A group of fans has found the 35mm film reels containing a complete copy of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. After a painstaking restoration effort, the result is a copy more faithful to the original film, titled Star Wars Silver Screen Edition.
Since its release in 1977, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope has seen several special editions and numerous re-releases with altered visual and sound effects. Whether that played against it over time is up to one's opinion, but the fact remains that fans lost the opportunity to enjoy the original film, unchanged as it appeared in theaters during its premiere. Fortunately, a dedicated group of fans known as Team Negative One have taken matters into their own hands, releasing online the Star Wars Silver Screen Edition, a fully restored digital version of the 35mm print from the original 1977 release.
Restoring the Original 35mm
It all began when the group found the 35mm film reels with a complete copy of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. From there, a project began dedicated to scanning every frame, restoring the original colors, removing artifacts, and converting all that material into a high-definition digital file. After hard work, the result is a copy more faithful to the original film, even much better than the LaserDisc edition released in 2006, which had problems with colors and inconsistent digital image. Among the details of the Silver Screen Edition, you'll find that, for example, Han shoots first and Jabba doesn't appear.
A Legal Gray Area
All nice and good, but it's worth clarifying that none of this is exactly legal. You won't find a copy of Star Wars Silver Screen Edition for sale (though you can look for it on the Original Trilogy forums). According to Team Negative One's site, the group is already working on a second version of Star Wars, which will use even better base materials for grain reduction and greater sharpness, and they also have different versions of the other films, including a 70mm roll of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.
