Darth Vader and various minions announced today at CES that the saga is coming to Blu-Ray in three different configurations: A 9-disc Complete Saga for $139.99 and 3-disc sets for the Original and Prequel trilogies both priced at $69.99. All three can now be pre-ordered at Amazon. They’ll all be released in September.
The Complete Saga set will also include 30-plus hours of “extensive special features including never-before-seen deleted and alternate scenes, an exploration of the exclusive Star Wars archives, and much more.” We’ll be hearing more about those in the coming months, I’m sure.
I’m not convinced. I mean, I got as far as placing the Blu-Ray saga in my Amazon cart, but I have reservations on purchasing it.
Namely, why should I? Sure, it’s chock-full-o’-extras and it’s an HD transfer, but I bought the VHS copies when they each came out. I bought the DVDs when they first came out. I bought the DVD re-releases with the non-anamorphic originals when they came out.
My last Star Wars DVD purchase was in 2004. That’s seven years ago.
If I sink another $100 into this now, I’ll be kicking myself in five years when the next iteration of updates is rolled out. Pure and simple, I need more details on the exact contents of the box before I can commit. Until then, it can keep calling my name and I’ll keep ignoring it.
Yeah, I’m not planning to pre-order just yet, either. I probably will buy them, but I’m kind of old-fashioned in that I actually like to buy things in stores sometimes. (And there will be Deals!)
I’ll buy it because it’s Star Wars and I love it and I want the best way of seeing it possible as soon as possible.
I watch these movies a lot and want to see them the best way possible. So I’ll be getting it ASAP. Special Features are simply a bonus.
Don’t own a Blu-Ray player myself, so, hey, problem solved!
For me, the special features are what’s it all about. With more and more opportunities to see SW on the big-screen (there have been a bunch of screenings in the past year alone, and 3-D is coming), high-def/blu-ray aren’t too important.
I’ll buy them, but can’t bring myself to pre-order them 8-9 months in advance. I really only want them for the additional features. They hooked me with the scenes shown at CV.
I want to see all of the different versions that will be available as well and see who has the best deals.
You and me both, Doyle. ;)
In fact, pretty soon I won’t have a DVD player anymore. It’s set on dying and one day very soon, it won’t turn on at all, no matter how long I try and coax power into it.
Then again, there is my laptop…
Ah, there’s the spirit Erika. Laptops are so much better than televisions anyway. In all my years, I’ve yet to meet a television that will let me watch horror films in the middle of the night after the power has gone out.
This was my excuse to upgrade my theater. The Prequels will look stunning. I love DVD extras, so Blu-Ray will really pack that in. And that scene shown at Celebration? Yeah, baybee!
I probably won’t order, yet, as I want to see what the pricing competition is like.
the ninth disc is a remastered version of the two Ewoks TV movies, with the Holiday special as a secret Easter Egg!
James, I think you meant to be an evil man for suggesting such a thing. I want you to know though, that if you were speaking as a real and non-sarcastic representative of Lucasfilm you would have just sold me a box-set of movies that I cannot watch on a device that I do not have.
It’s worth noting that if you pre-order at Amazon, it’s really easy to cancel your order if the deals look better upon release. The only downside to that is waiting for the mail upon release while you know its out there.
I’ve pre-ordered the saga box set even though I’ve got a very bad feeling about this. New releases have always meant new unnecessary changes for the OT. Which is honestly the only trilogy that continues to interest me. I mean I can live with Han not shooting first and Naboo in ROTJ, but putting Hayden in there was just too much. So what’s it gonna be this time? Ewan in ROTJ? A new musical number for Empire? Luke racing through Beggar’s Canyon for 20 boring minutes?
As I said: I have the very worst feeling about this.
Don’t own any sort of Blu-Ray player and see little compelling reason to buy one. But I’m now so accustomed to HD content that DVDs are becoming a little painful to watch. :( I caught bits of ROTS, ESB & ROTJ in HD on Spike over Christmas and they looked fantastic.
Particulars of the special features will be a big determining factor.
Also, while the DRM quagmire is quite chilling, I’d like to see some digital download options one of these days.
Aaron: while I don’t want to derail this conversation, I actually feel like Hayden was one of the most reasonable changes (though I dislike his expression and mannerisms in the shot). The healthy Sebastian Shaw was a totally unprecedented image. I guess it was supposed to be what Anakin *would’ve* looked like had he aged naturally and uninjured, right? But ROTS-era Anakin makes much more sense to me as a “residual self-image” for redeemed Anakin.
Also, I’d *love* a Beggar’s Canyon deleted scene. :)
I have been a Star Wars fan for fifteen years and still do not own copies of the movies because it seems to start a never ending chain of purchases. >_<
Just out of interest, in relation to Aaron’s point, has there been any word of new changes? I mean, I know everyone seems to take it as a given, but do we have anything concrete that anything new is being added?
ILM confirmed that there wouldn’t be any changes for the 3D releases, so it would be a bit weird if the Blu Rays had changes the cinema versions didn’t.
(Oh, and I won’t be pre-ordering them, since I don’t have a Blu Ray player. Course, I always said Blu Ray wasn’t worth considering until you could get the OT on it… and now you can, I don’t have the cash. Or any real motivation beyond Star Wars in slightly better clarity.)
So far all that is known as something close to a fact is digital Yoda in TPM. But it’s a Lucas release so there must be more. Ahsoka in the Jedi Temple in AOTC maybe? Or they give Yarael Poof a line now, after he complained so much in Robot Chicken 3… ;-)