James Cameron has confirmed that his hugely profitable 3D flick Avatar will be coming to home cinema users with all three dimensions intact, but you will have to wait until November this year until it finally arrives.
Some had hoped that Avatar would be one of the first movies to arrive on Blu-Ray when the 3D revolution kicks off in the summer of this year, but the film’s landmark technical achievements will not be completely available to consumers until the winter.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Mr Cameron said that standard definition DVD and high definition Blu-Ray versions of Avatar would be released in April for US customers. However, by the time the 3D version arrives later in 2010, titles such as Cloudy, With A Chance of Meatballs will already have made their debut in 3D.
Some observers have expressed their annoyance at the decision, as it means that many consumers will pick up Avatar in 2D when it first makes an appearance and will then have to buy it again a few months later when the 3D version is released. Creating special collectors’ editions of movies is not particularly unusual, especially since the dawn of the DVD and the arrival of multiple endings, special features and director’s cuts.
However, Avatar will still be one of the first 3D Blu-Ray releases. It should be able to really show off the capabilities of the technology and hopefully generate enough interest to finally give Blu-Ray its killer app.
