V.C, CA Original Trilogy

Since I got the new Star Wars DVDs this week I've been itching to watch them. It is now six O'clock in the morning and I've gotten through the entire trilogy. As I sit here now, basking in the glow of the experience I find myself reflecting...
which versions do I prefer, the original versions of my youth or the Special Editions. Not too long ago, when mentioning the release of the DVDs, I claimed a preference for the Special Editions. But now I must question that opinion.
I watched the Special Edition DVDs and was vastly impressed with how George Lucas edited and finished his movies. Luke meeting up with Biggs Darklighter in ANH (I just recently watched the lost footage from the original Star Wars and so I understand the scene better now). The amazing detail added to Cloud City in TESB. I laugh so hard at the new musical number in ROTJ. That is pure joy.
As the trilogy ended I was forced to remember my childhood experiences with Star Wars (Though I was very young, I did see Star wars in the theater in 1977). As I watched the end of ROTJ I found myself missing the Ewok Yub Yub song and the older Anakin Skywalker Force ghost. In a bit of nostalgia, I popped in the other DVD and rewatched the end of ROTJ. There was the song I missed and it was devoid of the galaxy-wide celebration scenes. As fans of the EU know, the Empire didn't die with Palpatine and so seeing a Coruscant celebration seems out of place to me. After all, Coruscant was still the Empire's seat of power.
As I saw the Force ghosts of Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Anakin I realized that the older Anakin was most appropriate. Don't mistake me here, when I first saw Hayden Christiansen as the Anakin Force ghost I was thrilled and thought that it made perfect sense. Now, though, I no longer think so. The Force ghosts of Obi-Wan and Yoda were reflections of their older selves. Logic dictates that Anakin's Force ghost be older as well. After all, even with the cybernetic armor Anakin's organic parts still continued to age.
I must be getting old, I suppose. I now prefer the unaltered versions of the Original Trilogy. Nostalgia must be catching up with me. I still applaud the additions George Lucas gave to the Original Trilogy (except for that CG Jabba the Hutt [that is a horrible model, very unlike the puppet of old]). I think that having Temuera Morrison re-record Boba Fett's lines was a brilliant move!
Just watching a bit of the unaltered trilogy sparked something that the Special Editions did not... I felt that pure and unadulterated wonder of my youth and recalled the exact feelings I had for these movies as a child. I reconnected with the very root of my love for Star Wars and I reinforced my ties to a galaxy far, far away.

 

It's funny that you mention the Coruscant celebration, I've always sort of questioned that part. I eventually decided that the scene that you see is basically a riot more than just a celebration. When people heard the news about the Emperor's death they took to the streets. The way I see it, right after the camera pans away Stormtroopers and Coruscant guards come out wih clear shields and high power hoses and restore order. I always loved the Ewok song ending but I like the way the new ending really ties together the whole series. The original ending felt like a better end to ROTJ but the SE ending felt like a better end to the saga.

I've also given a lot of thought to the ghosts at the end of ROTJ and I'm still not sure which version I prefer. The old Sebastian Shaw ghost always sort of bothered me because it felt weird to have him look like a healthy old guy after spending so long in his armor. I mean, if ghosty Anakin looked in a mirror would he recognize himself? Did ghosty Obi-Wan and Yoda actually recognize him at first? At the same token though, the other Jedi look as they do when they died so I guess it sort of makes sense. I guess having Hayden as the ghost allowed me to think when a light Jedi dies your ghost looks as you did when you did the most good. Since Vader was evil up until the last 15 minutes of his life he didn't do much good in that form and thus came back as Hayden. I guess that's how I look at it, it still feels weird though.

I still prefer the Special Editions to the originals, more for the subtle changes than the additional scenes. I'm really happy to be able to have both versions though, the originals can bring me back to when I was younger and I would watch a Star Wars movie every single night before bed for seveal years. I've been a nerd for a long time.