In an exciting move that took the Force 10 years in the making, all 6 ‘Star Wars’ films will finally be available as one complete set! Beginning Friday, April 10, fans will now be able to purchase the entire ‘Star Wars’ saga from ‘The Phantom Menace’ to ‘Return of the Jedi’ digitally in full HD glory!
We’ll let that sink in a bit…
Titled ‘The Star Wars Digital Movie Collection,’ each movie will be available to purchase individually or as part of the complete set at digital retailers including iTunes, VUDU, Google Play, Playstation Store, Xbox Video, Verizon Fios, Disney Movies Anywary and Amazon. Not only that, even if you own the home video version of the films, there will be never before seen bonus features included in the digital version that will make it worth getting! Besides the usual deleted scenes extra, each film will also have a featurette called ‘Star Wars: Discoveries from Inside’ which goes a little into the making of the movie and ‘Conversations’ where key contributors discuss the film and the franchise.
A bit of a warning, however… the ‘Star Wars’ digital films will be based on the Blu-ray version of the movies so if you were expecting George Lucas’ original film cuts, you may be a bit disappointed. Also, it looks like each digital retailer will have their own extras attached to each film, so some of the bonus features from the download with Amazon may not be the same as the ones downloaded on iTunes.
In a press announcement released on Monday Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy said:
“We’re thrilled that fans will be able to enjoy the Star Wars saga on their digital devices wherever they go. These films broke new ground in technology, design, sound, and visual effects, and we’ve created some very special bonus material which delves into the saga’s rich history, including new and never-before-released conversations between legendary Star Wars artists — the masters who helped George bring his iconic universe to life.”
This release comes as a surprise to many as the ‘Star Wars’ franchise is actually owned by two different studios. Fox currently holds the distribution rights in all media formats to ‘Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope’ in perpetuity. However, Disney owns the digital distribution rights to all the films except ‘A New Hope.’ Together, both studios were able to work out a deal for all six films to be released as one complete set.
If you are contemplating on getting the collection, here’s a general list of bonus material that will be include in each film:
STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace
Conversations: Doug Chiang Looks Back
Discoveries From Inside: Models & Miniatures
Legacy content: “The Beginning”; The Podrace: Theatrical Edit; plus eight deleted scenes.
STAR WARS EPISODE II: Attack of the Clones
Conversations: Sounds In Space
Discoveries From Inside: Costumes Revealed
Legacy content: “From Puppets To Pixels: Digital Characters In Episode II”; State Of The Art: The Previsualization Of Episode II; and “Films Are Not Released, They Escape”; plus Episode II Visual Effects Breakdown Montage and six deleted scenes.
STAR WARS EPISODE III: Revenge of the Sith
Conversations: The Star Wars That Almost Was
Discoveries From Inside: Hologram & Bloopers
Legacy content: Documentaries “Within A Minute: The Making Of Episode III”; The Journey Part 1; and The Journey Part 2; plus six deleted scenes.
STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A New Hope
Conversations: Creating A Universe
Discoveries From Inside: Weapons & The First Lightsaber
Legacy content: “Anatomy Of A Dewback”; Star Wars Launch Trailer; plus eight deleted scenes.
STAR WARS EPISODE V: The Empire Strikes Back
Conversations: The Lost Interviews
Discoveries From Inside: Matte Paintings Unveiled
Legacy content: “A Conversation With The Masters” (2010); “Dennis Muren: How Walkers Walk”; “George Lucas On Editing The Empire Strikes Back 1979”; and “George Lucas On The Force: 2010”; plus six deleted scenes.
STAR WARS EPISODE VI: Return of the Jedi
Conversations: The Effects
Discoveries From Inside: The Sounds Of Ben Burtt
Legacy content: “Classic Creatures: Return Of The Jedi”; “Revenge Of The Jedi Teaser Trailer”; Return Of The Jedi Launch Trailer; “It Began TV Spot”; “Climactic Chapter TV Spot”; plus five deleted scenes.
