George Lucas, who received an honorary Palme d'Or at Cannes for his entire career, stands firm on his positions. There is no question of him accepting a 4K restoration of the original version of Star Wars. It does not conform to his vision.
This is a well-known characteristic of George Lucas. The American filmmaker has often sought to retouch Star Wars, including several years after the trilogy was released in theaters. In fact, the films have been modified so much that it is very likely that younger generations have not really seen the versions shown in theaters.
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There is obviously a scene which most strongly symbolizes this tendency of the director: the face-to-face between Han Solo and Greedo, in the cantina, during the first feature film. Originally, the first shot was supposed to come from the famous smuggler. Then, George Lucas decides to give the initiative to Jabba the Hutt's henchman. And finally, both simultaneously.
Since 1977 and the release ofA new hope, the modifications are counted in dozens. However, the filmmaker no longer seems to wish to go in this direction. Or, at least, there are certain avenues that he refuses to take. This is the case of an ultra high definition (4K) restoration of the original version ofA new hope released 47 years ago.
“ This is what (the film) looked like »
“ I firmly believe that the director, screenwriter or filmmaker should have the right to make their film the way they want it to be. », argued George Lucas over the weekend, while he was in Cannes to receive an honorary Palme d'Or for his entire career. And according to him, the current version of the films is adequate.
“ We released the original on laserdisc and everyone got angry, they said, 'This is horrible.' And I said, 'Yes, I know that's the case.' “, he added, in comments reported by The Hollywood Reporter on May 24. “ That’s what (the film) looked like. » And yet, the laserdisc version was already slightly revised, although very faithful.
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Faced with the director's intransigence, fans sought to recreate Star Wars as it was shown in the cinema — Despecialized Edition, 4K77 or Silver Screen Edition. A sign, moreover, of a certain demand from the public to have access to the most stripped-down work of subsequent editing, special effects and rewriting.
In 2012, George Lucas finally sold his production company (Lucasfilm) to Disney and, as a result, Star Wars. A deal which was accompanied by certain conditions so that respect for the filmmaker's legacy was respected. The fact is that, for example, Disney has not released the original 1977 films for sale since.
