James Cameron has re-released Avatar across the country, boasting nine minutes of new footage. A bonus sixteen minutes has also been promised in the “definitive cut” of the film on the Blu-ray disc, due out later in the year.
However, James Cameron’s epic could be overshadowed this year by an entirely different phenomenon being re-released in October. Back To The Future is coming back to cinemas, in time for its twenty-fifth anniversary.
Cinematic re-releases do happen, albeit rarely, and the film must have captured the hearts of audiences the world over in order to accomplish this feat. Of course, this means we can sleep safe in the knowledge that Disaster Movie will never get re-released and while Avatar certainly fits the criteria for re-release, Cameron’s return to Pandora seems a little indulgent at this point. With the original cut still fresh in cinemagoer’s minds and the definitive cut planned for the Blu-ray, I doubt a mass audience will be swayed by an extra nine minutes. Is there anyone left who hasn’t seen Avatar?
Back To The Future, however, is a classic movie with broad appeal that will really benefit from the big screen. Parents who would have seen the film in cinemas in 1985 can now take their children, while the fans of the film who have only experienced the adventures of Marty Mcfly on DVD can now feast their senses on a fondly treasured film restored for the silver screen, as it was always meant to be seen.
It could and should turn out to be an experience that transcends generations. The reason I hold concerns over an Avatar release is that it comes so soon after the original, which crushed box office records and the promise of extra footage may not warrant the best part of £10 for a 3D ticket, in a time when people are more reluctant then ever to break into their wallets.
There are films that deserve to be removed from the shelves and put back on the big screen before Cameron tries to out-Cameron himself yet again. Here are four terrific films that ought to be dusted off for a triumphant return.
Alien
These days, the Aliens are so busy fighting the Predators in turgid crossovers that they have forgotten their first and greatest nemesis: Ellen Ripley. Alien Versus Predator, while becoming a multimedia action franchise, has lost sight of what made its predecessors great in the first place.
While Ridley Scott prepares his prequel a re-release of the original Alien would take the franchise back to its survival horror roots, teaching a whole new generation that in space, no-one can here you scream.
Titanic
I mentioned earlier about James Cameron attempting to out-Cameron himself by dominating the market with a single epic. A re-release of the original Titanic would at least ensure he is doing it properly, and Cameron has talked about sailing Titanic again, this time in 3D.
Much as Avatar became the movie event of the decade, so Titanic was the film of the nineties. Now we enter a brand new decade of cinema, and with Cameron planning multiple Avatar sequels as well as his Battle Angel adaptation, it seems quite poignant to release his other masterwork to herald in his total dominion over the box office.
Finding Nemo
It’s not often you can say that a studio’s worst outing was a very good, well put-together film. Pixar should have a big milestone coming up, so I wracked my brains long and hard to find a film among their consistently excellent output considered timeless, and most importantly synonymous with the studio.
I was going to suggest the original Toy Story, but considering the sequel I thought the timing would be redundant. Instead, I went for a charming little tale about a father and son adrift in a big, big ocean. Heard of it? I thought so.
The Star Wars Trilogies
It’s a fact that I watch far, far too much Star Wars, and it’s place on this list was a given. I’m also aware it has been re-released before, for the 20th anniversary. Being four or five, I tragically had no idea what I was missing, and I have a theory that all these years of obsessive fandom is just me trying to make it up to myself.
But I digress. The thought of an entire generation weaned on The Clone Wars chills me to my very core. If anyone can properly sort the post-production 3D process, it’s George Lucas’ crack team at ILM. And when that happens, an IMAX release of the saga would nicely coincide with the 35th anniversary in 2012, before the 3D bubble bursts.
