I was on the fence until the head disappeared at the end.

I was never hugely into "Star Wars", even as a kid; but as an adult I can at least appreciate a basic story well-told. "Star Wars" and "The Empire Strikes Back" are very well put-together; there really isn't any scene that forces you to ask "why did they keep this scene?" or "why didn't they film something less stupid?"

I say the whole franchise begins its decline during the "Return of the Jedi" forest speeder chase. That is the first point in the franchise where a scene drags on and on in hopes that action and special effects will carry the day. It wasn't enough to sink the film, but you can see the beginnings of the prequels right there.

I don't know. I can definitely sympathize with the fans because those movies had some sentimental value to me, and even though they aren't exactly good in and of themselves, watching the guy who made them go back decades later and keep changing shit around -- from what I've seen, not for the better -- is both annoying and depressing to think about (either Lucas has run out of ideas, and so keeps going back to tinker with something he once did that worked; or he initially released a bunch of crap that was not what he wanted at all, and was never able to make peace with that fact, not even decades later; or he drank the "GEORGE LUCAS IS GOD (because I watched star Wars when I was a little kid and liked it)" kool-aid).


What actually upsets me about all this is I can't get a good copy of any of the Star Wars trilogy films in HD that doesn't have a bunch of stupid plastered all over it. I want it so sometimes I can pop it in, sit down, and remember a movie I saw as a little kid -- not so I can see all the CG graffiti a stale old man put all over them.

I understand the anger over not being able to have the original versions in recent home video formats. If Lucas wants to add more crayon dribble over the old movies he should at least offer the option to watch the non-fucked up versions. I just feel tiredsome every time somebody goes with another anti-Lucas rant.