Rumors About The 30th Anniversary DVD Set
By T-bone
Published: August 13, 2006
May 25th, 2007, as some of you may well know, will bring about the 30th anniversary of the original release of Star Wars in theaters. You don't really think that the Lucasfilm marketing machine would let such a momentous occasion go without trying to sell you anything and everything possible with a Star Wars logo on it, do you? Of course not. So here are a few rumors about what you might see next year, according to a source that unfortunately wishes to remain anonymous but I trust completely. I'm sure that big Celebration IV will tie into this all as well.
I know that anonymous sources tend to lead people to thinking the story is made up but you'll have to just trust me or wait and see. Things can change I'm sure but things are in motion now that should come to fruition next year. If I label something a rumor, it is just that - a rumor. Please take it as such. Moving on...
What I'm hearing sounds like it's not going to be a simple "Here is the new set" blitz. It's going to, once again, incorporate the soundtracks, the convention and yes, more tinkering to the DVDs. I'll repeat that - MORE tinkering to the FILMS. Yes, more changes to the Star Wars films. By now, this shouldn't exactly be "news" to anyone. I think fans almost expect that with every release of every Lucasfilm DVD from here on in (and maybe that was the idea), there are probably going to be some kind of changes, be it a transition (dissolve to wipe, perhaps) or a completely new scene.
Let’s start with the soundtracks. The complete scores are allegedly going to be released in one big boxed set but my source tells me that the audio quality will not be as good as the current releases for some reason. Now I’m not a stickler with CDs and I don’t go nuts with audio quality. If it sounds good on my iPod, I’m fine with it. If it sounds good on the computer or whatever, great. I can notice big changes but when it comes down to it, I won’t be ticked off if it’s a little off in quality, though I’d expect newer releases to sound better than the previous ones.
That said, the only thing my source told me about the soundtracks is that they “…will not sound as good as the current discs. They will sound like every other John Williams 'muffled' release.” I’m not 100% sure what that means, exactly but I’m sure some of you soundtrack lovers and John Williams fanatics out there will know what he’s talking about. The status quo probably won’t take issue but if you already have them, you might not need to buy them again.
This time, I’m not falling prey to the soundtrack trap like I did with the 2004 version. They ensnared me into buying the silver boxed set of soundtracks because inside were supposed to be some exclusive screensavers and I thought to myself, “Hey, that’s good enough to make me buy these again, even though I already have them. I’m getting something else I don’t have. Great.” So I took the CDs and installed the screensavers. I tried out the one for EMPIRE and up came the wonderful logo followed by…a bunch of expanded universe artwork that had NOTHING to do with the film. Thinking it was a quirk, I tried the other two screensavers and it was the same thing. Bring up the FILM logo and then show images that have NOTHING to do with the film. Who’s the genius that devised that plan? I sure hope they’re not working there anymore. I almost threw the CDs out the window.
So if you have the soundtracks, you might want to think about whether or not you really need this new set of music. Chances are, you have it all, but if you don’t have all of the soundtracks this might be a good set to invest in. We’ll have to see what the details are but this time I’ll be very skeptical of the bonus features, if any.
Now, on to the films. From what I understand, George Lucas is going back once again to make even more changes to the Star Wars films. What those changes are and what films in particular they are going to show up in, I don’t know yet. As soon as my rumor mill starts to flow on those, I will let you know. All I know is that my source tells me that it’s going to happen for this new box to be released next year.
Frankly, I find it funny that Lucas will spend more money on these films but won’t give the unaltered versions a correct anamorphic transfer. Perhaps he will for this new set. We’ll have to wait until the details start to come out. Something in my gut is telling me the unaltered versions will not show up, but that’s my gut, not a rumor. It could happen.
All I know is you should probably start saving up your money now if you plan on buying this thing because it’ll probably be a monster and will probably come in a few different variations. Technically, it could run at around $150 or in that ballpark when you consider it’s 2 discs per film, at least, and then there’s bound to be at least one bonus disc, if not two. Plus they’ll probably throw in some garbage like game demos or little coins or pewter figures or whatever they dream up that they think will make the set more appealing to fans because let’s face it, outside of the normal DVD enthusiasts, the only other people buying this mega-set are going to be fans of the films. Most other people already have them or will be buying them individually this year.
Ok, so there’s one more little rumor I need to throw into the mix here that’s somewhat related but came bundled with the info I was given, so let’s get it out there and see if it sticks. The Star Wars Anniversary Set that’s coming next year is going to be the big item for 2007, but what about 2008? Well, Lucasfilm is allegedly working on another Indiana Jones boxed set for the 2008 Holiday season, so have no fear those of you who like to spend money.
Think about the timing though. The new Indiana Jones film seems to have finally been given the go ahead and if all goes well, we could see it in theaters in either late 2007 or early 2008. That gives the marketing machine plenty of time to promote a new Indy set for 4th quarter, 2008 but with the NEW film included. Again, that’s just my gut there. The only info I was given was that there’s another Indy box being prepped for 2008. I’m reading into the rumor.
See, I have to say this stuff because the last time I posted some rumors about the digital arm of ILM possibly moving to India or somewhere out of California, some Lucasfilm employees got all pissy with me and decided to trash me publicly without even contacting me first to ask about the article. There was talk about how the fan sites need to keep themselves in check and sometimes need to be taken down a notch, etc. That sort of negativity isn't going to do anyone any good. I’ve been posting rumors for 10 years now so this should be nothing new to them. In fact, this source tells me that the main reason they haven’t moved ILM yet is because of the work they’re doing for the Anniversary set. I never said they were moving tomorrow so we’ll see if this all pans out one day. If not, no big deal, right? I get the rumors, I report them – that’s it. If they’re wrong, I’m the one that has to worry about it and believe me, I don’t.
So anyhow – get your wallets ready folks. It looks like 2007 is going to be full of surprises! As soon as I hear more on these rumors, confirming or denying, I will let you know. Until then, take them as you will.