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Han shot first

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T-shirt with the quote "Han shot first"

"Han shot first" refers to a controversial change made to a scene in the film Star Wars (1977),[a] in which Han Solo is confronted by the bounty hunter Greedo in the Mos Eisley cantina. In the original version of this scene, Han shoots Greedo dead. Later versions are edited so that Greedo fires at Han first. Director George Lucas altered the scene to give Solo more justification for acting in self-defense. Many fans and commentators oppose the change, feeling it weakens Solo's characterization. The controversy is referenced in the 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Scene

The smuggler Han Solo (Harrison Ford) is cornered by the bounty hunter Greedo (Paul Blake/Maria De Aragon) in a cantina and forced at gunpoint to sit. While they talk about money Solo owes, Solo readies his gun under the table. Greedo tells him he has been "looking forward" to killing Solo for a long time. Solo replies, "Yes, I'll bet you have."

The conclusion varies depending on the version of the film being watched.[1] In the original version, the film cuts to a shot of Greedo, followed quickly by flashes of sparks, a cloud of smoke, and the sound of a blaster firing. This is followed by a shot of Greedo from behind, slumping over the table. In the 1997 Special Edition, Greedo shoots first at Solo and misses due to Solo moving his head, and Solo then returns fire, killing Greedo.[2]

For the 2004 DVD release, the shots are fired at nearly the same time and Solo dodges Greedo's shot.[2] For the 2011 Blu-ray release, the scene of Solo and Greedo firing at each other was shortened by several frames.[3] The scene was changed again for the version of the film released on Disney+ on November 12, 2019. In this version, using a close-up shot already used a few seconds before,[4] Greedo says a line transcribed by fans as "maclunkey" or "ma klounkee" ("This'll be the end of you") before shooting at Han. The line may be a threat spoken in Huttese, as it is used that way by Sebulba in The Phantom Menace.[5] Additionally, the reverse shot of Greedo being shot was removed, and new effects were used. The changes were made by Lucas before Disney acquired the franchise in 2012.[6]

This slow-motion clip shows the 2004 version of the scene, in which Solo and Greedo fire at nearly the same time.

According to Paul Blake, the scene was created as a result of Lucas having to cut a special effects-heavy scene introducing Jabba the Hutt[7] due to budget and schedule concerns.[8] The original version of the Greedo scene has grown to be considered iconic,[6] while the Jabba scene, which was restored for the Special Edition and later releases, is generally regarded as superfluous.[9][10][11][12] The original special effect was designed and carried out by British two-time Academy Award winning 'Dean of Special Effects' John Stears, who mounted the pyrotechnics to the Greedo character.[13]

Criticism

The change is one of the most controversial of many alterations made in the 1997 Special Edition of Star Wars.[1][14] Many fans argued that it alters Han's initially morally ambiguous character,[15] making his later transition from antihero to hero less meaningful.[citation needed] According to Variety, "Fans lost their minds. It was an affront, the neutering of a badass."[16] Fans have created fan edits of the original Star Wars films (such as Harmy's Despecialized Edition) to reverse Lucas' changes, especially the scene with Solo and Greedo.[2][17] In a 2004 interview, Lucas responded to the criticism, saying, "To me, [the original movie] doesn't really exist anymore. ... I'm sorry you saw half a completed film and fell in love with it. But I want it to be the way I want it to be."[18] He acknowledged the controversy by wearing a "Han shot first" T-shirt on the set of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).[19] In a 2012 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lucas said:

The controversy over who shot first, Greedo or Han Solo, in Episode IV, what I did was try to clean up the confusion, but obviously it upset people because they wanted Solo to be a cold-blooded killer, but he actually isn't. It had been done in all close-ups and it was confusing about who did what to whom. I put a little wider shot in there that made it clear that Greedo is the one who shot first, but everyone wanted to think that Han shot first, because they wanted to think that he actually just gunned him down.[20]

One draft of the original script makes no mention of Greedo shooting at all, only Solo.[21][better source needed] In 2015, a replica of an early script for Star Wars was discovered in the archives of the University of New Brunswick library. In the script, dated March 15, 1976, Han shoots first.[22] In a 2015 interview, Lucas said:

Han Solo was going to marry Leia, and you look back and say, "Should he be a cold-blooded killer?" Because I was thinking mythologically—should he be a cowboy, should he be John Wayne? And I said, "Yeah, he should be John Wayne." And when you're John Wayne, you don't shoot people [first]—you let them have the first shot.[b] It's a mythological reality that we hope our society pays attention to.[24]

In 2020's The Star Wars Archives: 1999–2005, Lucas commented, "I never designed Han to be a ruthless killer. All the good guys shoot in self-defense. When I edited the scene in 1977 you couldn't tell who does what."[25]

Paul Blake said in a 2016 interview: "Of course, it said it all in the original script, we played in the scene in English and at the end of the scene, it reads, 'Han shoots the alien.' It's all it says and that's what happened. It was very painful." Blake felt that Greedo shooting at and missing Solo at very short range made him appear inept, and that Greedo has more glory if he is "just blown away".[26] In 2015, legal expert John P. Gross argued that Greedo's behavior constituted a direct threat and would warrant preemptive action in self-defense under U.S. law.[27] In 2014, when asked in a Reddit AMA, Harrison Ford replied, "I don't know and I don't care."[28] On the 2019 addition of a new line of dialogue, Blake said:

I couldn't understand a word of it. (laughs) It confused me incredibly, but I've never understood anything about the movies anyway, particularly that. The convention I've just come back from, I had a million opinions from everybody. This new word![7]

In the 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story, Han Solo shoots antagonist Tobias Beckett mid-sentence, killing him.[29][30][31] Writers Lawrence and Jonathan Kasdan confirmed that this was a deliberate reference, and that the Solo shooting script specifies: "There can be no question that Han shoots first."[29][31]

In The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special (2020), which features characters from different time periods brought together through time travel, an older Han from The Force Awakens asks the younger Han from A New Hope if he wants to shoot first during an encounter with Greedo. He replies, "After you." Both men open fire simultaneously, before Greedo can react.

Notes

  1. ^ Later titled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
  2. ^ In Red River, John Wayne's character, Thomas Dunson, shoots and kills a Mexican whose boss Dunson admits he is stealing land from. The Mexican begins to draw just before Dunson, who then says he predicted his opponent's move "By watchin' his eyes."[23]

References

  1. ^ a b Deb, Sopan (May 3, 2024). "How Rebel 'Star Wars' Fans Saved the Original Movies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved May 4, 2024. George Lucas wants them to fade into oblivion. But some fans spent more than a decade digitally restoring the original 'Star Wars' trilogy, preserving the movies as they were shown in theaters.
  2. ^ a b c Eveleth, Rose (August 27, 2014). "The Star Wars George Lucas Doesn't Want You To See". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on August 28, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2015. In the original versions ... it's clear that Han Solo pulled out his gun and shot the bounty hunter Greedo. In the 1997 version, Greedo shoots first. In the 2004 version, they shoot at the same time.
  3. ^ "More Changes to STAR WARS Include Blinking Ewoks and Different Cut of Greedo Shooting First". Collider. September 1, 2011. Archived from the original on September 25, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
  4. ^ Caicoya, Bea (November 24, 2019). "Star Wars: Every Disney+ Change Made to A New Hope". CBR. Archived from the original on November 28, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  5. ^ "In Latest Version of Star Wars' "Han Shot First" Scene, George Lucas Adds "Maclunkey"". Slate Magazine. November 12, 2019. Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  6. ^ a b Alexander, Julia (November 12, 2019). "George Lucas changed Han Solo's scene with Greedo in Star Wars: A New Hope, Disney confirmed". The Verge. Archived from the original on November 12, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Carbone, Gina (November 17, 2019). "Greedo Actor Is Confused By 'Maclunkey,' And Star Wars In General". Cinema Blend. Archived from the original on November 17, 2019. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  8. ^ George Lucas commentary, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, Special Edition, dir. George Lucas, (DVD, 20th Century Fox, 2004).
  9. ^ Miller, Leon (October 8, 2019). "Star Wars: 5 Special Edition Changes That Should Be Reversed (& 5 We'd Keep)". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on November 2, 2019. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  10. ^ Kirby, Ben (January 31, 2017). "Who Shot First? The Complete List Of Star Wars Changes". Empire. Archived from the original on May 7, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  11. ^ Watkins, Gwynne (July 29, 2015). "15 Changes to the Original 'Star Wars' Trilogy That Still Make Us Crazy". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  12. ^ "The 10 Worst Crimes Against the Original Star Wars Trilogy". Den of Geek!. April 4, 2011. Archived from the original on June 6, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  13. ^ Aficionadofan (October 3, 2012). "STAR WARS AFICIONADO WEBSITE: STAR WARS AT 35: CELEBRATING THE CANTINA CREATURES". STAR WARS AFICIONADO WEBSITE. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  14. ^ "Solo: A Star Wars Story makes the 'Han shot first' debate even messier". Polygon. Archived from the original on March 9, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  15. ^ "An unbelievable day in the life of Jack Bauer". The Morning Call. February 15, 2006. Archived from the original on September 18, 2023. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  16. ^ Tapley, Kristopher (May 26, 2018). "How the Kasdans Settled the Biggest Debate in 'Star Wars' History With 'Solo'". Variety. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  17. ^ "Restoring Star Wars". ABC News. December 13, 2015. Archived from the original on January 24, 2017. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  18. ^ Lucas, George (September 15, 2004). "Lucas talks as 'Star Wars' trilogy returns" (Interview). Interviewed by Associated Press. San Rafael, CA. Archived from the original on January 19, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  19. ^ Breznican, Anthony (November 12, 2019). "George Lucas Gave Greedo the Last Word in New Star Wars Change". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on August 13, 2020. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  20. ^ Lucas, George (February 9, 2012). "5 Questions With George Lucas: Controversial Star Wars Changes, SOPA and Indiana Jones 5". The Hollywood Reporter (Interview). Interviewed by Alex Ben Block. Archived from the original on February 18, 2012. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  21. ^ Star Wars: A New Hope script, Revised Fourth Draft. January 15, 1976
  22. ^ "Copy of original Star Wars script discovered in UNB library". CBC.ca. June 8, 2015. Archived from the original on June 8, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  23. ^ Red River (1948). Events occurs at 17. Scene transcript Archived December 19, 2021, at the Wayback Machine via Filmsite.org. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  24. ^ Lucas, George (December 5, 2015). "George Lucas: To feel the true force of 'Star Wars,' he had to learn to let it go". The Washington Post (Interview). San Rafael, CA. Archived from the original on May 20, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  25. ^ Chichizola, Corey (November 19, 2020). "Star Wars' George Lucas Weighed In On The Infamous Han Shooting First Scene". CinemaBlend. Archived from the original on November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
  26. ^ Sacks, Ethan (May 5, 2016). "EXCLUSIVE: Greedo actor wants 'Star Wars' to restore Han Solo shooting first scene: 'It does give him a little more glory'". Daily News. New York. Archived from the original on May 6, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  27. ^ Gross, John (December 17, 2015). "UA Professor: Han Solo was legally justified to shoot first". AL.com. Alabama Media Group. Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  28. ^ Wigler, Josh (April 14, 2014). "Harrison Ford Doesn't Know, Doesn't Care If Han Shot First". MTV News. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  29. ^ a b Tapley, Kristopher (May 26, 2018). "How the Kasdans Settled the Biggest Debate in 'Star Wars' History With 'Solo'". Variety. Archived from the original on May 29, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  30. ^ Outlaw, Kofi (May 28, 2018). "'Solo: A Star Wars Story' Reveals Why Han Shot First". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on May 28, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  31. ^ a b Libbey, Dirk (May 27, 2018). "Solo: A Star Wars Story Wants To Make It Clear To Everyone Han Shot First". CinemaBlend. Archived from the original on May 29, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
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