“A galaxy far, far away” is getting ready to come home, again.
At this weekend’s celebration of “The Empire Strikes Back,” LucasFilm announced that all six “Star Wars” films were headed to Blu-Ray. However, don’t put your pre-order in at Amazon just yet. The films won’t hit Blu-Ray until the fall of 2011.
Here’s the press release from LucasFilm.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (August 14, 2010) – Today at Star Wars Celebration V, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment announced that the complete Star Wars Saga will come to Blu-ray Disc with a worldwide release in Fall 2011. The Star Wars Blu-ray Box Set will feature all six live-action Star Wars feature films utilizing the highest possible picture and audio presentation, along with extensive special features – including documentaries, vintage behind-the-scenes moments, interviews, retrospectives and never-before-seen footage from the Lucasfilm archives.
“Blu-ray is the absolute best way to experience Star Wars at home – in pristine high definition,” said George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars Saga. “The films have never looked or sounded better.”
ABOUT STAR WARS CELEBRATION V
Featuring celebrities, costumes, live entertainment, screenings, autographs, collectibles, panels and much, much more, Star Wars Celebration V is THE official Lucasfilm convention – and the biggest Star Wars party in the galaxy! Taking place in Orlando, FL from August 12-15, Star Wars Celebration V commemorates the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back and the ongoing, weekly adventures of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
ABOUT TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTANMENT
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC (TCFHE) is a recognized global industry leader and a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News Corporation company. Representing 75 years of innovative and award-winning filmmaking from Twentieth Century Fox, TCFHE is the worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Fox film and television programming, acquisitions and original productions on DVD, Blu-ray Disc Digital Copy, Video On Demand and Digital Download. The company also releases all products globally for MGM Home Entertainment. Each year TCFHE introduces hundreds of new and newly enhanced products, which it services to retail outlets from mass merchants and warehouse clubs to specialty stores and e-commerce throughout the world.
Lucasfilm, STAR WARS™ and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.
I assume this means that the original trilogy is the new, “improved” versions. No thanks. I’ll stick with my Very Special Edition DVD set which has the ’80s laser disc versions. I’ll take translucent AT-ATs over CGI Jabba any day.
So… Lucas looking to suck as much money out of the true fans as possible appears to have decided the original versions weren’t worth the effort…. this time.
I’ll wait for the updated release which will include the lesser quality laser disc versions… again…
I copied the original, un-neo’d versions of the Star Wars trilogy this weekend onto DVD… I’m good now. Thanks George Lucas, I now have no use for any of your future releases going forward.