Being 53 and having seen all the Star Wars movies when they were first released in the theater - when the special editions came out, I had mixed feelings. The movies were fine AS IS, but I get it and understand Lucas’ need to do this. He has always been a technology buff and perfectionist. Each movie spotlighted new technology and I guess during that time that passed after ROTJ, and what he knew he would be presenting when creating the prequels - I guess he just could not resist. Remember Lucas (and Spielberg) came from the mentor-ship and studied under Francis Ford Coppola. Note Coppola had done (and still does) revisions, director’s cuts, and other updates to ALL of his movies throughout his career and still continues that practice (how many Apocalypse Now and Godfather Saga versions exist). His belief is that this practice is okay to update HIS CREATIONS when he feels the need. As a perfectionist, he obviously is never satisfied with finished products (lots of artists are like that) and when he finds an opportunity or ability to update one of his past movies in a way that stimulates something he has a problem with either recently or an issue that has bugged him for decades - he does it. I think Lucas especially, agrees with that concept as well. Spielberg on the other hand, has not altered his movies often, but if you look closely he has done it more discreetly and more often than you might think…I guess he was traumatized by his Close Encounters Special Edition and prefers to not promote his updates and alterations…so look carefully for changes in re-releases of ET and Jaws that for some reason bothered him yet most of us would never notice…until the guns in the FBI agents hands turned into walkie-talkies as they chased the boys on their bikes with ET in a basket.
So for the Star Wars original trilogy - I thought the special editions were interesting at first as he corrected flaws most of us never noticed or cared about and improved scenes with more visuals and CGI. These items were kool and didn’t really affect my same experience watching the films. I even had no problems with the deleted scenes he restored as I didn’t really view that material as anything significant that affected the movie’s ability to be enjoyed. Most of us knew about those many little deleted scenes over the years and it was kool he put them back in for a cheap thrill for us.
NOW - the BAD stuff! You know it already, but that Han Solo/Greedo interaction was a BAD MOVE. So BAD in fact he continued to modify the scene in future releases. Changing that scene really affected the introduction of Han Solo and his first impression on us. His transformation from a selfish pirate out for himself to a caring individual from his experiences, to me (in my opinion), is neutralized by that first impression that now instead of making a dirty move on Greedo under the table, he was defending himself…just doesn’t sit right with me.
I could go on and on and bring up the same stuff you all already discussed -adding younger Anakin’s ghost at the end of ROTJ, removing flames from blaster hits, and that stupid Puppet song with BOba Fett flirting in Jabba’s Palace, just bug me the same as it bugs you…LOL.
Well, in conclusion, I still love the movies and will always enjoy watching them! But when I go outside on a warm night and setup the projector - I do prefer to watch my copy of the ORIGINAL episode 4 presentation.
have a good weekend -
