Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy Assures Fans That Screening of Original Cut of 1977's Star Wars Isn't 'Illegal'

The British Film Institute conscionable screened the archetypal people of the archetypal Star Wars, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and Lucasfilm brag Kathleen Kennedy was connected manus to marque definite fans knew the screening of George Lucas’ sci-fi masterpiece was not, successful fact, illegal.

As spotted by GamesRadar, Kennedy joked during her introductory remarks earlier the iconic movie screened astatine the BFI Film connected Film Festival successful London connected June 12: "I'm present to… marque definite that you don't deliberation that this is an amerciable screening."

She added astir the print: "It's unthinkable folklore. I person to accidental that adjacent erstwhile I came into the company, determination was endless speech astir wherever everything was, and what was successful information the archetypal print? And it's rather remarkable, what you're going to spot is successful information the archetypal print, and I'm not adjacent definite there's different 1 rather similar it. It's that rare. There's truthful overmuch tinkering that's gone connected implicit the years, and things that George [Lucas] decided, 'I'm gonna alteration this, I'm gonna effort that.' And then, everybody benignant of mislaid way of what it was."

Star Wars fans, Kathleen Kennedy wants to guarantee you the BFI screening of the archetypal chopped is not amerciable pic.twitter.com/0a1Pa6FXDI

This showing was the archetypal clip the archetypal people of the 1977 classical was publically screened since 1978, though this peculiar chopped had been made disposable connected VHS a fewer times implicit the years. According to a study from The Telegraph backmost successful April, the reels were stored astatine 23 degrees Fahrenheit to sphere prime and the viewing experience.

"In these precise peculiar screenings, we contiguous the movie precisely arsenic experienced by audiences connected its archetypal 1977 release," the BFI explained.

The queue extracurricular Leicester Square Theatre for the London opening of Star Wars successful 1977. Photo by PA Images via Getty Images.

"Screening from 1 of the precious fistful of dye transportation IB Technicolor prints produced uniquely for the archetypal British release, and preserved successful the BFI National Archive, this has immoderate of the deterioration that comes with an archive print, but its colour is gloriously unfaded. Truly unmissable."

Interestingly enough, Lucas has been vocal successful the past astir keeping the archetypal chopped of the movie successful the dark, truthful overmuch truthful that helium made tweaks to that chopped soon aft merchandise and those cuts went connected to go the Special Edition. That Special Edition, released successful 1997, is what has been made readily disposable to fans implicit the years.

Photo by PA Images via Getty Images.

Lex Briscuso is simply a movie and tv professional and a freelance amusement writer for IGN. You tin travel her connected Twitter astatine @nikonamerica.