In a piece he wrote

In a piece he wrote for the Weekly Standard Jonathan Last is nicer to George Lucas than I have been.

A small sampling:

These changes, counterproductive as they are, should be endurable. After all, George Lucas created these movies. He has the right to wreck them if he wants. But Lucas isn't just putting out newer, flawed versions. He is embarked on a campaign to create The One True Version of the Star Wars mythology. You see, every time Lucas tinkers with one of his movies, the changes becomes the official version. The older versions are then quietly and efficiently erased from the public record. If you want to see the Star Wars movies as they once were, tough luck. You'll need to go to eBay or the black market and pay hundreds of dollars for the 1993 laserdisc set, or find a bootlegged DVD of the same. The early, unscarred VHS editions are all aging and deteriorating and besides which, were mostly in pan-and-scan full screen. In a few years the original versions of the Star Wars trilogy will be vanished completely. Many filmmakers put out director's cuts of their movies, which are sold alongside the theatrical versions. George Lucas, on the other hand, is so obsessed with airbrushing history that at the end of the day, only Jar-Jar Binks will be left seated on the couch with Lenin.

Ah, well. Jonathan's a pro and Lucas likes to sue. I can't blame him for watching his words, which, by far, is the most eloquent sum-up on the subject that I've read. Go read the whole thing. But, hey, if you want to read a few posts about George that aren't nearly so well-written, but are more vents to get that nasty, icky bile out, you can go here, here, here and here.

And yes, I still think what he's done to Sebastian Shaw is particularly despicable.

Posted by Kathy at October 1, 2004 10:47 PM | TrackBack