George Lucas has finally caved in to fan demand for DVD releases of the original theatrical versions of the fist three Star Wars films. Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will grant wishes when the unadulterated Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi arrive at retail on Sept. 12.
Packaged separately as two-disc sets, each film in the first trilogy will feature Dolby 2.0 Surround sound, closed-captioning and subtitles in English, French and Spanish for their U.S. release. International sound and subtitling will vary by territory. What you won’t see is all the digital tinkering Lucasfilm did to prepare the movies for their Special Edition theatrical re-releases. Yes, Han Solo will even shoot first in the Cantina scene.
Lucas previously stated that he would not release the original versions on DVD because he felt that they were unfinished works. In addition to appeasing the fanbase, another round of releases provides the filmmaker and Twentieth Century Fox an opportunity to exploit the franchise over yet another holiday period. The discs will only be on sale through Dec. 31.
“Over the years, a truly countless number of fans have told us that they would love to see and own the original version that they remember experiencing in theaters,” says Jim Ward, president of LucasArts and senior VP of Lucasfilm Ltd. “We returned to the Lucasfilm archives to search exhaustively for source material that could be presented on DVD. This is something that we’re very excited to be able to give to fans in response to their continuing enthusiasm for Star Wars. Topping it off with a new interactive adventure makes September 12 a red-letter day for Star Wars fans.”
The interactive adventure Ward refers to is LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy. The action-packed sequel to one of 2005’s best selling video games promises more tongue-in-cheek humor as it combines classic Star Wars storylines with the endless customization inherent in the LEGO brand. A trailer to the new game from LucasArts and TT Games can be downloaded at www.starwars.com/gaming/videogames/news/lego2trailer.html.
In other Star Wars news, Lucas himself will be honored with an action figure that depicts him dressed in Storm Trooper armor. The Hasbro toy will be offered only to participants in the company’s Ultimate Galactic Hunt program, and will require proof of purchase of five vintage Star Wars action figures.
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