Archive notice: This article was originally published on March 16, 2010. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The journey into a world beyond our imagination has arrived in home cinema: Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release James Cameron’s masterpiece “Avatar” on Blu-ray and DVD in Germany on April 23, two days after the US launch on the 40th international Earth Day.
To enjoy every nuance of Avatar’s “visual sensation” (Berliner Zeitung), Blu-ray is essential – because the magnificent imagery and Oscar-winning visual effects naturally come fully into their own only with high-resolution picture and sound quality. FOX has an exciting extra for German Avatar fans and is also releasing the Blu-ray of this major film experience in a limited silver slipcase, with elaborate foil printing and a back cover without the FSK logo.
Since its worldwide theatrical release in December 2009, “Avatar” has made film history. With more than ten million viewers in Germany alone and gigantic worldwide takings of more than US$2.6 billion, the fantasy adventure is the most successful film of all time. Director James Cameron was richly rewarded for the magnificent realisation of his long-cherished film dream – with two Golden Globes® for “Best Film” and “Best Director”, and three Oscars® for “Cinematography & Lighting”, “Visual Effects” and “Production Design”. Cameron takes audiences into the fascinating world of Pandora. There, a reluctant hero embarks on a journey full of danger and discovery – and ultimately leads a battle that will decide the fate of an entire world.
“Avatar” – The Story
After a serious injury, Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington, “Terminator Salvation”) is paralysed from the waist down. He is offered the chance to travel to distant Pandora for a project. Jake quickly agrees in order to escape a life that has become meaningless to him. On Pandora, unimaginably beautiful and colourful landscapes of lush rainforest await him, with fantastic plants and animals – some beautiful, others terrifying. But Pandora is not uninhabited: the Na’vi are the planet’s indigenous inhabitants and live in harmony with the nature surrounding them.
Pandora is rich in Unobtainium, a raw material of great value to humans. Since humans cannot exist in Pandora’s atmosphere, a scientific project was initiated to create genetically manipulated hybrids of human and Na’vi DNA: avatars. An avatar is mentally controlled by a human, with the human brain and emotional receptors connected to the avatar body through special technology. The project is led by scientist Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver, “Alien”), who is initially sceptical of Jake.
During Jake’s explorations on Pandora, he meets the young and beautiful Na’vi woman Neytiri (Zoë Saldana, “Star Trek”), who immediately fascinates him. Through her, he gradually learns about the life and culture of the Na’vi. But the more time Jake spends with the Na’vi, the more he comes into conflict with himself and with the outside world. He must decide whose side he is on – in a battle that will determine the fate of an entire world…
