1. Greedo Shoots First (A New Hope)
You knew it was coming, didn't you? Seriously, you've just been idly clicking through the other pages, waiting for this one to pop up. And yes, it's a change that has been argued to
death. Having Han Solo break the "Western code" by shooting first was a great character set-up; it showed him as a cocky, take charge gunslinger who could get himself out of any situation. In the 1997 special edition, Lucas changed the scene so that Greedo shot first, establishing two things: 1) Greedo is the world's lousiest shot, considering he can't hit Han from two feet away, and 2) in George Lucas' mind, having Han waste a dude who has a gun on him and who has just straight up told him
he's going to bring his body to Jabba the Hutt is somehow not justified. What's most curious about this change, however, is the way Lucas seems to keep circling it. In the 1997 special edition, Greedo
clearly shoots first, Han does a physically impossible neck manuever and kills him. In the 2004 reissue, Greedo and Han shoot just about at the same time; for the 2011 edition, a few more frames were trimmed to make Han and Greedo's shots that much closer. What is Lucas trying to accomplish here? It's as if even he realizes that, in spite of his noble intentions, having Greedo shoot first was a
stupid idea, and he's been trying by increments to rectify the situation when what he needs to do is just break down and
let Han shoot first.
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