Han Solo shot Greedo first, but that was a long time ago in a home video far, far away.
If you want to see that scene from the original "Star Wars" film, the easiest way is to spring for an out-of-print 2006 DVD. That's the conundrum for "Star Wars" fans who want to see the original trilogy's films (Episodes 4-6) as they were when first released in theaters.
Creator George Lucas has continually tinkered with the films over the years, even the newer Episodes 1-3. Various Web pages chronicle all of the changes.
Take that confrontational scene between Han and the bounty hunter Greedo in the Mos Eisley cantina in "A New Hope." In the 1977 theatrical release, Han shoots first. In the 1997 theatrical rerelease, Greedo shoots first and misses before Han returns fire. On the 2004 DVD release, the two shoot almost at the same time, but Greedo still pulls the trigger first. On the 2011 Blu-ray, the shots are nearly simultaneous.
Lucas threw a bone to fans in 2006 when he released limited-edition DVDs of Episodes 4-6 that included the unaltered theatrical versions on a bonus disc. The only problem? The letterboxed video was sourced from 1993 laserdiscs, resulting in poor image quality when played on modern high-def TVs. Those DVDs — with "Limited Edition" in a gold banner atop the cover, including on "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" — start at $30-$42 from Amazon sellers and can be found easily on eBay.
For what it's worth, the current Blu-ray release of the "Star Wars" saga presents the films in their best home-video presentations to date. Older fans just have to tolerate a lot of tweaks.
Randy A. Salas • 612-673-4542
