James Cameron’s Avatar so revolutionized filmmaking technology that, nearly 15 years later, the original film looks flawless. And now your home viewing experience can be enhanced with a new 4K Ultra-HD release from 20th Century Studios and Buena Vista Home Entertainment. Coinciding with the physical media release of Avatar: The Way of Water, the film has never looked or sounded better at home than it does in this release.
(20th Century Studios)
Set in a future of limited resources, humans have begun strip-mining other planets for raw materials and are facing challenges with the native people of a moon called Pandora, the Na'vi. Enter Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a disabled Marine whose twin brother was meant to go on a scientific mission to Pandora in a Na’vi avatar designed just for him. Since Jake shares his deceased brother’s DNA, he can link up to the avatar and finds himself relocated to Pandora to serve as security for Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) and her team. But as a former jarhead, Jake instantly catches the attention of Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), who wants Jake to serve as a double agent, finding the Na’vi’s weaknesses so he can stop them from getting in their way of mining Pandora. But one thing Jake never counted on was falling in love. Not with Pandora, not with the Na’vi way of life, and least of all with Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), daughter of the leaders of the Omaticaya clan.
The film that launched a franchise and a theme park land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort has already been released on home video a number of times in various formats. While this “Ultimate Collector’s Edition” adds two new bonus features in addition to the 4K disc debut of the film, it leaves a lot behind from the 2010 “Extended Collector's Edition” release. It only contains the theatrical cut of the film (plus the “Family Audio Track” with swear words omitted) and doesn’t come with any of the deleted scenes, of which there were over an hour included on that release. While the title “Ultimate Collector’s Edition” may be a misnomer considering all of the supplemental features missing, it does pull together the most worthwhile elements to share an authentic making-of experience with fans.
Bonus Features
- NEW – Memories from Avatar (21;20) – Producer Jon Landau leads a spirited conversation with cast members Sam Worthington, Zoë Saldana, Sigourney Weaver and Stephen Lang, recalling warm memories from production and reflecting on the extraordinary success of Avatar.
- NEW – Avatar: A Look Back (10:03) – In this retrospective, cast and filmmakers reflect on their extraordinary journey making Avatar, the groundbreaking technologies they used to create an unparalleled cinematic experience, and the profound effect the film had on audiences worldwide.
- Capturing Avatar (1:38:26) – Journey with James Cameron and crew in this feature-length documentary, as they embark on a film the likes of which the world had never seen.
- Part One (27:08) – After years of testing, research and design, James Cameron’s tackled Avatar, "the most complex film" in his storied career.
- Part Two (27:17) – Actors and technology are pushed to the limit as James Cameron pushes the boundaries of a groundbreaking, new filmmaking paradigm.
- Part Three (24:08) – James Cameron used ground-breaking technology to merge the virtual and live-action elements of his film.
- Part Four (19:51) – The edit room became ground zero as music, sound and visual effects were finalized in order to make the film’s release date.
- Featurettes (1:31:51) – Take a closer look at the creation of Pandora and the making of Avatar with featurettes on key aspects of production design, performance capture, and the post-production process.
- Sculpting Avatar (3:46) – Explore how clay maquettes were sculpted to help bring Avatar’s characters and creatures to life.
- Creating the Banshee (9:51) – Discover all that went into designing the Banshees, high-flying predators of the Pandoran sky.
- Creating the Thanator (3:20) – James Cameron and team reveal how the most terrifying beast in the Pandoran rain forest was brought to the screen.
- The AMP Suit (4:31) – Explore the design of the AMP (Amplified Mobility Platform) and discover why it was the perfect weapon for Colonel Quaritch.
- Flying Vehicles (5:13) – Explore the design of the RDA’s gunships and how they helped ground the story in a realistic world audiences could connect to.
- Na’vi Costumes (4:14) – Discover the costumes of Avatar and why it was essential to create real-world costumes for characters that were seen only in a virtual world.
- Speaking Na’vi (6:37) – Delve into the complex Na'vi language created for Avatar, and the challenging task for the cast who had to speak it.
- Pandora Flora (5:40) – Explore the science behind the Pandoran rainforest, including the exotic plants and bioluminescence.
- Stunts (5:14) – James Cameron and Avatar’s stunt coordinators discuss how they learned to move like a Na’vi, ride a Leonopteryx, and more.
- Performance Capture (6:32) – Discover how the actors' actions, emotions and spirit were captured in performance and transferred to a virtual character.
- Virtual Camera (3:43) – Discover the virtual camera system that allowed James Cameron to apply camera angles, lighting and movement to his scenes long after the performance capture phase was completed.
- The 3D Fusion Camera (3:43) – Explore the newly designed 3D Fusion camera system which enabled the filmmakers to create an immersive stereographic experience.
- The Simul-Cam (2:18) – See how the newly created Simul-Cam seamlessly integrated the virtual world with the live action camera, allowing Jake’s avatar to appear in a scene with real-world actors.
- Editing Avatar (6:59) – James Cameron and the film’s editors reveal the unique challenges they faced editing Avatar, and the benefits of "learning as you go”.
- Scoring Avatar (6:06) – Composer James Horner and James Cameron discuss how Avatar’s score was grounded in the familiar while evoking a breathtaking new world.
- Sound Design (8:50) – Explore the sounds of Pandora, including the Banshee, Direhorse and Thanator, as well as the near-future engineering sounds of the Dragon, Scorpion and more.
- The Haka: The Spirit of New Zealand (5:17) – On the final day of production, the New Zealand stuntmen honored James Cameron with a traditional Haka dance.
Video
Presented in 1.78.1, the 4K UHD presentation of Avatar fills the entire frame of your widescreen TV. This ratio matches the original theatrical aspect ratio of the 3D release, although in 2D, the film was cropped to 2:35:1, making this akin to an open-matte option (and the only ratio the film has been made available in for at-home viewing). The transfer is so incredible that, at times, the screen looks like a window with a depth of field. No, this isn’t the 3D version, but the contrast is such that you will often feel that it could be. Compared to the 1080p Blu-Ray transfer, there is a lot of detail gained, which helps add to this effect. Comparatively, the included Blu-Ray disc feels flattened in some ways. And for darker scenes with bioluminescent sources of life, those moments really thrive in 4K.
Audio
The primary audio mix on the 4K disc is an English 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos mix. It’s as immersive as the visuals, turning your home theater’s sound field into a link to your own personal avatar on Pandora. Other audio options include two English stereo mixes (one in Dolby Digital, one in DTS-HDMA), plus French, Spanish, and Japanese 5.1 Dolby Digital. The Blu-Ray disc replaces the main mix with English 5.1 DTS-HDMA and replicates all other options, minus French and Japanese. Both discs include a 5.1 “Family Audio Track” version of the film, which omits some unnecessary swearing.
Packaging & Design
Housed in a standard black 4K Blu-Ray case, this 3-disc set used larger spindles on either side of the interior case, stacking two of the discs in the set. All three discs contain disc art. The initial release includes a matte white slipcover with glossy artwork and holofoil accents. Inserts include a Movies Anywhere digital copy code and a flier for Disney Movie Club. None of the discs have trailers. Menus are static images set to score from the film.
Final Thoughts
The best way to experience the theatrical cut of Avatar at home is this new 4K Ultra-HD/Blu-Ray/Digital “Ultimate Collector’s Edition” release. While it loses points for missing out on extended cuts of the film and some bonus features, what is included offers a nice peek into the process of creating the film, plus two brand-new retrospectives. Serious fans will want to hold onto their extended release, but if you have a 4K TV and plan on revisiting this film, particularly as the franchise continues to add installments, you won’t want to pass on this upgrade.
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