‘Avatar’ DVD release tied to Earth Day
Blue is the new green ó so get ready to return to Pandora on Earth Day in April.
James Cameron has scheduled the DVD and Blu-ray release of his mega-hit Avatar for April 22 in a deliberate attempt to parallel his science-fiction fantasy, and its simple-minded ecological messages, with the real-life environmental movement.
Call him naive ó and most critics and audiences have done so ó but Cameron is obviously hard-wired into the eco-zeitgeist because Avatar is running away with box-office records.
There is no reason to believe that the home entertainment releases will not do incredibly well, too, even though the April DVD and Blu-ray products will be bare-bones ëvanillaí versions with few if any bonus materials. Cameron has hinted that the fully loaded editions will arrive in November, although that may be optimistic, depending on whether there is an attempt to show Avatar in 3D (that technology for current home entertainment systems is still crude). But Cameron is known from past DVD releases, such as for The Abyss and Titanic, to be extraordinarily generous and comprehensive when he does deliver the goods in bonus materials.
The scheduled Avatar release is one of many involving Oscar-nominated pictures. There are 22 feature films with at least two noms. Five have already been released to home entertainment. Another seven are scheduled for March, including both Up in the Air and Precious next week. Another three, including Avatar, will debut in April. One more is confirmed for May while five are waiting for their release dates. Of the 10 best picture contenders, five are already on DVD and Blu-ray ó which has been helpful in their Oscar campaigns ó while the other five are scheduled.
If you want to catch up on your Oscar nominees, here are time-lines, along with the number of nominations, for the 10 best picture candidates (dates are subject to change, depending on the whims of distributors):
ï Avatar (9 Oscar nominations): April 22.
ï The Hurt Locker (9): Already released Jan. 12 with a strong Blu-ray version.
ï Inglourious Basterds (8): Already released Dec. 15 with excellent DVD and Blu-ray editions.
ï Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (6): March 9.
ï Up in the Air (6): March 9.
ï District 9 (4): Already released Dec. 22 with an excellent Blu-ray that includes the original Canadian-made short that inspired the feature.
ï An Education (3): March 30.
ï The Blind Side (2): March 23.
ï A Serious Man (2): Already released Feb. 9 with a decent DVD and Blu-ray.
As for films that did not make it as a best-picture candidate but which factor into the Oscar race in other categories, here is information on their home entertainment releases:
ï Nine (4): Not yet scheduled.
ï Star Trek (4): Already released Nov. 17 in terrific, fan-friendly DVD and Blu-ray releases.
ï Crazy Heart (3): Not yet scheduled.
ï The Princess and the Frog (3): March 16.
ï The Young Victoria (3): April 20.
ï Sherlock Holmes (2): March 30.
ï Invictus (2): Not yet scheduled.
ï The Messenger (2): May 18.
ï The Last Station (2): Not yet scheduled.
ï The Fantastic Mr. Fox (2): March 23.
ï The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2): April 27.
ï The White Ribbon (2): Not yet scheduled.
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