newjerseynewsroom.com

BY ALICIA CRUZ

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Star Wars fans were waiting with baited breath as the countdown to the big May 4 Star Wars Day surprise began yesterday. Today, they’ve learned that a 9-disc Blu-Ray edition featuring the complete saga will be released September 12, 2011 internationally, and September 16 in the United States.

High traffic levels crashed both FoxMovies.com and starwars.com when the clock struck zero, but once the servers recovered, viewers were re-directed to an exclusive presentation video of the Complete Star Wars Saga to be released in September. The first familiar face we see is Jedi Master, Yoda.

The first six discs are the original of the six movies. The last three include the extras listed below. Fans can buy all nine together, or the trilogies separately.

DISC SEVEN - NEW! STAR WARS ARCHIVES: EPISODES I-III

**Including: deleted, extended and alternate scenes; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; matte paintings and concept art; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; a flythrough of the Lucasfilm Archives and more

DISC EIGHT - NEW! STAR WARS ARCHIVES: EPISODES IV-VI

**Including: deleted, extended and alternate scenes; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; matte paintings and concept art; supplementary interviews with cast and crew; and more

DISC NINE - THE STAR WARS DOCUMENTARIES

** NEW! Star Warriors (2007, Color, Apx. 84 Minutes) - A tribute to the 501st Legion, a global organization of Star Wars costume enthusiasts, this insightful documentary shows how the super-fan club promotes interest in the films through charity and volunteer work at fundraisers and high-profile special events around the world.

** NEW! A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later (2010, Color, Apx. 25 Minutes) - George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Lawrence Kasdan and John Williams look back on the making of The Empire Strikes Back in this in-depth retrospective from Lucasfilm created to help commemorate the 30th anniversary of the movie. The masters discuss and reminisce about one of the most beloved films of all time.

** NEW! Star Wars Spoofs (2011, Color, Apx. 91 Minutes) - The farce is strong with this one! Enjoy a hilarious collection of Star Wars spoofs and parodies that have been created over the years, including outrageous clips from Family Guy, The Simpsons, How I Met Your Mother and more -- and don't miss "Weird Al" Yankovic's one-of-a-kind music video tribute to The Phantom Menace!

** The Making of Star Wars (1977, Color, Apx. 49 Minutes) - Learn the incredible behind-the-scenes story of how the original Star Wars movie was brought to the big screen in this fascinating documentary hosted by C-3PO and R2-D2. Includes interviews with George Lucas and appearances by Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.

** The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX (1980, Color, Apx. 48 Minutes) - Learn the secrets of making movies in a galaxy far, far away. Hosted by Mark Hamill, this revealing documentary offers behind-the-scenes glimpses into the amazing special effects that transformed George Lucas' vision for Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back into reality!

** Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi (1983, Color, Apx. 48 Minutes) - Go behind the scenes -- and into the costumes -- as production footage from Return of the Jedi is interspersed with vintage monster movie clips in this in-depth exploration of the painstaking techniques utilized by George Lucas to create the classic creatures and characters seen in the film. Hosted and narrated by Carrie Fisher and Billie Dee Williams.

** Anatomy of a Dewback (1997, Color, Apx. 26 Minutes) - See how some of the special effects in Star Wars became even more special two decades later! George Lucas explains and demonstrates how his team transformed the original dewback creatures from immovable rubber puppets (in the original 1977 release) to seemingly living, breathing creatures for the Star Wars 1997 Special Edition update.

** Star Wars Tech (2007, Color, Apx. 46 Minutes) - Exploring the technical aspects of Star Wars vehicles, weapons and gadgetry, Star Wars Tech consults leading scientists in the fields of physics, prosthetics, lasers, engineering and astronomy to examine the plausibility of Star Wars technology based on science as we know it today.

The Los Angeles City Council declared May 25, 2007 as Star Wars Day in honor of the 1977 20th Century Fox release date of Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope. On its opening day, the sci-fi thriller cleared $254,309 from just 32 theaters. The first weekend, the film grossed $1.5 million, according to supershadow.com. At the end of its first theatrical run, along with re-release of the flick in 1982, A New Hope brought in more than $320.million, making it the most successful film in North American history.

When Lucas first shopped his "Star Wars" film around Hollywood, Universal Studios, the film company that financed American Graffiti, was his first stop. They passed on the idea, along with every other studio in Hollywood, except for 20th Century Fox.

By 1978 plans for Lucas' second smash hit sequel "Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back" were underway. Having run $12 million over its original budget, the film, with "Cloud City" newcomer, Lando Calrissian, hit theaters on May 21, 1980 grossing over $209.4 million, making it the highest grossing film of 1980. In November 1982, The Empire Strikes Back returned to the silver screen and grossed an additional $13.2 million for a grand total of $222.6 million.

To quell rumors that Lucas planned to film a sequel trilogy, during a 1999 interview with Vanity Fair, the famed director said when fans saw the movie in six parts, they would understand why it really ended there. It's the story of Anakin and Luke Skywalker, and once young Skywalker saved the galaxy and redeemed his father, it was over. End of story. And with that, may the force of the fourth be with you on this and every coming May 4.