Club Jade

Bill Hunt of Digital Bits got a look at the Star Wars Blu-rays last week, and he’s wrote up an extensive post with all those technical details folks have been wondering about. It includes this interesting bit:

Now, you’ll recall that a little bit ago, I said these should probably be best considered new 2011 versions of these films, and not the 2004 DVD versions. All the fixes and corrections alone justify this in my opinion, but there’s another reason too… and you can probably guess what it is: Once again, George has apparently added a few new “surprises” into these films. I don’t know what they are and didn’t get to see any of them on Friday, but I was assured that there will be “new things to notice” when we watch the films.

Though – again – nothing is confirmed, he goes on to mention the digital Phantom Menace Yoda that’s been knocking around in DVD extras for years.

But overall, his prognosis looks good, particularly for those disappointed by the last few releases.

UPDATE: Another report from Chris Chiarella at Big Picture, Big Sound. Adam Gregorich of Home Theater Forum was there too, and he has pictures of the inside movie page sleeves, which we have yet to see so clearly.

Debuting at the Fan Movie Awards last night was this teaser for the Blu-ray’s selection of original trilogy deleted scenes. What, still no Biggs? (via)

One thing missing from last week’s Blu-Ray announcement was the audio details, but the DTS Facebook has confirmed that they will be in DTS-HD Master Audio 6.1. I have no idea what that means (here’s their own explanation) but folks seem pleased.

Meanwhile, there were rumors floating around the other day that the saga box art might be lenticular. Alas, The Forcecast’s Jimmy Mac talked to Lucasfilm, and it’s not true.

Don’t forget to take our latests sidebar poll on the Blu-Ray box art!

The rush of fans wanting Blu-Ray details initially crashed the May the 4th site. When it finally got up and running, it began revealing images on the number of social media shares… An act which strikes me as rather sleazy.

Thankfully, I was finally able to procure some decent art, and you’ll see it above. I’m not all that impressed with the art of the individual sets, but I was never a fan of that style to begin with. The art for the saga set, on the other hand, is straight-up awful: It looks less like Star Wars and more like Precious Moments: The Movie.

Hopefully some retailer somewhere will be providing a better-looking exclusive.

LFL will be revealing some additional tidbits on their brand-new Facebook.

The special features list audio commentary for each movie, all involving George Lucas and various notables including Rick McCallum, Irvin Kershner, Carrie Fisher and Ben Burtt, as well as archival audio.

Each trilogy has an entire archive disc… And the ninth includes documentaries including 1977′s The Making of Star Wars and three brand new ones: Star Warriors, on the 501st Legion; A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later with George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan and John Williams; And Star Wars Spoofs, containing footage from Family Guy, The Simpsons, How I Met Your Mother and Weird Al.

I’ve cut and paste the complete list under the cut. Please don’t hate me, LFL. (more…)

Though originally set for September 27 (that’s still the date on Amazon,) StarWars.com is now confirming that the three box sets will be coming out on September 16. Better swap out your vacation days, superfans.

If Amazon is to be believed, the three Star Wars Blu-Ray sets will be out on September 27. Prepare yourself now for the inevitable media blitz!

I’ve been running hot and cold (mostly cold) on the more recent Star Wars prints from Mondo. But the latest offerings – which go on sale later today – are pretty neat. They’re limited run and go on sale sometime today – You’ll have to keep an eye on Mondo’s Twitter to find out exactly.

UPDATE: And… Gone.

Darth Fairy strikes back. Booturtle created this striking Darth Fairy getup for her daughter to wear to Dragon*Con and for Halloween. It was, not surprisingly, a big hit! Be sure not to miss her Death Star cake, either. (Photo by ConventionFans)

Also in crafts… Make a stormtrooper helmet out of a milk jug. Just the thing for a Star Wars Halloween party. Not that you need the Halloween excuse to throw an awesome Star Wars party.

Original trilogy. Bryan Young has some interesting thoughts on releasing the OT in HD.

Listage. Chewbacca is the #1 sidekick for Hero Complex, while Anakin Skywalker is in suitably annoying company on io9′s list of the most obnoxious superpowered teenagers.

Star Wars as the subject of a 50′s sex-ed film. (via)

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