Harry here... All I have to say is Fuck This, Fuck Lucas and Fuck These DVDs! Sigh... Ok, so I do have more to say. Gone for all time will be the original work of John Dykstra and his innovative motion control work in the original Star Wars. Gone will be the original beauty of the Death Star explosion. Gone will be the original rhythm of the Cantina scene and the exchange between Solo and Greedo. Future generations will never know the wondrous model work, we'll never have preserved the initial miracles that the wizards at ILM created. Those original editions, those mistakes, they're glorious. They are the original footprints that led special effects out of darker times. All that artistry is lost on George Lucas. It was all errors, mistakes... the efforts of the original founders of ILM, the men and women that carved the imaginations of generations... All of that means nothing to him. That work isn't timeless to George Lucas. His complete and utter disregard for his own history, the work that EARNED THAT SPECIAL OSCAR... It all means nothing to him. That work, what possible harm is there in giving us that extra disc, making us pay for it. WE CARE! WE WANT IT! And I will never buy a DVD that doesn't have it. I suggest you do the same.

Hey Harry,  

Just got back from  the opening night of the ILM/Skywalker Sound tribute at the American Cinematheque @ the Egyptian Theatre.  While it was real cool seeing Lucas in person, there really wasn't a whole lot discussed that would be enlightening to most fans.  Much of the Q&A revolved around topics that we have seen or heard in the many commentaries or interviews from the last twenty years.  Still, it was pretty damn awesome seeing the man, albeit he's kinda of short in person.   

Anyway, about the only major piece of info to come from this night may upset the purists.  THERE WILL BE NO ORIGINAL VERSIONS ON DVD!!!   Lucas flat out said that we won't see the originals on DVD and I'm guessing any format other than those it already exists, ie laserdisc and video.  I have both the originals and specials on laserdisc.  Of course, you could get bootlegs but that isn't legal, unless the Emperor makes it legal.  This news was met with very little snickering or hissing.  Lucas feels the originals weren't complete so the special editions are the versions he intended to make 20 years ago.  

That's about it, until next time.

The Film Maven