Star Wars Blu-ray -- OnVideo Guide to Home Video Releases

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New Release: Star Wars Blu-ray

Due September 16

photo May 4 is one of two days that "Star Wars" fans have been waiting for: The official announcement of the release date and specs for the Blu-ray releases of all six "Star Wars" films. The other date: September 16, when the set hits the street in the U.S. (September 12 internationally). The Blu-ray versions will be available in three configurations: "Star Wars: The Complete Saga," a nine-disc set with all six movies priced at $139.99 (though Amazon is already taking pre-orders at $89.99); "Star Wars: Original Trilogy" three-disc set with only the original Episodes IV to VI ("A New Hope," "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi") for $69.99 and "Star Wars: Prequel Trilogy," a three-disc set with Episodes I to III ("The Phantom Menace," "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith") for $69.99. There's a host of new and old goodies to be had in the sets, including deleted, extended and alternate scenes, featurettes and more. Each film will, of course, be in widescreen with 6.1 DTS sound.

New Bonus features:

  • Deleted, extended and alternate scenes
  • Concept art
  • Interviews
  • Featurettes
  • "Star Warriors" featurette, a tribute to the 501st Legion, a global group of Star Wars costume enthusiasts
  • "A Conversation With the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later," a 25-minute piece with Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan and John Williams looking back on the making of the film
  • "Star Wars Spoofs," a 91-minute mashup of spoofs and parodies of the sci-fi series, including clips from "Family Guy," "The Simpsons," "How I Met Your Mother" and more, plus Weird Al Yankovic’s music video tribute to "The Phantom Menace" set to "American Pie."

    Previous Bonus features:

  • Commentary on each film by George Lucas and other members of the cast and crew.
  • "The Making of Star Wars" (1977)
  • "The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX" (1980)
  • "Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi" (1983)
  • "Star Wars Tech" (2007)
  • Here's a breakdown by disc:

    DISC ONE – "Star Wars": Episode I -- The Phantom Menace

  • Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, John Knoll, Dennis Muren and Scott Squires.
  • Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew


    DISC TWO – "Star Wars": Episode II -- ttack of the Clones

  • Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, Pablo Helman, John Knoll and Ben Snow.
  • Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with cast and crew.


    DISC THREE – "Star Wars": Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith

  • Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Rob Coleman, John Knoll and Roger Guyett.
  • Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with cast and crew.


    DISC FOUR – "Star Wars": Episode IV -- A New Hope

  • Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren.
  • Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with cast and crew.


    DISC FIVE – "Star Wars": Episode V -- The Empire Strikes Back

  • Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren.
  • Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with cast and crew.


    DISC SIX – "Star Wars": Episode VI -- Return of the Jedi

  • Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren.
  • Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with cast and crew.


    DISC SEVEN – New "Star Wars" Archives: Episodes I-III

  • Including: deleted, extended and alternate scenes; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; matte paintings and concept art; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; a flythrough of the Lucasfilm Archives and more.


    DISC EIGHT – New "Star Wars" Archives: Episodes IV-VI

  • Including: deleted, extended and alternate scenes; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; matte paintings and concept art; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; and more.


    DISC NINE -- The "Star Wars" Documentaries

  • New: "Star Warriors" (2007, Color, Apx. 84 Minutes): Some "Star Wars" fans want to collect action figures ... these fans want to be action figures. A tribute to the 501st Legion, a global organization of "Star Wars" costume enthusiasts, this insightful documentary shows how the super-fan club promotes interest in the films through charity and volunteer work at fundraisers and high-profile special events around the world.
  • New: "A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later" (2010, Color, Apx. 25 Minutes) -- George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan and John Williams look back on the making of "The Empire Strikes Back" in this in-depth retrospective from Lucasfilm created to help commemorate the 30th anniversary of the movie.
  • N: "Star Wars" Spoofs (2011, Color, Apx. 91 Minutes) -- The farce is strong with this one. Enjoy a collection of "Star Wars" spoofs and parodies that have been created over the years, including outrageous clips from "Family Guy," "The Simpsons," "How I Met Your Mother" and more. Also includes Weird Al Yankovic's music video tribute to "The Phantom Menace."
  • The Making of "Star Wars" (1977, Color, Apx. 49 Minutes) -- Learn the incredible behind-the-scenes story of how the original "Star Wars" movie was brought to the big screen in this fascinating documentary hosted by C-3PO and R2-D2. Includes interviews with George Lucas and appearances by Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.
  • "The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX" (1980, Color, Apx. 48 Minutes) -- Learn the secrets of making movies in a galaxy far, far away. Hosted by Mark Hamill, this revealing documentary offers behind-the-scenes glimpses into the amazing special effects that transformed George Lucas’ vision for "Star Wars" and" The Empire Strikes Back" into reality.
  • "Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi " (1983, Color, Apx. 48 Minutes) -- Go behind the scenes ­ and into the costumes ­ as production footage from "Return of the Jedi" is interspersed with vintage monster movie clips in this in-depth exploration of the painstaking techniques used by George Lucas to create the classic creatures and characters seen in the film. Hosted and narrated by Carrie Fisher and Billie Dee Williams.
    Anatomy of a Dewback " (1997, Color, Apx. 26 Minutes) -- See how some of the special effects in "Star Wars" became even more special two decades later. George Lucas explains and demonstrates how his team transformed the original dewback creatures from immovable rubber puppets (in the original 1977 release) to seemingly living, breathing creatures for the "Star Wars" 1997 Special Edition update.
  • "Star Wars" Tech (2007, Color, Apx. 46 Minutes) -- Exploring the technical aspects of "Star Wars" vehicles, weapons and gadgetry, "Star Wars" Tech consults leading scientists in the fields of physics, prosthetics, lasers, engineering and astronomy to examine the plausibility of "Star Wars" technology based on science as we know it today.



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