STAR WARS ON BLU-RAY - FALL 2011 - Page 34

 From The Digital Bits today:

 

Finally, here's more very cool Blu-ray news. We've finally learned that when the Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray set streets on 9/16, in addition to the previously released audio commentaries with Lucas and members of the production crew, each film will include a second commentary as well culled together from archival interviews with cast and crew members. What's more, you'll get 45 deleted and extended scenes in all (!), plus new cast and crew interviews and packed interactive galleries featuring images of matte paintings and concept art, as well as "turnarounds" of props, maquettes, models and costumes. Interesting. The 45 deleted/extended scenes look to be the real treasure trove. Should be some interesting stuff in there.

 

http://digitalbits.com/#mytwocents

 

Also the following link is from a few days earlier at The Digital Bits. It shows new images of the collection (as well as the OT/PT trilogy packs) and a deleted scenes trailer.

 

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/mytwocentsa195.html#072611

Isnt the scene shot with the HD camera on Episode I where Anakin talks to Qui Gonn at night and he takes a sample of his blood?

Wow that is great news about the deleted scenes

http://classification.gov.au/www/cob/find.nsf/5b6ebdff7f5b9a24ca2575ca00062226/092283bfb1b1eae4ca2578b8005d6795?OpenDocument

Discs 7, 8, and 9 have a total running time of 927 minutes

Keep in mind that those 45 deleted scenes likely cover all 6 films, and each of the three prequels had substantial deleted scenes on each of their DVD releases. Not suggesting there isn't a lot to look forward to from the original trilogy, but 45 scenes seems way too high.

Very interesting. Notice that Kevin Burns and Richard Schickel are listed as "publishers?" I wonder what that means?

 

Yeah, my guess is that about 15 of those 45 are from the first three movies.

EDIT: Going off of my memory, there's not too many deleted scenes.

Star Wars
- Luke working on a vaporator in the desert and looking up at the Star Destroyer and Blockade Runner battle
- Luke going to Tosche Station and reuniting with Biggs
- Biggs telling Luke that he's joining up with the Rebels
- Vader and an Imperial talking to each other in a Death Star hallway (a quick scene that's redubbed and used in The Holiday Special)

The Empire Strikes Back
- the various wampa scenes

Return Of The Jedi
- Luke building his lightsaber
- the sandstorm scene
- Vader Force choking Moff Jerjerrod on the Death Star
- Han shooting it out in the Endor bunker

Also, there's the original edit of Star wars with the original version of the Cantina scene and other differences (some big and some small). I'm sure there's a few scenes that I forgot and of course, there's lines of dialogue that were removed, alternate takes or abandoned stuff (like the Mon Calamari pilot that was in the deleted scene montage that came out last week) that might have been in trailers or stills but in terms of completed scenes, there's not alot cut out.


Don't quote me but it probably just means that they're producers of the discs or listed as producers of some of the content on there.
Edited by TravisR - 7/28/11 at 7:22am

It would also appear all 6 films were submitted for classification again in Australia. Does that mean changes or do they have to be resubmitted whenever they are released ? It even says the versions are "modified" though I assume this could mean from the changes to the originals.

Edit : actually is says Episode i and 2 are "originals" whereas Episode 3, 4, 5 ,6 are "modified"

I'd be stunned if there aren't at least minor adjustments to all 6 movies.

As for that deleted scenes list above, I agree that's it for what I'd expect to see from Star Wars. From Empire, there's also the beginning of the scene with Luke recovering after the Wampa attack (where he has that mask on half of his face and talks to Leia) and the part where Lando has to get out and grab Luke off the top of the Falcon beneath Cloud City. Jedi has a lot of bits and pieces, but I think it's a ton of extensions (especially the Sarlacc and Death Star battles) and also the part with the Rancor that was always pictured in kids' books where Luke tries to escape by jumping out of the pit and his hands are bashed by the Jawas and other creatures. There's also the sail barge bit in Jedi where C-3PO gets involved in translating an argument between two of the aliens.

Those 45 scenes probably include every scene from the prequels that were on the DVDs. Does anyone know how many there were?

What do they mean by MODIFIED?

Hopefully we will get the color correction and new stuff added in.

 

I noticed that, too. And each of the 6 films are listed as being hundreds of minutes long, which I assume counts all of the bonus material included on discs 1 - 6 in the set?

Did Kevin Burns not produce Empire of Dreams ?

Richard Schickel produced the following :
The Making of Star Wars
SPFX: The Empire Strikes Back+
From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga

Phantom had 7 deleted scenes on the DVD, Clones had 8 deleted scenes, and Sith had 6.  That's not to say there couldn't be more on the Blu-rays, but that's what was on the DVDs. (I don't have them in front of me; I looked up the reviews for each on The Digital Bits.) But that's 21 scenes total.

 

Kevin Burns did produce Empire of Dreams, and Schickel did the three documentaries you mention. Schickel did not produce Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi, the 1983 doc narrated by Carrie Fisher, which is listed as being an extra on the blu-ray set.

Thanks for the count. If those are counted among the 45, there still might be some big holes in what we're getting (probably with the prequel deleted scenes that haven't been seen yet).

I just took a look at my DVDs but Sam beat me to the punch with the numbers. I think it's safe to assume that those 21 scenes are on the Blu-rays and say that at least 10 of the scenes that I listed are on there, that's still about 15 other scenes. I'm sure most of those are from the prequels and they're probably mostly scene extensions (like you said about Luke with the bandage on his face in The Empire Strikes Back) or they will have no effects at all or will be pre-viz but they seem to be digging deep into the deleted scenes for this release.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I did not know that, and I haven't seen those docs since the 1980's.
 

 

Given how much Lucas always wants to tell people that he had it all planned from the beginning, I'm guessing that any deleted or extended scenes that contradict stuff that would later show up in sequels/prequels will not be included (I'm thinking primarily of Obi-Wan telling Luke in Jedi that Owen was actually Obi-Wan's brother).

I just noticed that the British Blu-Ray set has been classified BBFC 12.

As the one episode censored in the UK, "Attack of the Clones", was rated BBFC PG, it could mean that it could get published uncut for the first time.

Was that in the script? I know it's in the novelization but I can't remember if that was part of the script or if it was some backstory that Lucas gave to the novelist. Even if it was shot, I agree that's really unlikely that it'll be on the set.

There are a couple other deleted bits from Empire. The walk through Cloud City had an outdoor scene shot against blue screen, (a still of this was on the official site) and a training scene with Yoda throwing metal rods into the air for Luke to cut with his saber.

I hope we get to see the bit from Star Wars where our heroes hide their guns and try to casually walk past some imperial officers on the Death Star. (This occurs right before they get to the window overlooking the hangar bay with the Falcon.) That just cracks me up.

I'm pretty sure it's in Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays as something that was shot, because I don't think I ever read the novelization.

I'd love to get any extra training bits with Luke on Dagobah. I've never seen anything to make me think all of that was shot, but they probably still have at least the practical elements with Hamill on the set completed.

Oscar Merxx is correct.

With respect to this set, Kevin Burns is an executive producer of "Star Wars Tech" from disc 9. Richard Schickel was a writer for "The Making of Star Wars" and writer/producer for "The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX", both on disc 9.

Photographic evidence does exist.

^ Just like the Wampa scene, it looks like they bit off more than they could chew (in terms of convincingly using puppets and costumes) and that's why they were dropped.

Cool. Thanks. I think the Marvel Comics adaptation also included a scene with a couple of those remotes from Star Wars being used by Luke on Dagobah. Is there any evidence that that was filmed?

I could already see why the Wampa parts were cut from that little bit in the deleted scenes preview, looking at how the arms are flailing about in the background.

Muppets and other Henson creatures of the era had no problem throwing objects into the air. The scene could have just as easily been cut for time or pacing. Hopefully, we'll get to see the footage either way.

If Luke vs. remotes was filmed, I haven't seen any stills that suggest it yet. The old "pay to view" hyperspace section of the official site seems to be gone, and fan sites only seem to retain a fraction of the exclusive photos that were shown.

Regarding classification in Australia -- sometimes you read on the backs of dvds or blurays released in the US "Special Features Not Rated', which includes documentaries and audio commentaries -- in Australia, when anything is reissued, it goes back through the classification board and everything is looked at, including new special features and commentary tracks -- often some movies have 'special edition' treatment and their rating classification changes from one release to another.

For example Australia is probably the only place on Earth where "The Ten Commandments" has a PG rating with a line 'low level coarse language' with it. People scratch their head and wonder 'where's THAT language in this picture?'.

It isn't -- someone says 'shit' a couple of times in the audio commentary, hence the PG rating. It would have been rated M (Mature Audiences) if the direct quotation from one of the extras who worked on the movie, asking what they had to do and who to, to get off the movie, had been used.

Also the movie version of "McHale's Navy" is now rated PG for 'low level violence, adult themes' and has been G everywhere else for nearly 50 years. So the censors are pretty tough down here.

As at least two of the "Star Wars" prequels got M ratings, this new boxset will probably go with an M rating as well.

Hey look - a 'sneak peek' at some of the bonus material.
A nice look at the models/model makers of Star Wars... followed by clips featuring CGI ships (slaps forehead!!!). Oh boy........ (is Lucas pretending these were always the original shots now?). Looks like we're stuck with the pink engines too (which I assume also doesn't bode well for Vader's lightsaber colours being fixed either):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbSp7L9nnps&feature=youtu.be