George Lucas officially announces Star Wars on Blu-ray in 2011
By Richard Lawler 
posted August 14th 2010 6:05PM
posted August 14th 2010 6:05PM
[Thanks, @thunsaker]
For the First Time Ever, the Force Will Be with You on Blu-ray! Highly Anticipated Complete Star Wars™ Saga Readied for High Definition Blu-ray Debut
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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.
Contacts
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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.
Contacts
Where's Darth???
@Inect
Han shot first!
I should have expected Luke created his lightsaber in a cave, That Sith was Ugly
@Inect
Returned to helping children cross the road, likely near a roundabound.
@Inect can u day finally?
@Inect What's with the M hand sign? we are not all Vulcan (Freemasons) like he is... How about making an E hand sign for the rest of us Earthlings?
@soconnell74
You mean *Roundabound* surely?
@Ucvbn Bjfyuvs Yes. Han shot first. I really hope he includes some kind of option for the original scene with Guido.
Caught an error in this post:
"As rumored, all six Star Wars movies . . ."
Should be:
"As rumored, all three Star Wars movies (1977, 1980, 1983) . . ."
@Ucvbn Bjfyuvs
AMEN
@ho0lee0h
Greedo, man. GREEDO. You've been watching "Jersey Shore" too much.
@Inect
I'd also like the Star Wars holiday special on BD please.
@dansus yes, he meant roundabound... watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ljFfL-mL70
@Lord Vader
my lord, i take it your sith don't stink either. ;)
@Ucvbn Bjfyuvs
Strictly speaking Han was the only one who even fired his weapon, before the scene was bastardized in the new releases of course.
@Inect
George Lucas is an asshole. I mean shiet, how much money would it really cost to restore the originals? 100 million? 200 million? You're company can afford it, heck i would think that maybe you would at least want it done, its your baby, and you're a MULTI billionaire. Shoot, enuff people are gonna buy this on bluray for you to add some more zeros to ur bank account. jerk.
@Inect
Milk that cow, 'till it's dry, and then milk it 'till its dead. You know there's money to be made when the audience is a bunch of addicted fanatics.
@Lord Vader
that was OB1 in the cave.
@simbadogg Yeah what an asshole, spending his billions on charity (http://gizmodo.com/5604368/bill-gates-convinces-40-billionaires-to-give-away-half-their-fortunes) instead of giving his fanbase of 30-40 year olds, the experience they remember from their childhood! He's practically mindraping us!
No but in al seriousness, i was hoping for a 'I Am Legend'-style release, where you can select either the original footage, or the altered version. They could even have used that niffty PIP commentary feature on blu-rays, so you can see the difference between the two simultaniously. But hopefully they will do that in their next release.
@simbadogg
Goood....let the hate flow through you...
Where are the missing 136 minutes from episode 1 that weren't shit?
Put those on Blu-Ray and maybe I'll buy the series all over again. Otherwise, I'll wait 5 years to buy the box set at a low price or torrent it using my 100Mbit wimax with no bandwidth cap.
@simbadogg Actually, the Special Edition in its latest form in Lucas's "baby." He has stated several times that the most recent edition is the only version that matters to the overall story - and his job, ultimately, is to make that story work.
@Inect And this is exciting news for???
@pohatu771 His job is to make more money because he lost it all in divorce. If his job was to make the story work the prequels wouldn't exist
@pretol
That's not true I'm a big fan of Star Wars, but I'm not going to buy any Blu Ray release unless it's the original three.
@Herlev
Lucas is so damn rich he could afford to do both. If it wasn't for those 30/40 year olds he would not be where he is today.
Nice very nice...... but any news on up coming new episodes like 7 ,8,9
@Inect
Note:
The expanded universe shows that Luke used parts from Obi-Wan's old house to make his new lightsaber. These parts are from Anakin's old blade that Obi-Wan picked up after their epic duel; as seen in Revenge of the Sith!
@SiXiam
This has been a nerd test!
This of course makes no sense to a nerd, but I'm sure Yoda could figure it out. If it makes sense, then you are not a nerd.
The claim of "it would cost too much" is utter bullshit, because all that original footage had to be scanned to produce the new versions anyway. WTF do people think they started with when creating the re-releases?
What an insulting lie.
@liquidmonkey1 You are mistaken. Obi-Wan has a beard.
@Inect Again, And it keeps getting better for people who had bought a pack already. http://bit.ly/dqqzIU
Luuuuuuuuuuuke..... Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuke.....
@PWRWarTG. I was actually saying Loooooooook....Looooooook... as he was making his Lightsaber wrong
@PWRWarTG
Moooney.... Moooney....
"Lucas told the New York Times that only the special editions will be included, since restoring the original versions in high enough quality would cost too much."
Vader, will you PLEEEASE choke this guy?
@Smart People Play Tuba. As you wish
@Smart People Play Tuba cost too much, as in eat into his profit? as much as i like star wars im sick of buying a new version every three years. my dvds will have to do.
@Lord Vader
Wesley!
@drumwiz86 Ha ha, great reference! Cheers!
@kchase731
DVDs? I still have the original laserdiscs. Given that poor 'ol George can't afford to release the original, un-butchered movies on BR, I guess I'll be hanging on to them for a few more years.
@Spiny Norman DVD? Laserdisk? What is this wizardry you speak of?
I still have the original release on 70mm film. I swapped it out from a StarWars fan festival with the film they put in their Time Vault. Boy, are they gonna be surprised. I replaced the original with Highlander II.
@Smart People Play Tuba Vader can't choke the Emperor
Huge bag of hurt! Steve, please, take it easy.
@lilo This could be the film that makes Steve introduce Blu-Ray to Macs, Jobs bought Pixar from LucasArts. Could, but probably won't.
@d0mth0ma5
Blu-ray support that complies with all the DRM/licensing mumbo-jumbo is a very complex engineering challenge. Microsoft had to add all this whole protected media pipeline to Windows and updated display driver models to support it so blu-ray discs could be played legally. And they just got bad press over "new DRM support" for it.
@Raffi256 Fair enough, that's a fair bit more descriptive than "Bag of Hurt".
@Raffi256
Yeah, but that's what they do. They're a computer company. The ins and outs of DRM should not be made our problem.
Incidentally my Macbook wouldn't play an HD movie rented from iTunes the other day. I got a pop up warning stating there was an "unauthorized" display detected. Nothing was connected to the laptop. All DRM is a bucket of hurt, so that's no excuse.
@Raffi256 Well, yeah but is that a problem in NP? No? Then get to work, kids!
@Camperton
You're not paying attention.
There is a lot of extra BS that you have to tolerate and implement if you want to have either BluRay or CableCard on a platform. You basically have to consent to allow either licensing organization to hijack some very low level parts of your operating system. From an engineering point of view, I can understand why Jobs would give a big F-U to both consortia.
OTOH, I don't think it's really about engineering.
Then again, it's a level of meddling you really don't want.
@jedi
If it was so complicated no other computer manufacturer would have Blu Ray.