I think Lucas has copies in his archive as well as copies of the holiday special. However he wont let them ever be released again as he prefers the latest cuts.
(Carrie Fisher dis has the only copy of the official Holiday Special as she got a copy off him)
UKFilmNerd@feddit.uk 3 days ago
There’s a very dedicated team of fans who have bought, or been lent, cinema reels of the original Star Wars trilogy.
It’s taken them years to scan it in, frame by frame and to correct the colour and repair the picture.
They’re considered the gold standard. Search for 4K77, 4K80 and 4K83.
I remember interviews with Lucas and I think Rick MacCallum that said the original Star Wars negative was used to create the Special Editions.
The Library of Congress definitely has a print of Star Wars that was submitted in 1978. I think they also have Empire and Jedi but I’m not sure if they are the original editions.
Emperor@feddit.uk 3 days ago
My understanding is they have original copies stored but these are for legal/archival purposes and are not available to the public.