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February 05, 2004 - The gossip mongers at Rebel Scum and TheForce.net are reporting that Twentieth Century Fox and LucasFilm will formally announce the long-rumored Star Wars trilogy on DVD, possibly next Tuesday, February 10.

The Special Edition versions of Star Wars: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi will be released in a four-disc set on September 21. The package would be similar to The Adventures of Indiana Jones set released by Paramount last year, with one film per disc and a separate, fourth disc for extras.

No further details were available. Cross your fingers.

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Not many survive, in presentable condition or at all.

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:Exactly. And others were actually destroyed, such as some material shot for Return of the Jedi, concerning the space battle.

Original 'Star Wars' films coming to DVD
Longed-for films coming out in September
Tuesday, February 10, 2004 Posted: 9:30 AM EST (1430 GMT)


LOS ANGELES, California (Hollywood Reporter) -- The original "Star Wars" trilogy, one of the most-requested DVD episodic film franchises, is expected to be released as a four-disc DVD box set September 21.

A global rollout on DVD is expected within days of the domestic release, according to Lucasfilm Ltd. and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

The trilogy, featuring the classic franchise films "Star Wars," "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi," will be released on three DVD discs, with a fourth disc likely to hold a newly made documentary about the "Star Wars" franchise and never-before-seen footage, among several other bonus materials, said Jim Ward, Lucasfilm's VP of marketing and distribution and the DVD trilogy's executive producer.

"We are currently in the process of restoring and remastering all three titles for the DVD release, so we're still working on details of the marketing strategy," Ward said. "But I believe that it is safe to say that it will receive tremendous exposure across all media."

Lucasfilm and Fox chose the September release date to maximize on holiday gift buying during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment president Mike Dunn said.

"We sold about 17 million VHS 'Star Wars' units during two fall release periods in '95 and '97," he said.

Combining huge consumer demand for the "Star Wars" franchise with being first out of the gate during the busy fourth-quarter home video market, Fox and Lucasfilm are hoping to cash in on DVD sales throughout the holidays and up until the theatrical release of "Star Wars: Episode III," which is set for release nationwide May, 25, 2005, Dunn and Ward said.

Each of the three films in the "Star Wars Trilogy" has been digitally restored and remastered for sound and picture quality, Ward said.

"First and foremost, the DVDs will deliver the very best possible sound and picture and take advantage of everything the medium can offer," Ward said. "On top of that, we are creating added-value material that gets inside the creation of the 'Star Wars' films in a fresh and fun way. We want watching this DVD collection to be as memorable as seeing the movies for the first time."

The films of the "Star Wars Trilogy" will be sold exclusively as a collection at a still-to-be-determined retail price and not separately, Fox executives said. However, retailers have been known to break up DVD box sets and sell individual titles after the first month out on store shelves.



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Copyright 2004 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

LadyTevar wrote:REJOICE SW Fans!!!

Okay, I've just spoken with Lucasfilm's Vice President of Marketing and Distribution, Jim Ward, and I can confirm some details about the Region 1 DVD release of the Star Wars films, which will arrive in stores on September 21st. What follows is everything that's specifically set as of this time.

The release will be a 4-disc set, encompassing 3 movie discs and a 4th bonus disc of supplemental material. All three films will be digitally-remastered and THX-certified, and will be available in anamorphic widescreen video (there MAY also be a separate full frame edition, but this is still TBD). The audio for the films will be English Dolby Digital 5.1 (they may also be EX, although again this is still TBD), with subtitles in English, French and Spanish. The films will also be closed-captioned. Each film will include new audio commentary with creator George Lucas, along with various members of the cast and crew (the specific participants will be announced at a later date). The highlight of the bonus disc will be an all-new, feature-length documentary about the making of the films, which will include never-before-seen footage and other material. There may also be DVD-ROM weblinks to the official Star Wars website (TBD). There WILL be additional supplemental features, which will be announced at a later date. The films will only be available as a box set, the retail price for which has yet to be decided (despite reports to the contrary). I have officially confirmed that the films will be the 1997 Special Edition versions, as determined by Lucas himself. You should also know that, as with the Indiana Jones DVDs, the folks at Lowry Digital are once again involved in the remastering process. They're doing digital restoration and clean-up work on the new masters.

So there you have it. We expect cover art to be available in the months ahead, as the packaging is finalized. We'll keep you up to date on all the bonus material details as soon as they become available.

2000AD wrote:

LadyTevar wrote:REJOICE SW Fans!!!

Does this mean your changing the date in "The date is set" in your sig?

zombie84 wrote:still no word on deleted scenes--you'd think that'd be a major selling point. "brand new never-before-seen footage!". The stuff exists, much like the Indy deleted scenes, which were mysteriously MIA. I hope to god we get some deleted material. Theres tons of alternate takes, outtakes, extra raw FX footage and at least twenty five minutes of deleted footage.

Spanky The Dolphin wrote:

zombie84 wrote:still no word on deleted scenes--you'd think that'd be a major selling point. "brand new never-before-seen footage!". The stuff exists, much like the Indy deleted scenes, which were mysteriously MIA. I hope to god we get some deleted material. Theres tons of alternate takes, outtakes, extra raw FX footage and at least twenty five minutes of deleted footage.

No, there isn't as much as people think there is. While there is quite a bit, the fact remains, confirmed by LucasFilm, that many effects footage and cut scenes have been destroyed, not stored in optimum conditions, or are simply no longer in a presentable condition.

Stravo wrote:What pisses me off about this is that we're all going to run out and shell out $35-40 for this set (I'm using the Indy set as a benchmark) and within 2-3 years some uber edition akin to the Aliens quodrilogy comes out. You know GL is infmaous for this anal rapage of his fans. It makes me not want to buy it but I know damn well I'll be in line to buy it the same day its released.