Avalon (DVD, 2003, Letterboxed Widescreen)

The U.S. / Canadian releases of this DVD are the Miramax re-tooled version. They re-tinted the color of the film and re-"wrote" and "re-tell" the story their own false way through english subtitles. See, the movie itself is spoken in Polish and because of that, Miramax figured that none of us english speakers would understand what the characters are actually saying. So they changed (and in some cases removed) a lot of very important points in the film. To see the movie in its true form, I highly recommend getting the Bluelight DVD set from the UK, which not only is the director's cut but features 2 hours 46 minutes of making-of material!

That being said, below is my review of the real version of the film!

This region 2 DVD set looks and sounds great, everything is solid. To keep this review as light and spoiler-free as possible, the films plot revolves around a virtual reality "game" called Avalon. While viewing, it begs the big question: "What is reality really?"

The films visual style is superb and surround mix really enhances the experience. The score is equally amazing. The film moves at a deliberate, slower pace but that doesn't mean it's boring.. quite the opposite. I was always extremely engrossed in the while viewing the film and this is one that demands to be viewed over and over again to put all the pieces together. The films pacing is a very nice, welcome change from all of the usual Hollywood movies that make things go "boom" with no real substance or story. Avalon has both and more. The people who seem to not "get" the film, I suspect either they are too young to grasp the subject material with all of its many, many layers of contexts and underlying metaphors.

Find this DVD set if you can (from what I understand it is very very rare) because it is the director's cut with the original Polish audio and accurate english subtitles (as opposed to the butchered U.S. / Canadian release - see my other review for information on it) and includes a second disc containing 2 hours and 46 minutes of making-of / behind-the-scenes / interview material, which is all available to watch with english subtitles.

Final word: This isn't just a film, it's an experience! An amazing film from the director of Ghost in the shell!

disc 1 - widescreen director's cut with original image coloring, audio and english subtitles.

disc 2 - 2 hours 46 minutes of special features.

Avalon 2 disc DVD set, Bluelight release, 5/5 stars!

I love this movie, this is actually the second copy I have purchased because my first one got passed between so many people it got lost in the mix. I had no problems paying for another copy as it's a great movie.

The first time most people watch this film they don't quite "get it". After the second time it starts to make sense. This is assuming you watched it in it's original Polish with English Subs. I don't care for dubbing, so I don't care for the English track. Watch it the way it was made.