Germany…
benduwan very kindly provided this quality info for some of the German box set releases (as well as single film releases):-
‘Star Wars auf Video Teil 1: 1982 – 1988’ - www.bantha.de/star-wars-auf-video-1982-1988
‘Star Wars auf Video Teil 2: 1990 – 1993’ - www.bantha.de/star-wars-auf-video-teil-2-1990-1993
‘Star Wars auf Video Teil 3: 1995 – 1995’ - www.bantha.de/star-wars-aus-video-teil-3-1995
‘Star Wars auf Video Teil 4: 1997 – 2000’ - www.bantha.de/star-wars-auf-video-teil-4-1997-2000
^ all thanks, credit & kudos to benduwan 👍
1990
^ from http://www.bantha.de/star-wars-auf-video-teil-2-1990-1993
'In March 1990, a limited collector’s box was released which, in addition to the Star Wars Trilogy, also contained the first Ewok film and the making of “The Star Wars Story”. Actually, this box had nothing in common with the Silver Screen Collection, after all it only contains the book boxes that had already been published.
This box was limited, numbered and was probably sold exclusively through the Sat1 TV shop. By the way, the price at that time was 199, -DM, around 100, - €. This box was advertised when the Star Wars films were shown on television for the first time in Germany, namely on Sat1.’
^ via google translation from the above link.
From benduwan’s personal collection (thank you very much for these photos):-
1991
Image and some info for the German 1991 OT VHS boxset release - from StarWarsOnHomeVideo.com
Some box set images of the 1991 box set:-
^ the widescreen box set
^ the fullscreen box set
^ from www.bantha.de/star-wars-auf-video-teil-2-1990-1993
'In October 1991 the so-called Black Box appeared. The Black Box is a collector’s box from the trilogy. The special thing about this box is that the design probably came from the USA. In the box, the VHS tapes are in cardboard sleeves, as they were common for video tapes in the USA. Bonus material such as the making of “The Star Wars Story” has been completely dispensed with in this box. It only contains the trilogy.
The box consists of two parts, a slipcase with flaps on the sides that contains the straps and a slipcase that is slipped over it. The cover art is the same cover art that was used before.
This is probably the first German-language publication where the customer had the choice between full screen and letterboxed. Letterboxed means that the film is still saved on the video in full-screen format of 4: 3 but in the original cinema format of 2.35: 1. This means that the picture now has two thick black bars above and below. On VHS you often only had the option to see the film in full screen, which means that the entire screen is used, but a lot of image information is lost because something has to be cut off to the left and right of the image.’
^ via google translation from the above link.
1992 (the ‘White Box / Sat1 Box - CBS / Fox Video’ release)
^ from www.bantha.de/star-wars-auf-video-teil-2-1990-1993
'The TV broadcaster Sat1 published its own version of the black box the following year. At that time, Sat1 was the German science fiction broadcaster. In addition to Star Wars, the Star Trek series and films were also broadcast. The only difference between this box and the black box was that this box has a white slipcase with the Sat1 logo.
Unfortunately, it can no longer be determined whether this box was also available in full screen and letterboxed. Probably this box was only available in full screen.’
^ via google translation from the above link.
More information on the white 1992 Sat1 trilogy boxset can be found here:-
www.meine-filmsammlung.de/frame_content.php?fid=244&uid=103130
1995
^ from www.bantha.de/star-wars-aus-video-teil-3-1995
‘This box also appeared as part of the THX edition. This is the same form of packaging that was used before. For the THX edition, the decision was made to use the protagonists’ lightsabers as cover images for the individual films. The cover pictures by John Alvin were only used on the slipcase of the box. However, this box was only published letterboxed and no longer in full screen.
The magazine Video published a limited Collectors Edition, which was limited to 4000 pieces. This is exactly the same box. The only difference is that the video tapes are S-VHS tapes. These are of better quality than normal VHS tapes. But since only the normal video signal is stored on these videos, you can watch this version with any VHS recorder without any problems. However, almost all advantages of the actually better S-VHS format are lost because they are not used.
On the tape of Star Wars there is a short video with test patterns, which should help to set up the television and the Dolby Surround system.’
^ via google translation from the above link.
^ from http://www.bantha.de/star-wars-aus-video-teil-3-1995
‘The 1995 Classic Video Box is a box that was only advertised on television and could only be ordered by telephone. The box is a large and sturdy cardboard box that contains the normal VHS tapes that were already released individually, as well as the making of of Return of the Jedi: Classic Creatures. This is the only publication of this making of. The Classic Creatures box is also in the style of the THX Edition. The Classic Video Box also included a demo version of X-Wing Vs. TIE Fighter.’
^ via google translation from the above link.
1997
Images and some info for the German 1997 Special Edition OT VHS boxset release - from StarWarsOnHomeVideo.com
&
^ from www.bantha.de/star-wars-auf-video-teil-4-1997-2000
'The special edition was also released in a beautiful collector’s box, which was also gold. In Germany this box appeared exclusively in letterboxed. In other countries this box appeared both in full screen and letterboxed and was mostly offered in silver (letterboxed) and gold (full screen).
The interesting thing about this box was that there is a short bonus video in front of the main film, which gives an insight into the creation of the special edition. In Germany, this box was also accompanied by a booklet in which merchandising was advertised.’
^ via google translation from the above link.
2000
^ from www.bantha.de/star-wars-auf-video-teil-4-1997-2000
'This collector’s box is now the last German release of the classic Star Wars trilogy on VHS. This box contains the special edition as it was published 3 years earlier. The biggest difference between the previous releases is that this box is no longer made entirely of cardboard. The slipcase is made of printed plastic with viewing windows.
As bonus material, this box contains a short interview with Bonnie Piesse and Joel Edgerton, the actors of Beru and Owen Lars in episode 2. One or the other will have bought this box solely because of this bonus material. One crucial difference, however, is new. Since this publication there is only “Star Wars” and no “Star Wars” in Germany.’
^ via google translation from the above link.