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Current Star Wars Blu-Ray Going Out of Print?

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 (Edited)

Hello all, newbie here, starting my first thread!

Anyway, I've been anxiously awaiting some sort of news regarding an OOT Blu-Ray/DVD release (as I'm sure most of you are) and constantly scouring the web for any updates on this happening. However, one thing I just noticed is that many of the big-box DVD retailers (FYE, Best Buy (online only), Wal-Mart (online only), Amazon) seem to be out of stock on the most recent Blu-Ray set of the OT. This could very well be a coincidence, but on the Amazon page, it says "Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your account will only be charged when we ship the item." Usually when Amazon is expecting more stock they will just say something like "Temporarily out of stock (more on the way)" or something of that nature.

So am I reading too much into this, or is the current Blu-Ray set going out of print to make room for some new set? Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated!

"These films are extremely important both cinematically and as cultural icons, and deserve to be seen in the finest quality possible." -Robert Harris

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Good God, we can only hope so.

Welcome, XWing4492!

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I'm just going to guess Christmas went well for Lucasfilm.

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Welcome aboard.

There's a thread over at dvdtalk.com that charts titles going out of print, so such information shouldn't be too hard to come by. There really isn't much Fox can do except repackage their current releases timed to the new film, *if* they retain the home video rights through 2015.

The trilogy sets with the DVD combos came out just a year or two ago, IIRC?

I imagine lots of things are out of stock right after Christmas though.

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Where were you in '77?

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SilverWook said:

The trilogy sets with the DVD combos came out just a year or two ago, IIRC?

Just over a year ago, and the initial release was two years before that.

Indeed it's a good question just how long and how many times Fox can re-release the existing discs.

Man, if the supply shortages at Amazon and elsewhere are due to the holidays, then there are a lot of unoriginal (pun intended) gift-buyers out there.

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It could just be the slowly building resurgence in Star Wars mania, and/or speculators hoping to cash in when the Blu Rays really go out of print.

Some of the DVD sets command high prices on Ebay these days, especially the GOUT.

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Where were you in '77?

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That right there should be motivation for Disney putting out a newer edition. All the money going to ebay would go to them instead.

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It could very well be that a lot of people got the Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack for Christmas. However, according to savestarwars.com, the GOUT fell out of print months before the announcement was made that it was actually out of print. Again, I'm just speculating here, but I found it odd that all of the big box stores ran out of stock online at the same time, especially given Amazon seeming to state that there's no guarantee of it coming back in stock. But if there was any time for that to happen, it would be Christmas.

"These films are extremely important both cinematically and as cultural icons, and deserve to be seen in the finest quality possible." -Robert Harris

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Much as I'd like to entertain OOT Blu-ray fantasies, my guess is--if it's really going out of print and not merely out of stock--that it has something to do with the fact that the existing "complete saga" set won't be the "complete saga" anymore once Episode VII comes out, and will require new packaging to accommodate the change.

Project Threepio (Star Wars OOT subtitles)

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I worked retail long enough to know that popular items do sell out during the holidays and become impossible to find anywhere but ebay. That said, I'd be shocked if the bd's weren't back in stock within the next week or so. I mean, were the dvd's ever "unavailable" for significant stretches of time?

IIRC, the last release before the 2011 blu-ray was the 2008 trilogy box set repackaging of the '06 release with the ultra-slim dvd cases. Did that also go out of print prior to 2010 when the blu-rays were first announced?

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This is what I found about the 2006 DVD's going out of print from savestarwars.com


September 11th, 2011: 2006 DVD Conatining Original Theatrical Versions Now Out of Print

According to retailers, the 2006 DVDs of the original trilogy, which contained a second bonus disc for each film featuring the original theatrical versions, are no longer being manufactured. Amazon lists it as out-of-print, and no new shipments have been received by retailers for some time now, which has led to their rapidly dwindling numbers in stores. Chances are if you go to your big chain store like Target, Best Buy, Wal-Mart and the like, you won't be able to find them.

This means that it is no longer possible to officially purchase in any format, in any quality, the original versions of the films. The 2006 2-disc DVD sets were always marked as "Limited Edition", but now that has become true in the very real sense of the word. In short, the one thing the original versions clung to life on is now gone.

According to an employee at Barnes and Nobles, they were told by the manufacturer that it had gone out of print in April of this year--just when Blu-ray pre-orders went live. Coincidence? I think not. Lucasfilm deliberately orchestrated this in advance so that those people who are now rejecting the Blu-ray have no alternative. The Special Edition will be the only version offered.

As it happens, those 2-disc 2006 editions were the only original trilogy DVDs being sold, period; the "trilogy packs" you saw on sale contained those editions. Those trilogy packs are also now out of print. This means the 2004 Special Edition is also no longer available now--nor is any DVD version of any version of the film. In a calculated move, Lucasfilm has made it impossible to officially buy anything other than the 2011 Blu-ray. Sneaky buggers.

Of course, the DVDs thrive in second hand stores, used online retailers and e-bay. If you want any of these, better get them now! Even though the release was very heavily criticized because of the poor treatment of the originals (see here to find out why), it is very sad to see them fade away if only because of the symbolic victory of having the original versions technically available to consumers.

"These films are extremely important both cinematically and as cultural icons, and deserve to be seen in the finest quality possible." -Robert Harris

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That's from September 2011, the month the blu-rays actually come out. So we'll probably know about a new release before we know the old blu-rays are out. Until an announcement, it's all speculation.

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DominicCobb said:

That's from September 2011, the month the blu-rays actually come out. So we'll probably know about a new release before we know the old blu-rays are out. Until an announcement, it's all speculation.

Yes it is from September 2011. But you're probably right. My line of thinking was that maybe they were letting them fall out of print, but I see that they went out of print when the Blu-Rays were announced.

Regardless, I am probably reading too much into this, but I thought it was interesting that Amazon made no claim that they would be getting more in stock, which they generally do when they expect it.

"These films are extremely important both cinematically and as cultural icons, and deserve to be seen in the finest quality possible." -Robert Harris

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Amazon was trying to tell me that the OT Blu-ray set was on sale and it was like #1 on the Blu-ray deals list, so I think they may just be sold out because of Christmas.

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doubleofive said:

Amazon was trying to tell me that the OT Blu-ray set was on sale and it was like #1 on the Blu-ray deals list, so I think they may just be sold out because of Christmas.

Wow, that's a lot of coal.  People, try harder to be good next year.

Project Threepio (Star Wars OOT subtitles)

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Poor fox. Sad that fox don't have the rights to the movies anymore. They were faithful to the series through it all.

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They'll always have IV. Disney can't take that away from them.

Sometimes, I wish Fox could renew distribution (or at the very least Disney keeps all the Fox references intact) because I always felt Fox was Star Wars' true home.

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ThiefCobbler4ever said:

They'll always have IV. Disney can't take that away from them.

Tell Disney that when they decide to release a 1-9 boxset.

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"The Complete Saga" blu rays will go out of print very soon. 

The Person in Question

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darklordoftech said:

ThiefCobbler4ever said:

They'll always have IV. Disney can't take that away from them.

Tell Disney that when they decide to release a 1-9 boxset.

 They could always sublicense it (studios have been doing that lately, look at the Chucky and Terminator Blu-ray sets).