The original version of the first Star Wars movie, A New Hope, has not been readily available for many years, making an upcoming screening a truly remarkable event. When Star Wars was re-released in 1981, George Lucas added “Episode IV – A New Hope” to the opening crawl, making the film consistent with The Empire Strikes Back. In 1997, Lucas took things even further by releasing updated versions of the original trilogy called the “Star Wars Special Editions.”

While extended director’s cuts are nothing new for blockbuster films, fans grew concerned when Lucas refused to release the theatrical versions of the movies alongside the Special Editions. 28 years later, the unaltered cuts of the original Star Wars trilogy have never been officially released in modern high definition, and public screenings are always some version of the Special Editions. While this is about to change, knowing how and why we got here is essential.

Why George Lucas Replaced A New Hope With The Special Editions

He was never satisfied with the original cut

The original Star Wars was groundbreaking for its special effects, and while the world may have fallen in love with it, Lucas himself was never satisfied. He has famously said that “the film only came out to be 25 or 30 percent of what I wanted it to be,” and it’s understandable why he felt this way. Audiences only saw what was onscreen, while Lucas had a vision that couldn’t be fully realized with the technology of the time.

So when special effects and CGI progressed over 20 years, Lucas decided to update the movies to be closer to what he envisioned. Environments were expanded, moments Lucas wasn’t happy with were slightly altered, deleted scenes were restored, and so on. While many could understand that Lucas had the right to make these changes, they were also frustrated and baffled as to why he wouldn’t release the unaltered version.

The reason is that Lucas insisted that he owned the Star Wars movies and didn’t care about restoring the theatrical versions. When asked about the Special Editions in interviews, he would say “this is the movie I wanted it to be, and I’m sorry you saw a half-completed film and fell in love with it. But I want it to be the way I want it to be.” After nearly three decades, most of Lucas’ answers have this mentality.

It Looks As Though Even The US National Film Registry Doesn’t Have A Good Copy

Lucasfilm only offered the 1997 Special Edition

When the American National Film Registry was founded in 1988, Star Wars was one of the first 25 movies inducted the following year, but Lucasfilm did not provide a copy right away. The archival master the Registry claimed to possess may not have been in good shape, and it could not be accessed for viewing or research. When Lucasfilm eventually offered a copy of the 1997 Special Edition, the Registry declined because it wasn’t the version they had inducted.

This was very discouraging news for many Star Wars fans and those pᴀssionate about film preservation. Not only did Lucas not care about preserving the unaltered version, but even the organization dedicated to doing so didn’t have the capability. Some have taken it upon themselves to clean up surviving Star Wars prints or recreate the theatrical version using HD sources, but it’s still disappointing not to have an official release.

Despite It All, The Original, Unedited Star Wars Is Showing Again!

At this year’s BFI Film Festival in the UK

Despite Lucas’ efforts to make viewing the unedited version of Star Wars as difficult as possible, it will be screened publicly very soon. This year’s BFI Film Festival in the UK, taking place from June 12 to 15, will open with a unique release of the original 1977 edition of Star Wars. This will be the first time it’s been seen in decades, thanks to the BFI National Archive preserving the unfaded dye transfer IB Technicolor British release print.

According to BFI, those in attendance will also have a chance to view rare production material, including annotations to the script, the original continuity script, on-set Polaroids, and deleted scenes. Even without the screening of the unaltered movie, the bonus material alone is a treasure trove for dedicated Star Wars fans. It is sure to be an unforgettable event for those lucky enough to be in the audience.

The BFI Showing Raises Difficult Questions About Movie Ownership

Preserving history or defying the creator’s wishes?

As exciting as this news is, it also raises some ethical concerns about movie ownership and whether screenings like this should be allowed. After all, Lucas did make the movies, and he has stated that this is not his preferred version of the film. He also sold Star Wars to Disney, making it unclear how legal it is to screen something Lucasfilm hasn’t necessarily approved.

At the same time, the theatrical version of Star Wars is an important part of film history, one that still means a lot to fans old and new. It reflects the time it was made, and it was the version that drastically impacted the industry and pop culture, not the Special Edition. If Lucas, Disney, and Lucasfilm refuse to make that version available, then screenings like this are the only opportunity some people will ever have.

Ultimately, there are no easy answers, and the BFI screening proves the debate is far from over. Lucasfilm could try to shut the screening down, but it’s not like BFI is showing the version available on Disney Plus, and they’ve tolerated fan preservation in recent years. Either way, a special screening of the unaltered Star Wars movie is very exciting, even if George Lucas would rather you not see it.

Source: BFI

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  George Lucas

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