Star Wars Trilogy Special edition, Laserdisc, 20th Century Fox Home Ent. USA, 1997
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1997 saw the release of the Special Editions Box Set on Laserdisc and VHS in the US. This was the first time the Star Wars trilogy was ever released in DD 5.1 surround sound for home viewing. At the time only laserdisc carried this, now standard, sound format. ...and what a treat it was!
There is some evidence of corner-cutting, though. First off, they didn't allocate a dedicated disc to The Empire Strikes Back, so the first side of this film comes as the B-side of Star Wars' last disc. Second, the Bonus Material is mostly lacking. The Special Edition trailers come at the end of their respective films, and on the last disc you'll find the Special Edition marketing featurette. That's it. Though the last sides of Star Wars and Empire is encoded in CAV, allowing for flawless trick-play functions. Sadly, this US release skimped on the cover artwork for the individual discs as well, as all came in somewhat generic Star Wars paper sleeves. They did include a nice booklet, though. |
Assorted screenshots from Star Wars:
Company logo
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Dolby Digital "Egypt" trailer
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THX Laserdisc "Cimarron" trailer
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Title card (Squeezed)
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Opening crawl
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Star Destroyer
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Binoculars
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Greedo subtitles
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End credits
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Special Edition Trailer 1
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Special Edition Trailer 1
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FBI warning
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Assorted screenshots from The Empire Strikes Back:
Company logo
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Dolby Digital "Canyon" trailer
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THX Laserdisc "Cimarron" trailer
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Title card
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Crawl
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Binoculars
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Binoculars
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On Dagobah
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Matte painting
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Duel
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Falcon dish in frame
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End credits
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Special Edition Trailer 2
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Special Edition Trailer 2
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Special Edition Trailer 2
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FBI warning
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Assorted screenshots from Return of the Jedi:
Company logo
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Dolby Digital "Egypt" trailer
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THX Laserdisc "Cimarron" trailer
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Title card
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Opening crawl
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Star Destroyer
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Jabbah subtitles
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Obi Wan
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Shuttle landing
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Emperor's slug
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Duel
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End credits
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Special Edition Trailer 3
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Special Edition Trailer 3
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Special Edition Trailer 3
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Special Edition Featurette
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Special Edition Featurette
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Special Edition Featurette
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Special Edition Featurette
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FBI warning
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