Avatar

[jeep]

Just got back and i enjoyed it just as if i was watching it for the first time. picked up details and background things i didnt last time. The missus even jumped in the same places, you would think as she did that last time she would be expecting the gas canisters to fly out of the screen at those points and be prepared for it but no she was a source of entertainment yet again haha. Seeing it again on the bigger screen with better glasses just made me love the world cameron created all the more and wish i could go there.

[MarkH]

I saw it again last week and was still amazed by it all.
It is a little long, it goes into too much detail in some scenes.

[genxnaturist]

Avatar as of today is highest grossing film ever, beating Titanic. 

[Karla]

Avatar as of today is highest grossing film ever, beating Titanic. 

Haha! I bet the director of Titanic is really gutted!  :)

[genxnaturist]

Yes Karla,
I feel so sorry for Titanic Director after having been number one grossing move ever and no longer.  I wonder how Titanics Director will out do Avatar, lol
 

[Alex]

Considering 3D has been experimented with in film since 1911, it's hardly a new concept. And, to be honest, I don't see Avatar as heralding the next era of mainstream cinema. 3D is still a gimmick, if very effective here. But then it ought to be, given the time and money spent on the film. I think Avatar is set to give rise to a renewal of "Spectacle Cinema" as an attraction, but not as a staple of things to come.

(For the record, I enjoyed Toy Story 2 more :P)

Amen.

[Fitz1980]

Avatar is astonishing. Beautiful in every sense; somewhat of a Star Wars moment for the new century. Considering 3D has been experimented with in film since 1911, it's hardly a new concept. And, to be honest, I don't see Avatar as heralding the next era of mainstream cinema. 3D is still a gimmick, if very effective here. But then it ought to be, given the time and money spent on the film.

The 3D wasn't the reason that it's being called revolutionary.  It's the performance capture, which took motion capture to a whole new level.  They recorded the actors mannerisms and facial expressions as they interacted with each other as computer data that drove the CGI segments.  Traditionally the actors would have recorded their voices and let a team of CGI artists create their characters but Cameron wanted to keep the human element of the actors performance.

Avatar's true success is revealed when you consider the fact that tickets for Avatar are at least twice what they were when Titantic was screened. When adjusted for inflation, it's in the top 30 highest grossing films of all time, I believe.

There's a million different ways that you can spin box office numbers for movies.  If adjusted for inflation "Gone With the Wind" is still number 1.  But "Gone With the Wind" also came out at a time before TV, video games & computers.  Back than it was common for people to go to the movies once a week or more.  Plus it's been re-released multiple times over like 3 generations.  On the flip side the American population was much smaller than it is today during most of those days and tickets were cheaper.

"Titanic": also didn't have to contend with HDTV's and rampant internet piracy.

I'd say that Avatar's true success is that in an era of HDTVs, Blu-ray, X-Box360s, Pay-Per-View, pirated DVD's & Netflix it got people who usually stay home and wait to watch things on their home theaters to pay $10 at the multiplex to see it.  Plus it continued to post big numbers week-after-week in an era of one-weekend-wonders. 

[randomer909]

Avatar is astonishing. Beautiful in every sense; somewhat of a Star Wars moment for the new century. Considering 3D has been experimented with in film since 1911, it's hardly a new concept. And, to be honest, I don't see Avatar as heralding the next era of mainstream cinema. 3D is still a gimmick, if very effective here. But then it ought to be, given the time and money spent on the film.

The 3D wasn't the reason that it's being called revolutionary.  It's the performance capture, which took motion capture to a whole new level.  They recorded the actors mannerisms and facial expressions as they interacted with each other as computer data that drove the CGI segments.  Traditionally the actors would have recorded their voices and let a team of CGI artists create their characters but Cameron wanted to keep the human element of the actors

I believe that Cameron has revolutionised 3D with Avatar though. He is the first Director to not just use it as a silly gimmick for around 10 seconds overall, he wisely has drawn it out through the entire movie, and only used it to enhance his visual masterpiece

[Fitz1980]

I believe that Cameron has revolutionised 3D with Avatar though. He is the first Director to not just use it as a silly gimmick for around 10 seconds overall, he wisely has drawn it out through the entire movie, and only used it to enhance his visual masterpiece

Yes.  Cameron has been rather enamored with 3D ever since working on Universal Studio's "T2-3D: Battle Across Time" back in the 90s.  I remember watching a "making of" for that attraction and Cameron talking about how the thing with 3D is you want to keep your eye on the ball story/character wise so that it's not like you are doing nothing but poking the audience in the eye one time after another.

[Alex]

I believe that Cameron has revolutionised 3D with Avatar though. He is the first Director to not just use it as a silly gimmick for around 10 seconds overall, he wisely has drawn it out through the entire movie, and only used it to enhance his visual masterpiece

I'd disagree that Avatar is the first feature length film to use 3D throughout the movie - plenty of films have been and done that. 

Yes.  Cameron has been rather enamored with 3D ever since working on Universal Studio's "T2-3D: Battle Across Time" back in the 90s.  I remember watching a "making of" for that attraction and Cameron talking about how the thing with 3D is you want to keep your eye on the ball story/character wise so that it's not like you are doing nothing but poking the audience in the eye one time after another.

And therein lies my HUGE problem with 3D. It only works and looks good if you look where the director wants you to look. I don't always want to watch the main character 24/7 while watching a film, I might want to watch characters in the background etc. And therefore 3D does not work for me when watching a film.

[Nude_not_rude]

I remember going to see Jaws III in 3D as a double feature with Conan The Barbarian back in 1983 so no Avatar isn't the first feature film entirely in 3D....


EDIT:   I just went and saw Avatar in 3D today....OMG what a ride! Talk about suspending reality, I loved it!