Star Wars Episodes 4-6 Announced For DVD . . .

Butch · 02-10-2004, 08:58 AM

Coming in September . . . of course, they'll probably be the remastered versions that hit theaters a few years back and not the originals . . .

http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movi...eut/index.html

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.

DaFunkyUnit · 02-10-2004, 09:38 AM

[Special Ed]

YAYYYY!

[/Special Ed]

ray · 02-10-2004, 09:52 AM

What's Star Wars?

On a more serious note, I'm really surprised Lucas gave in and decided to release it. I thought he stated that he would NEVER release the original 3 on DVD. Apparently somebody's talked him into it.

cheers to that person.

jase71 · 02-10-2004, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ray

On a more serious note, I'm really surprised Lucas gave in and decided to release it. I thought he stated that he would NEVER release the original 3 on DVD. Apparently somebody's talked him into it.

cheers to that person.

This idea was ripped off from a Slashdot post, but it may have been greed that talked him into it.

It won't be that long down the road before an HD-DVD standard rolls out. If Lucas waits until too close to that day, people may wait and only buy the HD-DVD version.

If he releases it now, he can sell everyone the trilogy twice, once on DVD, and once on HD-DVD when it comes out.

Not that he would ever admit that, but I'm sure it was at least discussed...

~~Cantacuzene~~ · 02-10-2004, 10:09 AM

He has to pay for episode 3 somehow.

Cubsfan · 02-10-2004, 10:11 AM

Only Special Edition. Looks like Hans will never shoot first again...

Merlin · 02-10-2004, 11:03 AM

I don't know jase, I've always read that Lucas was worried about piracy in the DVD format. Lucas has plenty of money, more than he can ever count let alone spend. But control, that is something he worries about - a lot. And DVD, as a digital medium, is more easy to pirate. That's why it took so long for the Indy Jones movies to come out. But now he is probably seeing the way and listening to the demand from fans to release it.

As for the special edition vs. the original. He is going to release what he wants (the "finished" version rather than the "loved" classic version.) - Damn. I would also prefer the original.

bachviet · 02-10-2004, 11:20 AM

I probably wait for the HD versions to come out for all 6.

Jenny · 02-10-2004, 11:38 AM

There are some movies that I just have to buy on dvd. Matrix trilogy is one. These are another.

ray · 02-10-2004, 11:59 AM

Matrix Trilogy, Indy Jones, Star Wars, LoTR are on the slate for me.

Devhux · 02-10-2004, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cubsfan
Only Special Edition. Looks like Hans will never shoot first again...

Actually, from what I've heard, it's a "modified" Special Edition -- and one of the things that is being updated again is that Han WILL shoot first (Lucas received a lot of flak over that one).

DaFunkyUnit · 02-10-2004, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by GuruX

Actually, from what I've heard, it's a "modified" Special Edition -- and one of the things that is being updated again is that Han WILL shoot first (Lucas received a lot of flak over that one).

ok, wtf are you guys talking about?

LegendKiller · 02-10-2004, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by GuruX

Actually, from what I've heard, it's a "modified" Special Edition -- and one of the things that is being updated again is that Han WILL shoot first (Lucas received a lot of flak over that one).

I have also heard from several sources that he WILL shoot first again, which was probably the worst part of the "special" editions, that and the horrible Jabba CGI.

I also agree that this is a pure money making decision. It has been known for a LONG time that he would eventually release them on DVD. However, according to TheDigitalbits.com, he was going to release them in a big starwars vault collection, with all 6 movies.

It would appear that the increasing competition between HDDVD and the blue laser group has hastened the standards along faster than Lucas had thought, thus he is releasing DVD's faster to milk us for yet more cash.

I also heard he was going to be making 7, 8, 9 sometime in the future. I am sure they will be horrible like the latest 3, filled with insanely cartoonish characters, horrible scripts, and actors that couldn't make it into a high school play (read, kid in the first one "Are you an angel?, or all of Hayden Christenson (Its just not fair!)).

Lucas has REALLY gone down hill since his peak and his is bringing the whole franchise down with him.

LK

raimin · 02-10-2004, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by chosenfool
he he he...this is cool.
i get to have the "bastardized" lucas special ed. version too. i already have the ORIGINAL UNTAINTED trilogy anyway.

YES, virginia, theres is an Original SW trilogy in DVD. complete with chapter selections, audio commentary, and Dolby 2.0 format.

ii also have it. any your bastardized version is a copy form my laserdisc

and i also have the originals on LD as well

TofuNinja · 02-10-2004, 05:19 PM

I saw these on eBay, most likely fakes

02-10-2004, 08:58 AM	#1
Butch Rear Admiral Lower Half Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: New York, NY Posts: 2,915	Star Wars Episodes 4-6 Announced For DVD . . . Coming in September . . . of course, they'll probably be the remastered versions that hit theaters a few years back and not the originals . . . http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movi...eut/index.html 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. __________________ I used to be into sadism, necrophilia and beastiality, but then I realized I was just beating a dead horse

02-10-2004, 09:38 AM	#2
DaFunkyUnit Rear Admiral Upper Half Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: the peanut gallery Posts: 3,909	[Special Ed] YAYYYY! [/Special Ed] __________________

02-10-2004, 11:03 AM	#7
Merlin Admiral Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Square On My Arse Posts: 7,410	I don't know jase, I've always read that Lucas was worried about piracy in the DVD format. Lucas has plenty of money, more than he can ever count let alone spend. But control, that is something he worries about - a lot. And DVD, as a digital medium, is more easy to pirate. That's why it took so long for the Indy Jones movies to come out. But now he is probably seeing the way and listening to the demand from fans to release it. As for the special edition vs. the original. He is going to release what he wants (the "finished" version rather than the "loved" classic version.) - Damn. I would also prefer the original. __________________

02-10-2004, 11:20 AM	#8
bachviet What's Da Pho*? Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: SoCal (714) Posts: 13,296	I probably wait for the HD versions to come out for all 6. __________________ Dell Dimension 9200 \| Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (2.4GHz) \| 4x1GB DDR2 \| 256MB nVidia GeForce 8800GT Dell Studio 17 \| Intel Core i7-720QM (1.6GHz) \| 2x2GB DDR3 1066MHz \| 1GHz ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650 Intel P4-C 3.0GHz \| ECS 865PE-A \| 3x512MB PC3200 \| 128MB PNY GeForce 6600GT

02-10-2004, 11:38 AM	#9
Jenny Chief of Naval Operations Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Kansas City area Posts: 10,947	There are some movies that I just have to buy on dvd. Matrix trilogy is one. These are another. __________________ Check out my spoilers for over 20 shows @ SpoilerFix.com Check out my TV blog, where I post weekly & daily TV schedules, TV news, interviews with TV stars & more! All new TV forums as well @ TV Is My Pacifier

02-10-2004, 09:52 AM	#3
ray captain awesome Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 7,054	What's Star Wars? On a more serious note, I'm really surprised Lucas gave in and decided to release it. I thought he stated that he would NEVER release the original 3 on DVD. Apparently somebody's talked him into it. cheers to that person.

02-10-2004, 10:09 AM	#5
~~Cantacuzene~~ Banned Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Atlanta, Georgia, USA Posts: 8,700	He has to pay for episode 3 somehow.

02-10-2004, 10:11 AM	#6
Cubsfan Rear Admiral Lower Half Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Colorado Posts: 2,743	Only Special Edition. Looks like Hans will never shoot first again...

02-10-2004, 11:59 AM	#10
ray captain awesome Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 7,054	Matrix Trilogy, Indy Jones, Star Wars, LoTR are on the slate for me.

02-10-2004, 05:19 PM	#15
TofuNinja Rear Admiral Upper Half Join Date: May 2000 Location: On Serenity Posts: 3,503	I saw these on eBay, most likely fakes __________________ "To search for the old is to understand the new." -Gichin Funakoshi- ===>>>LABELED CANTACUZENE'S DUMBEST PERSON ALIVE!!!<<<===

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