The fight for the 1977 original version is about more than a smuggler’s trigger finger. It is about film preservation as a cultural imperative. The Library of Congress sees Star Wars as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Yet the version in the National Film Registry is not the one you can buy. Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation has pleaded with Lucasfilm. It has fallen on deaf ears.
: It originally opened in only 32 to 43 theaters across the United States on May 25, 1977. Star Wars -1977 Original Version-