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Lord of the Rings Media Movies

Extended RotK Expected December 14 146

Posted by timothy from the storks-and-cigars-all-around dept.
sbowles writes "DVDAnswers is reporting that New Line plans to release the four-disc extended edition of Return of the King on the 14th of December. As of yet, the LotR official site has not posted an official release date or an official list of contents for the set. This older IGN article gives some great details on the sneak preview presented at the San Diego Comic Con."
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Extended RotK Expected December 14 More

Extended RotK Expected December 14

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  • XMAS gifts (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 11, 2004 @03:40PM (#10222442)
    That solves that problem ...

  • ...but my parents bought me an elephant.

  • Any news (Score:5, Funny)

    by Spad ( 470073 ) <slashdot@Nospam.spad.co.uk> on Saturday September 11, 2004 @03:41PM (#10222451) Homepage
    On the 15 disc Ultimate Super Directors Cut Special Collectors Edition Trilogy Box Set with 3 weeks of previously unseen footage?

    • Re: Any news (Score:5, Funny)

      by Black Parrot ( 19622 ) on Saturday September 11, 2004 @03:42PM (#10222459)


      > On the 15 disc Ultimate Super Directors Cut Special Collectors Edition Trilogy Box Set with 3 weeks of previously unseen footage?

      You won't get that until after the prequels and sequels are done.

      • Re: Any news (Score:1, Informative)

        by duggie ( 787162 )
        Any sequels to the LOTR will surely piss off many, many fans (of the books and movies). On the other hand if The Hobbit gets made that will please many, many fans. Let's just hope that Time Warner is successful in its bid to purchase MGM Studios [ft.com] who owns part of the movie rights to The Hobbit [cnn.com].
      • "The Lord of the Rings 4: A New Age"
        "The Lord of the Rings 5: Sauron Strikes Back"
        "The Lord of the Rings 6: Return of the Oliphaunt"
        "The Lord of the Rings 7: The Final Frontier"
        etc.
        • The Lord of the Rings 8: ???
          The Lord of the Rings 9: Profit.

          Sorry, couldn't resist...
          • It's worth pointing out that, in fact, the entire production costs of all three films (not using ingenious studio accounting of course) were paid for by the box office of Fellowship of the Ring alone (DVD of course, was pure gravy). So in fact it runs more like

            The Lord of the Rings 1: Profit!
            The Lord of the Rings 2: Profit!!
            The Lord of the Rings 3: Profit!!!

            Jedidiah.
      • Unfortunatly, Peter Jackson will not be doing the prequel, and after the ring was destroyed the stories of middle earth all seemed pretty boring so no sequels were released. I have personally E-Mailed Perter Jackson's "people" and he has no plans to do the hobbit [mi.uib.no] which is the book that started it all. [amazon.com]
    • I am refusing to purcahse any of the DVDs until the XTreme Collection with 30 disks is released. When the first LotR DVD came out, a friend of mine was waiting for the store to open so she could buy it. Inside was an advertisement for the soon-to-be-released extended DVD. I decided right then that I can rent (or borrow) the movies if I really need to see them, but I'm not buying a thing until the final release - after all the actors, directors, writers, and producers die so they can't put out another set

      • Re:Any news (Score:2, Informative)

        by darthtrevino ( 812116 )
        Honestly dude, you'll be waiting several years for that release to happen. It's not even officially planned.

        I too am pumped about an XTREME TURBO edition, but the value of a DVD is how much mileage it gets. The EE's are getting plenty of mileage and usage, and that makes the purchase worth it. I'd rather spend the money now and watch the DVD's a few times a year now, cause they're that good.

  • Cue the adjective jokes (Score:5, Insightful)

    by rd_syringe ( 793064 ) on Saturday September 11, 2004 @03:42PM (#10222454) Journal
    Let us rally together and write trite "Super Ultra Mega-Expanded Edition" jokes as though you didn't know there has been a theatrical release and an extended release since 2002 and that New Line and Peter Jackson weren't open about it all along. Bonus points for a George Lucas reference, especially if you use "Lucas" as a verb.

    Remember, you must exaggerate that there is a theatrical release and then half a year later an expanded release. You must make it sound like there are multiple versions. "Super Duper Triple Mega Ultra Redux Version Mod Me +5 Funny Because I Use Lots Of Adjectives Edition."

    • Re:Cue the adjective jokes (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Hentai ( 165906 ) on Saturday September 11, 2004 @04:13PM (#10222604) Homepage Journal
      Feh. You know, I wouldn't MIND a "Super Ultra Mega-Expanded Edition", personally. If they were smart, and interested in really soaking us all, they'd do something like this:

      A $450 'Ultimate Edition' box, that comes with all 3 Extended Edition movies on 10 DVDs, with 2 CDs of soundtrack, and all three books (plus The Hobbit) in hardbound, AND a rolled-up parchment map of Middle Earth, with annotations of everyone's journeys throughout the movie.

      If they wanted to REALLY soak us (and make it worth it!), they could up it to $750 for a 'Limited Edition' version (only 10,000 made!), with each having an extra, random object:

      Either one of the Elven, Dwarven or Human Rings, or Sting, or an Elven Cloak and leaf brooch, or a Horn of Gondor, or other similar item: 9,999 in all. Then have the 10,000th box have a reproduction of the One Ring, and a certificate for a vacation to New Zealand, and lunch with Peter Jackson.

    • "Super Duper Triple Mega Ultra Redux Version Mod Me +5 Funny Because I Use Lots Of Adjectives Edition."

      You left out, "With Bluing for extra whiteness."

      KFG

  • Extended? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Rick Zeman ( 15628 ) on Saturday September 11, 2004 @03:42PM (#10222458)
    Do we get to find out what happens to Saruman? Or does he go "poof" like "The Scouring of the Shire" did, too?

    • Re:Extended? (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Brackney ( 257949 )
      He's in the extended version.

    • Re:Extended? (Score:5, Informative)

      by EvanED ( 569694 ) <evanedNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Saturday September 11, 2004 @03:46PM (#10222472)
      Somewhat at least. They filmed Saurman scenes to go at the beginning of RotK, but decided they killed the pace of the movie before it even got started and thus they didn't work. They will be back though for the EE cut.

      Scouring of course won't be, so who knows how they will wrap up the Saurman line.
      • I think Wormtongue kills him for the Palantir or something
      • decided they killed the pace of the movie before it even got started
        hahaha... what pace..the damn thing is 3.5 hours long...another 10 minutes of drag would barely be noticed
        and yes, my friends have forced me to sit through all three regular editions..at once..that was like 10 hours of lotr
      • They show the scenes in the gameboy version of the game (still pictures of the filmed footage). It's takes elements of the Scouring.

        SPOILER AHEAD:

        Gandalf, Theoden, and the rest of the crew talk with Saruman and Wormtongue, who are stuck in the tower. It seems to follow the book, more or less, but at the end, Denethor says that Worm served him once, in his own way and that he would let him free. Saruman (as in the Scouring) says that he really did act against Theoden - by poisoning his son. Wormtonge s

    • Re:Extended? (Score:2, Informative)

      by rd_syringe ( 793064 )
      Yes, actually, you do. Read more if you want to know already.

      *** Spoilers ***

      Apparently, Wormtongue pushes him out of the tower at the beginning, right after the encounter with Gandalf (the "Voice of Saruman" chapter from the book). Saruman falls and is impaled on a large spiked wheel.
    • It's the second line in the linked article:

      "New Line has confirmed that the four-disc extended edition of Return of the King will arrive on the 14th December. The set will include around fifty-minutes of additional footage, including the highly anticipated confrontation with Saruman."
    • And do we get to see the version where Frodo shot first?
    • Extended. Modified. And we find out that Frodo shoots first!
  • one of my major gripes with the three movies were the accents and sounds. For me at least, it was extremely difficult to hear what they were saying. The accents were heavy and the volume level kept jumping from high to low. From one scene to the next I had to keep moving the volume down (during the loud scenes) and then WAY WAY up when they were speaking, just so i could hear their faint voices. Anybody else find themselves doing the same thing ?

    Ya, I should get a volume normalizer but in the meantim

    • Re:The trilogy was great.. but (Score:5, Informative)

      by Brackney ( 257949 ) on Saturday September 11, 2004 @03:47PM (#10222483)
      I'm assuming you're listening to this in 5.1 surround? Might I suggest a good calibration disc like DVD Video Essentials and a sound level meter to properly set up your audio? It might be that your channel gains are simply out of balance with one another. I didn't find myself having to jack with the volume during any of the LOTR discs, and that includes getting my butt thumped quite excessively during the battles at Helm's Deep and the Pelenor Fields.

    • Re:The trilogy was great.. but (Score:4, Insightful)

      by ArchieBunker ( 132337 ) on Saturday September 11, 2004 @03:49PM (#10222492)
      Welcome to surround sound. Maybe its me but I liked the old style sound before they switched to surround. The dymanic range is too great. The quiet parts are too quiet and the loud parts are too loud. Luckily my tv has an automatic volume limiter which does come in handy. The shitty cable co. can't regulate the volume across all their channels.

      • Most digital surround receivers have something called DRC or "midnight mode". Try turning that on and see if it makes your listening experience any better.
      • The increased dynamic range is a Good Thing (tm), however as you have discovered, under regular TV, non-home theatre viewing conditions (i.e. in a living room, where there is little control over background noise), it can be difficult to hear.

        This is why you need to turn Dynamic Range Compression on in your DVD player.. it will limit the dynamic range (based on data in the AC3 tracks), instead of just normalizing the audio. The feature should be present on any DVD player.

        • This is why you need to turn Dynamic Range Compression on in your DVD player.. it will limit the dynamic range (based on data in the AC3 tracks), instead of just normalizing the audio. The feature should be present on any DVD player.

          I've had a few DVD players and the DRC setting on them never really seemed to have much of an effect.

          I suspect there are some psychological and physiological effects of volume changes that aren't being accounted for (loud scene cuts to a quiet scene), and/or a cheap chipset.
      • It's not just you, I'm not a fan of surround either.

        But then again, a birth defect rendered my right ear completely useless, so even something simple like stereo's beyond my grasp.
    • For some reason the movie theater I saw the movies in wouldn't let me adjust the volume.
  • I was under the impression that Peter Jackson said that the extended edition would be released at the same time as the theatrical cut, since the trilogy was at an end.
    But it seems like genious marketing strategy has struck again: let viewers by both, prolong the hype as long as possible, the EE will be a xmas hit.

    • Re:A little dissapointed (Score:5, Insightful)

      by HeghmoH ( 13204 ) on Saturday September 11, 2004 @04:24PM (#10222653) Homepage Journal
      I was under the impression that Peter Jackson said that the extended edition would be released at the same time as the theatrical cut, since the trilogy was at an end.

      I never heard such a thing. Furthermore, it doesn't make any sense. Making the extended edition isn't a matter of just plunking in a few more scenes and burning another master. The editing alone is a painstaking process. The LotR people are so fanatical that they actually re-score and re-record the music to fit with the new scenes. All of this takes much longer than simply transferring the already-finished theatrical film to DVD.

      It may also be a way to squeeze money, but it's hardly a scam. Unlike some films, they let everybody know way ahead of time that they could expect an extended version. Nobody got caught buying the DVD and then finding out afterwards that there was another DVD they really wanted.
      • I never called it a scam. My words: "genious marketing."

        Secondly, just because YOU never heard about Peter Jackson saying he wanted to release the extended DVD early doesn't mean that someone else didn't hear that in an interview. I apologize that I can't fortify this with evidence. Hence I used the words "Under the impression" hoping someone would concretely verify or reject this with evidence. Sorry, but "I've never heard such a thing" is not evidence.

        And finally, I realize that making an extend
        • Wow, chill out.

          You're falling into the classic geek trap of treating somebody who comes forward with more information as a challenger. Conversation is not a war. You don't have to win to enjoy yourself.

          To clarify:

          I never said you called it a scam. That doesn't change the fact that it's not a scam.

          I never said that my never hearing Jackson mention this change in timing was evidence. That is why I immediately dropped that line and went into actual, real evidence. I'm not challenging you, nor calling you a
          • To clarify:

            He never said you said he called it a scam.

            But wait!

            You never said he said you said he called it a scam! Aargh!

            ... It's called conversational implicature. It's part of pragmatics. And it's the reason WE DON'T HAVE THREADS LIKE THIS.

            <commits suicide>
        • this interview [theonering.net] from april of this year with matt lasorsa of new line offers some explanations for why the extended edition got pushed to december:

          Logically, it would seem that it could be done sooner, especially without another Lord of the Rings film to finish; however, that hasn't been the case. Peter Jackson was quite busy with many commitments during the awards season. Since he was away from New Zealand, he could not cut an extended version of the film. Traditionally, after he cuts the film, there are

  • Of the other extended editions, Fellowship of the Ring was released on November 12, and The Two Towers was released on November 18. I wonder what's pushing this release back almost a month?

  • Theater release? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by EReidJ ( 551124 ) on Saturday September 11, 2004 @03:52PM (#10222505) Homepage
    There was a rumor going around some time ago that the Extended Edition would be released in theaters before or at the same time it was available on DVD. Anyone know of the status of this? Is it really going to happen, can we see these wonderful new scenes on the big screen?

  • I am so looking forward to this! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by b4rtm4n ( 692708 ) <b4rtm4n@security-forums.com> on Saturday September 11, 2004 @03:59PM (#10222542) Homepage
    This is going to make my year! :-)

    I am disappointed that the scouring of the Shire is missing but I can fully understand it from a filmmakers pov as it'd really mess up the pace of the end of the film. Although it may have helped offset the length of the endings.

    The biggest edit I would like is the removal of Legolas surfing the Oliphant. That was just pathetic.

    Still, nearly an hour of extra footage will be fscking brilliant.

    Roll on December!!!

    • I thought it added a bit of humor.. not that there wasn't a lot during those scenes ;)
    • as it'd really mess up the pace of the end of the film.

      you mean as it'd wake people up?

      With all the 'it's over, no, this time it's over, no, really, THIS time it's over' I swear I was tempted to walk out the theatre... and I loved the first two movies and the third up to that point. I just hope they'll have an alternate ending on the DVD when the whole enchilada is cut down to more manageable proportions.
      • Cut down to manageable proportions is right!

        I like a good ending, and even touchy-feely ones, but some movies have to be cut.

        Raiders of The Lost Ark for example had 6 minutes cut from the "fry the Nazi's" scene at the end at Spielberg's request. The movie was better for it.
    • The scouring was important. It should have been there at least for the EE. It was aluded to in the meeting with Galadriel (PJ even seemed to have some footage). There were a lot of other endings such as the marriage, the elves leaving for the west with Bilbo and Gandalf, but without the scouring, we do not see how the hobbits have changed.
      • It's very important to the book, but a film cannot fully translate those important details.

        Tho if RoTK was 5 hrs long......

        In the film it'd be near impossible to show the transition of the hobbits into "modern man".

        It would also add a double plus down ending, which (imho) is why the film had an up beat ending for Sam.

        • The necessity of the Scouring came down to showing how actions away may have consequences at home. The Shire was a wonderful place but in the end, it is another part of Middle Earth and it is as vulnerable. Note that I don't believe that it needs long, but is an important part of the end of the book. PJ didn't think so and he also made another mistake with Faromir in The Two Towers (although this was corrected later), however his other changes worked well (i.e., extending the role of Arwen).

  • Is it just me, (Score:4, Funny)

    by Mordant ( 138460 ) on Saturday September 11, 2004 @04:11PM (#10222593)
    or did anyone else read that headline as 'Extended Rot13 Expected December 14'?

    I was thinking that maybe folks had decided to use Rot13 [rot13.com] as a replacement for MD5 [technewsworld.com], or something.

    Now that I think about it, that headline probably would probably read 'Rkgraqrq EbgX Rkcrpgrq Qrprzore 14' . . .

    • It's just you. (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward
      n/t.
    • Now that I think about it, that headline probably would probably read 'Rkgraqrq EbgX Rkcrpgrq Qrprzore 14' .

      No, you had it right the first time. With "Extended Rot13" they just encrypt it twice.
  • I haven't bought any of the LOTR DVDs yet. I would like to get the whole complete set of all three movies with the extras. Does anyone know when this will be released?

  • But RotK needed -trimming-, not extending... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by mccalli ( 323026 ) on Saturday September 11, 2004 @04:28PM (#10222671) Homepage
    Seriously - the ending just dragged. I could feel people squirming in their seats as yet another cinematic false ending was foisted upon them.

    Now I'm a huge fan of the books, and believe that the Scouring should have been retained as it was a major part of the book's point, to the extent that the book had a point beyond pure myth building. So it's not that I'm moaning about length as such. Just that if you're going to cut the plot, you should also cut the congratulationary stuff that goes on around the sub-plot you cut. And yes, that means straight to the Grey Havens and no Shire scenes for you, m'lads.

    Cheers,
    Ian

    • I could not agree more. If I had mod points Id give them all to you.
    • hm. The added saruman scenes LOOK like they might break the old 1h ending aport, which could actually help with the pacing...
      Making a film 10 minutes longer can make it feel a hour shorter...

    • Re:But RotK needed -trimming-, not extending... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by MagicDude ( 727944 ) on Saturday September 11, 2004 @05:42PM (#10223158)
      I don't think that having a half hour ending for this movie is bad, because it's not the conclusion to just ROTK, it is the resolution to the entire Lord of the Rings series. 30 minutes of character and plot resolution in a 10 hour movie is the same as having 5 minutes of resolution in a typical 90 minute movie. We've spent 3 years getting to know these characters, and I know I'd feel disapointed if all I got after the ring was destroyed was a "Good Job Frodo" and they cut to credits. Plus, the ending gave us a glimpse into how Frodo was still affected by the Ring, how he never really recovered from it. I think what everyone is complaining about is the departure for the gray havens scene, where they schmaltzed it up a little, but honestly, it's just a sign of the time of how short of an attention span people really have if they can't take 5 minutes of artistic liberty after 3 hours of butt-kicking action.
    • Seriously - the ending just dragged

      Agreed. There were at least 3 distinct moments when I thought it was going to fade down and roll credits, but it kept going.

      As someone who hasn't read the third book yet (read the first two), it definitely feels like they skipped over a lot of content at the end, as the wrap-up seemed very awkward.

    • My 2c (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Aqua_Geek ( 527624 )
      A friend of mine had this to say about leaving the "Scouring of the Shire" part out of the ending: in the Fellowship when they reach Lothlorien, Frodo looks into the Mirror of Galadriel. If you recall, it cuts to some shots of what he sees. Correct me if I'm wrong, but these are shots of the Shire being burned and whatnot, aren't they? After he sees these images, Frodo is told by Galadriel that this is what will happen if he fails. But he didn't fail. The ring was destroyed, so it should make sense that he
      • The ring was destroyed, so it should make sense that he comes back to find the Shire alive and well and NOT in ruins (or under the control of Saruman).

        But the industrialisation of the Shire reflected the point that it's impossible to escape the corruptions of the outside world; as Frodo was corrupted by the Ring, so was the Shire by the same forces the Ring represents. You can't defeat an abstract principle simply by destroying one of its tokens. It's a slightly more realistic ending than "Hey ho, the Rin

        • Re:My 2c (Score:2, Interesting)

          by Aqua_Geek ( 527624 )
          Yeah, I see what you're saying. The evil doesn't just disappear with the destruction of the ring. That section of the book provided a "well, the main source of evil has been defeated but there are still lesser ones to deal with" idea. I think the same applies today (replace "evil" with "enemy"). Not to start a fire here, but look at the situation in Iraq. Yeah, Sadam has been captured. But is the fight over? Absolutely not. There are still other people and groups of people to deal with. The notion that, onc
  • Extended Edition ... now with twenty more "No, it isn't finished yet - here's *another* finale" scenes.

  • Confirmation..? I don't think so (Score:3, Informative)

    by thellamaman ( 631602 ) on Saturday September 11, 2004 @04:37PM (#10222710) Homepage

    The linked page says that New Line has confirmed it, which they certainly have not, publically at least. Unless it's someone's "secret source", and I think that's a little suspect.

    About a week ago, TheOneRing.net posted a link to Video Store Magazine online which contained the December 14 date. New Line made them take it down, here is the retraction [videostoremag.com].

    TORN got a note from New Line as well:

    From New Line Cinema writes: There is an error that Video Store magazine ran in their current issue and they are printing a retraction next week. If you could kindly pull the Celebriel post and note this retraction we would be most grateful! Thanks!

    All that said, I believe the December 14 date is likely correct. But it sure is not confirmed.

  • Actual *content* of the DVD (Score:3, Informative)

    by thellamaman ( 631602 ) on Saturday September 11, 2004 @04:49PM (#10222795) Homepage

    If you want to know all the new stuff that will be on the DVD (Mouth of Sauron, Voice of Saruman, Witch King, Houses of Healing, Crossroads, etc., etc.), here's the most comprehensive site I've found, with photos, commentary, news, and some actual video:

    ROTK SEE Site [rotk-see.de.vu]
  • Please, Mr. Jackson - don't make Gollum fire first!

    mmKay... now on to The Hobbit?
  • Oh yeah, I'm so going to get this.

    But what I don't understand is why they'd have to wait a whole year before releasing RoTK. While it is understandable for the earlier movies, but this is the final one, and it is not like there will be more stuff coming after this one..

    Meanwhile, on a korean site (asiandb.com) I already see this same dvd on sale...
  • Obvious question: But any idea on the release date for the full extended trilogy?

    After seeing the first one, I realised that I didn't want to begin watching the rest of them until they were in the full extended format - I didn't want to watch the rest without the extra scenes.

    Now I can get all the movies in extended format - but I'm sure there's many like me who'd prefer to just get them all in one go, with all the goodies.

    Ryan Fenton
  • This DVD is supposed to include Noam Chomsky's analysis [mcsweeneys.net] of LOTR's semiotic significance. Well worth reading;)

    • Funny stuff... (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Zinn: This is absolutely established in the books. Pipe-weed is something all the Hobbits abuse. Gandalf is smoking it constantly. You are correct when you point out that Middle Earth depends on pipe-weed in some crucial sense, but I think you may be overstating its importance. Clearly the war is not based only on the Shire's pipe-weed. Rohan and Gondor's unceasing hunger for war is a larger culprit, I would say.

      Chomsky: But without the pipe-weed, Middle Earth would fall apart. Saruman is trying to break

  • I don't know... (Score:4, Funny)

    by Vinnie_333 ( 575483 ) on Saturday September 11, 2004 @08:46PM (#10224145)
    I mean, I bought LotR: FotR EE and LotR: TTT EE and loved them, after a decade of reading the books once a year. But, maybe I'll pass on this one. I mean, two out of three is pretty good, right?

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