On Sept. 16 internationally, die-hard fans of the six-film "Star Wars" saga can have one-stop shopping: The entire series will be released on Blu-ray.
It will include the six films, and extensive extra material from the Lucasfilm archives: vintage documentaries and audio commentaries, interviews, retrospectives and more.
There is something for every generation in the 40-plus hours of features. Early fans may remember the 1977 "Making of 'Star Wars'" documentary, which included interviews with director George Lucas and stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher. A special-effects documentary in 1980 was hosted by Hamill about the making of "The Empire Strikes Back." And for more recent fans there are "'Star Wars' Spoofs" from TV's "Family Guy," "How I Met Your Mother" and more.
Among the treasures are deleted, extended and alternate scenes. One, from 1983's "Return of the Jedi," was shown at last year's Celebration V in Orlando. It shows Luke Skywalker building a lightsaber on Tatooine. Audio commentaries, including ones from the 1970s and 1980s, accompany each film.
Other features include a tribute to the global organization of stormtroopers, the 501st Legion, and the "Anatomy of a Dewback," which is the reptilian mount in the Tatooine deserts in the original film. (You knew that, didn't you?)
There will also be separate box sets for Episodes I-III ("The Phantom Menace," "Attack of the Clones," "Revenge of the Sith") and Episodes IV-VI ("Star Wars," "The Empire Strikes Back," "Return of the Jedi.")
Lucasfilm plans a 3-D version of "Episode I: The Phantom Menace," expected to be released in theaters in 2012.
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