It remains to be seen if the DVD and Blu-ray release of the most successful film of all time will compare on the home entertainment charts as well as it did on the big screen, but nothing changes the fact that Avatar is the spring’s most hotly anticipated disc.
Despite a movie on another planet ironically being released on Earth Day, we folks here at Player Affinity wanted to give you all the official details on the DVD and Blu-ray versions as well as some helpful price comparisons. Considering a larger-than-usual segment of the population is considering spending human dollars to own some of cinematic history, they all might as well make that decision an educated one.
That said, the educated decision as a fiscally responsible consumer would be not buying this movie.
The first thing you should know is that there are no special features on either the DVD or Blu-ray/DVD combo. A four-disc special edition is expected at some point. The second thing you should know is that neither edition is in 3D. Fox probably wants to wait until sale of 3D-capable televisions goes up a bit before they spend money to manufacture millions of 3D discs. That and they hope you’ll buy every edition they release.
We’ve all seen that there’s lots of behind the scenes footage of Avatar whether you saw it online or watched Oprah. Considering Oscar-caliber work went into the production of this film as well as ground-breaking 3D motion-capture technology, it would be silly to buy a version of the movie that didn’t have any of those features on it.
Nevertheless, it would be wrong not to give you all the details of these discs. Some of you, after all, might be starting a collection of sorts, so you deserve some information.
DETAILS
Visual: Widescreen, 1.78:1 aspect ratio
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
BEST PRICING
Amazon: $15.99 – DVD, $19.99 – Blu-ray
Target: $15.99 – DVD, $19.99 – Blu-ray
Best Buy: $15.99 – DVD, $22.99 – Blu-ray
Wal Mart: $16.98 – DVD, $24.96 – Blu-ray
RECOMMENDATION
You already know I’m not going to tell you to buy this disc and you should sleep easy knowing that a multi-disc special edition is expected by year’s end.
However, Avatar would make a great rental for anyone who hasn’t seen it or wants a quick fix by seeing it again because they saw it before it made millions and won Oscars and they want a second opinion …that or the far more unlikely scenario of wanting to experience Pandora for the first time in 2D.
That’s how you have to look at this release. At least now you can consume Avatar in your home.
