11 Reasons to Digitally Download Life of Pi Before The Oscars

I admit to not being up on this year’s Academy Award nominated films but one that I really want to see is Life of Pi. Based on the acclaimed best-selling novel from Yann Martel and nominated for 11 Academy Awards, Life of Pi is now available for Digital HD  (DHD) from Fox Digital HD before it comes out on Blu-ray and DVD in March. Having just downloaded my DHD version of Life of Pi, I look forward to being able to watch it as I travel this weekend.

Life of Pi is simple to download from digital stores including Amazon Instant Video, CinemaNow, Google Play, iTunes, Kindle Fire, NOOK Video, PlayStation, VUDU, Xbox Video and YouTube for under $15. Just visit this link and click to purchase it to watch it soon after purchase.

Not only do you help reduce waste by not having a copy that requires packaging and a physical Blu-ray or DVD, but DHD versions provide immediate gratification. The digital version of Life of Pi is available to watch almost instantly whereas the Blu-ray, DVD and video-on-demand (VOD) versions won’t be out for another 4 weeks.

What should you look for when watching your DHD copy of Life of Pi? It’s been nominated for 11 Academy Awards and here’s what I’ve been told to look for as I watch!

• Best Picture—Nominated for the Oscars’ top prize, I’ll be looking at the acting, direction, and whole movie to see why it’s worth of this nomination.

• Cinematography— Claudio Miranda has been a member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) since 2009. I look forward to seeing his stunning cinematography in Life of Pi.

• Directing— Ang Lee seems to be a regular at the Academy Awards but for a very good reason! He’s incredible talented and has many accolades include an Oscar for Brokeback Mountain.

• Film Editing— Nominated before for Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, I’ve heard Tim Squyres forms a great story that is told using present day and flashbacks.

• Music: Original Score— Mychael Danna composed the sweeping score for this epic masterpiece. I always like to see how music plays on our emotions in film.

• Music: Original Song— Mychael Danna and Bombay Jayashri wrote the beautiful song “Pi’s Lullaby” for the film. I wonder if it will evoke my favorite lullabies from childhood?

• Production Design— David Gropman and Anna Pinnock worked to create the extraordinary world of Life of Pi through their production and set design. Sets immerse the view in the world of the film and I look forward to seeing how Gropman and Pinnock use their talents to draw the viewer into the movie.

• Sound Editing— Eugene Gearty and Philip Stockton worked in the sound department for Pi, pulling from the many sounds of nature Pi hears and experiences. Watching Little Miss Techie in front of a giant soundboard do a character voiceover as a Star Wars battle droid during our trip to Skywalker Ranch last year, I now think about sound editing in movies in a different light thanks to our incredible experience.

• Sound Mixing— Ron Bartlett, D.M. Hemphill and Drew Kunin mixed the many sounds in Life of Pi, balancing the nature, dialogue, score, etc. I wonder what the hardest scene was to mix in production.

• Visual Effects— Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott all worked on the breathtaking visual effects that help bring Pi to life. Life of Pi is said to be one of the most visually stunning films of the year because it transports audiences along with Pi.

• Writing: Adapted Screenplay— David Magee adapted Yann Martel’s best selling novel and added certain details to create a more visual representation of the story. I haven’t read the book but will soon and am curious about any additions or changes from book to film.

I received a DHD copy of Life of Pi in exchange for this post and look forward to watching the movie! Images courtesy of Fox Digital HD.