Stop me if you've heard this one before: "The full set of six Star Wars movies is being released on home video."
That old chestnut is true again this year, as all six movies in the George Lucas-created sci-fi series are being packed together into a single box set. There are a few unique features to this latest release, which is set for Sept. 16. For one, it's the first time any Star Wars film has officially been committed to the high-def Blu-ray format. For those who buy the Complete Saga box set, it's also the first time you'll be able to get all six chapters in the series in a single place. Five chapters, if you prefer to view The Phantom Menace as an unfortunate work of fan fiction.
There's another unique facet of this box set, one that is well worth getting excited about: 40 hours of bonus content. Today is May 4 ("May the 4th be with you"), which means it's a perfect time for Lucasfilm to reveal the details of that extra material. There isn't anything quite as awesome as a full breakdown of what the deleted footage is ... but I challenge all those who consider themselves fans of the series to not be bowled over by the sheer volume of content here.
Read on for the (very lengthy) rundown. Note that the two individual trilogy sets just contain the movies and on-disc bonus content. The final three discs are only packed into The Complete Saga.
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.