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Rottenwatch: AVATAR (82%)

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I just finished watching the Blu-ray last night and the picture quality absolutely blew me away. I have seen other movies with great picture quality like the Pirates of the Carribean Trilogy, Wall-E, Up, Kingdom of Heaven, Fight Club, the Bourne movies, etc... etc... but Avatar stands heads and shoulders above them in my opinion.
 
cvxfreak said:
They're identical in terms of content, if that's what you're asking.

They re-recorded the Nav'i language for the Japanese track, and it loses a lot of the charm in the process. The intonation doesn't seem as strong or well defined.
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So, for a difference of 10 dollars between the DVD and the Bluray/DVD version, would you recommend buying the latter?
 
2hplz11.jpg


wohoooo
 
A couple of tidbits of info from an IT Storage magazine:

To render Avatar, Weta used a 10,000 sq ft (930m2) server farm, making use of 4,000 Hewlett-Packard servers, with 35,000 processor cores.
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Creating the Na'vi characters and the virtual world of Pandora required more than a petabyte* of digital storage and each minute of the final footage for Avater occupies 17.28 gigabytes of storage.
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* 1 petabyte = 1 million gigabytes
 
http://www.thestar.com/entertainmen...ameron-to-hollywood-we-need-3-d-watchdog?bn=1
Avatar creator James Cameron wants to create a voluntary movie industry watchdog group to maintain 3-D movie momentum and to avoid “stupid stuff” like the recent Clash of the Titans makeover.

Having set a new benchmark for 3-D realism with techniques his team developed for Avatar, Cameron told The Star he wants to encourage other filmmakers to make the best possible use of the third dimension. He perceives fears about the current 3-D revival that he’d like to address.

“What I’d love to do is put together some kind of a forum with the DGA (Directors Guild of America), let’s say, and maybe the ASC (American Society of Cinematographers) and we’d have to do it in Canada, too,” the Ontario-born Cameron said from Los Angeles.

“And let’s just have a dialogue with the creative community. On the one hand, to allay their fears, because a lot of people are stepping back from 3-D and they’re afraid of it. They think it’s complex or they think you have to have a budget like Avatar to be able to do it. That’s not the case.

“And on the other hand, I think some quality standards do need to be discussed. I think the studios and big distribution companies need to be included in that dialogue. Let’s not do stupid stuff that’s going to hurt this burgeoning marketplace.”

As an example of “stupid stuff,” he pointed to Warner Bros.’ after-the-fact transformation of its current Clash of the Titans remake from a 2-D release to a 3-D one, using a controversial post-production process that took just seven weeks but which failed to impress either critics or moviegoers.

“They worked against themselves with that film,” Cameron said.

“I’ve heard people say that they couldn’t watch (Clash of the Titans) in 3-D and thought it looked better in 2-D and they enjoyed the film more. I haven’t seen the film, so I don’t want to say too much, but I heard from enough sources that it was borderline unwatchable.

“And I have to say, I predicted that. When they said they were going to try to convert it to

3-D in seven weeks, I said it’s not possible. You can’t do it. You can slap a 3-D label on it and call it 3-D, but there’s no possible way that it can be done up to a standard that anybody would consider high enough.”

Cameron said he anticipates a day in the not-too-distant future when 3-D films will be “more the rule than the exception.” Ironically, one of the films he’s planning to make in the next few years would probably be in 2-D, but for a very specific reason.

He wants to make a movie out of Last Train From Hiroshima, author Charles Pellegrino’s recent best-seller about the U.S. nuclear assault on Japan during World War II. The horrific images of burn victims described in the book may just be too visceral for the public to stand in 3-D, Cameron said.

“That’s a big question. I think it’s one of the creative decisions that need to be made.

I made a promise to myself that I was going to make all of my future films in 3-D, but that one might want to be an exception simply because the 3-D might make it a little too

visceral. It’s such a horrifying event, it might artistically not benefit from 3-D.”
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Cameron pussying out on Last Train to Hiroshima? I knew that silky white hair and well-fed exterior meant he had lost his dark edge. I blame Suzy Amis.
 
NightBlade88 said:
How the fuck does CGI take so much space?
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They are probably rendering out like 40 passes for all of the different rendering methods to be used in compositing, and they are also probably storing all the Z-Depth information which actually gives 2d images a sense of 3d information.

All of that adds up a lot, especially at insane resolutions completely uncompressed.

Oh yeah, they also probably pre-calculated all the physics simulation data, which literally could take up a ton of space by themselves.
2012 had a fuck ton of storage needed just for the wave effect.
 
mehdi_san said:
Hey is there a name for that technique when the camera suddenly zooms in while shaking a little bit (a-la gran turismo), and that is used a lot in Avatar?
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I think it's just called a zoom, they just replicate it in computers the way a real camera would do it. The handheld/cinema verite style so in vogue now uses it a lot for some reason, even in CGI shots (Serenity, Wall-E). It's always kind of jarring to me.
 
James Cameron and Jon Landau Discuss Battle Angel
April 23rd, 2010

James Cameron talks about his inspiration for the film projectOne of the many projects that director James Cameron could take on after his visit to Pandora is an adaptation of the manga Battle Angel and the director spoke a bit about the project yesterday. Sci Fi Wire took part in a group interview with Cameron, who was celebrating the Earth Day DVD/Blu-ray release of Avatar, and he talked about why he wants to make the film.


"I just love the character," Cameron said in a group interview. "Maybe it's from having daughters. I have three daughters, and thinking about what it's like, the main character is this little girl that everybody kind of ignores. She's got such a heroic heart on the inside, I've always loved that character."


Producer Jon Landau was also on hand at the event, who said that the film will offer a unique perspective on humanity.


"Battle Angel, I think, is a science fiction movie that begs the question 'What does it mean to be human?'" he told a group of reporters. "It takes place in a future world, a world that has cyborgs, but are you human if you have a mind, if you have a heart, if you have a soul? It's a journey of a young girl who tries to discover herself and what she learns upon that journey."


While it isn't known if this indeed will be Cameron and Landau's next film project, we'll be sure to keep you posted on any further Battle Angel updates as soon as we have more information.
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http://www.movieweb.com/news/NE08K425Q3ZK31
 
Fuck yeah'r. I'm calling it, Zoe Saldana for Alita. Considering the fact that they'll be using mo-cap they can always make the face look much younger than it already looks.
 
I'd rather see Battle Angel. I've already expressed my feelings on Avatar (mixed), putting them aside I'd still rather he make another film before he tackles the ambitious sequel.

It will also give him more time to flesh out his ideas of exploring the ocean or the other moons or whatever he's doing.
 
I never saw Avatar in the theaters. Bought the Blu-Ray on Thursday, and watched it last night. It was awesome. I really didn't have any expectations at all. Imagery is so colorful and different. Looks amazing on my 55" LG LH90 LED, and the sound is incredible through my Yamaha 5.1 receiver/speakers. Just started watching it again. For a 3 hour movie I didn't feel like it was too long, nor did I get bored. Definitely one of my favorite movies.
 
I just want to know that the bloody, scary Cameron is still alive and kicking in that silver-maned softy I see now. I want to see a return of the Cameron that used to be able to scare me and get my adrenalin going through the roof. Cameron's direction is better than its ever been, but ever since the success of Titanic I get the impression he wants to please everybody and has thus adapted to a softer narrative style.

I'm pretty sure the old Cameron would have iced Norm when writing Avatar. Hell, Jake would have been more than lucky to make it through alive.

In fact, I've just reminded myself of the first time I saw AVATAR and was watching Jake fumble about for the rebreather, struggling to breathe, before collapsing. A part of me inside was thinking 'Goddamnit Cameron, you're going to kill him!' and I was happy. I didn't expect that and so I was shocked. I guess I was reprieved when he lived, but I'd have to question whether the T1-Aliens-T2 Cameron would have let him live.

Also, when Quaritch went down in the mech, I was waiting for him to get back up somehow. The villians never go down on the first blow in a Cameron thriller. Its never over when you think it is.

Okay, now I'm just looking for excuses for him to go make Battle Angel.
 
Scullibundo said:
I just want to know that the bloody, scary Cameron is still alive and kicking in that silver-maned softy I see now. I want to see a return of the Cameron that used to be able to scare me and get my adrenalin going through the roof. Cameron's direction is better than its ever been, but ever since the success of Titanic I get the impression he wants to please everybody and has thus adapted to a softer narrative style.

I'm pretty sure the old Cameron would have iced Norm when writing Avatar. Hell, Jake would have been more than lucky to make it through alive.

In fact, I've just reminded myself of the first time I saw AVATAR and was watching Jake fumble about for the rebreather, struggling to breathe, before collapsing. A part of me inside was thinking 'Goddamnit Cameron, you're going to kill him!' and I was happy. I didn't expect that and so I was shocked. I guess I was reprieved when he lived, but I'd have to question whether the T1-Aliens-T2 Cameron would have let him live.

Also, when Quaritch went down in the mech, I was waiting for him to get back up somehow. The villians never go down on the first blow in a Cameron thriller. Its never over when you think it is.

Okay, now I'm just looking for excuses for him to go make Battle Angel.
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Oh, I was thinking "when will this bastard die!?" He was near the two explosions on the Dragon, had no rebreather, jumped out of the exploding wreckage, got thrashed by a Thanator, nearly stabbed twice by Sully, then finally took two to the chest in the end. The fucker just wouldn't quit. And remember, the arrows were dipped in a neurotoxin that would stop your heart.

The only surprise for me was that the second arrow didn't go straight through his face. THAT would have been the biggest "holy shit" moment for me.
 
jett said:
Looks almost the same!

lol at your question
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I understand that Blu-ray is marginally better but I guess what I meant more to ask is how good the DVD is. And if you didn't have a Blu-ray player, if you can live with the DVD version.
 
nyprimus2 said:
I understand that Blu-ray is marginally better but I guess what I meant more to ask is how good the DVD is. And if you didn't have a Blu-ray player, if you can live with the DVD version.
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Marginally better is a nice way of putting it. The Blu destroying the DVD is a better way to put it though. Yes, upscaled will look good, but it is only upscaling a 720x480 picture. That is the only data it has to work with. You also will not get the lossless sound on the DVD, and if you dont have a lossless receiver (I dont) at least the DTS-MA track will play back a 1500kbps DTS track (which blows the Dolby one away).
 
nyprimus2 said:
I understand that Blu-ray is marginally better but I guess what I meant more to ask is how good the DVD is. And if you didn't have a Blu-ray player, if you can live with the DVD version.
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Marginally better? :lol

That's like saying a beautiful moist vagina is marginally better than a hairy pimple ridden asshole.
 
nyprimus2 said:
I understand that Blu-ray is marginally better but I guess what I meant more to ask is how good the DVD is. And if you didn't have a Blu-ray player, if you can live with the DVD version.
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Not marginally better. MUCH MUCH better.
 
PhoncipleBone said:
And the DVD comes with the Blu Ray, so you are able to watch the film anywhere on pretty much any system. And to do A and B comparisons.
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Well I saw the 2 versions: DVD and Bluray/DVD

But I just thought the DVD part that comes with the Bluray was... I don't know, something else

Then I decided to ask here and at the store if there was a difference. After finding out the DVD doesn't differ, I totally changed my pre-order. Having the two versions for only 10 more dollars? Yes please!

That and I totally got jealous when I saw the Bluray screens being posted here knowing I'd only be getting the DVD version
 
I actually watched a bit of the DVD just now because I'm in the process of making a copy for my iPhone and it looks good as far as DVD goes. The Blu-ray does blow it away, though, as any good BD transfer will, just because of the resolution increase and the fact that the video has breathing room in terms of capacity, so you won't get compression artifacts and such. DVD really doesn't do well on long shots.

I don't see any reason to go for the DVD, though. It's a great deal to get both versions and then, when you do have a BD player, you'll have the best-looking disc around to break it in with.
 
nyprimus2 said:
Can you live with the DVD version upscaled if your watching on a 32" 720p/1080i Westinghouse?
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I have a 1080i RPTV that is going on 9 years old. I could not live with the DVD version if I had a blu ray player. If I only had a DVD player I would still shell out the extra $5 (price difference at Target) to get the Blu combo pack. You didn't spend too much money, you get the DVD version you can watch now, but are future proof to have the ultimate version when you do get a Blu Ray player in the future. If you are DVD only, that is the way to go.

If you have a Blu Ray player, it should be a no brainer. That is why you bought the player.

In the end, if you are looking for the movie that will give you the excuse to upgrade to Blu, this is it. (And the Sleeping Beauty Blu which is now OOP. Get it while you can. It comes with the DVD too.)
 
NekoFever said:
I actually watched a bit of the DVD just now because I'm in the process of making a copy for my iPhone and it looks good as far as DVD goes. The Blu-ray does blow it away, though, as any good BD transfer will, just because of the resolution increase and the fact that the video has breathing room in terms of capacity, so you won't get compression artifacts and such.

I don't see any reason to go for the DVD, though. It's a great deal to get both versions and then, when you do have a BD player, you'll have the best-looking disc around to break it in with.
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Yup. The problem is that almost everything you watch afterwards will pale in comparison. It is a hopeless situation. :)
 
nyprimus2 said:
Can you live with the DVD version upscaled if your watching on a 32" 720p/1080i Westinghouse?
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Funny you should mention that, I was watching my DVD component on my 720p/1080i tv, but it's not upscaling DVD player I have, just a progressive DVD playing at 480p...honestly the thing still looks pretty good but not blu-ray good if that makes any sense.
 
Medalion said:
Funny you should mention that, I was watching my DVD component on my 720p/1080i tv, but it's not upscaling DVD player I have, just a progressive DVD playing at 480p...honestly the thing still looks pretty good but not blu-ray good if that makes any sense.
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It makes sense. My TV is only 1080i, but the Blu is just mind blowing in clarity.
 
More Huge Sales For 'Avatar 2D' DVD Debut
BY NIKKI FINKE | Sat 4/24/2010 16:06pm

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment flack Jim Finn tells me it's going to be hard to compare First Day and Weekend numbers for Avatar 2D and Dark Knight DVD sales. (This has something to do with Warner Bros having included UK sales in their Dark Knight figures whereas Fox doesn't street Avatar 2D in the UK until Monday.) Nor is he distinguishing between what are DVD sales, Blu-ray sales, or combination DVD/Blu-ray sales -- yet. But preliminary numbers, according to Finn, are that DVD/Blu-ray combined First Day sales for Thursday were north of $4 million for Avatar 2D versus $4.6 million for Dark Knight which included UK numbers. Avatar 2D's 2nd day numbers for friay were close to $2 million, Finn says.
Finn is claiming to me Avatar 2D is now the #1 launch on both formats in the United States, England, France, and Germany. "Grocery and drug stores sold more Avatar [2D] in one day than they sold of The Dark Knight during its entire life on shelves," Finn emails. "This shows that the audience for the home entertainment release far out weighs the fan boy base. It's a cultural phenomenon…again. Employees and customers alike are dressing up as Na'vis in stores around the country, and this is a home entertainment release like no other."
Finn also claims, "My sources are telling me that Best Buy has sold twice as many Blu-ray players as they normally do since the biggest movie of all time landed in stores. Mass merchants are estimating that Avatar Blu-ray sales are north of 50%, a remarkable percentage for the format and for the home entertainment category. I'll have more of a read tomorrow morning, but Avatar [2D] is on track to do for Blu-ray what it did for 3D in theaters." Finn said Day One Blu-ray sales for only North America exceeded 1.5 million units, blowing past the previous record of 600,000 held by The Dark Knight (and that included the UK).
 
DanielPlainview said:
More Huge Sales For 'Avatar 2D' DVD Debut
BY NIKKI FINKE | Sat 4/24/2010 16:06pm

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment flack Jim Finn tells me it's going to be hard to compare First Day and Weekend numbers for Avatar 2D and Dark Knight DVD sales. (This has something to do with Warner Bros having included UK sales in their Dark Knight figures whereas Fox doesn't street Avatar 2D in the UK until Monday.) Nor is he distinguishing between what are DVD sales, Blu-ray sales, or combination DVD/Blu-ray sales -- yet. But preliminary numbers, according to Finn, are that DVD/Blu-ray combined First Day sales for Thursday were north of $4 million for Avatar 2D versus $4.6 million for Dark Knight which included UK numbers. Avatar 2D's 2nd day numbers for friay were close to $2 million, Finn says.
Finn is claiming to me Avatar 2D is now the #1 launch on both formats in the United States, England, France, and Germany. "Grocery and drug stores sold more Avatar [2D] in one day than they sold of The Dark Knight during its entire life on shelves," Finn emails. "This shows that the audience for the home entertainment release far out weighs the fan boy base. It's a cultural phenomenon…again. Employees and customers alike are dressing up as Na'vis in stores around the country, and this is a home entertainment release like no other."
Finn also claims, "My sources are telling me that Best Buy has sold twice as many Blu-ray players as they normally do since the biggest movie of all time landed in stores. Mass merchants are estimating that Avatar Blu-ray sales are north of 50%, a remarkable percentage for the format and for the home entertainment category. I'll have more of a read tomorrow morning, but Avatar [2D] is on track to do for Blu-ray what it did for 3D in theaters." Finn said Day One Blu-ray sales for only North America exceeded 1.5 million units, blowing past the previous record of 600,000 held by The Dark Knight (and that included the UK).
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Pretty sure those $'s are a mistake. 4 million units is impressive, $4 million in sales is not.
 
DanielPlainview said:
More Huge Sales For 'Avatar 2D' DVD Debut
BY NIKKI FINKE | Sat 4/24/2010 16:06pm

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment flack Jim Finn tells me it's going to be hard to compare First Day and Weekend numbers for Avatar 2D and Dark Knight DVD sales. (This has something to do with Warner Bros having included UK sales in their Dark Knight figures whereas Fox doesn't street Avatar 2D in the UK until Monday.) Nor is he distinguishing between what are DVD sales, Blu-ray sales, or combination DVD/Blu-ray sales -- yet. But preliminary numbers, according to Finn, are that DVD/Blu-ray combined First Day sales for Thursday were north of $4 million for Avatar 2D versus $4.6 million for Dark Knight which included UK numbers. Avatar 2D's 2nd day numbers for friay were close to $2 million, Finn says.
Finn is claiming to me Avatar 2D is now the #1 launch on both formats in the United States, England, France, and Germany. "Grocery and drug stores sold more Avatar [2D] in one day than they sold of The Dark Knight during its entire life on shelves," Finn emails. "This shows that the audience for the home entertainment release far out weighs the fan boy base. It's a cultural phenomenon…again. Employees and customers alike are dressing up as Na'vis in stores around the country, and this is a home entertainment release like no other."
Finn also claims, "My sources are telling me that Best Buy has sold twice as many Blu-ray players as they normally do since the biggest movie of all time landed in stores. Mass merchants are estimating that Avatar Blu-ray sales are north of 50%, a remarkable percentage for the format and for the home entertainment category. I'll have more of a read tomorrow morning, but Avatar [2D] is on track to do for Blu-ray what it did for 3D in theaters." Finn said Day One Blu-ray sales for only North America exceeded 1.5 million units, blowing past the previous record of 600,000 held by The Dark Knight (and that included the UK).
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What does that even mean?
Did he forget that TDK made a billion itself, got great reviews, Oscar wins, and one of the first million selling blu-rays back in 2008?
 
I still find it incredible that Avatar has fulfilled and obliterated the questionable expectations placed on it before. Guy comes out of relative obscurity to say 'Oh hey industry, I'm back - I just forgot my coat!'
 
jett said:
Now those zonadvd.com caps...are pretty amazing.

http://xs.to/image-2B42_4BD38D5B.jpg[IMG]

[IMG]http://xs.to/image-3C44_4BD38D5B.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]

Morgan Freeman dismissed this as a "cartoon".

What a slap in the face to all the talented people that worked on this.
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I can't believe this movie is out on DVD already! WOW!
The Trailer thread seems like it was yesterday!
 
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