Star Wars (partially found "lost cut" of space opera film; 1977)

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Starwarslostcut.jpeg

A picture of the Cantina Scene in the Lost Cut

Status: Partially Found

The movie Star Wars is renowned for its many groundbreaking feats in cinema, among them it's quick and engaging editing style. There was a version of the film, however, that had a much different pacing to it. This version, known as "The Lost Cut", was an early workprint of the film edited by a British editor named John Jympson.

Background

In early 1977, after all the Star Wars footage had been recorded, George Lucas asked John Jympson to design a "rough cut" of the film so that he could have an idea of the final product. This version was completed in only a few days of work. The workprint was stored on 13 black-and-white 35mm reels and contained 30-40% different scenes then the final version of the film. It also lacked music, sound effects, and special effects, as they were not finished.

After watching the film, George Lucas decided he didn't like the direction that the editor had taken the film. He soon after scrapped his version and fired him, to later edit the film with his own crew. The tapes, with the label of "The Star Wars", are still stored in the LucasArts archive. Only a few people, among them Dr. David West Reynolds (a Star Wars author and archeologist), have seen this version of the film. He wrote a article in issue 41 of Star Wars Insider in which he described it as "documentary-like" and "missing scenes". He also mentioned it had longer takes and some different scenes than the final version. It's unlikely this version will ever see a public release due to its unfinished form.

Footage

On the Star Wars Behind the Magic CD-ROM, some of the footage of the movie was found in bonus features. These snippets, along with some images, have been uploaded to the Star Wars Holiday Special website.

Star Wars: Lost Cut - Cantina Scene

Star Wars: Lost Cut - Mos Eisley Scene

External Links

Star Wars Holiday Special Lost Cut Info

Lost Cut Tbone Blog Post

John Jympson Wikipedia Page

Star Wars Insider #41 Wikia Page