I know it’s pointless to argue with frevious, but the films were better for more reasons than just Kurtz. Empire’s extraordinary is in large part because of Kershner. Kurtz should be thanked more for letting him do what he wanted.

On Jedi, Lucas wanted more control and that was what he was going to get. Kurtz left because of that, amongst other reasons. There were other producers who could have kept Lucas in check as Kurtz did but that’s not what Lucas wanted so that’s not what he got.

Lucas certainly has a resentment towards Empire but I’m not sure it’s jealousy as much as it is lingering frustration from shooting over time and budget. Lucas has been quoted as saying the film was better than it needed to be, or should have been. He would have been happier with a worse film if only because it would have caused him less stress.