They say good things come to those who wait, and as it applies to the “Star Wars” media empire, that’s not necessarily always been the case recently.
But for those patient souls who’ve often dreamed that one fine day the original uncut, unaltered 1977 version of “Star Wars” might one day by some miracle find its way back into theaters, your time has arrived… at least if you live in the UK!
Through a nifty bit of restoration, a sprinkling of cinematic preservation magic, and a prodigious amount of luck, the British Film Institute (BFI) has the honor of presenting “Star Wars” in June in its original state before George Lucas began tinkering with scenes, changing characters, stuffing frames with CGI creatures and critters.
This priceless theatrical cut of George Lucas’s seminal space fantasy (with Han shooting first!) will screen in theaters on the opening night of the Film on Film Festival on June 12 at the BFI Southbank center in London. These “Star Wars” golden tickets go on sale starting May 9, with BFI patrons and members scoring early access on May 6 and 7.
Film on Film’s ultra-rare “Star Wars” print was carefully preserved by the British Film Institute and will be shown “exactly as experienced by audiences on its original release, screening from one of the precious handful of dye transfer IB Technicolor prints produced for the first British release.”
Unblemished, non-Special Edition versions of the original “Star Wars Trilogy” are impossible to acquire on home video and are no longer considered official according to Disney and Lucasfilm, since those “upgraded” makeover iterations were released in the 1990s. That makes this historical BFI screening of the one-and-only “Star Wars” from 1977 a once-in-a-lifetime event if you can somehow make it to London in time!
If you’re not one of the lucky few who can make it to this unique showing… well, there’s always Disney+, the only streaming service where you can see Greedo shoot first.
