For me, the real story behind Avatar wasn't the movie itself. but the story behind the production. I wasn't incredibly impressed with the film's lazy storytelling, but marveled at its technical feats. This left me wanting to know more about the process and the original release left me hanging.
Avatar: Extended Collector's Edition is meant for the hardcore fans that wanted more than the movie. It's a bit of a double dip for the film, but it packs in more than enough extras to justify a re-purchase.
The Collector's Edition's main stage attractions are the two additional versions of the film. The first is the Special Edition version released back in August. The second is an Extended Cut, which includes 16 minutes of additional footage. I had mixed views on the original release (which you can read here) and I'm not incredibly sure if the additional footage really did anything to improve the film. Most of the new footage is really just a few seconds tacked on to flesh out certain scenes. A bulk of the footage, however, comes from the alternate opening detailing Jake's life on Earth and basically showing the information from the original release's opening text.
Although the new footage helps expand on certain issues, I personally didn't think it added much to the generally weak storytelling. To me, it's the equivalent of adding icing to an undercooked cake. It certainly looks prettier, but once you take a bite, it's obvious the center isn't quite done. It's still one of the better tasting undercooked cakes you'll ever eat, but still...
The additional footage does, however, come with a slight technical issue on the backend. The original release is still the most amazing looking Blu-ray in my collection. The two new versions look great, but there's a bit of compression used to pack everything in. It's still a stunning-looking transfer, but there's some unevenness in areas, particularly in the restored areas. It's nothing most viewers will complain about (or likely even notice), but worth a mention for the A/V enthusiasts who demand the best picture quality possible.
Though it's not really a "cut" of the film, there's also a Family Audio Track that removes objectionable material.
The 16 minutes of additional footage is further supplemented by nearly an hour of deleted scenes. Most of the footage is rough, so you know I spent more time with these than just about any other feature in the set. I love the actual process, so it was neat to see the film in various stages of completion. Several scenes are set against the green screen, while others show very rough form CG. A handful just shows the actors in their motion capture rigs. It's neat stuff if you're into this sort of thing.
Some of the deleted scenes actually add more to the story than what was restored in either of the extended versions. Chief among the stuff that never found its way into either cut are expanded roles for both Trudy (Michelle Rodriguez) and Norm (Joel David Moore). The duo was sort of throw-a-way characters in other releases, but actually serve a purpose. Honestly, I think adding these scenes would have added more to the film than most of what was restored.
Though the two cuts take center stage, the epic "Making of..." feature -- "Capturing Avatar" -- is a great following act. Running at nearly and hour-and-a-half, the feature offers an in-depth look at everything that went into making the film. It's not as technically focused as I had hoped, but the amount of information packed into the feature more than makes up for any perceived shortcomings. The feature takes viewers through the entire process, moving from department to department, offering bits of information at near break-neck speed. I actually had to watch the feature 3 times to absorb everything.
The feature is joined by a set of seventeen production features focusing on specific production features. My favorite was "Scene Deconstruction," where you can flip through select scenes and see them in different production stages. Others cover every aspect of the process that wasn't caught in the "Capturing Avatar documentary. Consider the featurettes "deleted scenes" covering everything from the different types of cameras developed for the film to performance capture to editing and scoring. There's more information here than you could ever want to know about the film.
Finally, there's a twenty-minute featurette "Message from Pandora," a short piece on the environment and how to live eco friendly as well as loads of production artwork and other archival material, including a copy of the screenplay, the original story treatment and an encyclopedia covering all things Pandora.
Although I didn't love the movie, it's hard to not recommend Avatar to anyone who hasn't seen the film. It's a bumpy ride down well-trodden road from a storytelling perspective, but its technical achievements add a little extra push.
If you're only after a copy of the film, the original release is more than enough. If you want a little more, this is the way to go.
