General Information:

Media Type: Home Video
Type: Bluuray - Open Edition
Release Date: 2018-03-27

Geek's Thoughts: The home video release includes several hours of bonus material. This material varies by the format you choose, so check with the disc specs if you are interested in a particular feature:

• The Director and the Jedi – This is the highlight of the bonus features. It clocks in at just over an hour and a half and features an extended look at the creation of the film. This documentary explores some of the challenges the film makers encountered with the large production ranging from budget to scheduling to set creation to the actors themselves. It spends a good amount of time on Mark Hamill and his reservations for his character in the film. For a couple of clips of the documentary here is the announcement – The Director and the Jedi
• Balance of the Force – This 10 minute feature looks at some of the mythology of the force. I did not find it that engaging of a piece.
• Scene Breakdowns – The scenes are explored in detail in this 30 minute piece. They are Lighting the Spark: Creating the Space Battle, Snoke and Mirrors, Showdown on Crait. Each one looks at a different challenge the team encountered. For the first it was how to capture the space battle, the second motion capture and the Snoke character and the third what Crait would be and how to create the climactic battle.
• Andy Serkis Live! (One Night Only) – Two sequences from the film showing Andy Serkis on set performances of Snoke that were captured. It is interesting looking at how the motion capture/CG creation utilizes these performances in the final product.
• Deleted Scenes – There are 14 deleted scenes included in the bonus material. You have two options for each, one to just watch the scene and a second to feature the director’s commentary and some explanation of the scene and why it did not make it into the final film.
• Audio Commentary & Score Only – There are two alternative audio tracks. One is a full length commentary by Rain Johnson and the second is a score only version available exclusively on Movies Anywhere

 

I was impressed with the large amount and depth of the bonus material for an initial release of a film on home video. They have assembled an interesting and entertaining package. The documentary on the making of the film was the highlight for me. This piece really conveyed the scope of the project and showed some of the endless hours of work that go into these productions. Even with a 90+ minute piece I felt some areas they just touched on or bypassed and it could have easily been longer. I also really enjoyed the scene breakdowns. I appreciated that much of the bonus material was in an extended format and not just the short couple minute featurettes you typically get. Even the scene breakdowns average 10 minutes each. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a solid addition to any film library. The amount and depth of the bonus material are a plus for those that are huge Star Wars Fans as well as the average movie fan.