The movies that DVD fans have longed for more than any other, the original Star Wars trilogy, finally arrive Sept. 21.
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With added scenes and a fourth disc that includes a full-length documentary on the making of the movies, the trilogy is expected to be one of the top-selling DVD titles ever.
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But some die-hard followers are certain to blast Lucas and 20th Century Fox for not including the original theatrical versions of the movies in the collection.
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In 1997, Lucas rereleased special editions of all three Star Wars films —Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983) — in theaters. Each film had technological tweaking and added footage.
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Those are the versions that will appear on the DVDs.
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"The original versions technically don't exist," says Lucasfilm's Jim Ward, who is the project's executive producer. "(Lucas) wanted to represent the films as they exist in his mind, and that's the special-editions versions."
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That will distress a small but vocal minority of fans who have held out hope — expressed in online petitions and Star Wars Internet chat forums — that Lucas might include the originals on DVD.
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"The general public won't mind, but anybody who is a real fan of the films will," says Doug Pratt, who publishes DVDLaser.com and the DVD Laser Disc Newsletter.
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Sure to be especially galling to Star Wars stalwarts is that Fox, in last year's Alien Quadrilogy DVD set, included multiple versions of Alien films. "It would be a shame if they didn't take advantage of that technology," Pratt says.
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In addition to the fourth disc's full-length documentary, each movie disc will include commentaries from Lucas and members of the cast.
«
Fox and Lucasfilm are discussing whether to release a collector's edition and a full-frame version, says Fox's Steven Feldstein.
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usatoday.com
«
With added scenes and a fourth disc that includes a full-length documentary on the making of the movies, the trilogy is expected to be one of the top-selling DVD titles ever.
«
But some die-hard followers are certain to blast Lucas and 20th Century Fox for not including the original theatrical versions of the movies in the collection.
«
In 1997, Lucas rereleased special editions of all three Star Wars films —Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983) — in theaters. Each film had technological tweaking and added footage.
«
Those are the versions that will appear on the DVDs.
«
"The original versions technically don't exist," says Lucasfilm's Jim Ward, who is the project's executive producer. "(Lucas) wanted to represent the films as they exist in his mind, and that's the special-editions versions."
«
That will distress a small but vocal minority of fans who have held out hope — expressed in online petitions and Star Wars Internet chat forums — that Lucas might include the originals on DVD.
«
"The general public won't mind, but anybody who is a real fan of the films will," says Doug Pratt, who publishes DVDLaser.com and the DVD Laser Disc Newsletter.
«
Sure to be especially galling to Star Wars stalwarts is that Fox, in last year's Alien Quadrilogy DVD set, included multiple versions of Alien films. "It would be a shame if they didn't take advantage of that technology," Pratt says.
«
In addition to the fourth disc's full-length documentary, each movie disc will include commentaries from Lucas and members of the cast.
«
Fox and Lucasfilm are discussing whether to release a collector's edition and a full-frame version, says Fox's Steven Feldstein.
«
usatoday.com
