fixed is to sort a continuity error that in todays movie world, wouldn't really be missed.
the fact mebejedi is spending the time to re-rotoscope the sabres I think falls into this category.
he's not altering the film, what he is doing is fixing a few of the technical errors that crept into the films.
so, by a certain point of view, you're both right. there is a place for both visions here.