Before you ask: It appears that these are the Special Edition versions of the original trilogy (the ones that came to Blu-ray not too long ago), not the "Han shot first" versions purists really want.
With that out of the way: Disney is preparing to release the current saga of Star Wars films -- all six episodes -- in Digital HD. And if for some weird reason you've been waiting until that happens to jump on board with the series, you don't have long to wait. All six films will be available on Friday, April 10. You can purchase them as a set or individually on various digital retailers such as iTunes, Amazon and Xbox Video.
The kinda crazy part, though, is the price. To get the entire digital collection on Amazon will cost you $99.99. That's $16.67 per movie. If you wanna buy 'em individually, they're $19.99 each.
It would actually be cheaper to just buy the saga on Blu-ray via Amazon, which is currently $89.96 (though to be fair to Disney ... kind of ... the list price on that item is $139.99).
Vudu has the complete digital series available to pre-order for a bit cheaper: $89.99. Still very pricey for a bunch of old movies, without a ton of extras, especially since three of them aren't the versions fans have been clamoring for.
Oh, and a weird and crazy detail? A footnote on that Vudu product page says, "* Disney Movies Anywhere not available for Star Wars: A New Hope (Episode IV)." So Disney will apparently allow you to stream your Star Wars movies wherever you want, unless you want to watch the original one. How does that make any sense?
Anyway, Lucasfilm is throwing in some (not many) extras with the package. A list of those extras (direct from StarWars.com) is below, though they note that "Digital bonus offerings may vary by retailer."
Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace
- Conversations: Doug Chiang Looks Back
- Discoveries From Inside: Models & Miniatures
- Legacy content includes "The Beginning"; The Podrace: Theatrical Edit; plus eight deleted scenes.
Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
- Conversations: Sounds In Space
- Discoveries From Inside: Costumes Revealed
- Legacy content includes "From Puppets To Pixels: Digital Characters In Episode II"; State Of The Art: The Previsualization Of Episode II; and "Films Are Not Released, They Escape"; plus Episode II Visual Effects Breakdown Montage and six deleted scenes.
Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
- Conversations: The Star Wars That Almost Was
- Discoveries From Inside: Hologram & Bloopers
- Legacy content includes documentaries "Within A Minute: The Making Of Episode III"; The Journey Part 1; and The Journey Part 2; plus six deleted scenes.
Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope (20th Century Fox)
- Conversations: Creating A Universe
- Discoveries From Inside: Weapons & The First Lightsaber
- Legacy content includes "Anatomy Of A Dewback"; Star Wars Launch Trailer; plus eight deleted scenes.
Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
- Conversations: The Lost Interviews
- Discoveries From Inside: Matte Paintings Unveiled
- Legacy content includes "A Conversation With The Masters" (2010); "Dennis Muren: How Walkers Walk"; "George Lucas On Editing The Empire Strikes Back1979"; and "George Lucas On The Force: 2010"; plus six deleted scenes.
Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
- Conversations: The Effects
- Discoveries From Inside: The Sounds Of Ben Burtt
- Legacy content includes "Classic Creatures: Return Of The Jedi"; "Revenge Of The Jedi Teaser Trailer"; Return Of The Jedi Launch Trailer; "It Began TV Spot"; "Climactic Chapter TV Spot"; plus five deleted scenes.
