That was one of the first things that came to mind when I bought the re-released Star Wars trilogy, especially during Return Of The Jedi. It was the clearest example of how videos darken with age that I had ever seen. For years I'd watched the movie (which had been taped off of some cable channel and given to us) and had been perfectly happy with it because I didn't know what I'd been missing. Then when I got the new copy I discovered something: Jabba didn't actually live in a dimly lit cave, and he actually had more stuff on the walls than a carbonite Han Solo under a spotlight. You see, I had never questioned the fact that Jabba was so powerful and yet seemed to live in a cave because it all made sense. The outside of that palace thing really looked like a cave, and it didn't seem to have any windows, so it made sense that it would be dark. Besides, Jabba had those big eyes, so I guess I thought he was kind of like an owl or any other light sensitive, kind of nocturnal, creature. Basically, I chalked up the darkness to atmosphere, and didn't really know any better until the trilogy was re-released and I got my hands on a new, actually professionally produced, copy. Then suddenly there were carvings on the walls and all sorts of other background things that I'd never seen before. Still, there's just something about the cave that feels right, so I don't know whether I really like this new, brighter palace and sail barge better, or whether I prefer the dark, sometimes hard to see dwelling I first came to associate with the big guy.
(I will say that getting a copy that made everything lighter definitely helped with The Monster Squad since I could then actually read the little red letters crawling up the screen and not have to try to dredge up the knowledge of what it said from my memory, sort of getting it right, and only being completely sure about the "They blew it," part.)
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