A LaserDisc that has apparently been in limbo for 30 years has been recovered, and it contains never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage of "Star Wars Episode IV: Return of the Jedi."
A Facebook group calling itself Return of the Jedi long lost Edit Droid Laserdisc Discovered found the LaserDisc on eBay for $699. It contains 50 raw, unedited takes of the scenes on Dagobah starring Luke Skywalker and Yoda.
The disc's eBay seller, lavenderjadelain, seems to specialize in old media.
LaserDisc, the first commercial optical disc, is about the size of a vinyl LP and was the chosen method of storage used by LucasFilm for its EditDroid footage editing system -- the precursor to editing software Avid and Final Cut Pro. It is one of these editing discs that the group found.
So far, they have posted three clips to Facebook: a one-minute take of Yoda's death scene; a 59-second take of repairing Luke Skywalker's X-Wing; and a 58-second take of a scene between Yoda and Luke with alternative dialogue to what appeared in the final version of the film.
That leaves around 27 minutes of footage remaining. Follow the Facebook page to see it as it goes live; although the group has posted a copyright disclaimer, we're not sure it will be enough to protect the page from Disney's legal team.
(Source: CNET Australia)