James Cameron's "Avatar" Thread v.4

[Monsieur Xavier]

So Cameron wants Avatar seen again on the big screen with new scenes? What's the point? Can't he show rhem on DVD or Blu-ray editions?

Both.

The point :
- some people ( me among them ) want to see it again on big screen.
- the movie can still make money on theater
- why not ?

 

[terry78]

Yes, I am going to go see this on the weekend. I want to see the details on the big screen.

 

[Kane52630]

yeah if theres still a need for the movie people will go and see it, plus its only gonna be shown in 700 theaters that will only be seen in 3D. people get all pissy about "oh its greedy, they already made so much money" but the thing is its a business, its always been about the $$$

 

[rashad]

Avatar's Eight Extra Minutes Reviewed

New beasties

Added footage: As Jake, Norm, and Grace (in Na'vi form) all prepare to enter Pandora for the first time in the film, they fly over Pandoran lakes in a gunship with giant purple animals flying alongside them. Grace points out a herd of animals feeding at the lake, and they make a note of their behaviour.

What does it add? James Cameron promised new creatures, and here they are, although it's only a fleeting shot, and to be honest, they looked a lot like the titanotheres that Jake confronts later on. Not much to see here folks.

Dr. Augustine's abandoned school

Added footage: After being dropped in the jungle by Trudi's gunship, Jake, Grace, and Norm enter the jungle. Before the scene where Jake is confronted by the titanotheres, we're treated to a glimpse inside Dr. Augustine's derelict schoolhouse, only hinted at in the original version.

What does it add? The look inside the bullet ridden school shack adds depth to the conflict between the humans and the Na'vi, and there is a touching moment where Norm picks up a discarded copy of Dr. Seuss' environmental fable The Lorax. Jake nervously fingers the bullet holes asking Grace, "What happened here?"

Na'vi hunting

Added footage: Once Jake has bonded with his declan (flying banshee), and following the original exhilarating flight sequence, we're treated to a scene in which the young warriors go out on a hunting sortie. With Tsu'tey and his men hunting from the backs of their direhorses, Tsu'tey proves his worth by felling a mighty titanothere with a spear, before Jake and Neytiri swoop in on their declans, with Jake also making a clean kill.

What does it add? We now have proof that Jake, "was born to do this... death from above" as he claims in the original version. Jake's kill is greeted by a bombastic cry of "Hell yeah" from both Jake and Neytiri, further antagonising the already irked Tsu'tey.

The sex scene

Added footage: When Jake was accepted as one of the Omaticaya, he confessed his love for Neytiri under the Tree of Souls, and the couple simply kissed and embraced. Now we see the pair joining their ponytail's neural tendrils together with an almost orgasmic dilation of the pupils.

What does it add? After all the hype of the 'added sex scene' it's actually fairly tame. The neural bonding is quite sensual, and Neytiri straddles Jake, but there's no thrusting or eroticism, so you're still quite safe to watch this with your mum.

Burning bulldozers

Added footage: With the bulldozers finally reaching the Omaticaya's jungle home and destroying the Tree of Souls, we originally saw Jake smashing up cameras on the front of one of the giant dozers, but now we see the full extent of the Na'vi resistance. With Jake and Grace back in human form and facing off against the military brass about their actions, the scene includes footage of the grunts down on the ground surveying the damage of a Na'vi fight back.

What does it add? With one of their giant yellow bulldozers burning, and six dead men on the ground, the humans now have even more reason to justify the destruction of the Na'vi. Although, interestingly it feels like a 'Greedo shot first moment', almost adding some sympathy to the human cause - perhaps why it was excluded in the first cut.

Tsu'tey's death scene

Added footage: Tsu'tey, pretender to the Omaticaya's crown, is felled whilst attacking a gunship high in the air above Pandora. Originally we saw his body freefalling towards the ground, seemingly the end of this proud warrior, but now in the Special Edition, Tsu'tey's noble ending is returned. We see him tumble through the trees, before finally hitting the ground bloodied and bullet-ridden.

Once the final battle is over, and before we see the humans being escorted off in their ships, Tsu'tey is discovered dying on the battlefield by Jake.

What does it add? Jake kneels over Tsu'tey and they make their peace. Tsu'tey says he is proud to have fought alongside Toruk Mato, the Last Shadow, and asks for a warrior's death. As Jake leans over Tsu'tey casting the last shadow (clever innit?), he plunges his blade into the injured Na'vi, giving him an honourable death. Jake's redemption in the eyes of the Na'vi has been given an extra sheen.

Overall the added footage gives the already spectacular film an extra layer, and seeing it on the big screen again just confirms that Avatar has yet to be surpassed as the most incredible 3D film ever.

However with scant new plot detail added, you get the feeling that these added scenes should probably have just been deleted scenes on the Bluray and DVD, rather than the full-scale rerelease we're being treated to.
http://movies.ign.com/articles/111/1115814p1.html

Full descriptions of re-release footage.

 

[terry78]

I do want to see the school scene, Tsu'Tey's death, and I confess I am curious about that "sex scene."

 

[Passdom]

Not really full. There are several extended scenes (shown even in the trailer) as well as extensions to the final battle scene, that they don't mention.

I can't say I agree with the guy saying "scant new plot details." That bulldozer scene, even if short, is a pretty substantial change (for the better) regarding the behaviour of the Na'vi, as well as to the motivations of the humans and their actions. It definitely adds a few more nice layers.


As far as the money goes, this isnt going to gross 20+ million dollars, and Fox knows that. With it being put in only 700 theaters, and having only 2 weeks until another movie (resident evil) takes away a lot of those screens, this is a really limited release. I guarantee it doesn't gross more than 6-7 million this weekend, if even that.

 

[dark_b]

I do want to see the school scene, Tsu'Tey's death, and I confess I am curious about that "sex scene."

its only the pony tail foreplay that you see in the new tv spot.

 

[Figs]

Hahaha!

I can just imagine all the obsessed borderline psycho fans all crying out it unison reading that the sex scene isn't all that steamy.

 

[Passdom]

Hahaha!

I can just imagine all the obsessed borderline psycho fans all crying out it unison reading that the sex scene isn't all that steamy.

I think most fans know what the scene really is.

Its the media who ridiculously hyped the scene to be something that it wasn't just to get some cheap page views on their websites.

 

[Ipodman]

Im curious for the death scene of Neytiri's ex husband, but I can wait till the Special Edition DVD

 

[rashad]

Forthcoming Avatar Special Edition DVD Reinstates the Film’s Original Earthbound Opening

So Avatar is back in theaters today with nine extra minutes. But as we told you not long ago, this version of the film will hit DVD in November, and when it does there will be a further seven minutes added, making the film sixteen minutes longer than the original theatrical cut.

Now James Cameron is talking about what will be in that longer cut of the film. One of the things going back in is the original opening of Avatar, which started out on “a dystopian, Blade Runner-ish Earth.”
Cameron talked to The Oregonian, saying,

…if you buy the box set in November, you can sit down, and in a continuous screening of the film, watch it with the Earth opening.

We’ve long known that this opening was shot, but ended up being cut because it was a bit slow, and Cameron wanted to just put audiences on the way to Pandora as soon as possible.
He reiterates that in further comments from the interview.

[The Earth opening] works very well. It just takes a long time to get the movie started. You have to be sort of predisposed to like the movie like a fan, you know what I mean? And then you can sit and you can have a great ride — a different telling of Avatar. Not inconsistent — it’s just the stuff that happened off-camera.

It’s about 4 1/2 minutes of stuff. And it was in for the longest time. It was very late in the day that we took it out. I walked in one day and said to my two editors, ‘Guys, I want each of you to cut a new version of the start of the film, Reel 1, that doesn’t have any Earth in it at all.’ And they looked at me like I was out of my mind. And I said, ‘No — it’s gonna work.’ They had to figure out the details. I said, ‘Just grab a couple of things to use as flashbacks, and start it in space when Jake opens his eyes.’
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In the interview Cameron explains that while that sequence was cut late in the game, it still featured unfinished effects, which Fox spent “a million bucks or whatever” to finish.

So this November box set will feature that opening, a bit of other footage and then “like 45 minutes of unfinished deleted scenes.”

http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/08/27...states-the-films-original-earthbound-opening/
http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/index.ssf/2010/08/interview_with_james_cameron_o.html

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Sounds cool.


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[Kane52630]

Sounds cool.


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thats all I need to know

cant wait to buy it

 

[Bim]

Indeed, that sounds great. I look forward to that dvd release for sure

 

[Soapy]

Awesome.

What does he mean by "box set"? Are we getting Avatar 2 and 3 with it as well?

 

[Man in the Suit]

Good. I want to see the Earth stuff.

 

[Passdom]

Yes! Im so happy the Earth scenes will be put back in.

Btw, I saw the re-release this evening. If you didn't like Avatar before, this won't change your mind, but if you did, theres just more stuff to love imo.

Some new scenes that restore some needed context and give a more realistic view of what happens (IE in the original cut Quaritch goes and destroys the Navi home just because, but theres now a scene where we find out the Navi massacred a bunch of humans in retaliation, we actually see charred bodies and whatever, and this is the event that is used to justify the attack. Its less black and white, and humanizes the Na'vi more, since you know these guys can be vicious as hell too). The scene with the old School is also great and I cant believe it was ever taken out. Gives a nice view into what may have happened before the movie. Theres also a lot of extended scenes with Jake and Neytiri that solidify the relationship of the characters. You know, those little moments, added up they really tell a story. Theres also lots of new moments in the final battle, including an AWESOME shot where one of the newly added animals, the one from the Hunt, impales a soldier in his Mech and shoves him into a tree.

And finally the new scene added at the end of the movie is fantastic. Its absolutely astounding how the emotion is rendered through the CG. I can't believe it was ever taken out.

Overall, its just a more fleshed out and better version of the theatrical cut, glad I saw it, and am really excited to the see the movie with the earth opening restored on blu-ray and whatever else they decide to add.

 

[dark_b]

so the Tsu'Tey scene is good?

 

[Apollo]

I want to see this again so bad! t:

did anyone else go this weekend or are going?

 

[Passdom]

so the Tsu'Tey scene is good?

Yes, its fantastic.

I can kinda understand why Cameron originally cut it, but its such a great scene and deserves to be in the movie, so its great that it gets a second life in a new cut of the movie.

Its by far the most impressive movie moment of any flick Ive seen this whole summer, if not the entire year. Its nothing short of astonishing what WETA has done with performance capture.

 

[Figs]

Yes! Im so happy the Earth scenes will be put back in.

Btw, I saw the re-release this evening. If you didn't like Avatar before, this won't change your mind, but if you did, theres just more stuff to love imo.

And finally the new scene added at the end of the movie is fantastic. Its absolutely astounding how the emotion is rendered through the CG. I can't believe it was ever taken out.

How full was the theatre at your showing?

 

[Passdom]

How full was the theatre at your showing?

Hmm, I saw it in the afternoon yesterday and Id say it was a little less than half full. Its not a very big theater.

 

[spider-neil]

cinema I saw the movie in was packed, which if I'm honest, surprised me.

perfer the theatrial version rather than the extended cut, the only scene they should have interested in the TC was the tsu'tey death.
I hope you have a choice of watching the TC and the extra are seperate with the EC also on the blu ray.

 

[ironwez20]

Ill wait for the dvd but i cant wait to see this.

 

[Mr. Para-Normal]

Even though I am a fan of the movie I will have to pass on this. I saw it 3 times in 3D. Then I made the mistake of buying the blu ray with no extras. So after I buy the special edition blu ray in December this movie will get no more money from me. I don't care if they release 10 more special editions of this movie. James camron please stop milking this movie. You have enough money now lol.

 

[Solidus]

Even though I'm not the biggest fan of this, I know I'm a minority I've been itching for a long time to see the "Blade Runner-ish" city at the beginning. That may be worth it for me to purchase this edition of the blu.