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Extra Scenes in FotR Special Edition DVD 493

Posted by CmdrTaco from the stuff-to-desire dept.
gdr writes "Lights Out Entertainment have an article on the extra scenes that will be in the Fellowship of the Ring special edition DVD. It will be nice to have the relationship between elves and dwarves fleshed out a bit. I'm not sure the final battle scene really needs to be any longer." There are quite a few bits mentioned for the extra 30 minutes of footage that I'm looking forward to seeing. Just be careful to buy the November 12 release and not the august release if you want the extra mojo. I'll be waiting.
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Extra Scenes in FotR Special Edition DVD More

Extra Scenes in FotR Special Edition DVD

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  • Will they... (Score:2, Funny)

    by aengblom ( 123492 )
    Will they have more minute-long shots of them walking? I really don't think their was enough in the original version.

  • Jackson is like Lucas (Score:4, Funny)

    by Rupert ( 28001 ) on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @09:44AM (#3894106) Homepage Journal
    He knows I won't be able to resist the lure of the August release, particularly when I see the display in the window of Sam Goody. Although I want to be strong, want to wait for the November release, we all know it's not going to happen. I'm going to buy both. And I'll hate myself for it.
    • There's an easy way to let you watch the August release without giving yourself more reason for self-hatred: Rent the DVD when it comes out, several times if need be, then buy the November release. Acknowledge your weakness, sate your desires, save yourself from blowing 20 unnecessary bucks.
    • there's really no reason to hate yourself...as with Harry Potter, the august release is definitely "Priced To Own", meaning at walmart/bj's you might be able to find it for as low as 17.99. That in itself is the same as renting it 3 times, which you'd be doing anyways for the 3 months until it hits HBO and you'd tape it off the TV. Or you can just the PPV for 5.99 in about a month after it hits stores...but then its a crap-shoot on whether or not its letterboxed (some movies are, some aren't, and there's no way of knowing 'til you've paid for it).
      • Pan and Scan? Ugh, the mere thought of watching the golden brainchild of PJ on the screen in a dibilitating format like Pan & Scan inspires my gastrointestinal track to display a scene of impressive disgust.

        If you are thinking about buying this film and haven't seen it yet (what are the chances?), please, please.....make sure you get the Letterboxed format (widescreen). It's good for you, it's good for the world. This is not one of those movies that will look good any other way.br>
        The Mines of Moria in P&S? I shudder.
    • You could always look for the DVD screener SVCD rip to hold you over. It's decent quality (though not 16:9 enhanced and not perfect, especially on a large-screen TV) and it's holding me over until the November release.

  • Wrong Battlescene? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by FortKnox ( 169099 ) on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @09:45AM (#3894110) Homepage Journal
    I heard the battlescene that was supposed to be extended was the battle with Sauron at the beginning. I heard it was to be, not only elongated, but a lot more gory, giving the movie an "R" rating.

    This is just heresay, though.
    • I hope this is more than wishful thinking. That battle scene was the highlite of the movie. The one at the end is pretty much a glorified "bar brawl".

    • Re:Wrong Battlescene? (Score:5, Informative)

      by reidjones ( 202850 ) on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @10:05AM (#3894312)
      It has already been approved for a PG-13:
      (from ringbearer.org)

      Press Release
      SOURCE: New Line Home Entertainment
      November 'Ring' Earns PG-13
      'The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring' Special Extended Version DVD Receives PG-13 Rating From MPAA
      LOS ANGELES--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--April 22, 2002--New Line Home Entertainment announced today that the Special Extended Edition of ``The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' due in stores on DVD and VHS on November 12 has received a PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Academy Association (MPAA) ratings board.
  • While some films benefit to an extent (Aliens being one), on the whole most of the "extra" material was usually cut because it adds nothing to the film anyway. If I like a film I'll buy the DVD regardless of the extra footage. I think behind-the-scenes material is often more important, although it's usually something you'll only watch once anyway.

    Any DVDs that force me to watch adverts are taken straight back for a refund as "broken" by the way - hopefully other people do this as well...

    • Re:Well I wouldn't buy a DVD for extra footage... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by ZaMoose ( 24734 ) on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @09:48AM (#3894146)
      Except most movies don't weigh in at around 3 hours in their post-cut form.

      For those devoted Tolkien fans that want to see a more faithful recreation of the book on-screen, these additional scenes will help out (to an extent).

      Those who aren't fans of the book should be perfectly happy with the August release.

      Still, no Tom Bombadil. *sigh*
      • Except that a "faithful recreation of the book on-screen" would have to be around 7 years long, if you include the parts where Frodo is just waiting around getting older while Bilbo is off getting Elf nookie.
      • Those who aren't fans of the book should be perfectly happy with the August release.

        I wouldn't quite agree with that conclusion. In my world, No-fans of the book are just persons who didn't spend the time reading it. I went to the movie with friends who didn't - and consequently they were bored by the movie! Can you belive this? Well, I can... because the movie throws a lot of characters and small stories in the air without connecting them to the larger picture of Middle Earth. To be fair - this is a Mission Impossible. The movie does the best it can in the limited amount of time. It would need trice the time to explain the FotR story to the uninitiated, so that they can fully appreciate it.
        I wouldn't be too surprised if TtT will attract less viewers than FotR just because of this... A shame, though.
        • I think there's tons of stuff you just wouldn't understand if you didn't read the book.

          My Mom borrowed my copy of the Hobbit, just for background information, before seeing the movie. She won't take on the LOTR, but it was a good introduction for the movie.

          At least she understood that LOTS of time was passing. What in the movie seemed to take a month or so was like six or seven. You just didn't get that from the movie, but she understood it having read the Hobbit.
      • Still, no Tom Bombadil. *sigh*

        I keep hearing this over and over... Anyone interested in filling in someone who hasn't (and probably won't) read the books? Even if I do eventually read the books I don't mind a spoiler since, well, I've already seen the movie at this point...
        • I, of course, have read the books, and frankly I didn't miss ol' Tom at all. That whole part of the story was kinda pointless, in my opinion. I mean sure he was an interesting character, but after that scene, you never saw him again, and he really didn't *do* anything except save the trio from a trap.

        • SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER!!!!!!

          In the book, after they cross the river in the ferry, they stop at Frodo's new house in Crickhollow, where he was to wait for Gandalf. This is where Sam reveals that there was a conspiracy, and that Merry and Pippin will be coming with them. Because the black riders are after them, they decide to leave that night, going through a hedge into a forest, where the next day (i think) they decide to follow a river, and find an old willow tree (Old Man Willow.) What they don't know, is that the tree is not an ordinary tree, but rather is somewhat "awake." The tree swollows some members of the party (I do not remember who) in cracks when they lean against it to rest. Just then, an old man comes along, named Tom Bombadil, who is the master of the forest, and orders Old Man Willow to let them go. He is not really a man, but a supernatural being of some kind, maybe a Maia (the Balrog was a Maia before becoming evil, as was Sauron IIRC from reading the Silmarilion.) Anyway, they stay with Tom Bombadil for a while at his house, with his wife Goldberry, then set out across the barrow-mounds to Bree. In the barrow-mounds, they get separated, and trapped by a wight, and Tom Bombadil saves them. He then escorts them to as close to Bree as he can get w/o leaving his domain. They meet "Strider" (aka Aragorn, The Dunadain, Elessar, etc) in Bree.

        • Believe me, I'd love to. But Tom Bombadil isn't explainable; that's why he wasn't in the movie. JRRT's invention of Tom was either brilliant in its creation of a truly multidimensional character which the book only hinted at, or it was just crazy :-).

          You really, really have to read the book -- and it really helps to think about it, too, to see how little Tom fits into the bigger picture of the world.

          In the long run, Tom with all his mysterious power and limitations is critical to the meaning of the book. Not everything is explained; Tom is one of the things that aren't.

          So I'm sorry, I can't. There may be enlightenment to be had, but it has to be gained the hard way.

          -Billy
    • most of the "extra" material was usually cut because it adds nothing to the film anyway

      Uh-ho... imagine the AotC DVD release... more scenes of Anakin riding space mega ticks, and the complete soundtrack of Sound of Music.
    • "Any DVDs that force me to watch adverts are taken straight back for a refund as "broken" by the way - hopefully other people do this as well..."

      You are sooo right. I absolutely LOATHE it when I am blocked from fast forwarding or skipping ads (commercials) for other movies released by the same company. I bought the damn DVD so I wouldn't have to sit through that crap.

      I have taken back a total of four dvd's now that had this "feature".

      Bastards.
    • I also hate DVDs that disable the "Subtitle" and "Audio" buttons on your remote, forcing you to go through the stupid menus instead. One particularly bad offender of this is the Futurama box set.
    • Any DVDs that force me to watch adverts are taken straight back for a refund as "broken" by the way - hopefully other people do this as well...

      Seriously -- you get away with this? I'm honestly curious -- how do you persuade the store that it's broken if you're forced to admit that it's purely the adverts at the beginning that you're miffed about? They irritate me, too, but I just can't imagine being able to pull this off. But then I'm a wimp.

      • Re:Well I wouldn't buy a DVD for extra footage... (Score:4, Informative)

        by FyRE666 ( 263011 ) on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @12:34PM (#3895602) Homepage
        Yep, seriously - do it! As the guy above says, you bought the damned film, so why should you have to watch 5 minutes of adverts for other products EVERY single time you want to use it? What other product does this? Could you image buying a CD and having to listen to ads before the first track would play, or using a laptop that played videos advertising other products by the same PC maker before booting?

        I simply return it stating the DVD prevents me from using my DVD player properly when it's inserted in the machine. The software is effectively causing it to behave abnormally, playing content I do not wish to see and preventing me from operating the device according to the instruction manual.

        The last one I remember was "Series 7, the Contenders" (I think), which had a whole bunch of adverts at the start. I rented this, and took it back to the store (after watching it of course) demanding a refund. There was only one guy serving and a few people behind me. First off he claimed there was nothing wrong with it, so I asked him to try it himself so he stuck it into the player in the shop. After 3 or 4 minutes of pressing the menu button and having the "Access denied" icon display while the queue grew (angrier) behind me he admitted he couldn't play the film and I got a free rental for the night!
  • Waiting? Hell, I'm going to be buying both releases. Sure will beat the cheap divx ;) version running around the net.

    I just can't wait for the protest rallies against the Two Towers!

  • I am glad this wasn't made into one of the inane, witless summer movies we in the U.S. have been subjected to all season. The book and material was treated with respect and dignity, with the core concepts and philosophy of Tolkien's works left intact. I, personally, would have watched (many times) a blow by blow, scene by scene translation of the book into film, but I don't think such a treatment would have been successful, commercially. All in all, PJ made the right decisions about what to keep, what to change, and what to discard entirely (Bombadil).

    • > All in all, PJ made the right decisions about what to keep, what to change, and what to discard entirely

      Except of course for the silly fight between Gandalf and Saruman, which looked like a some unused Xena footage got spliced in to save people from having to exercise their imaginations.

  • Actually, both DVDS are totally different! (Score:2, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Actually, all the extra stuff thats coming out on the first Lord of the Rings DVD is NOT going to be on the huge November one. So if you are a hardcore fan, you need to get both. Over on www.moviepoopshoot.com they interviewed the guy creating both DVDs, and he said that they are doing this for a reason. True hardcore fans will get both sets to view ALL the extras. In other words, they have a shitload of stuff that people can see, and they will milk all the money out of us fans as they can get.

  • Biding my time (Score:5, Funny)

    by Grape Shasta ( 176655 ) on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @09:51AM (#3894170) Journal

    I'm holding out for the 24-Disc box set of the trilogy when they release it in 2007. $395 might sound like a lot of money, but it will probably take a month to watch it all, so that's a lot of entertainment! I'm looking forward to the full 10-hour commentary tracks by each member of the Fellowship, Bilbo, Gollum, Mojo Jojo, Liv Tyler, Natalie Portman, the director, the producer, and the key grip. Wooooooooo!

  • Please no Tom (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Washizu ( 220337 ) <{bengarvey} {at} {comcast.net}> on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @09:51AM (#3894172) Homepage
    I was extremely glad they cut out the Tom Bombadil scenes from the book. It was the most boring and meaningless section of the entire trilogy and it would have died on screen. Seeing the hobbits get sucked in by the trees would be neat, but I can live without that.

    I think I'll rent Fellowship when it comes out in August and then buy it in November. It's a great movie and one of the best book to movie adaptations I've ever seen.

    • Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)

      by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @10:43AM (#3894680)
      Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • Re:Please no Tom (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Planesdragon ( 210349 )
        Also, I don't think that second-guessing Tolkien is something that I'd condone. Tolkien was arguably one of the most brilliant writers of the last century

        I'd oppose that argument. Tolkien's books were badly paced, his storyline brought in new elements with little or no forshadowing, and the climactic scene of entire story took place in book 5/6, and was solved by a villian.

        That said, and ignoring the abyssmal story finale that was the sixth book (part II of vol 3), LotR has an amazing ablity to inspire people to create new things. (This in itself is no measure of greatness, but the breadth and width of Tolkien's inspirees are.)

        I prefer to look at the movies as a seperate work, inspired by the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. Or, as I say half-jokingly, "it's missing something from the books--all the parts that suck." ;)

        • Re:Please no Tom (Score:4, Interesting)

          by Nos. ( 179609 ) <`ac.srrekeht' `ta' `werdna'> on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @02:02PM (#3896477) Homepage
          I'd oppose that argument. Tolkien's books were badly paced, his storyline brought in new elements with little or no forshadowing, and the climactic scene of entire story took place in book 5/6, and was solved by a villian. And the fact that the ending is brought about by a villian (even if accidental) is one of the things I loved most about this story. The fact that the hero, in the end, was corrupted. Its not your typical movie where in the end, the hero always makes the right choice and saves the day. Here, we know the hero wouldn't or couldn't have.

      • Re:Please no Tom (Score:5, Insightful)

        by hyperizer ( 123449 ) on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @12:05PM (#3895347)
        I would not be very happy if I went to an orchestral performance of a Beethoven symphony and discovered that the conductor took it upon himself to cut out major portions of the work.

        Yes, but you have to make changes when you're translating a work to a different medium. You can't expect audiences to sit through an 12-hour movie just so no dialogue, settings, and characters are removed. How long did it take you to read each book? How long are you willing to watch a movie for? They're completely different experiences.

        Also, a conductor may be able to make minor changes when interpretting a musical piece, but a director has to take great liberties simply because Tokien never described the color of Gandalf's shoes. He didn't always specify each character's expression. When you read something, you have to fill in a lot of detail. Likewise, when you make a movie of a book, you have to fill in a lot of detail.

  • d00d! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Black Parrot ( 19622 ) on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @09:52AM (#3894176)

    > It will be nice to have the relationship between elves and dwarves fleshed out a bit.

    d00d! I don't think that's the kind of cut scenes they're talking about!

  • FOUR disks? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anarchofascist ( 4820 ) on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @09:58AM (#3894244) Homepage Journal
    It may take only one ring to rule them all, but it takes four disks to watch it.

  • Move on with your life (Score:2, Insightful)

    by SirSlud ( 67381 )
    Man, I've spoken to crack fiends who sound more self-empowered with respect to their vices. :)

    Personally, I have very little respect for the franchise slut. It's one thing to be a fan, but to flat out say, "I dont want to buy two, but I know I will cave and do it." ... I mean, shit, where's the self control?

    This isn't flamebait .. I wanna hear how somebody can justify that kind of sentiment. And how does this factor into the power of the boycott when consumers themselves admit being unable to control their spending habits?

  • Text of the article (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @10:02AM (#3894292)
    EXCLUSIVE: Fellowship Of The Ring Special Edition DVD pictures & info! Find out what's in that extra 30 minutes!!!
    Sunday, July 7, 2002 2:37AM PDT - by Brian

    We've got some exclusive pictures and information on what will be included on the special extended 4-disc edition of Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring DVD hitting store shelves November 12th!

    Here's what we found out from our friends at Newline:

    On November 12th, 2002 Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring will be released as a 4-disc special extended edition DVD which will integrate approximately 30 minutes of extra footage never-before seen, into the original theatrical release. Check out some exclusive info we found about about what's being included:

    What can viewers expect from the 3 and a half hour immersion into Middle Earth??? WE'VE GOT THE ANSWERS!!! Here's what's to be expected...check out the stills!!! (Click to enlarge)

    Galadriel's Gif-Giving Scene. As the elves prepare to leave Lothlorien, Elf Queen Galadriel bestows a special gift upon each of the nine members of the Fellowship.
    Bilbo Baggins writing a journal entry entitled "Concerning Hobbits," which serves as a history of the Hobbits and their bucolic lifestyle.
    A new introduction of loyal Hobbit Sam Gamgee.
    More footage from the Green Dragon Inn, with Peregrin "Pippin" Took, and Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck happily singing Hobbit songs.
    Sam & Frodo witnessing the stately Exodus of the Elves on the road to Bree.
    Aragorn singing an Elvish ballad that adds back story to the implications of his love for Arwen
    Aragorn beside his mother's grave in Rivendell.
    An extended sequence of the Fellowship's departure from Rivendell.
    Pre-battle scenes in the Mines Of Moria, explaining how the dwarves came to be in the mines.
    Character material delving into the complicated relationship between elves and dwarves.
    Additional footage from the Fellowship's climatic battle scene.
    Lord Of The Rings DVD Special Edition pictures Lord Of The Rings DVD Special Edition pictures
    Lord Of The Rings DVD Special Edition pictures Lord Of The Rings DVD Special Edition pictures
    Lord Of The Rings DVD Special Edition pictures

    Composer Howard Shore has returned with his Academy Award winning score and recorded 50 minutes of new music with the London Philharmonic for the special extended edition set!

    Weta Digital has returned and contributed all new effects shots for the deleted scenes.

    In addition to the 3 and a half hour feature, presented on 2 discs, the set will include 2 MORE discs packed with features not on the August release of the disc! This is includes production team commentaries, production documentaries, & interactive featurettes covering the film adaptation from "book to vision" and "from vision to reality"!

  • One thing missing? - 'The Sword That Was Broken' (Score:5, Interesting)

    by cprice ( 143407 ) on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @10:04AM (#3894305)
    Am I the only one who thinks they could have spent
    2 more minutes talking about the 'Sword Of Elendil'? They show the sword in the preface cutting the hand of Sauron, and then they show Boromir doing his 'Still Sharp(e)' shtick. I think a quick scene with Elrond presenting the re-forged sword 'Anduril' to Aragorn would have been a worthy plot addition ('The sword that was broken goes to war'). To me, its part of the 'Aragorn claims his birthright' story within the story.
    • I have a feeling they may have been saving the Sword of Anduril bit for The Two Towers... you know, when he actually goes to war.

      I could be wrong, it's just a hunch.
    • Jackson has reportedly altered the Anduril plotline in order to extend the "Aragorn's birthright' subplot more evenly through the films. From what I've seen in various rumor reports, Narsil will be reforged in TTT or RoTK, most likely at Arwen's insistence. This plot change would provide a plausible reason for Arwen's character to appear in the second movie if it happens in TTT (some of the brief scenes in the TTT trailer seem to reinforce this). My guess is that it will be delivered to him before the battle of Helm's Deep. A group of Elves from Lorien take part (and sacrifice their lives) in the battle. I would hazard another guess that they're the ones who deliver Anduril to Aragorn, possibly replacing the sons of Elrond and the Rangers who arrive after the battle in the book.

  • No overlaping extras (Score:5, Informative)

    by Nilatir ( 179045 ) on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @10:04AM (#3894307) Homepage
    From The Digital Bits [thedigitalbits.com] which in short says that the extras on the two releases do not overlap so your not wasting money by buying both editions. If you want more, buy the SE, otherwise just get the August release.
    We're getting a lot of e-mails from readers asking if the special features set to be included on the theatrical edition of The Fellowship of the Ring (due on 8/6) will be repeated on the special extended version (following on 11/12). The answer is no. The documentaries and web featurettes are being included on the theatrical edition because a lot of fans have requested them. But since the special extended version includes an entirely new cut of the film, everything that will be included on that later edition is being custom created specifically for that release, for a more adult audience and to go MUCH deeper into the making of the film trilogy than what was seen in any of the TV specials. The idea is that most DVD consumers will be satisfied with the theatrical edition, while more sophisticated fans will wait for the extended edition. The most diehard fans will probably want both, as they perfectly complement each other but do not overlap.


    Also, just to clarify, each DVD version includes a SEPARATE edit of the film. The 4-disc special extended set DOES NOT include the theatrical cut of the film on a separate disc or via seamless branching. If you want the theatrical cut, you have to buy the August 2-disc set. If you want the longer cut, you buy the November 4-disc edition. If you want both, save your money accordingly and buy both. Some people may feel that this is an effort to milk consumers, but I don't think so at all. In order to include everything you'll be getting on both editions, New Line would have to create a single 6-disc release, which would be WAY too expensive for most consumers to even consider. This way, they can have DVD purchase options for everyone. And by not having any overlap between the two editions, fans who buy both are absolutely getting the most for their money. Just think... over eight hours of unique special edition material alone on these two releases, not including the films themselves! If you're a fan, I say don't look a gift horse in the mouth!
    • Some people may feel that this is an effort to milk consumers, but I don't think so at all.

      What a load of crap. I mean really. If they were trying to do right by the customer, the November release would be this 6-disc set he mentions and you would get both for $30 instead of having two boxes sitting around with 75% of the same stuff and paying $40 for the whole thing to boot. This is only meant to milk the customer. Just admit it and be done with it.
    • New Line would have to create a single 6-disc release, which would be WAY too expensive for most consumers to even consider.
      Well, maybe with all the artificial price-jacking going on. I mean, it costs what, NOTHING to manufacture a DVD? I'd like to know what the profit margins are. I'm sure they could sell a 6-disc set for twenty bucks and still make money. Whatever. I'm just gonna wait until the whole trilogy comes out in a boxed set or whatever. Of course, by then there might not be a VHS version (come to think of it, is there a VHS version of *this* one, even?), so I might just have to cope without.

  • Fortuitous (Score:3, Funny)

    by stubear ( 130454 ) on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @10:04AM (#3894308)
    Fortuitous that they call themselves "LightsOut Entertainment" only to suffer from a good slashdotting after posting a LOTR article.
  • It's stupid marketing tactics like this that help cause widespread piracy. Releasing "special editions" they will trigger a simple buyers tactic.

    Lots of people on this board are mentioning how they cannot resist the August release, and will likely buy both. On the otherhand, how many of these people will in fact say "fuck it" and not hit the stores to get the August release, but rather hit Gnutella? People don't want to double their costs to get 30 minutes of extra footage, so they will end up buying the movie once. That once will be the November release. In the meantime, they'll settle for a high quality DiVX ;-) rip.

    Then, the MPAA will bitch and moan about how they're so fucked by piracy. Meanwhile, they were the catalyst by teasing the consumers.
    • Hmmm... I can pay 30 or so bucks and watch it on a big tv, with high quality picture and sound, spending the four hour movie time sitting on my comfy sofa.

      Or, I can spend an hour or two downloading it off the internet so I can watch it on my 17" monitor, with mediocre video and mediocre sound, all while sitting in my less comfortable desk chair for 4 hours.

      Jackson is a genius, kill piracy with comfort.
      • Actually, the SVCD rip from the screener DVD (four discs) is of decent quality. Not on par with most DVD video, but I've honestly seen some DVDs with significantly lower quality video than this SVCD rip. I have no problem watching it on my big TV. Of course, there is the "get up to change the disc" thing that must be done three times during the movie.

        It isn't in 5.1 surround and it isn't 16x9 enhanced, but it will hold me over until November.
  • It will be nice to have the relationship between elves and dwarves fleshed out a bit Sure if you're into that kind of thing... Elves and dwarves in the flesh! Must be the scenes dropped to keep it from an R rating...

  • Buy Both Versions (Score:5, Insightful)

    by AJSchu ( 23730 ) on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @10:08AM (#3894342) Homepage

    I've read reports that state that the extras found on the first (2-disc) release will not be available on the second (4-disc) release, and vice versa. Hell, the 4-disc version won't even contain the theatrical version of the movie, but (from what I've read) the 30-minute extended version only. So I'm planning on buying both anyway.

    For those of you who see this as purely a money grab, it's not. Look at the other options New Line had:

    1. Release the two-disc set only. Hardcore fans bitch and moan about not getting "extras."
    2. Release the four-disc set only. People who enjoyed the movie (but aren't hardcore fans) won't shell out $40+ for a load of features they're not interested in.
    3. Release separate packages with nearly-identical features, but label one a "special edition" with extra footage. Duplicated features for people who buy both. Cue the bitching and moaning.
    4. Release separate packages with widely differing features, one geared toward the casual fan and one geared toward the hardcore fan. Buy only what you want.

    New Line did their best to give its customers a choice and opportunity to get what they want.

    AJS

    • the brazil (3-disk) criterion collection special addition has two full-length cuts of the film, plus commentaries, plus two full-length documentaries and more...

      don't be fooled, they're milking it for all they can.

    • i disagree...i like option #3...under option #4, i have to buy 2 seperate packages to get everything...the "regular" release should be a sub-set of the "special" release...if you use option #3, there should be no bitching as long as you know *ahead of time* (as we do here) that there will be a regular and a special edition...that way, the people who just want the movie and aren't hard-core fans can just buy the regular theatrical version...meanwhile, those who are hardcore fans, can buy the more costly special edition, and not miss anything from the regular release...the way new line is doing is with different bonus material over the two sets is nothing more then a way to make more money off the movie...cause they know hard-core fans want everything, and will probably buy both sets...

      so, basically let's see, if i want *everything* from the entire series i'll probably have to buy FOTR regular, FOTR special edition, TT regular, TT special ed., ROTK regular, ROTK special ed., then probably a box set special edition of all 3 movies...i'll end up having like 25+ lord of the rings DVDs by the time i'm through...jeez, that's out of hand...i'll need a special storage unit just for them..

      atleast that's one thing Lucas is doing right with the original star wars trilogy...he could easily release eps 4,5,6 on DVD right now, just as they are...then re-release another DVD speical edition later...but instead they're gonna work on the DVD, and anything he wants to change, and any special feautres...that's the way to do it...not release version after version...

    • how about...? (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Twister002 ( 537605 )
      Not MAKE any special features and just release the same movie in the theaters that they release on DVD. Because that's the latest craze, every DVD has to have special features. Wow a cast biography and behind the scenes photos. Uhm, how underwhelming.

      I can't believe that they can't just allow the user to set an option to watch either the theatrical version or the extended version. We're talking about DVD here not VHS.

      I'm watching my James Bond "The World is not Enough" DVD, a little icon flashes in the upper right hand corner, I press a button on my remote. Bingo, I get to see extra behind the scenes footage. Why not make the DVD with an option to turn on all the extra footage? Then release all the "Behind the scenes" extras on a separate DVD for $19.95 US? The people that want to watch the theatrical release can, the people that want to watch the full movie with the extras can.

      Because they want to suck as much money out of us as they can. I doubt that, for me at least, there will be anything extra on the first release that I'll care about so now I'll be waiting for the 2nd one.

  • Article is /.ed so I haven't read it, sorry.

    Didn't this happen in the book? Doesn't Frodo offer the ring to all three of the bearers of the elven (elvish?) rings even though he doesn't know that they are ring-bearers? Doesn't it seem like this is an important detail that has been left out? He certainly offers it to the other two in the movie. Some would argue that he offers it to Aragorn as well, though I think he was asking if Aragorn would take it by force. In any case it didn't strike me as an offer as much as a query.

    The council of Elrond was the one part of the movie that I didn't care for. I am not sure why this was. Maybe because in the context of the movie you don't know who the participants are.

    Anyhow, imagine Agent Smith with two rings of power! Both his own ring and the one ring. I am sure that he would beat up on Keanu if he had both of them.

  • How could they have ever cut this stuff?! (Score:4, Funny)

    by esoterus ( 66707 ) <esoterus.gmail@com> on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @10:14AM (#3894397) Homepage
    I'm really looking forward to the addition of the footage they shot of Steven Tyler and Aerosmith as the elf Gildor and his companions moving into the West....

    I believe the scene was cut due to Tyler's complaining that in the end, it was "just too Zeppelin" for them.

    Rumors also of a Gildor-singing-to-a-weeping-Arwen number ala the Armageddon music video... Wow, I mean I could barely control myself the first time, how am I supposed to even begin to do so now? Gonna make sure I've got plenty of tissues for that one...

    Peter Jackson. bless you...

  • Tom (Score:4, Interesting)

    by zephc ( 225327 ) on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @10:18AM (#3894437)
    For the people complaining about Tom Bombadil, he wasn't really NEEDED in a movie version. The enigma of Tom is that he represented the *reader*. He was a safety net of sorts for the reader, a character of goodness who could remained unharmed by the evils in Middle-earth, even from Sauron et al.

    Here is a great analysis of Tom [cro.net]

    • Re:Tom (Score:3, Interesting)

      by WNight ( 23683 )
      Tom, a safety net? You're right and truly cracked.

      Tom was an accident and a toy's cameo, so says Tolkien himself. He started writing a more humorous book where Tom was appropriate (similar Bifur, Bofur, Bombur type naming in The Hobbit) and it gradually turned darker and more serious. He said he wouldn't have put him in, if he had it to do again.

      Also, Bombadil is a name he'd given to one of his kid's toys, and he wanted basically to give the toy a cameo. He admit in his letters that Bombadil doesn't have anything to do with the story, but says that he liked the idea of the world having some mystery, so he never explained Tom's presense.

      Making up some crap about how he represents the reader, etc... That's not only painfully wrong, but it's elitist, egotistical, and above all, against documented fact. Try lecturing about how the ring represents technology, that's another symbolism that Tolkien vehemently denied.
  • C'mon, people. Yell about the MPAA all week until they have a movie you want to watch and then you don't even ask why the "special edition" features aren't on the "regular" edition. SUCKERS!

  • Have your cake and eat it too... (Score:5, Informative)

    by xTK-421x ( 531992 ) on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @10:32AM (#3894580) Homepage
    For those of you who want to be "franchise sluts" but don't want to pay twice, go take a Kia for a test drive and get the theatrical copy for free!

    KIA Partners With The Lord Of The Rings [kia.com]

    "Individuals who test-drive the new Kia Sorento or any Kia model between August and October, 2002 will receive by mail a free copy of the "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" home video or DVD courtesy of Kia."

  • I will be buying both... (Score:5, Informative)

    by dswensen ( 252552 ) on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @10:44AM (#3894698) Homepage
    I will be purchasing both versions of the movie, if for no other reason than I want to see the version of Fellowship that I saw in the theater.

    While I am glad there will be some extra footage and other good stuff added to the November disc, I have been disappointed by "special editions" in the past. The Phantom Menace DVD, for instance (save your wisecracks), adds a lot of footage that I don't care for -- and there's no way to see the version I saw in the theater, save watching it on VHS (which I shouldn't have to do after shelling out the cash I did for the DVD).

    Similarly, the Aliens Special Edition adds a lot of footage that's cool, but I feel it mars the pacing of the film and isn't necessary -- but there's no option to get rid of it and watch the film in its original form. (Unlike, for example, the Terminator 2 Ultimate Edition, which has an option to watch both versions.)

    I have very fond memories of watching Fellowship in the theater, and while I am excited about the prospect of new footage, I don't really know what it's going to entail or how good it's going to be. And I want to be able to recreate the theater experience if I want to -- so I will be purchasing both, just in case.

    If it turns out I have no use for the first DVD after November, I can always give it away or sell it on the cheap. It's less than the cost of one evening dining out. No big deal.
    • this brings up a good point...why don't DVDs have the option to turn on/off the added footage, so that you can see the theatrical version, or the special edition?? seems like it would be easy enough...DVDs are already broken up into scenes...so, for those scenes that include additional footage, the DVD just has two versions of the scene, and picks which one to play based on if you previously chose whether to watch the theatrical or special edition...seems easy enough....only downside is then you can't sell two different versions of the dvd...oh wait, that's not a downside for us...only for the movie studio...
  • If you're going to buy both the theatrical and special editions, then you also need to buy The Fellowship of the Ring - Turnip Edition.

    This consists of an entirely and lovingly blank DVD disc with "LotR - Turnip" carefully written on it in exquisite marker pen by a skilled writer (me). It is an extremely limited edition, there being only one - and it's YOURS for the bargain, once-only price of $500!

    Fans! Fanatics! Don't miss out. Mail me now and be first in the queue to own this unique souvenir.

    Ade_
    /

  • Cruel, cruel temptation (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Astin ( 177479 ) on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @10:55AM (#3894780)
    I'm debating on putting off buying EITHER of the upcoming releases. I can't help but believe that once all three movies have come out that there will be the "Complete Lord Of The Rings Boxed Set" with all the stuff you'll already have plus 2-4 dics of never-before-seen footage and extras and such, along with a collector's box, 100-page booklet, etc, etc... making any earlier purchases a waste of my money.

    • Rock on, that's what I was planning on doing, too. The way I figure it, pretty much all of my friends will probably own it anyway, so whenever I want to see it, it's just a matter of going over to someone else's house. Plus I have friends who actually own DVD players and spend money buying DVDs, so I'll actually be able to see the cool extra stuff that probably won't be present on the VHS release.
  • I'm really looking forward to the full three movies shown as a whole, with extra material thrown in. Maybe in 2004-5. This is doable because all most of the human filming was done at one time. Jackson has already taken some liberties with re-arranging the books chronology for better dramatic filming. He could also make a "kosher cut" to follow the books as closely as possible with the film material. I'd expect the combined cut to be a 12 hout miniseries.

  • The Original Cut? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by drdink ( 77 ) <smkelly+slashdot@zombie.org> on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @11:31AM (#3895038) Homepage
    According to IMDB [imdb.com], the original cut "ran four hours and thirty minutes." If this is truely the case, I'd like to get my hands on all of that extra footage and see what else we missed. Sure would be nice if Tom Bombadil was in there somewhere.

  • Damned if they do, damned if they don't (Score:5, Insightful)

    by eschasi ( 252157 ) on Tuesday July 16, 2002 @12:37PM (#3895630)
    Judas priest, what a bunch of whining wankers. If they'd put both cuts and all the material in a single six-disk set, you'd whine because you had to buy it all at once. If they packaged it in six different boxes, you'd whine because they'd be more expensive than a set as a whole.

    Right now, Amazon is offering the first one at $17.97, the second at $25.99. So you can buy either one at a very reasonable price, or all six disks for $44.00.

    Let me repeat that for all of you whiners who didn't understand it:

    You can buy all six disks, including two full cuts, for only $44.00.

    Damn, do I feel ripped off. Especially when the six-disk set of 'The Godfather', "remastered" for the umpteenth time, is $75. Or the single, no-specials, no-restoration DVS of 'Harold and Maude' is $25.50.

    Get a clue. Jackson et. al. had to make a decision as to how to package it. They made their decision. As far as I can tell, they decided that they would not force folks to buy duplicate material if they wanted everything, and kept it all *very very cheap*. Looks to me like a damned fine choice.

    And if you don't like it, don't buy it.

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