Who shot first?

Greedo, a Rodian Bounty Hunter, was one of the second wave of action figures that young Master Awdry readily exchanged for his pocket money.  Like many other small boys at the time, I was mesmerised by the Cantina scene in Star Wars.  The fleeting glimpses of so many wondrous beings were almost too much to assimilate, but with their immortalisation in plastic, we were able to relive our favourite scenes over and over again.  In fact, the only difficulty was deciding which one of the many alien creatures to collect first, Greedo, Hammerhead, Walrusman or perhaps even Snaggletooth?

Not surprising then that this was one of the Imperial Assault miniatures that I was really looking forward to painting, not least because sculpt for Greedo is a real belter, with the Bounty Hunter in mid draw; although one hopes that the outcome is slighter better than in the film.  When it came to painting, I hurried off to the appropriate Sorastro tutorial and was guided through the intricacies of zenithal highlighting, another new technique for me!

Slowly, but surely, the character started to emerge and again, I have nothing but praise for the clarity of Sorastro’s presentation.  As with previous efforts, Sorastro’s calm and methodical approach resulted in me producing something that I was truly happy with, the man is certainly a talent.

With another miniature safely finished, please excuse me as I indulge myself with a bit of a rant!  Never has there been a clearer insight into a hero’s character than when Han Solo is cornered in the Cantina by Greedo.  A tense passage of the film ensues, revealing a little of our hero’s back story.  Knowing that there is no way out, the smuggler carefully releases his blaster from its holster before terminating the Rodian’s contract.  There is no doubt in my mind that Han Solo does what is required, in fact, the question itself, who shot first? is somewhat redundant, as there is only one shot and the man who fired it, gets up and walks out!

That is until the 1997 special edition!  Why, oh why, does George Lucas feel the need to revisit this scene?  In the newly remastered scene, we are left without any doubt that it is Greedo who fires first.  Is this a bout of intergalactic political correctness?  Perhaps the Director, wanted to remove any stain from the scruffy looking nerf herder’s character?  I appreciate that it is his film, but in the words of D. H. Lawrence,

“Never trust the teller, trust the tale. The proper function of a critic is to save the tale from the artist who created it.”