Right here is how I feel about this subject.
STAR WARS.
Not a bad effort for a special edition but the obvious things to leave alone was Han shooting first and god the Jabba scene was awful. Horribe comedy Jawa falling of the dinosaur.
I really dislike the take off shot of the x-wings on yavin also it should have just put the temple in the background and showed the x-wings launching in the distance bad decision and composition on that.
Deleted scenes were included although they were not terrific.
EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Now people actually say this is the best special edition… well perhaps it is the least harmful version but it is total nonsense in most cases.
I don’t mind it but it does very little to restore anything that was actually planned, shot or written by Irwin Kershner, Kasdan, John Williams or even George Lucus himself. So I think it’s weird in that regard but it’s not awful but again it was altered away from anything that was originally intended in most cases.
The actual composition of the sound mix feels strange carried over from the original and this should have been a major factor when doing a special edition also some things were addressed but most of the terrible errors in there were glazed over. Horrible audio changes too that were not needed.
Considering it was the film that was also plagued by having to be rushed at the end of production, it’s the film of the original trilogy that most needed a special edition but with Kershner at the helm. No deleted scenes were included.
RETURN OF THE JEDI
The Most stupid changes and the most crap musical number replacement.
Oola was a good addition in the Rancor pit
Sarlac Pit got screwed over
Darth Vader got Screwed over.
Again no material was added that was planned, shot or written at the time the film was made, it was only altered away from what it was originally meant to be with no deleted scenes of any worth apart from a few snippets.
I think the moral of this story generally tends to fall into the category of. It’s fine to do an alternative cut but don’t supress the original version and if you are going to do an alternative cut it has to have something that was originally planned to be in the movie like some deleted scenes or with cuts or re-arrangements that actually improve the flow not a bunch of new ideas that generally hinder them. One or two new ideas don’t hurt if it’s subtle but they are not subtle in most cases and I think on the whole poorly executed.