George said in 1997 that the Special Editions were the Star Wars that he had always envisioned. Okay, then what about 2004 DVDs? What about all of the various changes made to the films since the theaterical release? What about all of the future changes he might make in the future? Will that make the newest incarnations of these films null and void?
Which version of the film are we petioning for? The original unaltered theaterical release? The first version with "A New Hope" attached? The first version that includes C3P0s line about the tractor beam? How are defining original? Even if George does release the original films on DVD, what version will it be? There will still be people complaining that it wasn't the version that they wanted.
How can anyone here be mad about someone making their various edits and cleanups to a film that has never been the same since it hit theaters? If you want a completely unaltered theaterical release version of the movies, go talk to Lucas. He is the person you should be mad at. Really, if you want a copy of them like that then you should invest the kind of time and money into editing them that the rest of the people here have. It is probably the only way you'll ever get what you want.
Let's keep in mind what brings us all here in the first place. A love of Star Wars. Would anyone really spend the kind of time and effort restoring, editing, and preserving these films if they didn't really care about it? Bottom line, Star Wars is supposed to be fun. When people come in here critizing other people's hard work because they don't like it, it makes you wonder if all of the effort was worth it. Well, it is obviously worth to the people who are on these boards sharing their work with us. It is a labor of love for them. I can't fathom why anyone would be as rude to complain about this, when they are doing it foremost for themselves anyway. If you don't like it, fine! Either do it yourself or find somewhere else to whine about not getting your way.
The argument is not about film history or even about serious preservation. Lucas has the original film. Even if it was about film history we shouldn't have to hold it in our hands to preserve it. Let's be honest. It is about having Star Wars the way that we want it. That's fine. But unless Lucas releases the original theaterical print, and box of goodies with all the elements that he has added to it since, there is no way that everyone will be happy. If he did then we could all have the version that we want; the kit provided would allow us to add or moit elements we want or dont' want. Wouldn't that be great? The only arguing then would be over whose version is the best. Wait, I think we already have a little of that going on
.I look it at as a fan film project. The only difference is the source material. So, can't we all just be happy that there are those of us here that are not willing to shutup and just accept what Lucas is offering? If we can't, then so be it. But let's remember that this whole issue springs out of people's love of Star Wars, and if we try to censor the way they edit their home-brewed copies, then in fact we are censoring their love of Star Wars. No one is being hurt here, except maybe someone's ego, so don't censor the way that someone else expresses their love for something. Anything. That would simply be fascism.