Film Back in the olden days, one of my monthly treats was the dvd release of classic Doctor Who, that one thing I'd have to look forward to. These ended at about this time last year and until whatever in the hell's going on with the #omnirumour is resolved, assuming dvds are still a thing, they're not likely to begin again. The one remaining story with extant episodes, The Underwater Menace has also apparently been pulled from release this year. Click here for the inevitable campaign.
Looking for something to replace this lack, I've begun buying MARVEL films on blu-ray on a monthly basis. Iron Man 3 in January. Thor: The Dark World in February and for March, although I jumped the gun because I saw a cheap copy in CEX this morning, Guardians of the Galaxy. Since the Who releases were never in broadcast order, I decided this homage to that schedule was allowed. Captain America: The Winter Soldier can wait until April.
Either way, I watched Guardians again this evening and despite the lack of the shock of the new, as expected it's still brilliant and all those people who say it isn't are entirely incorrect. New readers can look here for a long rambly post describing my appreciation for the thing and its implications for the film industry. I still think it's game changing. I still think it was the most important film of last year in industry terms.
All of which is preamble to introducing one of the oddities about the blu-ray release in its 3D edition. In the 3D edition there are two discs, which is surprisingly rare, one for 3D and one for 2D. Most of the other 3D films I have include both versions on the same disc, so it's curious that this doesn't. But owning a 3D set-up I ventured forth. Began watching and beyond the opening sequences, there's a ratio change from 2.40 to filling the screen.
But the 3D is horrible. Smushy and difficult to watch, which is sometimes the case with my room set-up and eyesight. I assume it must look better for others, but not for me, so I decided to try the 2D version instead. So I swap discs, FF through to the point I was at and there is no ratio change. The 2D edition of this film is a different version of the film to the 3D version, my guess is because the 3D disc contains the IMAX version.
Quandary. I'd quite like to watch this IMAX version with its extra screen information in 2D please. It's not supplied. What to do? What to do?
Turns out I can turn the 3D off on the television. The television will let me watch 3D films in 2D. How curious, how strange, but in this instance how useful. So I did.
Two things:
(1) Why would MARVEL not supply the IMAX version of Guardians as per the Nolan Batman films, Tron Legacy and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in 2D anyway, perhaps by offering the choice on the 3D disc without having to mess about with the television?
(2) Are all the MARVEL films like this? Have I missed out on IMAX versions of Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World by only buy the 2D versions of those? Do you own these? Can you say?
Either way, the sci-fi vistas of James Gunn's film look utterly gorgeous across my giant flatscreen and if you've not seen this IMAX version yet it's well worth the hokus-pokery.
Here's James Gunn and the cast talking about this IMAX version in promos from YouTube that contains precisely no footage from the IMAX version:
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