The search for the 'Star Wars' George Lucas doesn't want you to see (original) (raw)

Ah, Star Wars. Not the movie that's launching like a nostalgia-boosted rocket this week ,or the prequel sequels that broke millions of hearts a decade ago, or even the face-lifted originals that the franchise's creator unloaded on the public in the late 20th century.

No, I'm taking about the movie I saw as a teen 38 years ago. The epic film called simply Star Wars. It was singular and self-contained. It was raw and it was visceral. It has also, more or less, been hidden away for nearly four decades.

Ever since director George Lucas started messing with the original trio of films -- Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi -- fans have been fixated on the series' unadulterated versions.

Lucas has either seized and destroyed or hidden away all copies of the original films in order to roll out modified versions that are ostensibly better than the originals. Owing to its age, the first film, which was released in 1977, has probably undergone more updates and spit polish than the rest.

There is, however, one place beyond the reach of Lucas's twitchy, compulsively dissatisfied grasp: the Library of Congress.

As I read last year in the epic How Star Wars Conquered the Universe, by Mashable's own Chris Taylor, the Library doesn't just have a preserved 1977 negative of the film. That negative has been transformed into a glorious 4K file that anyone can view by appointment.

Not like dusting crops, boy!

"What we have are 35mm prints that were submitted for copyright when the films were released," explained Mike Mashon, the Library of Congress's Head of the Moving Image Section in an email to me.

But those prints were beyond the reach of mere mortals, and perhaps even those possessing The Force. They had been "elevated to preservation, non-access status," to keep them from harm, Mashon said. Star Wars, obviously, is no longer just any film.

An image from an original, mostly unaltered 2008 DVD transfer. Credit: 20th Century Fox, LucasFilm

Thankfully, Mashon also told me that the Library was "planning" to scan the negatives so people could come in and view the films in digital form. After multiple emails and phone calls, I found out that the Library had produced a 2K scan, rather than the HD 4K version I'd read about -- and that I could call to make an appointment to view it.

When I called though, another Library of Congress employee informed me that the digital transfer had occurred only days before, and that it still "has to be ingested into the system."

A day or so later, I got confirmation that the files were now ready. So I booked my flight.

Kessel run in 50 minutes

My flight's supposed to be full, but there are at least a dozen open seats. Most of the filled ones hold commuters who, like me, don’t even have luggage. Their backpacks and briefcases are filled with paperwork, tablets and computers. I'm carrying the same, along with a Special Edition DVD set of the original Star Wars trilogy issued in 2008 and a tiny DVD player. I hope to compare the original film with one of Lucas's many updates.

Getting to the Library of Congress from Reagan International Airport is just like shooting womprats back home. In other words, it's easy. The Blue Line deposits me five walking minutes from the massive granite edifice.

Diagonally across the street is the U.S. Capitol, its iconic dome covered in a mesh of scaffolding. Up the road, I spot the Washington Monument. Unlike New York City or the suburbs where I live, there's no hint of the coming Star Wars: The Force Awakens tsunami. It's quiet and austere.

The Library of Congress is in the heart of the U.S. Capitol. Credit: Mashable, Lance Ulanoff

With dozens of rooms over multiple floors, The Library of Congress Madison Building feels a little like a keyless maze. There are endless hallways with white, unadorned walls, interrupted by blue or wood doors that offer little detail about what lays within.

Star Wars goes to Washington Credit: Mashable, Lance Ulanoff

Eventually I find my room, the inside of which looks no different than any other library: a lot of bookshelves and cabinets, some desks and computers, a few helpful librarians and a lot of quiet broken only by the whirr of an office printer.

The librarian finds my name on a Post-It Note and directs me to a nearby desk with a Dell Computer running Windows 7. On it are six files that comprise the entirety of the original Star Wars negative transfer.

A few things I learn rather quickly: I will not be sitting in a nice, darkened room. The sound will be delivered via a set of over-the-ear headphones and under no circumstances am I to capture a single image of the unrestored film. (As a result, the original grabs you see in this story are from a grainy, low-resolution 2008 DVD transfer that still shows some signs of digital improvement).

Trusting my feelings

The version of Star Wars I’m watching has been completely untouched and unrestored. Whatever fading has occurred over the last 38 years will be apparent onscreen. Every good, bad and in-between 1970s-era special effect is intact.

Yes, this is my Library of Congress Motion Picture Reading Room setup. The screen is intentionally blurred out because I was not allowed to capture any images of the original transfer. Credit: Mashable, Lance Ulanoff

If Star Wars had finished its theatrical run and then been played on TV for the next near-half century without any extra care given to its image quality or aesthetics, this is likely how it would appear for everyone.

It's kind of a thrill.

Unless you have a list of every change Lucas has made to the film since 1981 -- which I know some do -- many, but certainly not all, of the moments he altered might be hard to spot. There are exceptions: As the film starts, I'm startled to see an ugly green “LucasFilm Limited” text flash on the screen in place of the now highly-polished LucasFilm logo we know and love.

[img src="http://admin.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/LucasFilmLimited-001.jpg" caption="This was the first "LucasFilm" logo. The Force was not strong with this one." credit="20th Century Fox, LucasFilm" alt="LucasFilmLimited-001"]

The music hits that thunderous and -- in 1977 -- unexpected crescendo as the Star Wars logo appears, then flies out into the distance. There is no "Episode IV" or "A New Hope." Instead, the familiar crawl begins. I read it as if for the first time.

Aside from the fact that I'm watching the movie on a 17-inch screen under bright fluorescent lights, I'm a little shocked to find that the beats that got me in 1977 are sucking me back in again. The Imperial Star Destroyer chasing after Princess Leia's tiny ship seems as endless and imposing as ever. The effects, at least in this shot, look as fresh as anything filmed today.

But the early part of the scan does reveal signs of age. Tiny white scratches flash across the screen. That's because the six files I'm watching actually represent the six reels of the original film. Stuff on the outside of each reel is a bit banged up; film that was on the inside is in far better shape.

The force is strong with this one

Even as I find myself once again enjoying the story's Saturday matinee pull, I can't help but see some of its relatively outdated effects with fresh eyes.

Composite images like the one where Leia's ship is sucked up into the massive destroyer lack the seamless quality I've come to expect from sci-fi and fantasy. The thin but noticeable marquee around the smaller ship is so jarring that it temporarily pulls me out of the film. Perhaps this is why Lucas went back: He used the best of what was available then to achieve his vision, but it wasn't really good enough.

Minutes later, though, I’m engrossed once more. I marvel at the movie's pace: key characters like Luke Skywalker (played by a fresh-faced Mark Hamill) don't appear until 17 minutes into the film. Ben Kenobi (played by Sir Alec Guinness) arrives at the 30-minute mark, and Harrison Ford’s Han Solo arrives 18 minutes later. The first use of The Force comes a full hour into the film, when Darth Vader force chokes Tiaan Jerjerrod.

Ben Kenobi (Alec Guinness) reacts to hearing a name he hasn't heard in decades. Credit: 20th Century Fox, LucasFilm

The movie is downright languorous. It's also subtle. I'm not sure I ever noticed Ben Kenobi's wholly silent yet stunned reaction when Luke Skywalker uses his old Jedi name, "Obi-Wan," before. Throughout the film, Guinness says more with a look, gesture and raised eyebrow than Skywalker says with five pages of whining.

Many of the early scenes on Tatooine are so thick with sand and yellow dust, it threatens to choke out the action. The debris also makes Luke's dual-sun-baked home planet utterly distinct from the antiseptic Death Star and Star Destroyer.

It isn't until I view those scenes side-by-side with a restored Special Edition DVD that I saw the truth. That yellowish tinge I noticed wasn't atmosphere -- it was fading film. In the restored version, scenes with Jawas and Sand people are sharp as a knife. I still can't decide if I prefer that or the original.

Draw something

The unretouched Star Wars features copious amounts of rotoscoping, much of it devoted to creating the light saber effect. Rotoscoping in the '70s involved drawing onto film plates, enhancing or obscuring whatever was underneath. In general, the original work holds up exceeding well.

R2-D2 gets zapped by the Jawas. The rotoscoping effect still looks sharp. Credit: 20th Century Fox, LucasFilm

When Jawas electrocute R2-D2, the effect is startling and, purposefully, slightly comical. Lightsabers look great, though Obi-Wan's plastic stick -- a stand-in for the saber blade until the effects team rotoscoped over it -- is clearly visible in his Vader battle scene. Again: I can't say I noticed this back in 1977, but I'm well aware Lucas fixed gaffes like this in his updates.

Halfway through the film, I find myself grinning at old lines like "I have a very bad feeling about this," “Into the garbage shoot, flyboy!” and "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."

My 13-year-old self is completely hooked, even as I try to identify the earmarks of 40-year-old celluloid and creaky screen magic.

Mos Eisley shot first

I pay special attention to the Mos Eisley space port scene for obvious reasons. This roughly 10-minute long patch of film has suffered most from Lucas's revisionist history changes.

An entirely manufactured Mos Eisley scene in the Special Edition. Credit: 20th Century Fox, LucasFilm

In the original film, the city is dirty, dusty, unsavory and filled with more than enough oddities and creatures. It appears in a sequence that's perfectly paced. Before Obi-Wan and Luke enter the cantina, there's a pivotal scene: Obi-Wan uses The Force in front of Luke for the first time. It's so smart and subtle.

I love that scene -- and, when I watch the Special Edition Mos Eisley exterior alongside the original, I hate Lucas’s update efforts even more. All those CGI creature inserts destroy the pacing and suck the grit right out. Worse yet, they diminish Obi-Wan’s moment.

At top, a grab from a crummy transfer of the original film where Han shoots Greedo. Below is the digitally altered version where Solo dodges Greedo's shot. Credit: 20th Century Fox, LucasFilm, Composite

All I can say about the "Han shot first controversy" is that in the untouched original, Greedo never even fires a shot. I watch the comical rewrite alongside the original and am stunned with just how much of the scene has changed. Put gently, it’s an abomination.

The unretouched scan leads to other, less painful, fascinating discoveries. The end credits, for instance, only list David Prowse as playing Darth Vader. James Earl Jones, the voice and soul of the character, goes uncredited. And I’d forgotten the credits' phonetic spellings for R2-D2 (Artoo-Detoo) and C3PO (See Threepio).

The original credits. Credit: 20th Century Fox, LucasFilm

The special edition not only addresses some of these shortcomings, but also adds Lucas as executive producer. The crawl gets a makeover, too, with “Episode IV: A New Hope” tacked on at the beginning, a new font and a faster pace (are we better readers in the 21st Century?). All of these changes seem like unnecessary embellishments.

A brighter Old Republic

As the move ends, I have to restrain myself from standing up and applauding. (I'm in a library, after all).

When I go back and replay certain scenes alongside the rejuvenated special edition, it’s clear that a good portion of the original print is badly faded. In scene after scene, the Special Edition restores the vibrancy of the original -- at least, what I think it looked like in 1977.

At top, the Death Star explosion from the original film. At bottom, the spiffy new, and totally unnecessary, ring. Credit: 20th Century Fox, LucasFilm, Composite

However, for every sharply rendered face and crisp Death Star shot, there are scenes that were clearly reshot with CGI or enabled with new, artificial effects. I hate each and every one of those changes.

There is no time machine. I can't go back to 1977, walk into a theater and experience Star Wars as it was for the first time. Like the transfer I saw today, my memory has suffered the ravages of time. Neither one can be its 1977 self again.

The original Star Wars cast from the 2008 DVD transfer. Credit: 20th Century Fox, LucasFilm

And Lucas doesn't want anyone to see that original Star Wars print again, in any form. He wants you to see Star Wars as he originally envisioned it -- even if that isn't what made it to the screen 38 years ago.

As for me? I succeeded in my own private little protest, accessing the long-unseen original to try and remember what I saw as a child -- which was almost forever lost to time, technology, and Lucas's meddling.