Because I will always, always have the original Star Wars trilogy!
And the Special Editions only differ from the original in very minor ways! (Even though Han shot first, but that itself is just a very minor plot point!)
But I want to say a few other things, just for fun!
First of all, we all know that George Lucas was a far better filmmaker when he did the original Star Wars trilogy and Raiders of the Lost Ark. We will always have the original Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
But I think that it makes perfect sense that George Lucas was a far better filmmaker back then.
Since the original Star Wars trilogy was completed, George Lucas has faced the pressure of living up to the original Star Wars trilogy and Raiders of the Lost Ark, while having already done the original Star Wars and not being able to do it again.
Which is to say, that he has to live up to the original Star Wars trilogy.
But he can't just do the original Star Wars trilogy again, because he already did it.
He was able to do Raiders of the Lost Ark again and keep in fresh and just different enough, with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade- but he could only do that once.
Now he has to come up with a completely new idea that will somehow be just as good as Star Wars- or else dissappoint us.
Or else just do nothing with the rest of his life- or at least, no more filmmaking.
I for one am purfectly fine with the fact that he decided to continue making movies even if they dissappoint us.
For we will always have the original trilogy.
But there is one more thing: the reason that the prequel trilogy is not as good.
It's simple.
The prequel trilogy had to tell the story of the fall of the Old Republic and the rise of the Empire.
The prequel trilogy had to tell the story of the fall of something good and great and the rise of evil.
And Star Wars operates on an emotional level, even as it contains ideas.
An emotional level of hope and optimism in the face of evil.
How do you have that hope and optimism in the face of evil if you have to tell the story of the fall of something good and great and the rise of evil?
Because if the evil does not rise in the prequel trilogy, than our heroes cannot defeat it in the original trilogy!
That is why the prequel trilogy dissapoints.
I think that the prequel trilogy was very good- for a trilogy that, by its very premise, had to dissappoint us.
Despite Jar Jar Binks.
I mean, really, we don't hate the prequels mainly because of Jar Jar.
We dislike the prequels because they just don't have the thrill of hope in the face of evil.
If the prequels had that, then we would say, look, Jar Jar Binks was stupid, the midi-chlorians thing was pointless and unnecessary, but the rest of the movie was great!
But the prequels could not have that hope in the face of evil!
But we will always have the original trilogy.
After all, the Special Editions only made very minor changes, and even the biggest of them- the Han and Greedo thing- is just a very minor plot point compared to, say, whether Luke succeeds in becoming a true Jedi Knight or something like that.
We will always have the original trilogy.
George Lucas did not ruin my childhood!
In any case, George Lucas did not ruin E. T. or Tolkien for me, or cut down my childhood forests, so George Lucas certainly did not ruin my childhood!
But we will always have the original trilogy!
And we will always have Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade!
God loves you! May the Force be with you!
Sincerely,
David S. Annderson