Star Wars: The Force Awakens 3D Collector’s Edition
Directed by J.J. Abrams
Starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Gwendoline Christie, and Lupita Nyong’o
SYNOPSIS:
The cast from the original Star Wars trilogy meets a new generation of heroes and villains as the First Order battles the Resistance. The Blu-ray and DVD set released earlier this year has been reissued in a new 3D Blu-ray Collector’s Edition, which includes a smattering of new bonus features.
If you want to read what I thought of The Force Awakens, and the bonus features on the Blu-ray + DVD set released in April, see my previous review here. Since Star Wars is ripe for double, triple, and quadruple-dipping, Disney of course held back on some material so they could earn a few more bucks from the film before Rogue One: A Star Wars Story hits theaters next month.
If you want to retire the previous set, you can do so, since the bonus features from that one are included, along with copies of the movie on standard 2D and 3D discs. I’m not a fan of the new wave of 3D, to be honest. It feels like a gimmick, although I admit that today’s 3D movies look much better than the ones released back in the 80s. Personally, I don’t see the point of it, but if you enjoyed The Force Awakens in 3D, you’ll appreciate the way it looks here.
The 2D disc also features a new audio commentary by director J.J. Abrams. It’s definitely a worthwhile listen for fans. While he says in the beginning of his chat that he hates doing commentaries because his thoughts are a bit scattered, he doesn’t come across that way at all on this track. He discusses everything from story details to technical details and manages to answer a few fan questions along the way (Have Rey and Kylo met before? No.) And to those who complain that The Force Awakens violates some cardinal rules of science, Abrams has this amusing response: “Star Wars is not a science lesson.”
In addition to the materials on the previous release, this one includes two that were only available before through the Target Edition (I really hate those retailer exclusives):
- The Scavenger & The Stormtrooper: A Conversation with Daisy Ridley and John Boyega (12 minutes): The two young stars talk about the fun they had while making the movie.
- Inside the Armory (8 minutes): The folks who built the prop guns talk about how they wanted to capture the look and feel of the original movies while showing a universe whose technology has moved forward. The amount of 3D printing they did is incredible.
Next we have three new deleted scenes, including the tunnel stand-off one that was previously available only online. They’re little nuggets, but they’re fun to watch. One intriguing moment has Unkar Plutt show up at Maz’s castle and confront Rey, only to have his arm torn off by Chewbacca.
Finally, there are three new making-of featurettes:
- Foley: A Sonic Tale (4 minutes): The Foley artists talk about how they created the sound effects for the movie. Homage is given to Ben Burtt, of course.
- Sounds of the Resistance (7 minutes): Burtt pops up during this one, along with Gary Rydstrom, Kathleen Kennedy, and others to discuss how the movie’s sound effects were seamlessly blended with the visuals and music.
- Dressing Up the Galaxy (6 minutes): Costume designer Michael Kaplan and several cast and crew members talk about the work that went into the movie’s costumes.
As with the last release, this one includes a code for a digital copy and a DVD of the movie. And like the previous edition, it doesn’t have the trailers and TV spots, for whatever reason.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Brad Cook
Originally published November 7, 2016. Updated April 16, 2018.
