One of the few surviving Technicolor prints created for the first release of Star Wars will be screened in the UK in June.
This is reported by the Hollywood Reporter, citing The Telegraph.
The film will be screened at the British Film Instituteʼs (BFI) Film on Film festival. It is believed to be the first public screening of the original Star Wars film since December 1978. After that, copies of the film were only used for home viewing.
The thing is, Star Wars director and screenwriter George Lucas began changing the film during its first re-release in 1981. Some of these edits were subtle, while others were overt, which annoyed fans.
For years, Lucas refused to show the original version of the film. In 2004, the Associated Press asked the director why he wouldnʼt just release the original along with the special edition. The response was blunt.
"The Special Edition is the version I wanted to see on the screen. The other film is on VHS, if anyone needs it. Iʼm not going to spend — and weʼre talking about millions of dollars — of money and time restoring something that no longer exists for me. Itʼs like an unfinished film that you fall in love with. But I want it to be the way I intended it to be. Because thatʼs all my responsibility. I have to take all the blows. So if Iʼm going to be criticized — at least for what I love, not for what I think is unfinished," said George Lucas.
Since then, the studio has only allowed the screening of the Special Edition versions. The BFI has had to negotiate with Disney and Lucasfilm for the rights to screen the previously banned version of Star Wars. It will be screened twice on the opening day of the festival. A copy of the film has been stored for over 40 years at -5°C to preserve the image quality.
The Hollywood Reporter expects tickets to sell out quickly. It remains to be hoped that the success of the screening will inspire Disney and Lucasfilm to allow similar screenings in the United States, the media outlet writes.
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