The only reason I ask is because I can see something like that happening. I don't think Lucas will release the originals, but if he does I can see it happening that way.

Only if it includes The Holiday Special.

But seriously though, $200 is alot of money but I'd easily drop that on an "Ultimate" Star Wars boxset.

I wouldn't be pissed, I would be thrilled! Would I buy? You bet!

I'm not one to tear Lucas a new one regardless of whether he turns left or right. He's not damned if he does and damned if he doesn't in my estimation. I enjoy what he creates in the Star Wars universe, even though I consider much of it sub-par. If he were to offer the 77/80/83 versions of the original trilogy in the 2007 release, thus granting the hardcore fans their biggest wish, I would applaud him.

A $200 15-disc set isn't a realistic scenario, though. The Ultimate Matrix Collection--10 discs--and the boxed set of all three Lord of the Rings extended cuts--12 discs--were just over $50 and $70 during their initial weeks of release, respectively. I'm guessing a Star Wars boxed set of this type would probably be in the neighborhood of $90 - $100 max. And that I would pay in a heartbeat for the ultimate Star Wars film set.

--THX

The 4-disc set retailed for $70.

only suckers pay retail

True, but I'm not exactly talking discounts and whatnot. If a 4-disc set retails for $70, I wouldn't find it surprising if a 12-disc set was $199. Of course this is just guessing, because we don't know what kind of set Lucasfilm will put out. It was just fun to think about that particular situation.

Amazon is selling the 20-disc, Star Trek movie collection set for around $113...lists for $167.00.

I would be very surprised for Star Wars to list for $199.

Okay. But who pays retail? I got the 4-disc at Best Buy last year for little more than $40. They're only charging $51.99 today. Even if MSRP was the sky high $199, no one would have to actually pay that. Discounts are the name of the game. Isn't what people actually pay what matters in the end?

At this point, though, I don't think I care anymore if Lucas ever gives us the originals. Pondering the two scenarios--the Mega Set with or without the 77/80/83 versions of the original trilogy--I find myself being indifferent about it. Think I would be just as happy with A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi further enhanced to make them look and feel as much like the prequels as possible.

--THX

Does anyone know if the keepcases have different cover art from the previous release?

My signature is my list of my 20 favorite movies. I own all of them on DVD except for the top two, which are Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back.

I hope the Easter Eggs on these new DVDs are the original versions. Why else would these be "limited editions" with practically no extras on them?

There's a big difference. This is Lucasfilm we're talking about. I'm not saying there's even going to be a 15-disc set, or even a 12-disc set. I'm saying if there is something that big coming, expect it to be very expensive, as are most of Lucasfilm's big box sets. I remember dropping $240 on the definitive collection set.

Yes, but that WAS laser disc, right? Laser disc prices, as a whole, were far, far higher than what we are paying for TODAY's DVD prices.

This wins the 2005 award for most useless re-issue.

Yes and no. The thing is, ask anyone who was a laserdisc fan first, SW fan second, and you'll probably hear that the Def Coll was way overpriced. Aside from all the errors (which can happen at any price range), the commentaries were basically soundbites copied here and there over the movies. Not scene specific, and with gaps IIRC. And the documentary material wasn't as indepth as it could have been.


You know, I just realized something: for all the releases, on all the formats, over all the years, I don't think there's been a homevideo release of a SW movie that was really, really spectacular. There's always been the feeling that it could have been just a little better.

Anyone else feel that way?

agreed. I bought star wars on vhs once, laserdisc 3x and who knows how many times on DVD (bootlegs). None of them have ever been very spectacular and the Definitive Collection was the only one that came close. THAT was simply because it had ANY extras. The current DVD edition is severely lacking in "Classic" material. Everything is very polished and new (same with the Indy trilogy) and would love some more vintage material in it.

This is an excellent point that many overlook. Those of us HERE that are dying for an official release of the unaltered OT are probably a tiny minority of the overall target audience. I won't say I wouldn't buy them, but I am sure that many casual fans would pass.

Also, while I don't think I completely agree with Terrell, he does make some valid points. GL gets flack for things that just slide by when other studios do it. While the LOTR EE and Giftsets contain the same versions of the movie with extra discs and features, couldn't the same be said here? Wouldn't the current version contain the same discs as the new release with the 4th disc being like the extra discs in the EE? I'm not doubting the difference in content or films, just the way some say this is a seperate release and the LOTR sets are not.

All that said, unless there are major changes, this "SW Geek" will be passing.

I think everyone will be happier when they realize that they don't need to own everything that is released. If you are happy with your current set, and this set offers nothing new to hook you, then skip it and leave it.

Yeah, but how many people were clamoring for the theatrical cut of Aliens? We still got it, and in a boxset that blows the Star Wars Trilogy boxset out of the water.

Which is the entire point. Nobody is forced to buy every SW release, and I don't think Lucas is targeting this release at people who bought the 4-disc set. Why would he. Nobody would buy this if they already bought the previous set. I think this set is aimed at folks who didn't buy the first set because it was too expensive. This set can probably be had for $30 after store discounts and sales, $35 at most. That's a good $15-20 savings. But yeah, he's trying to make some more money. There's no denying that. The difference is I just don't see a problem with that, even if you're a multi-billionaire. I wouldn't ask Bill Gates to stop making money, just becuase he's worth 40-50 billion.

Bullshit. That skid at Wally full of older releases (28 Days later and such) with new sleeves are useless re-releases. This nset will eliminate what some see as extraneous extras and has a lower MSRP.

But those are singular releases. This is still a boxed set. If they wanted to make a difference they would have released them individually. The people that wanted all 3 of them already bought the set.

Again: if you don't want to buy it, then DON'T. If you already have it, then don't buy it again. If you want to buy it, then please do!

It's really that simple, folks!

Hmmm....Star Wars movies are my all time fav, heck, I even liked the new triology a lot, but no way would I buy another set of something I have, for a box....

Agreed.

Also agreed that this is a mostly useless release. I suspect Lucas gets more flack about something like this, though, because there is an overall stigma attached to him. Many of us have felt burned every time he has changed the original films. We have prayed every time they're re-released that he hasn't made further changes, thus marring the original experience ever more. We share a collective wince at unneeded, and truly cringeworthy, content. Many of us are pissed at Lucas's stubborn refusal to give us the unaltered films.

(One problem I believe the hardcore fans have is that the only availability for the 77/80/83 cuts of the original films is on VHS and laserdisc. But unless you have copies of those that you can backup onto DVD--with video and sound only as good as the source material--the trilogy will one day die completely in its original form.)

The Star Wars trilogy seems to have been re-released countless times; so many times that many of us may feel it's been repackaged just to make more money, possibly including an additional featurette or two to whet the appetite of fans to buy all over again. How many other franchises have been re-released that way? There may be others, but none comes to mind at the moment. This is all part of Lucas's stigma.

I don't think The Lord of the Rings is a fair comparison at this point. It hasn't been around long enough for a lot of pointless re-releases to come forth. And I feel that what they have released is perfectly justified, given the scope of those films and the fanbase they have.

Again--it doesn't matter to me how many times Lucas re-releases any of his films. That is entirely his choice, as it is entirely mine whether I accept or decline what he offers. This post is just my observation of us, the fans of his work, and my ideas as to why we generally feel about him the way we do.

--THX

The 4-disc is the closest I've seen yet to a definitive release, but as nice as Empire of Dreams was, yes, the set as a whole still felt lacking. Not sure what's missing, though. For something like Star Wars, I expect hours of extra content, spread across multiple discs. Perhaps in 2007....

--THX

I think this release has value in that it offers just the movies (no extras disc) and the SRP is $20.00 less. For someone who does not own the current box set and doesn't care about extras, this new set makes more sense. As I said earlier, I will be picking this up as a Christmas gift for someone who fits this.