The Movie, The Picture, The Sound
So you're a Big Picture Big Sound reader, you're curious about Avatar, but still don't know the gist of the story? I've already reviewed two different Blu-ray editions, one or both of which you might already own (it is the biggest-selling movie on Blu-ray in the history of the format) but for those not in-the-know: Avatar tells the story of Jake Sully, a wounded soldier of the future who leaves Earth behind to take part in an amazing cultural exchange program. He will experience life as one of the giant blue Na'vi of Pandora via a living, breathing avatar created by a corporation looking to convince the natives to surrender their land, for human profit. Crises of conscience and thrilling adventures ensue, all conceived and executed under the singular direction of visionary filmmaker James Cameron.
Game-changing as it was, few films have elicited the question "How'd they do that?" more than this all-time box-office champ, and so the behind-the-scenes bonus features are now intrinsic to Avatar. As such, Apple has now made available for download a new "iTunes Extras Special Edition" that assembles a splendid array of supplements. To give you some idea of the scale, the SD version of the movie ($14.99 including extras) is a 2.35-gigabyte file, the HD version ($19.99, and the SD copy is bundled in at no additional cost) is 5.35GB, while the folder of bonus features specs out at a hair over seven GB. You might want to set this up to download overnight, as I did.
Keen-minded Avatar fans will recall that a movie-only download was previously available on iTunes, around the release of the DVD, but then pulled from the Store. It has finally returned in this unique edition, the first of its kind. I'll detail the bonus content below, but first I need to perform my due diligence.
The efficiently authored "HD" 720p MPEG-4 video file is pretty wonderful actually, not quite as sharp and stable as either of the Blu-ray discs, but how could it be? Extremely fast motion shots tend to break down with a slightly blocky quality, with banding in the expected places (the frequent mist) and a faint, general noise over much of the 100%-CG imagery. But the 16:9 video consistently delivers ample detail to be unmistakable as high-def.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: I must point out the somewhat stringent technical requirements in order to view this unusual special edition, per Apple's note in the iTunes Store: "To play Avatar in HD, your computer must have Windows 7 and a built-in display or a display that supports HDCP." To elaborate: "High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) is a security feature requiring the use of HDCP certified products in order to display digital media like High-Definition (HD) video. In iTunes for Windows, in order to view HD content, both the display hardware (computer screen, LCD, external monitor, and so on) and video card driver must support HDCP."
And pertaining to the bonus materials: "iTunes Extras is only for use on a Mac or PC with iTunes 9 or later, or on Apple TV (1st generation with version 3.0 or later)." FYI.]
The audio is a Dolby Digital 5.1-channel track, with a stereo option accessible as well. A multichannel accompaniment is vital to this immersive movie and the Oscar-nominated mix holds up admirably, if a bit thin-sounding in places once we're used to the reference-quality high-resolution DTS-HD Master Audio.
But c'mon, it's a good bet that you'd be buying this new download for...
The (iTunes) Extras
iTunes Extras are Apple's own brand of supplementary materials--sometimes exclusive--included with the purchase of select movies from the iTunes Store. Even the redemption of Digital Copy download codes on iTunes from certain recent Blu-rays have arrived with this bonus.
"A Message from Pandora" (20:16) and the four-part "Capturing Avatar" (98:26 total) will seem familiar to hardcore buffs, previously released as they were. The first bit reveals the saga behind some of Cameron's real-world inspiration down in Brazil, as well as his attempts to help this remote tribe. The feature-length documentary meanwhile touches upon the several uniquely grueling stages of the movie's production.
A "Scene Deconstruction" section dissects 17 noteworthy sequences from the film, with both an individual Level Viewer and an Advanced Level Viewer. The first option plays simply one of the four versions of a given scene--the final version, final with a contrasting picture-in-picture window, the crude reference template of the unfinished character CGI, and the live actor performance capture--while the second combines different levels together on the screen at the same time, with different layouts possible (see illustrations). We can spend hours exploring and comparing if so desired.
Even more elaborate and innovative is the brand-new "Green Screen X-Ray" section. Here we can move the computer cursor around the picture in order to expose the green screen, the distinctive background color that was there on the set behind the actors as a necessary step for the special effects, which were added later. We can even adjust the size of the "reveal" area of the nifty pseudo-x-ray effect and see just how much of these now-familiar scenarios were in fact created via movie magic. Please write in and correct me if I'm wrong, but, as far as I know this has never been done before.
Still-frames receive their own segment in this edition as well. Cameron's original "scriptment" summary reads a lot like an ample short story, expanding into actual dialogue in places. His complete Avatar screenplay is included as well. These should suffice until he finishes the fully fleshed-out Avatar novel he is reportedly working on, but just in case there is also the Pandorapedia in eight chapters, plus both English-to-Na'vi and Na'vi-to-English Dictionaries, 388 pages total. No fewer than 1,700 art/photo images are collected here too, or so they tell me, I didn't count every last one.
As a final bonus, in the "More" section, the 2D trailer for the upcoming Titanic 3D is unveiled.
Final Thoughts
James Cameron himself once made comments to the effect that he did not make Avatar as a movie that people should watch on their iPhones. Thankfully this new offering from Apple is so much more, ready to enjoy again on a variety of devices, and deeply interactive in the way I had wished that the Blu-ray Extended Collector's Edition had been, and as no other iTunes Extras edition has ever dared. It's not a bad value as iTunes movies go, and highly recommended for the Avatar completist.
Where to Buy:
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