If you’re like me and have been waiting for prices to come down a bit on the Star Wars Blu-rays and DVDs (especially for the original trilogy), this might be welcome news for you.
According to Collider, Disney, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox will be releasing all six Star Wars films on Digital HD on April 10. What exactly does that mean? You’ll be able to buy the individual movies or the entire collection at iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, PlayStation Store, VUDU, Xbox video and Verizon Fios.
Additionally, each movie will come with two new, previously unseen bonus feature videos, Star Wars: Discoveries From Inside and Conversations. The features will be different with each individual movie. For example, The Empire Strikes Back will include “The Lost Interviews” and Attack of the Clones includes “Costumes Revealed.” (Was there really a debate about the color of the coat Han Solo wore on the planet Hoth in Empire? Wow.)
An assortment of previously released extras pertaining to each film will be included on each release, as well. Collider has a list of the extras included with each of the movies.
One important note — and this question popped into my head as soon as I heard about these new releases: The versions of the films will be the same currently available on Blu-Ray. So the first three Star Wars films will not be the original cuts, they’ll be the George Lucas-altered “Special Editions.” Greedo will still be shooting first, folks. That’s kind of disappointing, though not a surprise.
Pricing information isn’t entirely available and may vary based on retailer. But a glimpse at iTunes reveals that each individual film will be available for $19.99 in either HD or SD format. A bundle is not yet for sale. According to The Verge, the entire collection will be available on Google Play for $89, with each individual film also on sale for $19.99. So it appears that’s going to be the running rate for these releases.
But if you’re someone who doesn’t really buy Blu-rays or DVDs anymore, if for no other reason than you don’t want to give up shelf space (I’m raising my hand over here), and prefers his or her movies on a hard drive or the cloud, this is exciting news. If you were hoping for the Star Wars saga to be available for streaming on Netflix or Amazon, maybe this is a bit of a bummer.
Or maybe you already own these movies on VHS and DVD (an old roommate of mine has them on Laserdisc), and this is kind of a shrug for you. If so, great job, kid — don’t get cocky. Let the rest of us have our fun.
[Collider]
