Back in May of this year, LucasFilm announced that fans would finally be able to get their hands on shiny, HD versions of George Lucas' epic space opera Star Wars with the release of Star Wars: The Complete Saga on Blu-ray, which is set to arrive on September 12th here in the UK and hits North America four days later. The nine-disc box set includes all six episodes - The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi - and is packed with an extensive collection of special features, never-before-seen footage and more (see here for a complete breakdown). Since the arrival of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace in 1999, George Lucas has come in for some pretty severe criticism for his handling of the series and with countless spin-offs and re-releases over the past couple of years, it's easy to see why an increasing number of fans have accused the filmmaker of squeezing every last penny out of his creation. Along with the continuing Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated TV series, the arrival of the Star Wars Blu-ray is accompanied by the home-entertainment release of the television special LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace (which is actually worth checking out) and plans are already well underway for a live-action series, a new animated show and 3D theatrical re-releases of all six movies beginning in February 2012.
As expected, recent reports have confirmed that Lucas has continued his tradition of tinkering with the films, touching up a number of effects shots, replacing the Yoda puppet from Episode I with a CGI version, adding eyelids to Ewoks and inserting a "Noooo!" as Vader disposes of The Emperor. No doubt this will further frustrate Star Wars purists, and from a personal perspective, I have to say I wasn't overly keen on forking out for the same movies for the umpteenth time - until I saw the trailer, that is...
Now, seeing as I have absolutely no interest in the 3D versions, the Blu-ray release seems like a perfect opportunity for one last hurrah to the Star Wars galaxy. So with that in mind, over the next two weeks Flickering Myth will celebrating the arrival of The Complete Saga by counting down the most memorable Star Wars moments, starting tomorrow and running until the U.K. release on the 12th. Feel free to stop by and share your Star Wars memories, and to get you in the mood, cast your eye over some of these articles from our archive...
Hot Rods & Droids: A George Lucas Profile
Trevor Hogg examines the career of the Star Wars creator in a six-part profile.
Essential Star Wars Bit Parts
The greatest minor characters from Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.
A collection of articles detailing the making of the Star Wars saga...
Bringing Star Wars to the Screen - Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
Bringing Star Wars to the Screen - Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
Bringing Star Wars to the Screen - Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
Bringing Star Wars to the Small Screen - The Star Wars Holiday Special
Bringing Star Wars to the Small Screen - Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure
Bringing Star Wars to the Small Screen - Ewoks: Battle for Endor
Bringing Star Wars to the Small Screen - The Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour
Empire Building: The Making of The Empire Strikes Back
Reviews...
Star Wars: Robot Chicken Episode II
Star Wars: The Clone Wars - The Complete Season One
Turning the Page: The Making of The Empire Strikes Back by J.W. Rinzler
Our countdown begins here.
Gary Collinson
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