Avatar: Collectors Edition

DVD and its current heir Blu-ray provide film and television collectors an unprecedented opportunity to build extensive libraries of their favorite films and shows. These shiny discs not only hold more of the material you love but they are a fraction of the sizes of their processors the magnetic video tape. There is another aspect to these technological advancements that have changed the way film makers ply their crafts. It is now possible for directors to provide several versions of their films as well as extras such as storyboards and commentary tracks to give their audience a deeper understanding of the story and the process than ever before. Thanks to the incredible storage capacity and mandated technological specifications like seamless branching a film maker has previously unimaginable new venues to express his cinematic vision. One film maker who was in the vanguard of exploring the new dimensions and possibilities of this format is James Cameron. This visionary has racked up amazing box office success with his films amounting gross receipts measured in the billions to accompany his room full of swards and critical acclaim. A large part of his success is his willingness to embrace new technologies pushing the boundaries of making and presenting movies. He is also a lifelong fan of movies and that comes across clearly in his work. While he is familiar with the more esoteric techniques of directing he approaches his movies first and foremost as a fan of the science fiction and fantasy genres. His latest masterpiece, ‘Avatar’ was amazing in its original DVD and Blu-ray release but now 20th Century Fox has come up with an ultimate release that will have fans salivating with delight. The ‘Avatar Collector’s edition’ provides more about the film than you could have ever dreamt about. While there is a standard DVD version the consideration here will concentrate on the Blu-ray edition. After all Blu-ray has caught on extremely fast and if you have a player there is no decision as to which edition you will want.

The familiar original theatrical cut of the film is contained here. This is the 162 minute edition which happens to be the shortest of the three variations provided in the collection. Right up front it should be noted that the 3D version containing 8 minutes of additional material include more creatures and extended battle is not included but even the pickiest fan will be happy with what is included. As with the original Blu-ray edition this is going to become the film of record to show off your home theater system; this is reference quality audio and video. This movie will result in vibrant color bursting from every single pixel in you display. All eight of the speakers in a 7.1 set up will get a work out especially the sub woofer which thunders, shaking you living room as if the epic battle was being fought right there in your living room. There is a couple of feature listed on this disc particularly a special ‘Family friendly dialogue which has any ‘objectionable language removed, much like you would get it watching on broadcast TV. The other two versions of the film are the 171 minute ‘Special Edition’ and the whopping 178 minute extended cut. The extra menu allows you to jump directly to the new material. This is an idea that has been long overdue especially in releases that make heavy use of seamless branching. The closest I’ve seen to how well this is presented is the Blu-ray release of ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind.’ That had a road map to the differences included. Fan should be forewarned that the video quality of some of the additional material is less than the rest of the film. Bits are darker with less distinct blacks than normal. This is especially evident in the longest edition. Throughout all editions the sound is spectacular. There is a notation that great effort was put into making sure the audio precisely matched what Cameron had in mind for this movie.

This is the first of two discs devoted to additional content. There is over an hour of new and extended scenes in high definition 1080p.

‘Users Guide for Viewing Avatar Scenes with Unfinished Shots’

Capturing Avatar:

This is a four part documentary running over an hour and a half that features an intimate look at the motion capture techniques that made this movie such a cultural hit.

Message from Pandora

Coming in at a little less than 20 minutes this is a platform for James Cameron to address the ecological plight of our planet. In it he is joined by cast members Sigourney Weaver and Joel David Moore.

About an hour’s worth various scenes where you can switch between different views by pressing the colored selection buttons on your Blu-ray’s remote.

Posted 11/17/2010