The return of the original, CGI-less 'Star Wars'

Good news for Star Wars fans with long memories: On September 12, Lucasfilm is releasing DVDs of the original trilogy in its original theatrical form. In other words, you’ll finally be able to see Han shoot Greedo first, like he did in 1977. This should please all of us Star Wars oldtimers who were irked at the Stalinist digital airbrushing in the re-released versions, tinkering that smoothed the rough edges (of both the characters and the special effects) and seemed like George Lucas’ effort to erase from our collective memory the grubby and flawed originals we first fell in love with. Of course, there’s a catch: the discs will be available only until Dec. 31.

Also, Lucasfilm honcho Rick McCallum tells Sci Fi Wire it’ll be at least a year before the 3-D versions of the movies and the two Star Wars TV series (more animated shorts set during the Clone Wars, and a live-action show set during the 20-year gap between Episode III and Episode IV) are ready for release. The tinkering never stops.

addCredit(“Star Wars: � & TM Lucas Film, Ltd.”)