Just got out. Program began with Rogue One introduced by John Knoll. Super neat, but that’s not why you’re here.
John Dykstra introduced a 70mm print struck for the UK but never screened (I heard someone say it was ‘81, but the date was never formally stated). It was never screened because the first time it was projected, the print tore, and thus there was about two seconds of pretty major damage right as the Death Star blows up, but otherwise, the print was immaculate. Minimal damage and virtually no fading. “A New Hope” was on the crawl, but otherwise, it’s the original film.
Apparently, after some convincing, Lucas himself signed off on the Academy showing this version of the film. That’s huge, because he has firmly not allowed the original version to be publicly screened since before 1997. What does that mean for future releases? Who can say, but this screening is something that seemed impossible just one week ago.