This June’s Film On Film Festival will include an original 1977 print of Star Wars, shown on the big screen for the first time in decades.
If the BFI wanted to create a bit of fuss among genre fans with this year’s Film On Film Festival, then mission accomplished. The institute has announced that it’s to stage a rare screening of Star Wars this June – an original dye-transfer print from 1977, stored in its archives and never before shown to the public.
Star Wars was, of course, re-released in a restored and modified form for its 20th anniversary in 1997. After this, George Lucas, who then still owned Lucasfilm, was rather protective over the earlier, unmodified cut of what was later named Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. While it’s been tinkered with further since, it’s the 1997 version of Star Wars publicly available on disc and Disney+.
Even after Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, it’s seemingly been reluctant to make the 1977 Star Wars available, even though fans would surely love to see a clean print of the film that doesn’t contain Jabba the Hutt, Greedo shooting first, and other odd nips and tucks. The BFI’s screening on the 12th June – marking the Film On Film Festival’s opening night – will likely sell out rather quickly. Ticket sales open in early May.
Read more: Star Wars | The scruffy-looking joy of A New Hope’s unrestored theatrical print
The rest of the festival is a veritable feast of genre classics, in fact – all set to be screened at the BFI IMAX and BFI Southbank, and as nature intended (on celluloid). There’s a new 70mm print of 2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as an earlier Kubrick classic, The Killing. Elsewhere on the program, you’ll also find showings of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much and Milos Forman’s bombastic period piece, Amadeus. The event will conclude on the 15th June with a 35mm screening of Twin Peaks’ pilot episode – a fitting tribute to creator David Lynch, who passed away this year. Series star Kyle MacLachlan will be in attendance.
It all sounds thoroughly glorious. For those who manage to get a ticket to that Star Wars screening, you have our undying envy.
You can read more about the festival at the BFI’s website.
