HOLY CRAP!!
So In my newfound freedom and indulgance of Nerdery, I have come across the three lost clips from the original STAR WARS.
Oh yes, these are legit, and I'm pretty sure they won't last long on YOU TUBE so get them while they're hot.
So bitches, who shot first?
Bottom of Page
7 comments:
So honestly, putting a lame old Kevin Smith argument to rest - it doesn't matter who originally shot first. George Lucas had kids, Han Solo was the hero to tons of kids including myself, who looked up to him and emulated his style and demeanor - much the same as Jabba the Hutt to Alf, my Brother. The point is: Han is not a cold-blooded murdered. Even when it comes to green hyena-eared fools named "Greed-O". Han has to have some motivation for offing this dude like the green dude shooting first, and I probably would have thrown in a quick effect in retrospect to keep Han a reasonably honest smuggler. He may be a stuck up, scruffy-looking nurf-herder (wtf?) but he, sirs, is no murderer. Retire the question of who shot first. It's time.
My younger brother makes for aninteresting if not rather bland point.
The fact is, that Han shooting first indicates that he is dangerous. If you want pristine Star-Wars you can watch 1-3 if you want dirty Star Wars watch the originals.
Lucas may have had kids, but the fact that Han must be the celebrated anti-hero (Jack Sparrow for you kids out there) is made crystal clear, and his transformation is even more relevant. By "Jedi" The "Scruffy looking NERF-HERDER" of my brother's fantasies, has become a General and married a princess. The dicotomy is important, and so is the fact that HAN SHOT FIRST!
Of course if you're looking for noir aspects of the original Star Wars - the EWOKS running around would be a perefect example! Han as an anti-hero would work if this were Hans story. Only to nerds who read the books of what happens to Han and Leia and the whole rebellion want Han to be a deeply flawed psycho killer and not an affable and not-so-bad-afterall friend to Luke's pre-teen cluelessness. But fun sidekicks don't have little murder raps in their resume. Otherwise Han would be just like Anakin. Wouldn't Chewy be creepy if he just killed randomly? Again, even flawed heros can't be flat out murderers. They need motivation. Greedo shot first. Han shot back and he "swears it was in self defense".
My brother has decided to get in over his head and argue with me on this matter. For starters, in defense of the Ewoks, Lucas (Under the tutelage of JOSEPH CAMPBELL) had decided that the only classical conflict that had yet to be fufilled was that of nature versus technology. Man versus man, man versus technology, even man versus nature (Dagobah and Hoth) had all been adressed, even the modernist man versus himself had made an appearance in the pits of the swamp world. The Ewoks make for a wholly entertaining and interesting twist, using nature bound weapons to ultimately defeat technology.
As for Han being Luke's "lovable sidekick", you are retarded. Your cute dismissal of depth in character in STAR WARS betrays your ignorance to the basic mythological themes that made it such a popular film. It is not the realm of "nerds who read the books of what happens to Han and Leia " but rather of some true scholarly thought about mythological themes and how they inherently will create a "blockbuster".
As for the theme of STAR WARS one could argue that the primary character throughout is NOT Luke or even Han. Lucas himself has called the first three films "The redemption of Anakin Skywalker". And the stories of Han, Luke and Leia weave in to the greater mythology. It would be like saying that the Iliad is the story of Achilles, or the old testament is the story of Moses.
Han is an adaptation of many brigands with a heart of gold.
A tradition that includes Thor, Long John Silver, Bacchus, and a monkey prince from India who's name eludes me.
To dismiss him as a sidekick like Pan or Papageno even Orko is plain dumb. 3PO, R2, Chewie, Wicket, THOSE are "loveable sidekicks".
I would like to add that my brother has cried like a little bitch on 2 Lucas realated occasions: The first when he lost his stuffed ewok doll, and the second when i stomped on his Indy jones hat. My brother has Lucas' balls permanently attached to his chin and will forever be unwilling to admit that HAN SHOT FIRST!
Of course Han shot first. If he hadn't, then one of two things would have happened.
1) Greedo would have shot him, and then he'd be dead.
2) Greedo would've taken him to Jabba, who was nearby and sporting a furry-vested huminoid form. That kind of Jabba would run you down and do crazy shit to you.
Either of those two things would've been detrimental to Han and detrimental to the Skywalker twins.
Han shot first, broadcasting to the audience his "get-the-job-done" personality. He was being threatened by Greedo, and fixed the problem, much like Obi did by slicing off that one dude's arm.
Han shot first because that's the kind of guy he is like it or not. He's not family friendly (smugglers generally aren't). He's friends with gamblers, turncoats and pirates even his best friend is known for ripping people's arms out their sockets for no other reason than poor sportsmanship. Cute cuddly disnified Han Solo wouldn't last five minutes in a hive of scum and villainy. That buttmouth guy would have decided he didn't like him and and this his friend with the pug nose would have decided he didn't like him either and they would have killed his ass long before Greedo even got there. Waiting for someone who's given every indication that they have no problem with shooting you to actually fire isn't heroic, or honorable...it's just stupid. Ultimately, Han is a criminal and though it's hard to see it some thirty years later you're NOT SUPPOSED to trust him at that point in the film. Who is this guy? He hang out in scumhole, he's obviously dodging both the law (The Empire) and other crooks (Jabba) so who's to say he won't turn Luke and Obi-Wan over if the price is high enough? He obviously doesn't care about their cause or their religion so it's anyone's guess what he'll end up doing. Having this strong character set up makes the finale of the film that much more gratifying (People cheered in the audience during the original theatrical release when Han saved Luke at the end) because this character who had no code recognized that there was bad and then there was EVIL and even if he didn't believe in the Force, he believed in his friend and was there when it mattered. Now all the pro-Greedo-shot-first people always pull the "Han had no motivation to shoot Greedo." Hmmm One idiot stands between you and the job you were just hired to do that will give you enough money to get out of the jam you're in isn't motivation enough for career criminal? And while we're on the topic of motive: What the hell was Greedo's motive? He had the drop on Han, Jabba's best smuggler who would clearly be worth more alive than dead. All he had to do was walk him over to Jabba and collect his reward OR...OR, OR he could kill Han, thereby insuring that Jabba never recoups what Han owes him AND loses one of his best smugglers to boot. Brilliant! Even if Greedo was the worst bounty hunter in the galaxy and did think shooting Han was good idea, at some point it should have occurred to him to AIM. Now I've never killed anyone so I can't say for sure, but I know with absolute certainty that if someone was sitting across from me in a booth and I attempted to shoot them (especially if they made no effort to move out of the way) the bullet would land SOMEWHERE in the victims body. Not on a wall a foot away from them. At best the Special Editions make it look like it's Greedo's first day as a Bounty Hunter. They are called Special Editions because you have to be very special indeed to enjoy them. "You're going to find that many of the truths we cling to rely greatly upon our own point of view." I'm clinging to the only truth that makes sense: Han shot first.
-Mike Black
I realize I'm late to the party and it's all kind of been said, but if I may, a chick point of view:
I always thought it was really simple. At the introduction of Han Solo, he was 100% criminal, and when he was backed into a the decision of "die/be taken prisoner or shoot and earn $17k," he shot the bad guy.
And then he met Princess Leia, and trying to be good enough for her (albeit subconsciously at first) ultimately made him a better man all around. When we first meet Han, he's 100% criminal, and by the end, he's more like 50% criminal, 50% hero. (Argue the percentages if you want; he's at least some of both. Remember, we love him BECAUSE he's a scoundrel.)
It matters who shot first, because it makes his overall transformation even more profound. It's like love had the opposite affect on him than it did on Annakin, and it's a beautiful thing.
Call me a romantic fool, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I'd be a bigger fool if I didn't realize that HAN SHOT FIRST.
Post a Comment