A while ago I made a post decrying George Lucas' decision to not release the original versions of the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD, instead choosing to only release his "enhanced" versions of the 1997 Special Editions. I am dumbfounded that Lucas doesn't realize the hypocrisy and irony of this decision considering that he "testified with Steven Spielberg before Congress in the 1980s against colorization and other forms of alteration," specifically with respect to colorizing black and white classics such as The Three Stooges (an upcoming DVD release contains both the original black and white and newly colorized versions). He recently reiterated his thoughts on the issue:

Would color distract from their comedy and make it not as funny anymore? Maybe just the fact that they're in black and white makes it funny, because their humor is dated. But by putting it in black and white, it puts it in a context where you can appreciate it for what it was. But you try to make it in full living color and try to compare it to a Jim Carrey movie, then it's hard for young people to understand. Because you're then thinking you're comparing apples to apples, when you're not. You're comparing apples to oranges. I'm saying it's not fair to the artist.

These statements make me realize that Lucas is even more deluded than I thought, since he obviously is blind to the fact that his own actions contradict his stated position. Fans of the Star Wars films want the original versions included so that they can experience them as they were released. The updated special effects and scenes Lucas added may expand on his original vision, but in his own statements he contends that altering classic films for a contemporary audience can bring unfair comparison to newer films. That's an issue I hadn't even considered in my previous diatribe against this decision, but the fact that Lucas himself makes it, and then selectively excludes himself from the implications of it, just boggles my mind.

Many people (myself included) feel that if he wants to release his "enhanced" versions, then more power to him. However, with the advent of DVDs, it is a trivial matter to include the original versions along with the enhanced versions, just as Steven Spielberg did with the DVD release of E.T.. But Lucas has proven time and time again that the fans' wishes are secondary to his tremendous ego, so I don't expect that he'll change his mind. And that sucks...