Blu-Ray Review: Incredible Release of ‘Avatar: Extended Collector’s Edition’

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CHICAGO – In April, Fox released one of the best Blu-rays of the year for James Cameron’s “Avatar,” an edition that proved that the film would still work even without the theatrical benefits of 3D or IMAX. It was one of the most impressive-looking HD releases in history but the lack of special features made clear that a double dip was on its way. Seven months later, Fox unveils the “Avatar: Extended Collector’s Edition” and it is simply amazing.

Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0

It’s happened again — a James Cameron film has been released in a version superior to the theatrical release (as is the case with “Aliens” and “The Abyss”). You will not watch the theatrical “Avatar” again. The extended cut is simply a better film. Most notably because of the opening chapter, six minutes on Earth, before Jake (Sam Worthington) is sent to Pandora and scenes that give weight and melancholy to his character that was missing from the theatrical version. A scene where Jake pummels a guy in a bar proves that he was already a guy not only willing to fight for good but who didn’t see his handicap as something to stop him from doing so. And the “Blade Runner”-esque view of Earth perfectly balances the natural world of Pandora. I’ll never understand why Cameron cut it.

Avatar: Extended Collector’s Edition was released on Blu-Ray on November 16th, 2010.
Photo credit: Fox Home Video

The other new footage in the extended cut of “Avatar” (totaling sixteen minutes) is segmented throughout the film and includes some impressive special effects, mostly in shots of the wildlife creatures of Pandora, along with some tribal activities of the Na’vi and some fleshing-out of Jake’s activities outside of his avatar. Sixteen minutes may not seem like much, especially with so much of it in the opening of the film, but the deleted scenes fully enhance the most-criticized element of the film in theaters — the storytelling. This is undeniably a superior version of the film. If you loved it already, you’ll love it more. And if, like me, you had some issues with the lack of character development and shallowness of the overall script, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Avatar: Extended Collector’s Edition was released on Blu-Ray on November 16th, 2010. Photo credit: Fox Home Video

The first disc of the three-disc collector’s edition of “Avatar” features all three versions of the film (original, special edition re-release that features 8 more minutes, and extended edition with 16 more minutes) and the movies look absolutely stunning. This is what HD was designed for. The video transfer doesn’t over-saturate the colors, which allows the CGI to blend with the human actors in ways that I feel didn’t even mesh this fully in theaters. And the audio mix is similarly stunning.

James Cameron and Fox atone for the complete lack of special features on the April edition by overwhelming fans with them on this Collector’s Edition. The releases comes with two complete discs of bonus material, the kind that fans will spend days dissecting and sharing with their friends. Feature by feature:

Disc 2: Filmmakers’ Journey

“Deleted Scenes: Never-Before Seen” (1:07:51)

Before you get too excited about an extra hour of deleted scenes, you should be prepared that a lot of this material is unfinished and some of that time is filled out by connective shots from the movie to give you an idea of where these scenes fell in the story. For example, when Jake first gets to Pandora, there’s a scene of a creature trying to attack him through a fence before he moves into barracks. The creature is very loosely-designed and incomplete but it’s interesting to see what could have been. Having said that, there’s a reason these scenes stopped their development when they did and weren’t finished for the extended collector’s cut. Most of them are more interesting than essential and watching them in congress with the various editions on the first disc makes for an interesting study in editing.

Avatar: Extended Collector’s Edition was released on Blu-Ray on November 16th, 2010. Photo credit: Fox Home Video

“Exclusive Documentary: Capturing Avatar” (1:38:26)

Here’s the stuff you’ve been waiting for. James Cameron not only details the making of the film but his inspiration for it and how it fits into his filmography (calling it the most challenging work of his career in the introduction). It’s interesting to learn how long “Avatar” has been on Cameron’s radar and the insane amount of development it took to get it into theaters. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes material spread out over the two discs of special features but you’ll learn most of what you need to know from this excellent, feature-length documentary.

“A Message From Pandora” (20:12)

James Cameron uses his hit film to discuss something very important to him — the fate of our planet. “Avatar” has clear ecological implications about Earth and Cameron uses the story of the film along with his own sociopolitical endeavors in the Rainforest to discuss where we’re headed.

“Production Materials” (1:24:25)

A wealth of FX tests, comparisons, etc. that allow more in-depth examination of the making of the film for hardcore fans.

Disc 3: Pandora’s Box

“Scene Deconstruction” (1:05:21)

Viewers can now watch the motion-capture technique right next to the film through picture-in-picture. For those who derided “Avatar” as not featuring enough actual performance, it’s interesting to see how much the actors had to do strapped into those CGI devices.

“Production Featurettes” (Various)

A group of mini-featurettes that focus on various aspects of the film like the sculpture, creating the Banshee, creating the Thanator, etc. Here’s where a weighed-down release like “Avatar” gets a bit into the area of overkill. You have to be dressed like a Na’vi to not be a bit exhausted by the b-t-s material by this point.

“Avatar Archives” (Various)

Trailer, scripts, etc.

“BD-Live Portal”

Access to BD-Live extras, including screen tests, rehearsals, even an animated short.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com