Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One - Avengers Assembled Blu-ray
Iron Man / The Incredible Hulk / Iron Man 2 / Thor 3D / Captain America: The First Avenger 3D / The Avengers 3D / Blu-ray 3D + Blu-rayDisney / Buena Vista | 2008-2012 | 6 Movies | 745 min | Rated PG-13 | Apr 02, 2013
Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One - Avengers Assembled
(2008-2012)
Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One - Avengers Assembled Blu-ray delivers stunning video and reference-quality audio in this excellent Blu-ray release
See individual titles for film synopses.
For more about Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One - Avengers Assembled and the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One - Avengers Assembled Blu-ray release, see the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One - Avengers Assembled Blu-ray Review published by Kenneth Brown on April 3, 2013 where this Blu-ray release scored 4.0 out of 5.
Single Disc
Paramount Pictures | 2008 | 126 min | Rated PG-13 | Region free
| Mar 22, 2011
Billionaire industrialist and genius inventor Tony Stark is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon. Instead, using his intelligence and ingenuity, he builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes captivity. When he...
Single-Disc Release
Universal Studios | 2008 | 113 min | Rated PG-13 | Region free
| Mar 13, 2012
The Incredible Hulk kicks off an all-new, explosive and action-packed epic of one of the most
popular Super Heroes of all time. In this new beginning, scientist Bruce Banner (Edward
Norton) desperately hunts for a cure to the...
Single Disc
Paramount Pictures | 2010 | 124 min | Rated PG-13 | Region free
| Sep 28, 2010
With the world now aware of his dual life as the armored superhero Iron Man, billionaire inventor Tony Stark faces pressure from the government, the press, and the public to share his technology with the military. Unwilling to...
The powerful but arrogant warrior Thor is cast out of the fantastic realm of Asgard and sent to live amongst humans on Earth, where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders.
Steve Rogers volunteers to participate in an experimental program that turns him into the Super Soldier known as Captain America. As Captain America, Rogers joins forces with Bucky Barnes and Peggy Carter to wage war on the evil...
With six box office blockbusters, ten discs, exclusive bonus content, a snazzy Tesseract containment briefcase, and an array of legitimately fun collectibles, the long awaited Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One box set is here. But does it deliver? Is it worth all the excitement? Is there any disappointment to be had? And what exactly is packed and hidden away inside? Read on.
The Phase One collector's set is snuggly packaged in an Avengers-themed outer cardboard sleeve with a small "Try Me" window that allows passersby to activate the light-up S.H.I.E.L.D. symbol on the front of the faux-steel briefcase. (Set dimensions can be found below.) The briefcase itself is made of heavy plastic, with reasonably strong hinges and fairly durable design. It isn't held shut by actual flip-clasps, as it appears, but rather by plastic pressure tabs made to look the part. It works, though, and it's quite sturdy, so no real complaints here. Inside the briefcase is a replica Tesseract containment unit, complete with a small (albeit non-functional) keypad, a removable glowing/flashing Tesseract and, to either side of the cube, glossy cardboard sleeves that house the set's six films (Discs 1-9) and exclusive bonus content (Disc 10). It's a glorified toy, yes. (My son was far more enthused with the end product.) But it's a semi-attractive display piece sure to win its share of attention.
All six Phase One Marvel films are included, of course, details and tech specs for which can be accessed by clicking on the corresponding links below. Just a quick word of warning: Iron Man and Iron Man 2 are limited to one disc. Each of the original release's second disc and special features are not included in the set. Crafty fans will find a way to add the additional bonus discs into the set (there's just enough wiggle room to the right of the Tesseract to slide a 2-disc sleeve alongside Captain America, The Avengers and the S.H.I.E.L.D. exclusive bonus disc), but it's a shortcut and oversight that makes this a less-than-complete Phase One set.
Approximate outer box, briefcase and contents dimensions are as follows (h x l x d):
Outer slip-box: 10.5" x 12.5" x 4.75"
Briefcase: 9.5" x 12" x 4.5"
Tesseract: 2.75" x 2.75" x 2.75"
File Folders: 11" x 7.75"
Bi-fold Disc Sleeves: 5.5" x 5.5"
Additional bonus pack-ins and collectibles include:
Phase One Archives Bonus Disc (extras detailed in Supplements section below)
2-Mode Light-up Tesseract with instructions sheet
Confidential S.H.I.E.L.D. Envelope with decoder tools and an online Phase Two access code
- "Who is The Iron Man?" newspaper clipping
- Original onionskin Mark I armor sketches
- Arc Reactor schematics
- Tony Stark Tesseract notes
- Tony Stark coffee-napkin press release: "We no longer make weapons!"
- Stark Expo "Tent of Tomorrow" ticket
- 1964 Stark World Expo brochure
- AIM CEO Aldrich Killian business card
Dr. Bruce Banner Recruitment Assessment File Folder
- Culver University Laboratory Incident newspaper clipping
- Professor Betty Ross lecture highlights
- Redacted S.H.I.E.L.D. memo
- Stark Industries Specialized Vehicle schematic
- Cryosync V-Ray tag
- Pingo Doce drink label
- Agent Phillip J. Coulson business card
- Mysterious Visitor portal scan
- Bifrost book excerpt
- Hospital bracelet: XX, THOR
- Dr. Donald J. Blake driver's license
- Jane Foster ID badge
- Two-sheet Nine Realms sketch
- Agent Phillip Coulson business card
Classified Steve Rogers/Captain America File Folder
- Department of Selective Service Certificate of Acceptability, stamped "4F"
- Archive Steve Rogers photo
- Steve Rogers U.S. Army Physical Exam Sheet
- Notice of Fraudulent Application letter
- Strategic Scientific Reserve "Particulars of Participant" sheet
- Steve Rogers pencil sketch
- Peggy Carter newspaper clipping
- Three vintage Captain America trading cards
Packaging and collectibles aside, two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe set's biggest draws are its tenth disc -- labeled S.H.I.E.L.D. Avengers Initiative, Phase One Archives, with exclusive bonus content for all six films -- and an individualized code that provides online access to an exclusive look at Iron Man 3 (due in U.S. theaters on May 3rd) and Marvel's Phase Two plans.
Iron Man 3 and Phase Two
Unfortunately, rather than revealing and exploring Phase Two via materials housed on the tenth disc itself, as is implied by everything from the note on the front of the box to the marketing for the Phase One set, the Iron Man 3 and Phase Two exclusive looks are only available online using a unique access code that can be found in the S.H.I.E.L.D. "Confidential" envelope. Even then, you have to use a special decoder sheet and dig through the included file folders to uncover the website itself. So not only are you limited to online content, you have to shuffle through papers to hunt down the URL. If you're anything like me, though, you'll have already searched the tenth disc high and low before realizing the goods aren't on the disc at all.
The online content is quite intriguing, though, and goes a bit further into Marvel's Phase Two plans than I was anticipating. Yet bits and pieces of the content are making their way online, making the mode of delivery even more perplexing. Why not place a featurette and other tempting goodies on the tenth disc and also use the access code/web hub to provide box set owners with ongoing content; a never-ending stream of Phase Two preview value that could more than justify the Phase One box set's cost of admission. Perhaps that's the ultimate plan. I suppose we're left to wait and see just how lucky those of us who purchased the set are to have an access code in our possession. Still, it's no less of an initial letdown.
Iron Man
Agent Coulson Intro (HD, 1 minute): An AMC Theaters intro, courtesy of the beloved S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.
Animatics (HD, 25 minutes): Five lengthy animated storyboard sequences are available - "Convoy Attack," "Tony Escapes the Cave," "First Flight," "Dogfight" and "Final Battle."
Pre-Viz (HD, 22 minutes): Five early-render pre-vizualization sequences are also available - "Tony Escapes the Cave," "First Flight," "Gulmira Attack," "Dogfight" and "Final Battle."
Deleted Scene - Champions (HD, 3 minutes): Stark banters with his fellow captive in Afghanistan.
Pre-Viz (HD, 23 minutes): Eight sprawling pre-viz sequences are available - "Fight at the Bottling Plant," "Fight at the Bottling Plant II," "Culver University Raid," "Hulk & Betty at the Grotto," "Abomination Alley," "Brawl in Harlem," "Hulk Pre-Viz Test" and "Hulk & the Helicopter Pre-Viz Test."
Iron Man 2
Agent Coulson Intro (HD, 1 minute): A third AMC Theaters intro.
Extended Scenes and Alternate Ending (HD, 10 minutes): Extended scenes include "Ivan's Workshop," "Pepper & Tony Talk to the Press" and "Stark Expo: WHIH News Report." The real surprise, though, is a drastically different three-minute unfinished alternate ending, "Whiplash Attacks Pepper at the Expo."
Animatics (HD, 14 minutes): "Ivan's Apartment," "Battle at Monaco," "House Fight" and "Rhodey Delivers the Mark II."
Pre-Viz (HD, 8 minutes): "Tony Lands at the Expo," "Final Battle" and "Tony Rescues Pepper."
Deleted Scenes and Alternate Ending (HD, 5 minutes): Though largely unfinished, with laughably incomplete visual effects, three alternate scenes are available. "Going to Jotunheim," "Asgardians in Puente Antiguo" and "Alternate Ending: Smith Motors."
Animatics (HD, 30 minutes): "Mjolnir Ceremony," "Battle on Jotunheim," "Battle on Jotunheim - Chase Sequence," "Thor Breaks into S.H.I.E.L.D. Camp" and "Thor & Loki's Final Battle."
Captain America
Agent Coulson Intro (HD, 1 minute): A fifth AMC Theaters intro with Coulson.
Animatics (HD, 10 minutes): "Kruger Chase," "Orbital Bomber Chase" and "Captain America vs. The Red Skull."
The Avengers
Agent Coulson Intro (HD, 1 minute): The sixth and final AMC Theaters Marvel Marathon intro.
And Then Shawarma After (HD, 2 minutes): One last scene to film, and just sixteen days before The Avengers arrived in theaters. Was it worth it? Shawarma fans resoundingly agree: yes!
Deleted Scenes (HD, 9 minutes): "Barton & Loki Escape," "Loki & The Other: Extended Scene," "Natasha Hides from Hulk," "Cap Saves Family," "The Other Tells Loki to Lead," "Thor Attacks the Tesseract" and "Cop & The Waitress Story Arc."
Animatics (HD, 9 minutes): "Helicarrier Lift Off," "Mountaintop" and "Mark VII Suit Up."
Pre-Viz (HD, 12 minutes): "Car Wash," "Helicarrier Lift Off," "Mountaintop," "Mark VII Suit Up," "Final Battle" and "Hulk Smashes Loki."
To read detailed summations and overviews of the previously released special features included with each film (on the main movie discs), click on the corresponding links:
So it comes to the eternal question: is it worth it? If you already own every Marvel movie and have little love for pack-ins or collectibles, the answer drifts rapidly toward "no." There is a tenth disc of exclusive extras, but the overwhelming majority of the content amounts to animatics and pre-viz sequences, while two previously released discs of special features (for Iron Man and Iron Man 2) are MIA. Moreover, the biggest lure -- the Iron Man 3 and Marvel Phase Two material -- is only available online via a unique access code. Hardly ideal. In other words, this isn't quite the Ultimate Collection most fans were hoping for. That said, between the movies themselves, the briefcase, the high-quality replicas and pack-ins, the exclusive bonus content and the online Phase Two access, the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One set suddenly begins to flex some muscle. The choice, now, is yours.
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Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One - Avengers Assembled Blu-ray, Forum Discussions
