Only $25 a person but as they sold out, they'd have grossed over 10K for the day which isn't a bad return. Watching the films with a sympathetic audience is so much more fun than sticking them in the DVD player for another re-run, clapping and laughing and cheering added a great atmosphere to the viewings, with one brilliant interjection of "Don't do it!" just before Leia kisses Luke on the lips in Empire.
It was, of course, the 'special" edition and while it's now 17 years since I last saw them on the big screen, my overall dislike of the changes remains - which I think is testimony to the fact that the initial barrage of complaints from Star Wars fans wasn't just a beat up. The additions generally slow up the films, and the first 2 in particular are so beautifully paced that there was no need for additions. And in several cases the changes made the storytelling worse, Greedo shooting first still jars, Solo was too smart to allow that, Darth Vader growling "Bring my shuttle!" was a fabulous reflection of how pissed he was that Luke had slipped his clutches.
The celebratory sequence in Jedi is OK, but what was wrong with the original? I don't think the change improved the story and it reduced the personal element that Jedi's original finish emphasised, showing Luke privately burning Vader's body was moving. Using Iain McDermaid to re-record the Emperor sequence in Empire was an excellent decision, it improves the scene and the storytelling. Some of the additions of new visuals in the background work well too, eg the cityscape image when Lando Calrissian is telling the citizens of Cloud City to leave. Overall though, I prefer the original cut by a considerable margin.
I found Palpatine's attempts to seduce Luke to be utterly woeful when compared to the subtle, complex web that he constructed over many years in order to ensnare his father. By the end Palpatine was relying purely on force to keep his empire together, but he'd built his empire through his ability to develop alliances and play politics. In Jedi he rejects his alliances and isn't trying to build any more. Absolute power had corrupted him absolutely and thus these scenes work better with the addition of the prequel trilogy, the weakness of Palpatine's efforts to seduce Luke become a demonstration of how much damage has been done to Palpatine by how he chose to live, rather than a poorly written script that made one question how a character of Vader's strength and power would ever choose to serve this man. The Dark Side has betrayed him too, as he could have been a great and loved Chancellor, instead of this feeble, hate riddled, shell of a man.
Anakin had been moved to save his life once because he saw that he needed him to save his loved ones and because he viewed Palpatine as a good man in a difficult situation, that mask had been blown by Jedi, which meant that the basis of Vader's loyalty was no longer solid. Now that Palpatine was seeking to kill Vader's loved one, it became an easy decision for him to intervene. Too easy for mine, I consider that Vader's saving of his son's life fails as an act of redemption, most people would save their own children, no matter how sick and twisted they are generally. This is a man who killed children and other civilians for fun, and who had proceeded to spend decades with minimal respect for life, he killed on whims. Does saving one life, that of his only son to boot, truly balance the scales for him?
Speaking of Star Wars, I saw a totally hilarious Harry Potter v Star Wars mock battle on YouTube the other day, made by 2 Adelaide brothers, it's brilliant! Hope you enjoy it!
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