Star Wars was a groundbreaking, global phenomenon when it debuted in 1977. That was a surprise, because it was something of a quixotic project at the time, a throwback to the old sci-fi, Flash Gordon movie serials of the 1930s.
"The film was a bit different altogether from anything I had done before," said Ann Skinner, who was the continuity supervisor on the original film. "There was a lot of things to tie up in terms of visual special effects, backgrounds to be added."
People lined up around the block to see those special effects. The crowds made headlines around the world.
But the film that those crowds saw on the big screen is not the same as the digital, remastered version currently streaming on Disney+. In fact, because director and creator George Lucas constantly tinkered with the film starting almost immediately after its release — from renaming it Episode IV: A New Hope, to adding a full scene and several creatures, to modifying the effects — almost no one has seen the original 1977 version on the big screen since … well, 1977.
Until this month.
The British Film Institute, known as the BFI, showed it just twice on a recent weeknight as part of the kickoff to its Film on Film Festival. The idea behind the festival is to show original prints as they were originally meant to be seen. Then they go back in the vault.
"We're not saying come and see this on a film print as part of nostalgia," said James Bell, a senior curator of fiction at the British Film Institute National Archive and the programming director of the festival. "We're saying there's a real qualitative, aesthetic difference to seeing a film projected on a film print. I think that's exciting to anyone, whether you're a Star Wars fan or not."
Unlike digital versions, film prints have a "life story," Bell said. "Every time it's projected, there'll be a subtle change to it. You wonder, when in the intervening years did that scratch happen? And over time, it kind of builds up, the bumps and bruises and scars of its life. It's a tangible reaching-back through history. And that to me is really exciting."
A rare find
What's particularly special about this print is that it's a dye transfer IB Technicolor British release print. Most Star Wars prints in the U.S. and elsewhere used Eastmancolor film, which color fades over time, giving it a brownish or pinkish tinge. But most of the British prints used Technicolor film, which retains its original colors.
The other special thing about this particular version is that it has the original crawl — those words at the beginning of Star Wars that seem to shoot off into the middle distance.
After The Empire Strikes Back was released in 1980, Lucasfilm sent distributors a new crawl to attach to the film, which included the new name, Episode IV — A New Hope. The BFI found a copy of the original crawl and reattached it to the print.
This only-in-Britain print in the BFI archive is just one of the many British connections to Star Wars. Much of the film was shot at the less-expensive Elstree Studios, outside London, and the cast included British actors like Anthony Daniels, Alec Guinness, and many others.
A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
People throughout the United Kingdom came to London to see the film — about 900 of them. Most were BFI members. Unlike in the U.S., where an event like this would have been accompanied by elaborate costumes, many lightsabers, and a chorus of "May the Force Be With You," at BFI Southbank, there was only the occasional Star Wars T-shirt.
"I've never seen the original cut on the big screen … and I've been a Star Wars fan all my life," said Brian Cameron, a founder of Fantha Tracks, one of Europe's largest Star Wars fan sites. "I don't mind all the edits that have happened over the years, but I'm really interested just to see the feel of the film, how it flows. I want to see why [George Lucas] made those changes."
Lucas, however, has been clear that this is not a version he wants people to see. Lucasfilm has previously only permitted screenings of the "Special Editions," which include the changed scenes and enhanced effects.
"It's like 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," he told the Associated Press in 2004.
This understanding is so firmly a part of Star Wars lore that when the BFI announced the screening, some online fans were convinced it must be unauthorized, which Cameron understood.
"It feels like getting to see something you probably shouldn't get to see, you know?" Cameron said. "It's opening the curtains a little bit, seeing behind the creator's vision and thoughts."
But BFI did have permission — and to prove it, they invited a special guest to the screening: Kathleen Kennedy, the president of Lucasfilm.
"It's quite remarkable. What you're going to see is in fact the first print — and I'm not even sure there's another one quite like it," she told the audience. "You know, it's that rare."
And what was it like to see this rare print?
It felt — fresh. Real. Without the shininess of CGI, the droids and ships and sets seemed well-worn and grubby. It felt more like a real battle and less like a fairy tale. The pacing was more measured. It was funnier. The explosions seemed fake, but the scenes, stripped of their CGI characters, had more of an edge. And it was very clear — without a doubt — that Han shot first, before the bounty hunter Greedo could shoot him, which is an ongoing controversy online.
"I love that got a cheer," said audience member Gus Barry, after the second screening. "And a round of applause. You saw it here, as George Lucas intended. Here you go, Han shot first."
Ciera Crawford edited this story for broadcast and digital.
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