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Avatar Reviews

Directed by James Cameron

Buy Avatar (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray]

• Blu-Ray Review (not a review of the movie!)

Five months after "Avatar" received its initial big-screen release, we are presented with its first release to the home-video market. Much has been written about the double and triple-dipping. We know this is a bare-bones release, devoid of ANY extras, special features, deleted scenes, commentary, etc. We know the studio is releasing a more complete edition of the film on Blu-ray in November 2010, and a 3D version at some point in the future. We've all heard the complaints from those who think this stripped-down version is merely a cash grab. So now Earth Day has arrived, and "Avatar" has been released in this bare-bones edition. For those who, like me, love the movie, and want to have something on-hand to enjoy until the more thorough release arrives in the months to come, is this worth it?

In a word, yes.

This Blu-ray is the movie only, with some basic search/bookmarking features and subtitles. There is no commentary, no trailers, no previews, no annoying advertisements that play before the movie starts. It's the movie only, much like the way DVDs presented films back in the early days of that format. You insert the disc (the disc loads and starts playing automatically in my Sony BDP-S570). There will be a moment or two of a blank screen as the disc loads. You'll see a brief message informing you to update your player's firmware if you experience any problems playing the disc. Then you'll see a piracy warning (thankfully it's brief), and then a basic Fox Home Video title screen. Now you come to a nicely animated menu screen, which gives you options to play the film, set up your options or search for a scene or bookmark.

The disc has an advanced feature which allows you to resume playback if you power your player off during the film playback. This option comes on automatically when you turn on the player again, even if you've removed the disc and reinserted it.

The video quality is astonishing, easily besting last month's Toy Story and Toy Story 2 releases from Disney. You have a full 16x9 (1.78:1) picture, which is how I remember the film being presented in RealD and Dolby 3D Digital in theatres. Colors are crisp and bright. No visible artifacts.

Audio is superb, a quite robust mix that will engage fully your 7.1 system.

This is the finest-looking Blu-ray of the year, thus far, and the best way to enjoy the film until the next more complete edition is released in November. Is this stripped-down edition a cash grab? I don't think so. I appreciate having a bare-bones release. It's refreshing to have a disc that is the movie only. Who needs all the junk that we get on most Blu-ray discs? Yes a making-of documentary would be fun, but is there anyone who loves the movie who doesn't already have some idea of the craft that went into making it?

This release is for people who love the movie, end of story. If you love the movie, you'll appreciate having such a wonderful, flawless transfer to enjoy in high definition at home. If you don't love the movie, you will find things to quibble about such as the lack of extras. I, for one, am happy with what we've got now.

 

 Avatar (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray]