Avatar (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray/ DVD Combo Pack)

The first thing I notice is the extreme packaging - a slip-off sleeve, then a box cover containing a book with three really fancy pages with a pull-out disc holder - all with very nice depiction of AVATAR scenes over every visible inch of the packaging. All this hints that something special lies inside. And you won't be disappointed - at least I wasn't - and it was well worth the price. DISC 1 - AVATAR Disc Menu: PLAY / SETUP / SOUND / SEARCH / EXTRAS This disc contains three versions of AVATER: 1) original movie release 2) Special Edition DVD Re-release (with 8 additional minutes), and 3) Collector's Extended Cut (with 16 additional minutes) If you saw the movie, then you've seen version 1. If you bought the DVD, then you've seen version 2. What you want to see now is version 3, the Collector's Extended Cut, with 16 additional minutes. If you just click on the PLAY menu choice, you'll get version 1. To play version 2 or 3, click first on SETUP - FILM SELECTION, then choose the Special Addition Re-release, or the Collector's Extended Cut. The Collector's Extended Cut contains all the scenes in versions 1 and 2, plus the additional scenes, so no need to view versions 1 or 2, even if you haven't seen the movie yet. Under the SOUND menu is an option to have all the swear words deleted from the sound track, but it doesn't work for version 3, Collector's Extended Cut, which is the version you want to watch, and the swearing is very light, no "f" words. Under EXTRAS menu are all the added scenes, which is handy of you fall asleep watching the Extended Cut movie (as I did) and want to see if you missed anything new. DISC 2 - FILMAKER'S JOURNEY Disc Menu: DELETED SCENES / CAPTURING AVATAR / A MESSAGE FROM PANDORA / PRODUCTION MATERIAL The best thing about Disc 2 are the more than 45 minutes of "Deleted Scenes." There are many of them, all in various stages of completion, and all but two add considerably to understanding the story line, especially "Dream Hunt" and "Challenge." The two deleted scenes that should stay deleted are : "Norm is a God," and "Norm's attitude Improves." The Deleted Scenes are the next place to go after viewing the "Extended Collector's Cut" on Disc 1. "Capturing Avatar" is about how the film married real human facial expression and human movement to the animated AVATAR scenes. It is very interesting to see. "A Message form Pandora" is about James Cameron going down to the Amazon Basin in Brazil and joining the jungle tribes fighting against the construction of a dam. If there was any doubt that Cameron was anything other than a dedicated tree-hugging environmentalist, this will dispel all doubts. DISC 3 - PANDORA'S BOX This disc primarily has items a filmmaker might be interested in, The BD-Live portal is also on disc 3, which allows you to download additional material. I tried this but found nothing new that wasn't already on one of the three discs, and also the download was very slow. MY TAKE ON THIS EDITION OF AVATAR I am a civil engineer who thinks bulldozers and mining equipment are righteous and good. I suppose in an environmentalist's eyes I have done my share of raping the environment, although the way I see it, natural resources are there to be utilized. I do believe, however, that the resources need to be used wisely and efficiently and that renewable resources should be harvested by sustainable methods, and the earth returned to a green state after opening it and harvesting whatever is there. I present the above, because it is very clear that AVATAR is permeated with tree-hugging, environmentalist propaganda. And Cameron so much as admits it in "A Message from Pandora" on Disc 2. Nevertheless, Cameron made a really terrific movie promoting environmentalist concerns, though probably his message is totally lost on sinners like myself. Still, I very much like this movie and especially the Collector's Cut, because 1) it is so realistically done, 2) because it is an exciting adventure story with lots of very dangerous creatures, 3)because it is also a love story, and 4) because it is a hero story - the little guy fighting the faceless bureaucracy of a large corporation or government. As someone who has thrice married into different cultures in different countries, and experienced the somewhat difficult task of adjusting to and accommodating a foreign culture, I think Cameron has done a good job presenting the difficulty and opposition that naturally occurs against inter-cultural romance, and much more so for inter-specie romance, even if it is through a remotely controlled avatar body. Much of this opposition was deleted in the original movie, but is evident in the added scenes, and especially the Deleted Scenes. SUMMARY The extra scenes in the Collector's Extended Cut (Disc 1), and the Deleted Scenes (Disc 2) by themselves make this set well worth the price, and a story worth watching over and over, all the while hoping for a sequel. If you are also into how movies are made, there are plenty of ground-breaking techniques presented on Disc's 2 and 3. THE SEQUEL My idea of what would be an interesting sequel - Jake and Neytiri have a baby or two. Jake leads the Navi to develop some technology to prepare for the return of the Earthers but find the Navi uninterested. Jake remembers how European settlers arrived in America in such overwhelming numbers that the natives were completed subjugated and near annihilated. He fears that unless the Navi modernize to some degree, at least the military, the same will happen to the Navi when the Earthers eventually return for revenge. Jake goes to the Tree of Souls and discovers Grace has merged with Eywa and can communicate with Jake. Jake and Grace discover they can reach each other telepathically. Grace-Eywa has some ability to sense events beyond the planet-moon's surface. Grace and Jake begin to develop their telepathic powers, and discover thay also have some telekinetic powers By the time the Earthers return, Jake and Grace can affect the control mechanisms on the Earthers ships. [Take it from there, Cameron ...]

This is about the original movie and DVD only, not the 3-disc version being released tomorrow. I'm biased because I loved Avatar and saw it five times in the theaters. The 3D was excellent and enjoyable. By far the #1 complaint was that the special effects were incredible but the plot was boring and unoriginal. The FX are of course amazing but I liked the story as well - "Romeo and Juliet" set in outer space. Also, Mr. Cameron deserves a little more credit here than what he's been getting. This is an incomplete list and it'd take someone better informed than me to complete it, but here are some of the influences that I spotted: Sir James Frazier, Joseph Campbell, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Frank Frazetta, the Bible (love those Christ-figures), the aforementioned Shakespeare, Joseph Conrad, the Ramayana, Plains Indians, Amazon rain forest Indians, Gaia, T.H. Lawrence, the Masai, Vietnam, the Middle East and that's all I can think of right now. My point is that more thought went into the script than people seem to realize. It is of course very derivative, but there aren't too many totally unique plots out there (show me a few, please). At least Mr. Cameron used high-quality sources for his concept. Another complaint was Mr. Cameron's politics. I'm not a liberal or a leftist and I wasn't inconvenienced by any attempts to brainwash me into anti-American, anti-military, anti-consumerism, anti-business, anti-capitalism, anti-imperialism or anti-anything viewpoints. I just appreciated the movie and enjoyed the ride. I figured that Mr. Cameron needed despicable villains and henchmen as well as noble heroes and heroines, which is what any epic requires. Because the main evil-doer and his mercenaries and the corporate execs were American, some people got very offended. I just looked at them as handy, all-purpose scoundrels; not as representatives of something I was supposed to hate forevermore. Don't forget, the hero (and Christ-figure) was an ex-Marine. Didn't that balance things out for you? I don't know or care about James Cameron's personal philosophies, I just believe he intended to create an entertaining, enjoyable, enthralling movie and that he succeeded admirably. Anybody who only sees art produced by people who share the same outlook is missing out on a lot of what the world has to offer. You don't have to be converted in order to appreciate someone else's vision. There has to be a final note about the incredible FX. The visuals were undeniably spectacular and even people who hated the movie itself all agreed on that. A lot of diligence and work and thought and effort went into Avatar and it clearly shows. Mr. Cameron and his actors and crew and staff were obviously deeply committed to their vision and it showed in every scene. My only complaint was the soundtrack. A flick like this deserved a score on the same level as "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" or "Once Upon a Time in the West" or "The Last of the Mohicans" or "The Magnificent Seven" (it was, after all, an exciting cowboy movie placed in outer space). It richly deserved a stirring and emotional soundtrack but instead there was mostly innocuous elevator music throughout. I love Leona Lewis but putting her song over the end credits wasted it, IMHO. It would've fit in better during the movie itself, also IMHO. Anyway, I highly recommend Avatar. Hard to imagine a more enjoyable film.

I liked the movie, so I'm giving it 5 stars. It has some of the best animation I've ever seen. It's even superior to FF7: Advent Children, which I own on BD. That movie is phenomenal, but seeing Avatar in 3d showed me that computer animation has vastly improved in the past few years. I think this is a movie worth owning if only for the technological aspect of it. Some people find the plot boring, a rip off, too predictable, etc. I agree. However, I don't watch movies for complicated plot devices and intricate character development. You cannot get that in 90 or even 120 minutes. (The only movies I've seen that even come close is the Sci-Fi channel's miniseries adaptation of Dune and Children of Dune. Both of which I own in the director's cut version; they're over 5 hours long each.) If you want detailed plots and characters, read 19th century novels. If you want some entertainment and decent plot and character development done in a limited amount of time, movies are much better for that. Avatar is entertaining, beautiful to look at, and has a positive message about not destroying the place where we live. Is it shallow? No more than anything else coming out of Hollywood. I'd say it's better than most of the movies I've seen in theaters lately. This version doesn't have special features. I don't like them because I never look at them anyway. I wish more BD were done without trailers, previews, forced ads and other junk. I hate having to watch ads on a product I buy. I can watch trailers on youtube. All of these things take up space on discs, often to the detriment of the AV quality of the movie. This version will make use of the large disc size to have the best picture and audio quality available. Is this a possible marketing ploy? Maybe. If they make use of the entire 50gb available on a BD-50 disc, then it will be literally the highest quality picture and sound ever offered on BD. I've never seen another BD devote the entire 50gb to just the movie. We will see in a few days whether or not it's a marketing ploy. If they make full use of the disc like they claim they're doing, I will be completely satisfied with my purchase. This movie comes bundled with a coupon to buy the Ultimate version coming out later, so I could sell this one in several months and buy that one at a discounted price. If you only want the BD and not the DVD, you can sell that too. You're getting a BD AND DVD copy for $20 along with a coupon to get the extended version. How this isn't a good deal is beyond me. I don't see why people are complaining about the lack of extras. Amazon should remove the one star reviews that only talk about how this is "fake" or inferior because it doesn't have special features. I don't want special features, and my 5 stars are for the movie itself. If you want special features, wait until they're done. They haven't finished making them yet, so they'll be out in November, a mere 7 months away. You can buy the movie now or the movie and special features later. This is not double or triple dipping. I'm glad the studios have announced their intentions. In my mind this makes them honest for telling the truth about what they're doing. We are all now informed consumers, so buy whatever version you want. For those that complain people won't know this doesn't have special features, I imagine people like to read the movie's info online or on the back cover at the store before they purchase it. If people don't read and, consequently, buy the wrong version, they are at fault for not taking the time to inspect a product before purchasing it. If you want only the movie, like me, then buy this version. Edit: After watching the movie numerous times on my HDTV, I'm still blown away by how good the picture looks. It really is stunning.

I’ve never written a movie review before. But there goes nothing!! It’s a good movie. I don’t understand all the hoopla when people talk about camera work or other mumbo jumbo or complain about different things. It’s got pretty colors- it’s a unique script- character depth. I wasn’t bored. Watch the trailer- if you don’t like the trailer. The movie isn’t for you. If you watch the trailer- and you like it! Great! Give the movie a look.

Awesome packaging and looks great. The movie is awesome to watch with all three versions on here love the special effects as well.

Good movie, for a younger age. It's like a love story basically but with action good movie

Avatar is unprecedented. It has no equal. It is simply the best. Best of its kind and the best film i've ever seen, and very well deserving of all its praise. This film is why i go to the movie theater, heck, it's why they were built! This isn't just a movie, it's truly a one of a kind experience that nobody should miss out on; and a true film experience doesn't happen often. No movie will immerse you, grab and take hold of you like Avatar. The visuals are stunning and breathtaking, no doubt near the best created to date. Spectacular. Now for the story. Some people love to knock the storyline and i'm sick of it. There's a reason that this particular story/situation has been used time and again. Because it works, its a GOOD story, a true story as in its played out many, many times throughout history and thus people respond to it, it hits you in the heart and touches you. It's incredibly moving no matter how predictable. It's a well used plot because it's a good one, and being predictable doesn't necessarily make something bad, you add Avatars story and strong messages of acceptance/understanding and respect to the visual aspect and you've got one remarkable film. As for the DVD's, I don't mind the double and triple drip at all. If you don't care about extras buy it now, if you want extras, wait. I know i'll be purchasing all versions and i don't mind in the least. We have been given plenty of clear warning as what to expect and when. They're not sneaking around behind our backs. It's been made perfectly clear whats coming. I've no doubt this first edition will be the best Blu-ray we've seen so far, fantastic quality. I'm also very interested in all the extra features so i will buying the November release as well. Never have i double dipped before, never before have i wanted to and not minded in the least. If you missed out on seeing it in 3D in theaters, you should be ashamed and i suggest you get back there to see it if/when it's re-released into theaters this Fall. The way Avatar used 3D is why it was so successful. There have been plenty 3D films in the past but none to ever use it quite this way, which is why i don't think 3D as just a gimmick will last. It has to add depth and completely immerse you in the movie the way Avatar did. It has to fill you with wonder, not simply make you duck or jump. Avatar accomplished this in the most beautiful way, and it deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible. This is why i'm in no panic for the 3D Blu to come out. They're right to wait. Simply not enough people own 3D TV's/Theater setups yet. A 2011 3D Blu release sounds good, it'll also give me something to look forward to in between this and the sequel.

Great movie. But as a prime member, I feel that I should not have had to paid for this old movie