This argument is lame. Any of those versions are better than someones hack job. Or Lucas's SE hack job. If you can't see the difference I can't help you. And why shouldn't we whine about it in the thread that was created especially for just that?
First of all, let me apologize accusing anyone of whining. I was up much too late last night when I wrote that, and today when I posted it I didn't edit it at all. Like I said before, everyone is entitled to their opinion. It was rude of me to call it whining.
Secondly, my point is simply that with so many different versions of the film out there, what is the official original trilogy? This question goes beyond this thread and argument to the objective of this entire site. I want to know how to establish what the original trilogy is and how that decision is reached.
Honestly, I like something about all of them. I grew up never having seen Star Wars in the theater. The first time I saw it was on tv, and edited for running time. Years later when I finally bought Star Wars for myself, watching the faces set was like watching the Special Edition. I had never seen many of those scenes before, and in a way I felt like the Star Wars I grew up with had been taken away. I just wanted a sharper picture and no commercials. I had no idea that there was so much missing on tv.
Now I have seen many of the various versions. To this day I still like some of the editing choices that were made in the tv broadcasts. Those tv versions that I have on vhs from the late 80s are falling apart though. I'll never be able to watch Star Wars that way again unless I edit the movies myself. So, would that be censorship?
If people here love Star Wars so much, why change it? Editing the films in fact shows contempt for the films, not love. Think about it.