'Original' Star Wars Trilogy Coming to DVD

[Barada]

From the Official Site...

In response to overwhelming demand, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release attractively priced individual two-disc releases of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Each release includes the 2004 digitally remastered version of the movie, as well as the original theatrical edition of the film. That means you'll be able to enjoy Star Wars as it first appeared in 1977, Empire in 1980, and Jedi in 1983.

Click here to read the entire article.

 

[Barada]

Here is the entire news post from sw.com:

This September: Original Unaltered Trilogy on DVD
May 03, 2006

Fans can look forward to a September filled with classic Star Wars nostalgia, led by the premiere of LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy video game and the long-awaited DVD release of the original theatrical incarnations of the classic Star Wars trilogy.
In response to overwhelming demand, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release attractively priced individual two-disc releases of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Each release includes the 2004 digitally remastered version of the movie, as well as the original theatrical edition of the film. That means you'll be able to enjoy Star Wars as it first appeared in 1977, Empire in 1980, and Jedi in 1983.

See the title crawl to Star Wars before it was known as Episode IV; see the pioneering, if dated, motion control model work on the attack on the Death Star; groove to Lapti Nek or the Ewok Celebration song like you did when you were a kid; and yes, see Han Solo shoot first.

This release will only be available for a limited time: from September 12th to December 31st. International release will follow on or about the same day. Each original theatrical version will feature Dolby 2.0 Surround sound, close-captioning, and subtitles in English, French and Spanish for their U.S. release. International sound and subtitling vary by territory.

"Over the years, a truly countless number of fans have told us that they would love to see and own the original version that they remember experiencing in theaters," said Jim Ward, President of LucasArts and Senior Vice President of Lucasfilm Ltd. "We returned to the Lucasfilm Archives to search exhaustively for source material that could be presented on DVD. This is something that we're very excited to be able to give to fans in response to their continuing enthusiasm for Star Wars. Topping it off with a new interactive adventure makes September 12 a red-letter day for Star Wars fans."

That's also the day fans will be able to experience the LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy video game, the action-packed sequel -- filled with tongue-in-cheek humor -- to one of the best selling video games of 2005. To see the trailer to the new game from LucasArts and TT Games, click here!

Click here to order your copy today.

 

[Jedi_Joel]

You also better buy them ASAP once they're out because according to CNN, the DVDs will be available only through December 31. So don't hesitate to get these! Also according to USA Today the DVDs will sell for $30 EACH!

Another edit:
After re-reading the USA Today article, I'm a little pissed because all we're getting is VHS rips put on DVD.

The original films' video quality will not match up to that of the restored versions. "It is state of the art, as of 1993, and that's not as good as state of the art 2006," Ward says.

 

[Jedi Daniel]

This is great news because now I can see the versions I grew up on without destroying my VHS copies which are on their last feet.

 

[Barada]

You also better buy them ASAP once they're out because according to CNN, the DVDs will be available only through December 31. So don't hesitate to get these! Also according to USA Today the DVDs will sell for $30 EACH!

Another edit:
After re-reading the USA Today article, I'm a little pissed because all we're getting is VHS rips put on DVD.

Even the sw.com article says they are off the shelves December 31.

Pay no attention to that. When E.T. was released it was said that it would only be until Christmas was over that year. Guess what? I still see copies on the shelves now.


It also promotes them as being in Dolby 2.0 surround sound. Oooh, fancy, huh?

This is what I think. Lucas is tired of hearing the criticisms of not releasing the true originals. He is now taking it as an opportunity to make even more money off the fans, but at the same time, he's giving us a slap in the face. It's as if he's saying "You want the originals? Here you go, with all the latest in technology circa 1977."

Barada

 

[AmShak]

they said it would never happen

 

[EV-9D9]

I actually still have and watch the "Original" trilogy on VHS tape. I bought it just before the Special Editions came out on VHS tape (which I also have). But this is good because VHS tapes will eventually deteriorate.

 

[Darth Boru]

given that they said it would never happen, as GL said - the special edition is the movie he wanted to make!! But then he went and messed with that again.

Makes you wonder - are they just cashing in? Was there in fact a large demand? Do we really want yet another version? Are there going to be decent special features this time?

As mentioned in another thread onthis subject - the special features will need to be plentiful and NEW for me to cave in and buy these, and I DON'T mean an extended comentary about hitting electricity pylons with spanners!

 

[Borsk]

These are basically 1993 transfers of the Laserdiscs. There's been a lot of talk about these new versions over at thedigitalbit.com.

But, here's a nice cartoon...

 

[Darth Aussie]

Sounds about right, don't you think?........

 

[Darth Boru]

Good ol' Uncle George!!

 

[Stevetrooper]

30 bucks each?! is that what they call "attractively priced"?

 

[Darth Aussie]

i'll shudder to see what they come out here....

 

[Jedi Daniel]

Way over priced and if they are just laser disc versions, then forget it, I'm not going to bother with buying this set.