Disney has announced 3D and 2D combo packs for the sci-fi action adventure film John Carter for June.
John Carter without a doubt was one of the biggest gambles on behalf of Disney. It’s gone down as one of the biggest flops in history and I don’t think the film should catch most of the blame. Disney did a horseshit job promoting the sci-fi adventure film by butchering the title down from John Carter of Mars to just John Carter and by filling most of the trailers and TV spots with clips of Carter running around an empty and sandy landscape.
Not once was the Mars setting given proper detail and not once did they even try to hint at the story. They doomed the film before giving it a fair swing and that really pisses me off, because aside from a few troubled spots, John Carter is a good film.
Most won’t agree with me, but I thought John Carter was a big-budget space love story that’s both unique and bold. It wasn’t afraid to get into some thick material from Edgar Rice Burroughs‘ novels and it certainly wasn’t afraid to clutch onto its sci-fi roots and express them loudly. Everything from the dialogue, tone and setting was given proper detail and care and I kind of feel bad for director Andrew Stanton.
John Carter was his chance to switch over to live-action, like fellow Pixar employee Brad Bird. Stanton did a great job, but the studios won’t be seeing it that way and most of the audiences probably don’t even realize what they’ve done by not supporting John Carter.
Get ready for a wave of sequels and reboots to films like Transformers and Battleship, because original sci-fi storytelling isn’t going to be poking its head in the mainstream after John Carter failed to land.
Our very own Lindsay Sperling had this to say about the film in her review:
Is John Carter worth seeing? Definitely! Watching an adventure of this magnitude on the big screen is without a doubt worth the ticket price and 2 hours of your time.
Disney will be releasing the film in a 4 disc 3D Blu-Ray/2D Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital Copy combo pack and a 2 disc Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack. The following special features will be included:
- Disney Second Screen – Explore John Carter’s journal with this innovative in-world experience and uncover a trove of fascinating details that extend the mythology of the movie.
- 360 Degrees of John Carter – Experience every aspect of the filmmaking process on one of the movie’s biggest production days.
- Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Director, Andrew Stanton
- Barsoom Bloopers
- Plus all DVD features
John Carter will be released on June 5th, 2012.