STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE (1977): Han Solo’s Original Girlfriend Video

Han Solo’s Original Girlfriend from Star Wars 4. Rough-cut, black and white Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) footage has been found of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) with his original “girlfriend” (Jenny Cresswell). One of the most iconic moments of the original trilogy has to be the “Cantina scene.” This scene is where we first meet Han and Chewie, and get an idea of how effective a Lightsaber is against a drunk bar fly.

Recently, a rough-cut version of the scene has been making its rounds on the internet. The rough-cut contains a few key differences to what they ultimately decided to keep for the final version.

The woman seen getting cozy with Captain Solo is a lesser known character who was discarded by Lucas in post-production. Apparently the idea of Han making out with a woman in a sleazy bar, right before he makes a dodgy deal to transport an old man and his young/naïve companion for an exorbitant fee and then kills an alien, was just too much. I can’t really complain. As someone who’s grown up watching the movies and owning them in every format (I’m sure I still have the VHS version somewhere), seeing Han and Greedo have a somewhat longer discussion and finding out definitely who shot first was probably the highlight of my day.

Other notable differences included the absence of the “cantina band,” and also the lack of audio work. Many actors in the original trilogy had their voices dubbed in post-production; the rough cut gives us an idea of what Harrison Ford and others had to work off of.

Besides being in black and white, the scene is noticeably different. I’m tempted to play it alongside the finished version and see which one I prefer.

Which do you prefer?

Watch the unedited Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope cantina scene below and leave your thoughts on it in the comments section. For more Star Wars news, videos, or images, visit our Star Wars Page, and consider subscribing to us by Email, “follow” us on Twitter, Tumblr, or “like” on Facebook for quick news updates.

Source: Yahoouk