The original Star Wars trilogy is perhaps the most famous instance of re-edited work in cinema history, and that fame has now translated into more than two decades of infamy for the saga's creator, George Lucas. Though certain minor tweaks (including things like audio fixes) existed before that, the real infamy stems from Lucas' 1997 release of the Star Wars "Special Edition" cuts, which featured a number of new digital backgrounds and CGI creatures. Of course, they also spawned the now legendary argument that "Han Shot First" after Lucas altered the scene in which the smuggler kills the bounty hunter Greedo.
The long list of changes to Star Wars only multiplied with each release of the films, on DVD and then Blu-ray, as Lucas made still more tweaks that included things like Hayden Christensen as young Anakin Skywalker appearing as a Force ghost at the end of Return of the Jedi and Darth Vader yelling "Noooo!" as he kills his mentor, Emperor Palpatine. Fans continue to rage over these alterations, but according to Lucas, it's all just in service to getting the films to look and sound like he imagined them.
"On the Internet, all those same guys that are complaining I made a change are completely changing the movie," he said. "I'm saying: 'Fine. But my movie, with my name on it, that says I did it, needs to be the way I want it.'"
