If you’re a “Star Wars” fan, you’ve probably purchased the original trilogy at least four times in your life. So why buy the recently announced Blu-ray version? The sizzle reel below may entice you to drop your hard-earned cash on it once again, as it offers a glimpse of some never-officially-released deleted footage.
It’s not much more than a tease, but you’ll see bits and pieces from such fabled abandoned sequences as the Tatooine sandstorm from “Return of the Jedi” and the wampa attack on Echo Base cut from “The Empire Strikes Back.” There’s also a peek at some extra footage from the Endor bunker from “Jedi” and a quick shot of a Mon Calamari pilot/captain-type guy (not Admiral Ackbar though). Luke’s original introduction — with him watching the opening space battle of “Star Wars” safely through binoculars — seems to be included as well. Plus, Han, Chewie, Leia, R2-D2, C-3PO, Darth Vader and the rest of the gang you hung out with when you were a kid…or a kid trapped in an adult’s body..
The quality will be rough (Altogether now: Please don’t add any CG effects to these scenes!), but their inclusion should satisfy longtime fans and maybe end a few long-running bets.
“Star Wars: The Complete Saga” (that’s all six films, plus extras, on nine discs!) hits Blu-ray on September 16.
You can pre-order the set here.
Is the inclusion of these scenes enough to make you buy it all again? What other deleted scenes can you spot in the teaser that I missed?