Star Wars: The Force Awakens (3D) (Collector’s Edition) [Blu-Ray] 
Director: J.J. Abrams
Cast: Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver
Release Date: November 15, 2016
A Review By: Kevin Lovell
Disc Rating: 10/10
Synopsis:
Lucasfilm and visionary director J.J. Abrams join forces to take you back again to a galaxy far, far away as Star Wars returns to the big screen with Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Please Note: This review will concentrate primarily on the 3D Collector’s Edition release in general. For my thoughts on the film itself please refer to my review of the initial Blu-ray release for ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ by clicking here!
Arriving just in time for the holidays, fans of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ are in for quite the treat with this beautiful new 4-disc Collector’s Edition release of the latest chapter in the epic saga which is sure to make the perfect gift for most fellow Star Wars fanatics. Now you can once again experience all of the adventure with the new characters fans have quickly fallen in love with, along with many of the old favorites as J.J. Abrams’s recent addition to the epic Star Wars universe comes home once again, finally arriving on 3D Blu-ray for the first time, in addition to sporting a number of new extras exclusive to the release, and all within thick, hefty and gorgeous collectible packaging that should easily impress.
While many of the new extras included on the Collector’s Edition release are sure to excite, I can only assume that the majority of fellow 3D enthusiasts out there are as equally thrilled as me to finally have the ability to experience the breathtaking 3D version of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ any time they please and in the comfort of home. For anyone harboring any concern as to the quality of which, you can rest easy as the Blu-ray 3D presentation looks magnificent and delivers a consistently gorgeous and immersive 3D presentation with impressive depth that will blow you away and likely become a regular candidate for repeat viewings whenever the mood for a top notch 3D presentation might strike.
Another highly anticipated inclusion on this Collector’s Edition release that I felt warranted some extra attention is the Audio Commentary track with Director J.J. Abrams (included on the 2D Feature Film disc) which should thrill folks to learn just how much information he actually provides about the filmmaking process. Detailing in depth the different aspects and shooting locations of numerous segments including what shots were filmed where, what effects are practical and which are CGI, along with much more. He provides far more insight and detail about the production than I would have ever expected; even revealing some huge changes the film underwent during production including a notable new fan favorite character who was initially intended to die surprisingly early, and a great deal more. I strongly urge fans of the film to check out this Audio Commentary track at some point when you have the chance; something I rarely stress but in this case felt definitely warranted an exception.
Overall, many diehard Star Wars fans and especially those that also appreciate 3D and have the ability to enjoy it at home will almost surely want to make a point of purchasing this wonderful new ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ 3D Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release. This impressive new 4-disc set includes the Feature Film on both 3D Blu-ray and standard Blu-ray with stunning high definition video and audio presentations on each, in addition to some exciting new extras including an incredibly detailed and enjoyable Audio Commentary track with JJ Abrams, a few additional Deleted Scenes and more, altogether sure to make this one a definite must own for the majority of fans. Even those who purchased the previous release will want to strongly consider still picking up a copy of this notably superior Collector’s Edition set.
VIDEO:
The Blu-ray 3D edition of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ features a full 1080p High Definition MVC encoded 3D presentation utilizing the film’s original 2.40:1 Aspect Ratio. The 3D video presentation looks outstanding and provides a thoroughly immersive experience from start to finish that provides various ships, gorgeous landscapes and much more appearing to pop out with such detail you feel as if it’s nearly in contact with you, and impressive depth that spans through caves, sections of compounds and more while seeming to nearly envelop the viewer; yet never suffering any notable faults at any point throughout. Overall, this is a fantastic high definition 3D presentation that should easily thrill the fellow 3D and Star Wars fanatics alike.
The standard Blu-ray edition of the film is also included in the ‘Collector’s Edition’ release and delivers a gorgeous, clean and impressive video presentation itself without any notable faults to be found within. You can also read my thoughts regarding the original Blu-ray video presentation on the initial Blu-ray release of the film here which if I’m not mistaken is largely identical aside from the addition of the Audio Commentary track on this one.
AUDIO:
The Blu-ray release features a lossless 7.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on both versions of the film (2D & 3D). The provided lossless multichannel soundtrack seems to be identical to the lossless soundtrack provided on the film’s initial Blu-ray release. Once again, please refer to my review of that release here for more detailed information regarding the audio presentation (although in short, it’s outstanding, incredibly active and shouldn’t disappoint whatsoever).
SPECIAL FEATURES:
This gorgeous new 3D Collector’s Edition Blu-ray release of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ also includes a number of noteworthy new extras exclusive to this release. The newly included extras include an ‘Audio Commentary with Director JJ Abrams’ in which he provides an enormous amount of input regarding the process of bringing the movie to life. We are also treated to 3 new ‘Deleted Scenes’ not included on the previous release (running approximately 2 minutes, 30 seconds combined), as well as some brand new Featurettes taking you even deeper into the film’s creation and including more interviews/comments with the cast and crew, behind the scenes footage and more. The new Featurettes include: ‘Foley: A Sonic Tale’ (running approximately 4 minutes), ‘Sounds of the Resistance’ (approximately 7 minutes), ‘Dressing the Galaxy’ (6 minutes), ‘Inside the Armory’ (8 minutes), and ‘The Scavenger and the Stormtrooper: A Conversation with Daisy Ridley and John Boyega’ (12 minutes).
This Collector’s Edition Blu-ray also includes the entirety of supplemental material featured on the initial Blu-ray release of the film. For information regarding those original extras also included on this edition please once again refer to my review of that release here.
*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. It should additionally be noted that for the purpose of convenience, the images present for this specific release represent the 2D version of the film, even though the review itself covers the 3D version. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.
Disc Rating: 10/10
‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’; Own the 3D Collector’s Edition Blu-ray November 15, 2016 From Disney & Lucasfilm
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