Star Wars films coming to Bluray in 2011... and 3D Cinema!

[Awesome Wells]

George Lucas has a daughter who is a professional mixed martial arts fighter so she'll have the skills to get her own way once she inherits the scissors.

Why has she not used her powers to turn her father back from the dark side?

[Anthony Williams]

Q: What did Darth Vader want for Christmas?


A: sNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOw!

[Rob McCow]

Ralph McQuarrie, the man who brought George Lucas' vision of Star Wars to the big screen, has died at the age of 82. McQuarrie designed some of the film franchise's most iconic characters and is credited with creating the look of Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3P0.

A statement was posted on McQuarrie's official website yesterday (Saturday, March 3], following his death.

It read:
It is with the deepest sadness that we announce the passing of Ralph McQuarrie. His influence on design will be felt forever. There's no doubt in our hearts that centuries from now, amazing spaceships will soar, future cities will rise and someone, somewhere will say 'that looks like something Ralph McQuarrie painted'

Leading the tributes was Star Wars director George Lucas, who said he was saddened by the passing of McQuarrie, calling him a "visionary artist and humble man".

Ralph McQuarrie began his career as a technical illustrator for Boeing and provided animation for CBS News coverage of the Apollo space program. He was then asked by Lucas to work on designs for Star Wars, before the movie had been given the title, and subsequently worked on The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi. He turned down an offer to work on the prequels.

Outside of the Star Wars franchise, he contributed designs for Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, Raiders Of The Lost Ark and he won an Oscar for his work on Cocoon.

I think Ralph is one of the people who you could claim is responsible for a lot of the success of Star Wars in its original form. His concepts have been made into toys and art that have been distributed worldwide and are still striking to look at today.

[Richard Brinck-Johnsen]

Sad news. I'm sure his loss will be keenly felt by many who worked on the original films.
However, I'm sure his amazing designs will be remembered and enjoyed by many for years to come even if George Lucas gets all the credit.

[Andrew Curnow]

When I was a kid, after the huge success of Star Wars but before any of the sequels, there seemed to be so many magazine articles and 'specials' and, especially, one lavish book called "The Art of Star Wars" which all featured these gorgeous, sumptuous drawings and painting, by Ralph McQuarrie. So I can't think of Star Wars really, without thinking of his work - didn't he also (I think I'm right) do some of the actual glass shots used in the films (eg, Mos Eisley in the distance, that sort of thing)?

[Anthony Williams]

So....

Has anyone seen the Blu Ray versions of the films? I was wondering whether it's worth replacing my double-disc special eds of the original trilogy with the updates in glorious HD? (Or, at least, getting the Blu Ray versions to sit alongside the old ones)