[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxUr8Z4iDpk]
Disney announced today that the entire Star Wars saga will finally be available for digital HD download later this week, marking the first time ever that the films have been offered in this format.
As confirmed in the TV spot above and the iTunes tweet below, the entire collection will be available to purchase from the iTunes Store this Friday. Pre-orders are already up and running, with each movie coming in at $19.99 for both SD and HD versions.
[tweet https://twitter.com/iTunesMovies/status/585271865679060992 align=’center’]
If you want to save some money on all six installments, you can pick up the whole series for $89.99 on Amazon, versus $119.99 on iTunes. If you do buy on iTunes, you’ll be able to sync your purchases with Disney Movies Everywhere and download copies through alternate outlets like Google’s Play Store.
Each movie will also include hours of new bonus material featuring, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes looks at the making of all six movies, and interviews with the cast and crew.
Earlier this year Apple’s iTunes Trailers website was among the first outlets to debut the trailer for the upcoming seventh Star Wars movie.
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These movies are so freaking old I don’t know why anyone cares anymore. For anyone who truly loves science fiction they weren’t really that good to begin with.
I can’t believe I’ve been able to stop laughing long enough to type… Oh, can’t hold off any longer back to laughing. (at you, not with you).
But there is NEW BONUS material.
It’s not about what it has that is important here it’s important because of how it’s being offered. The only reason I still have a device that can play disc based media is Star Wars and Hayao Miyazaki films. Now all I need is some love for Studio Ghibli work and I can throw out my crappy WalMart brand DVD player.
I’m guessing by your comment your either a) an idiot b) someone who has never seen the original trilogy or c) think that there is nothing inherently good that came out before a certain time frame. There a reason why films today have writers and directors that reference scenes from these films to get their point across of what a scene needs to do. I’ve been in way to many rooms going over scripts when someone say “it’s like that scene in Star Wars when…”
d) a troll
Star Wars never was science fiction. It’s a space tale, and IMHO a very entertaining one.
Guys do not feed the troll, please
Who the hell would buy an SD version for the same price as HD?
Who the hell buys SD at all?
I hate to say it, but I do quite frequently on iTunes, but only if it’s cheaper. Often times the SD version is $5 cheaper and depending on the movie I don’t care. Their SD looks great. If my wife wants a romantic comedy or something then I’ll buy it in SD, but a big blockbuster with effects I always do HD.
SD saves space on tablets which is great if you have kids and you like to load up movies for xcountry trips.
Ah, but are they the original films or the “Han shot in self-defense” remakes with all the extra explosions and space lizards?
My question exactly! What version is this? If it’s the crappy Lucas add-on versions then I’ll stick with my original theatrical digital versions. I can’t stand the singing cgi character in Jabba’s palace. It seriously ruined the movie for me.
The iTMS version of A new hope is 124 minutes long which is the same as the special edition version (the original release is 121 minutes).
I’m going to go ahead and guess: US only, right?
No, not right
In Europe only localised versions are available. For example, in Switzerland the movies would be in German. It is quite painful to watch German version of Star Wars, in my personal opinion.
Why no iTunes bundle price? This is a high price. Most Fox films are $15. So I figured $90 individually or $70 for a bundle. I’m guessing that Disney is pricing these, hence the Disney Movies Anywhere tie in, which is a nice bonus, but this is nuts. These are catalog movies at best. I doubt there are many people who want these that don’t already have a copy or two already.
Seriously, though, I’ve bought these on VHS a few times, LaserDisc twice, DVD a couple times, and BD. at least 8-9 times. To pay $120 seems high. Double what I hoped for.
Meh.. Pity attempt to try and make some money from Apple’s ecosystem..
Meh! I’ll wait for the 8K bundle.
Anyone know if the bluray set will eventually include the digital copy……you know, like every other bluray released.
Maybe the next version of BD to get released will, but I doubt it will be retroactive.
My questions are:
* Why no bundle (still priced high at $90) like Vudu and Amazon?
* As they will be available in Disney Movies Anywhere, if I buy the bundle from Vudu, I should be able to then go into Disney Movies Anywhere and download iTunes versions, correct?
I’d image they will have the same availability as the DA offerings. Personally I’m waiting for the rumored Blu-Ray this fall that would contain Digital Copy AND the Theatrical versions of the OT.
You can get all the movies through DMA but A New Hope. Disney wasn’t able to work out rights for the cross platform distribution with Fox for that one.
Yeah, I think I am waiting on these versions. I like to support artists, etc. I like, but after thinking about it more, I think I am over 10 copies of the original trilogy, and 2 each of the prequels. Enough times.
Plus, you can buy a BD drive for your Mac for less than the price of buying these… ;)
20th Century Fox own the rights to Star Wars Episode IV, A New Hope so its not available on Disney Anywhere.
For note, due to distribution rights, A New Hope will not be on Disney Movies Anywhere, which is a bummer. And these are the Special Edition ‘Han shot second’ versions. Again, I believe Fox is holding onto those rights tightly. It was released on one of the DVD versions, but it was not the cleaned up version of the film, so it looks like a well used movie reel. I am bummed that Apple has apparently decided not to bundle the movies together. I’m still weighing whether to buy through Vudu for $90 and just living without ANH in iTunes. Or just buying it through iTunes which would still be cheaper than buying them individually through iTunes.
Good catch, Dark Phoenix!
Oh, and likely the 2004 editions, so Hayden Christiansen at the end of Jedi
Looks like I’ll be stuck with the VHS versions to appreciate the original theatrical releases.
The release of these films is opening old wounds.
The official word from Lucasfilm was that the originals no longer existed; that Lucas permanently altered (read: destroyed) the original negatives when they restored the films and added supposedly better special effects, meaning I’ll avoid the digital release like the blasphemous plague these films have become.
I wanted to believe that when Lucas handed over the franchise to Disney that they would have the legal authority recover the original negatives but since there’s no marketing to suggest these are the “original” or “1970’s theatrical” versions it’s more proof that the original versions of A New Hope, Empire and Return are truly gone. Meaning Lucas should be castrated, drawn, quartered and burned alive for his actions.
#HanShotOnly #DieLucasDie