Apparently, James Cameron is to re-issue the behemoth that is Avatar back onto the big screen as a Special Edition. Now, this is nothing new for Mr Cameron...the same treatment has been given to his previous sci-fi offerings Aliens, the Abyss and Terminator 2. And on the whole, its been a worthwhile exercise. The backstory added to Aliens gives the story a much greater depth and emotional punch, the tidal wave in the Abyss is worth the addition and the reinstatement of the Michael Biehn scenes into T2 is a given. In the case of Aliens, we get almost 25 mins worth of additional material which is substantial and worth shelling out for another copy of the film.
So what do we get in terms of extra Avatar-ness? 8 minutes. 8 minutes!! That's one maybe two extra scenes at the most. And, with a film that is arguably already a little flabby around the middle in terms of running time, its hard to see how this extra material will enhance what we have already. So what's the real point of this exercise?
Money. Nothing more and nothing less. Avatar has already grossed a staggering amount of money from both box office and DVD sales, but clearly enough is not in fact enough. No, all us suckers out there are expected to pay a further £10 to don those glasses again in the cinema and no doubt another £15 for the inevitable Special Edition DVD release. Although actually, Mr Cameron not this time. Now, I'm all for directors re-visiting their back catalogue with aspirations of improving upon what they perceive as an initially flawed product (see Blade Runner). And the key here is that these are often projects done with the benefit of the passage of time and some hindsight. There's nothing wrong with looking back at something you made 5-10 years ago and thinking "you know what, I could have done that slightly differently and slightly better". But 5 months later? Leave it out!
No, this to me is a cynical ploy to pray on that unfortunate section of the film going/ buying public that feels compelled to invest in every Special Edition, Directors Cut, Ultimate Edition, Special 10th Anniversary Edition that gets released. And this is without taking into account every copy of every film we own on video which we have had to replace with a DVD and now a Blu-Ray copy.
But this isn't an attack on James Cameron. Its just a symptom of the Hollywood film industry as a whole (undoubtedly in the fullness of time to be termed the "George Lucas Factor"). No-one is immune....Peter Jackson and his interminably long Lord of the Rings special editions, the aforementioned George Lucas and his endless tinkering and bastardisation of his Star Wars films. Rule of thumb nowadays...if a DVD is released with little or no special features, then you can guarantee that 6 months later a special edition will be hitting the shelves.
And enough is enough. I won't be going to see 8 extra minutes of Avatar, I won't be buying another copy on DVD and I wont be marking a date in my diary for the 20th Anniversary reissue with a new commentary track by the director, his cat and the cat's mother. I'll pay for a good dose of cinema, but I wont be getting any more repeat prescriptions.
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