JT - the bulk of Lucas's time is currently focused on Episode III, which is due out next May - most of the work on these DVD's was done by ILM and Lowry Digital, with Lucas providing direction and reviewing it along the way. As for I and II, both received some minor adjusting when they went to DVD, and will likely see a few more tweaks in a couple years when the full six-movie set Lucas has been intent on is put together. Because these movies are newer and were made with a much wider range of resources, they seem to have started out closer to the vision Lucas had for them, so they will likely receive fewer and less pronounced changes.

My father teaches metals in an art college, and one lesson that he often finds students struggling with is when to set a piece of work down down and call it "finished" - not only can stopping too soon leave rough solder joints, jagged cuts, or unpolished surfaces, but working too long can take a piece to a point where it is over-worked and effectively ruined (too many added details that detract from the desired effect, for example). Part of the problem for students (or any artist) is the fact that they are the only ones who can decide when the point of completion is reached - there's no right or wrong answer. In Lucas's case, he always felt that the movies he released to theaters over 20 years ago fell short of that point, and in the process of gearing up for and producing the prequels he's taken the opportunity to pick up those "unfinished" pieces of work and push them closer to his goal. In some places, I think the movies have benefited from the work, and I have no doubt that many of the changes provide him a greater sense of satisfaction. There are also places where I think his recent work moves into that hazy and dangerous area of doing too much and taking it past the point of completion, although I get the impression from interviews and from some of the creative decisions in the prequels (particularly Episode I) that Lucas feels differently (damnit). From a purely technical standpoint, the DVD set is great, and I've been enjoying it. Artistically, there are places where I find myself scratching my head or shrugging, but I've still been able to sit back and enjoy the movies for the most part. There are things that I really wish had not been tampered with as well as a few special effects sequences that I think are deserving of preservation in some form (even if not in the movie itself) out of respect for the work that went into them, but that is Lucas's prerogative - whatever our opinion might be of his artistic decisions. Alas.

Since none of us can do much about it, though, I guess grumbling about it amongst ourselves is about all we have to fall back on. Grumble...

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