By: Lauren Cohen (University of Miami)
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All you Avatar fans…the wait (which, if you think about it, wasn’t a wait at all) is over! In honor of Earth Day, Avatar was being released yesterday on Blu-Ray and DVD! But before you get your hopes up, I have some rather unfortunate news: First of all, don’t expect a 3D version anytime soon. For that, you will have to wait until 2011. So I know what you’re thinking: “okay, not too big a deal, at least we’ll get a load of kick-ass special features…” …and if that’s what you’re thinking, I hate to say it, but you’re wrong. The DVD being released today is just the bareback version…just the movie, and absolutely nothing else. Oh, you can get the “Blu-Ray 2-Disk” version they’re advertising for…but that “two-disk” version simply means this: The Blu-Ray Theatrical Version and the DVD Theatrical Version put together in the same box.
Fox claims that the reasoning behind this is to “use all available storage space” in order to get the best picture and sound quality possible. If you ask me, the REAL reason they’re doing this is to capitalize on the film’s current popularity, and milk it for all its worth. The hardcore fans will all run out tomorrow and eagerly wait in line to pay the 20 bucks for the DVD…and then, when the second version of the DVD is released with the special features in November, they’ll just have to re-purchase it. And then when the 3D version comes out…well, who can resist owning such a spectacle on Blu-Ray 3D? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. What else should I expect from James Cameron, the ultimate business man–the man whose two most recent movies are the top two highest grossing movies of all-time?
