Approx. value of Star Wars Trilogy on LD? (1 Viewer)

[Ted Lee]

hi all -

i did a search but couldn't find any info on this topic.

my uncle was wondnering if his trilogy set on ld is "worth anything"? by that, i mean, is it in the collectible category or is it still readily available?

i'm not sure if there's more than one version on ld (he has the widescreen for sure) so any info on that would also be appreciated.

finally, what do you all think the current value would be? he told me he paid like 10 bucks each!

thanks,

ted

 

[David Lambert]

I think he should sell me all three for $10 each...

 

[Michael Reuben]

i'm not sure if there's more than one version on ld (he has the widescreen for sure) so any info on that would also be appreciated.

There were at least five (5) widescreen versions on LD. The value of your uncle's discs will vary widely depending on which version he has.

M.

 

[Scott_MacD]

Have a search on eBay for the Star Wars Laserdiscs, and then refine the search to "Completed Items"

From this, extrapolate the approximate value of his laserdiscs by using the average value for his particular set.

IMHO, the highest value LDs are the Definitive Collection. (THX CAV non-SE versions with good extras, and a book)

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

The most common version is the "faces" THX edition of the trilogy in widescreen. They sold for $10 new (I got a set two years back from Ken Cranes for $9.99 each). Those seem to fetch about $15-30 a pop these days (obviously $25-30 and up is reserved for sealed copies).
Usually you see the trilogy of "face" LDs sell for around $50-75 on ebay (Sometimes as high as $80-90 if sealed).
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=1535307432
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=1534025299
The definitive collection gets a bit more ($100++), but since he paid $10 each, I'll assume he doesn't have that version.
-Vince

 

[Ted Lee]

great info guys. thanks!
i suspect he does have the 'faces' version (those are the ones with darth, yoda, etc?)...but i'll ask him otherwise.
again, thanks much.

 

[Matt Stone]

Yah...the faces version is the one with Darth, Stormtrooper, and Yoda on the covers.

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Ted,
One other note- you can check this further by looking into the various sales of these discs here on the forum:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...threadid=69443
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...threadid=66160
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...threadid=56776
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...threadid=27808
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...threadid=27496
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...&threadid=2492
Etc...

 

[alan halvorson]

Ebay prices fluctuate. Right now, the Definitive Collection gets pretty good money, often over $100, sometimes as much as $150. The SE box set varies all over the place. I've gotten excellent sets for $35 and $50. I recently sold a sealed set for $200. The THX (the "faces" versions) are as above. To me, all fullscreen versions, and the original widescreen (non-THX) release are worth nothing; however, they still often sell, albeit for low numbers.

Then there's the Japanese imports .......

 

[Ted Lee]

cool...thanks for the additional info and links.

 

[Nathan*W]

the "faces" THX edition of the trilogy in widescreen. They sold for $10 new

Just a nit, Vince, but they sold for a fair bit more than that "new". In '97 I paid around $40 for each title at Suncoast. (the full retail price king)

 

[Nick Graham]

Nathan a couple of years back when Ken Crane's was starting to liquidate their LDs, you could get them for $10 new. And about 2-3 months ago, when they were finally clearing out all of the remaining LDs, you could snag them for $5.00 or less, sealed. I wish I had acted then, but I was stupid and assumed they would be on DVD sooner than later.

 

[John P Grosskopf]

There were at least five (5) widescreen versions on LD.

Not domestically in the US, as there were only four (4) widescreen LD releases here. If you count the entire world however, there were way more than five including multiple releases worldwide in a bunch of different languages.

Below are listed the original list prices for all Domestic US laserdisc releases of the Star Wars Trilogy films:

The 1982 Pan and Scan CLV LDs (analog audio) listed for $34.98 each title (no Jedi, as it was not theatrically released until 1983).

The 1982 Pan and Scan CAV LDs (analog audio) listed for $64.98 each title (no CAV Jedi, as it was not thatrically released until 1983). [Hope - # 1130-84, Empire- #1425-84]

The 1989 Widescreen CLV/CAV-{Jedi side 3} LD's (digital audio) listed for $69.98 each title.

The 1992/1993 Pan and Scan CLV LD's (digital audio) listed for $34.98 each title ($44.95 for Jedi being a two [2] disc set).

The late 1993 THX CAV Definitive Collection Widescreen Box Set (remixed/remastered digital audio) listed for $249.98 ($83.34 per title).

The 1995 THX CLV Widescreen LD's (the same transfer as Definitive box set) listed for $59.98 each title.

The 1997 THX CLV/CAV-{sides 3 of New Hope & Empire} Special Edition Widescreen Box set (remixed/mastered 5.1 Dolby Digital audio) listed for $124.98 ($41.66 each title).

I own all of these releases, having recently found a beat-up copy of the CAV P&S Empire at a half-prce books.

The circle is now complete.

 

[alan halvorson]

John: About those 1992/1993 P&S releases - are you certain? After the original CLV and CAV releases, way back in 1982, all domestic versions have been widescreen. I have been active in LD since 1983 and simply can't recall any such animals. If I am wrong, I certainly would like to be pointed to a set, say, on Ebay (just to satisfy my curiosity). Got any photos?

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Didn't the 'faces' discs have a retail price reduction at reissue? I think $40 MSRP was the new pricing for a large reissue.

 

[Michael Reuben]

If you count the entire world however

I did. I've owned all four domestic widescreen releases, and a friend owned a Japanese release. So I knew of five; I added "at least" because I was pretty sure there were other versions, and apparently I was right.

M.

 

[Dave H]

Just curious - how much better do the 1995 THX Widescreen releases look than the 1989 Widescreen versions?

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

The 1989 widescreen Star Wars seemed to me to be too tightly letterboxed, though I no longer own a copy and can't do a direct comparison to the THX disc.

 

[John P Grosskopf]

John: About those 1992/1993 P&S releases - are you certain? After the original CLV and CAV releases, way back in 1982, all domestic versions have been widescreen.

Positve, as I own them. Apparantly the P&S releases were done to give those who didn't like widescreen a chance to own them on LD. The joke was on them as quality was very poor.

The discs for A New Hope were made from the first Beta and VHS linear stereo "Rental" versions. Though the sound is digital, it is very hissy and has little dynamic range, and was simply ported over from the master tape. The picture quality is crappola as well, and the film is time compressed to fit on one disc at 118 minutes.

Empire and Jedi come from VHS masters as well. Empire is time compressed to one disc and Jedi is spread over two on three sides. Sound on both of these is much better that A New Hope.

I have made the following three (3) clarifications to my above post:

The list price for the P&S Jedi (CLV) was $44.95 because it was a two (2) disc set and could not be time compressed to fit on one disc.

There were no 1982 Pan and Scan CLV or CAV LDs of Jedi, as it was not theatrically released until 1983.

 

[Michael Reuben]

Just curious - how much better do the 1995 THX Widescreen releases look than the 1989 Widescreen versions?

I no longer have the 1989 release to compare, but I found the improvements in the THX remasters to be substantial. The biggest improvement was with Jedi, which was a grainy mess on the 1989 disc.

M.