The Original 'Star Wars' Edit to Show For The First Time in Decades

When I was in college, my buddy Kenny had a VHS box set of the original Star Wars trilogy that had no added VFX. It was the movies, the way they looked when they originally came out, and we would watch them over and over again in awe. I can still remember the puppet of Jabba in the first movie if I close my eyes and think hard enough. But seeing Star Wars the way it came out just doesn't really happen anymore. In the 90s, Lucas added a lot of CGI and has polished it over the years. The original cuts of the movies were sort of lost to time, although prints of them still exist. Well, now, one of those prints is coming back for a historic showing. The British Film Institute's (BFI) Film on Film Festival in June will be screening the original 1977 version of Star Wars. This is a significant event, as the original cut hasn't been available since 1997.According to The Telegraph, this is the first time the original print has been publicly screened since December 1978 outside of home video.George Lucas told the Associated Press in 2004 that he hasn't released the original versions for people to watch at home because “The Special Edition, that’s the one I wanted out there. The other movie, it’s on VHS, if anybody wants it. I’m not going to spend the — we’re talking millions of dollars here — the money and the time to refurbish that, because to me, it doesn’t really exist anymore. 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. I’m the one who has to take responsibility for it. I’m the one who has to have everybody throw rocks at me all the time, so at least if they’re going to throw rocks at me, they’re going to throw rocks at me for something I love rather than something I think is not very good, or at least something I think is not finished.”Obviously, if you can't be at the BFI, you won't get to see this, but I am hoping audience fervor gets these versions added to Disney+ or at least available to rent. These are massive movies that people fell in love with back then; I think it would be inspiring to see those versions and have them readily available. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Apr 16, 2025 - 21:32

The Original 'Star Wars' Edit to Show For The First Time in Decades

When I was in college, my buddy Kenny had a VHS box set of the original Star Wars trilogy that had no added VFX. It was the movies, the way they looked when they originally came out, and we would watch them over and over again in awe.

I can still remember the puppet of Jabba in the first movie if I close my eyes and think hard enough.

But seeing Star Wars the way it came out just doesn't really happen anymore. In the 90s, Lucas added a lot of CGI and has polished it over the years.

The original cuts of the movies were sort of lost to time, although prints of them still exist.

Well, now, one of those prints is coming back for a historic showing.

The British Film Institute's (BFI) Film on Film Festival in June will be screening the original 1977 version of Star Wars. This is a significant event, as the original cut hasn't been available since 1997.

According to The Telegraph, this is the first time the original print has been publicly screened since December 1978 outside of home video.

George Lucas told the Associated Press in 2004 that he hasn't released the original versions for people to watch at home because “The Special Edition, that’s the one I wanted out there. The other movie, it’s on VHS, if anybody wants it. I’m not going to spend the — we’re talking millions of dollars here — the money and the time to refurbish that, because to me, it doesn’t really exist anymore. 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. I’m the one who has to take responsibility for it. I’m the one who has to have everybody throw rocks at me all the time, so at least if they’re going to throw rocks at me, they’re going to throw rocks at me for something I love rather than something I think is not very good, or at least something I think is not finished.”

Obviously, if you can't be at the BFI, you won't get to see this, but I am hoping audience fervor gets these versions added to Disney+ or at least available to rent. These are massive movies that people fell in love with back then; I think it would be inspiring to see those versions and have them readily available.

Let me know what you think in the comments.