Han Shot First!

In 1977 I was fifteen years old. Star Wars was a phenomenon, and I was the perfect target for it - the adolescent male geek. I was first in line for the opening of Empire Strikes Back, and not far back for Return of the Jedi. When these films came out on VHS, I bought them.

When Lucas "remastered" them, I went to see them.

I was not impressed. So much so that I own this t-shirt:

I wore it to the range last Saturday, as a matter of fact.

My grandson, now six, is a major Star Wars fan, having damn near worn my video tapes out. To my knowledge, he's never seen the bastardized "director's cut" editions. I've never purchased them - and I won't.

And I won't have to:

Lucasfilm Goes Back to Star Wars 1.0

In spite of strong statements from creator George Lucas that 2004's digitally remastered, restored, and enhanced versions of his original Star Wars triology were the definitive versions of his films, Fox and Lucasfilm have announced they will release new two-disc DVD sets that will include the original versions of Star Wars,The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi as they were originally shown in theaters when released in 1977, 1980, and 1983, respectively, along with the remastered "definitive" version. The movies will be priced at $30 each and will go on sale September 12, 2006, and be available only until December 31, 2006.

"Over the years, a truly countless number of fans have told us that they would love to see and own the original version that they remember experiencing in theaters," said Jim Ward, President of LucasArts and Senior Vice President of Lucasfilm Ltd. "We returned to the Lucasfilm Archives to search exhaustively for source material that could be presented on DVD. This is something that we're very excited to be able to give to fans in response to their continuing enthusiasm for Star Wars."

The video quality of the original theatrical versions will not be as high as 2004's remastered versions, and Lucasfilm is reportedly adamant that Lucas has not changed his mind about which versions he considers authoritative. But re-releasing the theatrical version is a concession to fans, and—master of merchandizing that Lucas is—the films' creator seems to have found a way to satisfy those requests while keeping the Star Wars money train rolling.

Star Wars fans of a certain generation will be happy to point out what they feel are significant differences between the films, aside from effects shots. In the words of one colleague, "C'mon. Han shot first! Really, all that needs to be said."

Damned straight.

I'm still a geek, and proud of it.