Big Picture Big Sound

For the better part of a week, the folks at LucasFilm have been promoting May 4th, 2011 as Star Wars Day. Today was going to be the day that all was revealed. All of the juicy details in regard to upcoming release of the saga on Blu-ray which we have been reporting about for many months. "May the Fourth Be With You" indeed!

So please pardon our cynicism when things this morning didn't exactly go as planned. Want to see what's really cool about the release? Well, then you better start spreading the word to as many people as you can because Lord Lucas has decided to let the information trickle out as more and more fans click on the site and spread the information via Facebook and Twitter. Star Wars: The Complete Saga will be released in the United States on September 16th, 2011; 4 days after its gets released around the world. Needless to say, many American fans who pre-ordered are very annoyed this morning.

Having gone through the contents of the discs, we can report that the original theatrical versions of Episodes IV-V-VI are not included in this set -- which also has many fans quite upset, although LucasFilm made this clear when they first announced the release earlier this year.

As Obi-Wan Kenobi would say -- "These aren't the versions you're looking for."

However, there's plenty of good news to report.  There are literally 40 hours worth of bonus content, so we suspect that fans are going to suck it up and call in sick. One thing to be thankful for; no Ewok Christmas Special. We are also excited to learn that the six films are being presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 6.1 which should make for an awesome aural experience [editor's note: although the press release was not clear, we have confirmed with Fox that it will be DTS-HD Master Audio]. All six films are being offered in full HD 1080p and, considering the wait, we should hope they will look amazing. The Blu-ray 3D Discs should begin to be available in 4-5 years, though that really depends on whether Fox sticks to its release schedule to release each film in 3D in theaters annually, starting with Episode I in 2012.

Amazon has these available as pre-orders (links below) and we suggest buying now before the price changes.  If the price actually goes down before release date, Amazon's pre-order price guarantee will automatically lower your price too.  And now without further ado...

Special Features:

STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA on Blu-ray is presented in widescreen with 6.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Surround Sound. Special features include:

• DISC ONE - STAR WARS: EPISODE I THE PHANTOM MENACE
  • Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, John Knoll, Dennis Muren and Scott Squires
  • Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew
• DISC TWO - STAR WARS: EPISODE II ATTACK OF THE CLONES
  • Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Ben Burtt, Rob Coleman, Pablo Helman, John Knoll and Ben Snow
  • Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew
• DISC THREE - STAR WARS: EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH

• • Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Rick McCallum, Rob Coleman, John Knoll and Roger Guyett
  • Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew
• DISC FOUR - STAR WARS: EPISODE IV A NEW HOPE
  • Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren
  • Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew
• DISC FIVE - STAR WARS: EPISODE V THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
  • Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren
  • Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew
• DISC SIX - STAR WARS: EPISODE VI RETURN OF THE JEDI
  • Audio Commentary with George Lucas, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren
  • Audio Commentary from Archival Interviews with Cast and Crew
• DISC SEVEN - NEW! STAR WARS ARCHIVES: EPISODES I-III
  • Including: deleted, extended and alternate scenes; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; matte paintings and concept art; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; a flythrough of the Lucasfilm Archives and more
• DISC EIGHT - NEW! STAR WARS ARCHIVES: EPISODES IV-VI
  • Including: deleted, extended and alternate scenes; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; matte paintings and concept art; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; and more
• DISC NINE - THE STAR WARS DOCUMENTARIES
  • 
    NEW! Star Warriors (2007, Color, Apx. 84 Minutes) - Some Star Wars fans want to collect action figures...these fans want to be action figures! A tribute to the 501st Legion, a global organization of Star Wars costume enthusiasts, this insightful documentary shows how the super-fan club promotes interest in the films through charity and volunteer work at fundraisers and high-profile special events around the world.
  • NEW! A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later (2010, Color, Apx. 25 Minutes) - George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan and John Williams look back on the making of The Empire Strikes Back in this in-depth retrospective from Lucasfilm created to help commemorate the 30th anniversary of the movie. The masters discuss and reminisce about one of the most beloved films of all time.
  • NEW! Star Wars Spoofs (2011, Color, Apx. 91 Minutes) - The farce is strong with this one! Enjoy a hilarious collection of Star Wars spoofs and parodies that have been created over the years, including outrageous clips from Family Guy, The Simpsons, How I Met Your Mother and more - and don't miss "Weird Al" Yankovic's one-of-a-kind music video tribute to The Phantom Menace!
  • The Making of Star Wars (1977, Color, Apx. 49 Minutes) - Learn the incredible behind-the-scenes story of how the original Star Wars movie was brought to the big screen in this fascinating documentary hosted by C-3PO and R2-D2. Includes interviews with George Lucas and appearances by Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.
  • The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX (1980, Color, Apx. 48 Minutes) - Learn the secrets of making movies in a galaxy far, far away. Hosted by Mark Hamill, this revealing documentary offers behind-the-scenes glimpses into the amazing special effects that transformed George Lucas' vision for Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back into reality!
  • Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi (1983, Color, Apx. 48 Minutes) - Go behind the scenes - and into the costumes - as production footage from Return of the Jedi is interspersed with vintage monster movie clips in this in-depth exploration of the painstaking techniques utilized by George Lucas to create the classic creatures and characters seen in the film. Hosted and narrated by Carrie Fisher and Billie Dee Williams.
  • Anatomy of a Dewback (1997, Color, Apx. 26 Minutes) - See how some of the special effects in Star Wars became even more special two decades later! George Lucas explains and demonstrates how his team transformed the original dewback creatures from immovable rubber puppets (in the original 1977 release) to seemingly living, breathing creatures for the Star Wars 1997 Special Edition update.
  • Star Wars Tech (2007, Color, Apx. 46 Minutes) - Exploring the technical aspects of Star Wars vehicles, weapons and gadgetry, Star Wars Tech consults leading scientists in the fields of physics, prosthetics, lasers, engineering and astronomy to examine the plausibility of Star Wars technology based on science as we know it today.

For more information:

• www.starwars.com