So Lucas announced last week that he will only release the Special Edition of the classic Star Wars Trilogy on DVD. He spewed a lot of artistic crapola to justify this decision. But really what it boils down to is ego and money.
Now, the original Star Wars Trilogy is my Kevin Bacon... just six degrees from Star Wars to everything else I love. And my life is based on connections and my apophenia just will not accept the Special Edition. So this is bad for me on a psychological level. I think I'll be traumatized for life. No, wait that already happened when I saw Episode I.
But really, this is bad on a much broader scale. I'm a student of film, and the loss of the original theatrical release of Star Wars is a blow to the study of film. Whether you like these movies or not (and I am well aware that many in academia don't), they define a moment in movie making and ushered in the age of computer special effects. For George Lucas to hold them back in a fit of prima donna-like, ego fueled pique is irresponsible as a movie maker who owes a debt not just to the fans, but to the history of film as a medium and an art.
You can sign a petition for the release of the original theatrical cut of the films on DVD here. It probably won't do any good, but I guess it can't hurt to try.
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