A New Hope

http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/.....stake-142746809.html

Seems Spielberg has come to his senses and admitted his mistakes as far as messing with ET.  Too late for the Blu-Ray version of Star Wars, but maybe Lucas and other directors will heed Spielberg's words on this subject.

I really wish people would stop complaining about this kind of thing. "Star Wars" is Lucas' thing, he can do whatever he likes with it. The original films still exist, unaltered, released on DVD and can be found if anyone wants to. No one is making anyone watch the new stuff.

Of course Lucas CAN make any change he wants.  It's his property.  But...why?  Improving the video, audio, adding a digitally enhanced creature here and there, no real problem.  But when you start messing with crucial scenes involving an iconic character, this is where the complaints start.  There's no logical reason for Lucas to make a change like this.  The scene was perfectly fine and is weakened by the change.  And although Lucas is the creator, this is one of those films that's so beloved that a lot of fans feel the characters also belong to them.  I'm not a Star Wars fanatic and I don't own a Blu-Ray, so I admit this makes no immediate impact on me.  If I owned a Blu-Ray, I'd be a lot more pissed.

This kinda reminds me of when Walter Hill, the director of The Warriors, released his "Ultimate Directors Cut" of the movie, where he really butchered the original by using these comic book freeze frames throughout the movie.  Now, that's pretty much the only version of the film you can find.  If Blu-Ray completely phases out dvd one day, the original version of the Star Wars saga might be harder to find.  These directors need to leave well enough alone.