Finally, after a countdown and a website crash that has kept many from being able to see the announcement, the details of the Star Wars: The Complete Saga 9-Disc Blu-ray set are revealed. And they’re…interesting?
I’m not really sure what I was expecting, but I can’t help but feel less than excited about the contents of Disc 9. There seems to be a lot of fan-service going on there – a lot of space given to that legion of folks who dress like stormtroopers and films made by fans. Three hours worth of space, to be exact. And those are precious bits that could have been afforded to additional documentaries that don’t appear to be included in the set, including the incredible “Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy” feature length film from the 2004 DVD release of the original trilogy or the excellent, verite-style ‘Making-of” piece from The Phantom Menace DVD. I’m not even going to start raving about the lack of the original theatrical cuts here. Best not to open that can of worms so early in the morning, right?
But let’s not get all wound up about what’s not present (I mean, you could make the argument that any missing content could turn up on discs 7 or 8, as part of the ‘Archives’) and instead, revel in what is included – six new HD transfers of six popular films that are bound to look and sound great. And each film features two commentary tracks – one with George and pals (the tracks from the DVDs, from the looks of it) and an additional track cobbled together from archival interviews. Now, that’s cool, if you ask me.
What do you think of the disc details? Are you impressed? Has this reveal changed your mind about the set in any way?
- Bring home the adventure and share Star Wars™ with your whole family – when STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA comes to Blu-ray Disc from Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment! To be released beginning on September 12 internationally and on September 16 in North America, the nine-disc collection brings the wonder of the entire Saga direct to your living room, where you can revisit all of your favorite Star Wars moments – in gorgeous high definition and with pristine, 6.1 DTS Surround Sound. Dive deeper into the universe with an unprecedented 40+ hours of special features, highlighted by never-before-seen content sourced from the Lucasfilm archives.
Special Features:
STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA ON BLU-RAY is presented in widescreen with 6.1 DTS Surround Sound. Special features include:
- 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 ATTACK 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. The masters discuss and reminisce about one of the most beloved films of all time.
- NEW! Star Wars Spoofs (2011, Color, Apx. 91 Minutes) – The farce is strong with this one! Enjoy a hilarious 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 — and don’t miss “Weird Al” Yankovic’s one-of-a-kind 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 utilized 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.
I’ve been waiting for them to finally put everything in a boxset instead of separating it from I-III and IV-VI. I don’t really care for the extra features as they would be probably only be watched once in my house as for the movies would be watched religiously.
[...] For further details of the upcoming September 16th Blu-ray releases, read our previous post: Star Wars Blu-ray details revealed [...]