Lucas Redeemed

Han Solo shoots first. Again.

That was the battle cry of every true Star Wars fan ever since 1997’s 20th anniversary edition of the original movies were released with content that had been ‘edited for your viewing pleasure.’ What did that mean? Well, due to George Lucas’ inability to leave well enough alone, he had digitally enhanced the movies (which I’ll be the first to admit was a Very Good Thing) and then messed up the whole story by digitally adding character and even whole scenes to the movie. And the most heinous of offenses he perpetrated on his adoring fans?

He made Greedo shoot first.

For the three of you in existence who have no idea what I’m talking about let me bring you up to speed. In the original Star Wars movie Luke and Obi-Wan go to the Cantina to procure a spaceship so they can get off planet and thus help save Princess Leia. In the Cantina they meet Han Solo and Chewbacca and, after a bit of haggling over price, Han Solo agrees to help them. After Luke and Obi-Wan leave the Cantina, and after Chewbacca also leaves to prepare the ship, Han Solo is confronted by a bounty hunter named Greedo who has been sent by Jabba to collect either the money Han owes Jabba, or else Han’s dead body.

And then, without any warning, Han shoots Greedo.

To my mind, this was the defining moment of Han’s character in the movies. He was a rogue, a scoundrel and not the kind of guy anybody with half a mind would ever trust and yet, by the end of the movie he has a change of heart and does the right thing by helping Luke when he had absolutely nothing to gain and everything to lose. That’s what made Han Solo such a cool character and it’s also why, after seeing the 1997 re-release of Star Wars, I swore off anything and everything Star Wars related. I promised myself that I would never give George Lucas another penny of my money until he finally admitted that he had been wrong to tamper with what was for millions of fans a classic movie and released an unedited version of the movies along with his newer “re-imaginings”.

And now my prayers have been answered.

In September Lucas will release a new DVD package of the three original movies (Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back & Return of the Jedi) which will contain the original theatrical releases on DVD, sans re-imaginings, and the newer, digitally tweaked 2004 editions in which George added even MORE characters and scenes and changed the Cantina scene yet again so that both Greedo and Han Solo fire at each other simultaneously.

Ugh. Just thinking about it makes me sick.

Anywaste, now that he’s finally realized the error of his ways and is going to release the originals as they were meant to be seen I can finally buy a DVD version of three of my favoritist movies ever. I only hope that those of you who know Star Wars only through the three newer movies (Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones & Revenge of the Sith) and the digitally re-imagined originals will buy the originals now so you can finally understand why they mean so much to those of us who grew up with them. Plus, it’s just one more excuse to see Princess Leia in that slave bikini in sloooooowwww motttionnnn.

Oh man, I know what HoBiscuit’s wearing for Halloween! Boo-Ya!