I wouldn’t say I’m a purist in the classic sense, I have been through all sort of permutations of what a Star Wars fan can be from the release of the original movie back in the 70’s, right through to hating the PT and finally accepting the PT and seeing something in them that I had never noticed upon release, to a fan of all the movies and (some) EU. Yes, I’m one of those people. However, I do believe that fans should have access to all the permutations of the Star Wars movies from its beginnings, to what it has now become and not be restricted to just ‘one true version’.
The thing is, when I want to watch a Star Wars movie, I want to watch them the way I want to watch them, be it through the eyes of me as a 4 year old, where there was just the original movie (I can easily jump on and ignore the Anakin/Vader thing), or watch the OT as I watched them for years prior to the SE’s , or watch the SE’s, or the 6 films back to back as one continuous saga. I’m not bound by any one definitive way of watching these films, but GL has taken this option away and I believe that this lack of foresight has actually made the GFFA a much smaller place than it should be and has made the artistry that is the movies a much narrower and restrictive experience.
On a personal note, I do think that the SE’s are junk. The pacing is all wrong, the colours are off (I loved the blues and firey reds and orange colours in TESB for example because it works in foreshadowing red and blue light sabre blades crossing at the end of the film) and the ‘improvements’ are really distracting, but sometimes I watch them anyway, just because I can. Ironically I believe that watching the OOT works better in my mind, following the PT because it opens up the cinematic scope of this vibrant 36 year old movie making/watching experience.
