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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

PT Anyone else disappointed there was never a VHS release for Ep III?

Discussion in 'Prequel Trilogy' started by JediMasterKeno, Jan 11, 2013.

  1. janstett

    janstett Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    May 29, 2004
    It's even more sordid then that.

    They had just released the "Definitive" Laser Discs and even the 1997 SEs on Laser Disc...

    [​IMG]

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    Laser Disc was the videophile format in the days of VHS. DVD then came and was even better than LD (ignoring bad transfers and growing pains with digital video encoding).

    So it was baffling that Lucas didn't jump on DVD from the start. It took many years to get Star Wars on DVD and it was among the biggest titles missing from the format for many, many years. There were petitions calling for its release.

    Then when TPM comes out they didn't even release it on Laser Disc... Well they did but only in Japan and you had to import it. I have this ;)

    [​IMG]

    People were baffled that it would be released only in Japan, AND that there would be no DVD release -- leaving poor quality VHS as the only vehicle for TPM in the home.
     
    SlashMan likes this.
  2. SlashMan

    SlashMan Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 5, 2012
    Maybe it had to do with marketing. Either way, the Phantom Menace was a big deal on home video; if VHS was the only format available, then that's what the masses would flock to. Must've been a real boost for VHS; I've yet to stumble upon a secondhand VHS retailer that doesn't have a copy of the Phantom Menace.

    Meanwhile, it was also a big deal when the Phantom Menace finally was released on DVD, I can remember all those promotions. So to me, it looks like they banked on TPM having two successful home video runs.

    Also, I remember my house having a DVD player back in the late 90s, but not having a lot of DVDs. VHS was still a dominant home video format, and I think that it was around Attack of the Clones that it started its sharp decline in favor of DVD. Attack of the Clones was also one of my last VHS purchases.
     
  3. Force Smuggler

    Force Smuggler Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    I still need to get TPM on DVD...
     
  4. Darth Ruian

    Darth Ruian Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Jan 21, 2013
    RoTS was in VHS, but it wasn't produced in America. I can't seem to find it online. Oh well, guess us Americans will never have the full set on VHS...
     
  5. Grievousdude

    Grievousdude Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jan 27, 2013
    I remember renting the VHS tape of Revenge of the Sith to see it because for some reason it was the only film in the trilogy not to be on TV.