LoTR RoTK Extended Edition Specs Released 388
It's pre-pre-Christmas season, and ThePrinceofWands writes "OMG! It's official, 25% more unbelievable greatness in this version." The linked description (on the official LotR site) starts "DISCS 1-2: The Feature
FEATURE (approx. 250 minutes) - A new version of the final installment in the epic trilogy! The Academy-Award winning film now has 50 minutes of never-before-seen footage incorporated into the film for this highly-anticipated video release." The extended version can be ordered starting on Oct 1st.
These things keep getting longer and longer... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:These things keep getting longer and longer... (Score:5, Funny)
Thank you for asking whether this edition comes with a coffee machine. We considered adding this feature for a while, however in testing, we discovered that the caffeine levels consumed combined with over four hours of feature film resulted in too many trips to the restroom. This not only had the downside of random interruptions for everybody when multiple people were viewing the movie at the same time, but it also caused the premature failure of numerous 'Pause' buttons on DVD player remotes.
When technology allows for remote control buttons with higher life expectancies, we will reconsider this feature. This will likely be around the time we release the Uber Mega Ultra Extended Beyond All Possible Belief And Sanity Edition. We highly recommend that you begin accruing a year's worth of vacation time so you may fully enjoy this upcoming release in one sitting.
Sincerely, Middle Earth Marketing Department
Re:These things keep getting longer and longer... (Score:5, Interesting)
http://www.lordoftherings.net/feedback.html [lordoftherings.net]
and send email here:
info@theantfarm.net
who rescored the music.
it just shits me these damn copyright laws - that art can be created and then hidden from those who love it.
-- james
Here's the name of the file you want....... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:These things keep getting longer and longer... (Score:5, Funny)
Yeah, like Peter Jackson is going to be immune. You just wait and see. Your heros will crumble too!
Re:These things keep getting longer and longer... (Score:5, Funny)
what the hell did you learn at marketing school, if they didn't teach you that making an announcement NOW and starting accepting orders FOUR DAYS from now will make the whole announcement useless. Who will remember that he wanted to order something a week ago...
Dear Mr. Coward,
While we appreciate your concern for our marketing strategies, we do observe a number of factors. The first being that there are seven days in a week, not four. The second being that we knew that upon making this announcement, the Slashdot crew would have an article up within a matter of moments. Had we been accepting orders at this time, our order system would have been tremendously overwhelmed by what is fondly known as the Slashdot Effect, and the vast majority of our other customers would be unable to wade through the tide of Slashdot readers attempting to order our merchandise. The losses due to negative word of mouth publicity would have been substantial.
By creating a four-day buffer, we are able to encertain that the initial flood of Slahsdot readers will have ALMOST forgotten, but still have a three day period within which to remember to order this horrendously long movie. Thus, the orders stemming from them will be spread over a larger time period as neurons begin to fire and they remember.
Overall, we appreciate your input, and have we will be sending you a free coffee maker in a show of our gratitude. (We recommend that you alternate between the pause button on the remote and the pause button on the DVD player itself while watching the movie when needing to use the restroom. It will help to prevent premature failure of your remote.)
Sincerely, Middle Earth Marketing Department
Re:These things keep getting longer and longer... (Score:2, Insightful)
In this version... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:In this version... (Score:3, Funny)
taters (Score:4, Funny)
I like my taters raw and wriggley (Score:3, Funny)
Re:taters (Score:3, Insightful)
Now... (Score:5, Funny)
THE SECRET DIARY OF ARAGORN SON OF ARATHORN (Score:5, Funny)
Ringwraiths killed: 4. V. good.
Met up with Hobbits. Walked forty miles. Skinned a squirrel and ate it.
Still not King.
Day Four:
Stuck on mountain with Hobbits. Boromir really annoying.
Not King yet.
Day Six:
Orcs killed: none. Disappointing. Stubble update: I look rugged and manly.
Yes!
Keep wanting to drop-kick Gimli. Holding myself back.
Still not King.
Day Ten:
Sorry no entries lately. V. dark in Mines of Moria. Big Baelrog.
Not King today either.
Day Eleven:
Orcs killed: 7. V. good. Stubble update: Looking mangy.
Legolas may be hotter than me.
I wonder if he would like me if I was King?
Day 28:
Beginning to find Frodo disturbingly attractive. Have a feeling if I make
a move, Sam would kill me. Also, hairy feet kind of a turn-off.
Still not King.
Day 30:
In Lothlorien. Think Galadriel was hitting on me. Saucy wench.
Nice chat with Boromir. He's not so bad.
Took a shower. Yay!
But still not King.
Day 32:
Orcs killed: none. Stubble update: subtly hairy.
Legolas told me that a shadow and a threat had been growing in his mind.
I think Legolas might be kinda gay.
Nope, not King.
Day 33:
Orcs killed: Countless thousands. V. good.
Boromir killed by Orcs. Bummer. Though he died bravely in my arms, am now
quite sure that he was very definitely gay.
Not so sure about Gimli either.
RIP Boromir.
Still not King, but at least Boromir seemed to think I was. Might however
have been blood loss.
Day 34:
Frodo went to Mordor. Said he was going alone, but took Sam with him. Why?
My God, is everyone in this movie gay but me?
Not so sure about me either.
Still not King, goddammit.
Re:THE SECRET DIARY OF ARAGORN SON OF ARATHORN (Score:4, Informative)
Ahh...plagarism... (Score:5, Informative)
If you want to read the originals, direct from the original author, pleased to be visiting http://www.livejournal.com/users/cassieclaire/ [livejournal.com].
Thanking you.
Re:THE SECRET DIARY OF ARAGORN SON OF ARATHORN (Score:3, Funny)
Beginning to wonder how long this whole ordeal is going to be.
I heard a voice in the sky saying the word "crossover", I don't know what that means. Ran into some squidy looking character trying to convince me it was, is his words, "a trap".
Still not King, but suddenly feel compeled to investigate something called the "force".
Wow, just wow (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Wow, just wow (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Wow, just wow (Score:2)
Re:Wow, just wow (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Wow, just wow (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Wow, just wow (Score:5, Funny)
Thank you.
It could be worse.... 9/22 ain't 9/22 (Score:5, Insightful)
A truly hopelessly geeky Tolkien nerd would point out that the Shire calendar was offset from the British calendar by several days. Tolkien described it all in the Appendices.
Damn, now I've outed myself.
Re:Wow, just wow (Score:2)
Suckers! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Suckers! (Score:3, Informative)
To be pragmatic, take a view of the "best version you will like". I've held off buying some DVDs because I heard a rumour of a decent special edition with cleaned up picture/sound, directors cuts etc (like I'll get the next editions of Kill Bill, not the current ones).
But for me, that is that. I don't care enough to get that extra 1% of value which is "new cast commentary".
Unless a DVD comes straight out as an excellent set, I hold off, rent th
Re:Suckers! (Score:4, Insightful)
Now don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of the LOTR movies and have the previous 2 extended editions. However I did think that the theatrical release of ROTK did suffer a little from its editing. Now I have read the books and know what things have been missing from the movies and such, but I thought that there were a number of instances in ROTK where it was bloody obvious that a scene was missing and that did (at least to me) seem to interrupt the flow of the movie just a little.
It's great to see an extended editiong offering some great additions that improve the quality of the movie as a whole, as so many DVD's don't offer many feature at all. The commentaries so far have been good as well and I enjoy listening to them.
Re:Suckers! (Score:3, Interesting)
He kinda dropped that line of reasoning when Two Towers came out extended. Important plot points had been cut. If you're gonna mess with the character of Faramir, at least show us your entire rewor
Re:Suckers! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Suckers! (Score:3, Funny)
I'm for one am waiting for HDTV Star Wars and LotR both. Who's with me?!?
Extended edition? (Score:3, Funny)
Yeah... (Score:4, Funny)
Tom Bombadil is not important to the plot of LOTR (Score:5, Insightful)
God knows the main plot is long enough as it is, why in the world would you want to make it longer by adding an insignficant character? This is a movie, not a book. The point of a movie is to tell a good story at a fast enough pace so that the viewer feels he got his money's worth. A book allows the author to do all the meandering he likes and the reader to take as much time as is necessary to absorb it all.
Re:Tom Bombadil is not important to the plot of LO (Score:3, Interesting)
To me, the loss of Tom Bombadil doesn't make the movies suffer so much for missing Tom Bombadil himself, but more the fact that they're never in the Barrow-Downs, Merry never recieves his Westernesse-enchanted blade, and the ability of him and Eowyn to kill the Witch King of Angmar makes absolutely no sense w
Re:Tom Bombadil is not important to the plot of LO (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Yeah... (Score:4, Insightful)
And then the complete set will come out... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:And then the complete set will come out... (Score:2)
Re:And then the complete set will come out... (Score:2)
Re:And then the complete set will come out... (Score:2, Funny)
damn!
Re:And then the complete set will come out... (Score:2)
Re:And then the complete set will come out... (Score:2)
If they do release an uber edition, it will probably be different from those boxes.
Re:And then the complete set will come out... (Score:2)
Re:And then the complete set will come out... (Score:3, Interesting)
I know, I know, there's been no official word about the Hobbit. But please, LoTR was one of the biggest grossing trilogy, movie, genre movie, or just about any other metric you care to use. With a ready made prequel how can they pass it up? The beauty is that the only 2 cast members who need to return are Ian McKellen and Andy Serkis. Ian McKellen would play a reduc
The Hobbit: a bad idea now (Score:3, Informative)
The Hobbit is an excellent children's story, but it is a children's story. Compared to LoTR, the characters are thin, the plot episodic, and the background underdeveloped. It doesn't have the wealth of historical detail, the layers of meaning and significance, the depth of character, the grand themes of loss of innocence, betrayal, loyalty, corruption, redemption, evil, fate, epic struggle, and so on.
Re:And then the complete set will come out... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:And then the complete set will come out... (Score:2)
Re:And then the complete set will come out... (Score:5, Insightful)
There isn't much more footage that can be intercut.
Remember that in most cases, the additional footage also required new effects and new scoring, and editing decisions on which take to use, etc..
PJ was busy enough with King Kong that it seemed to me like he was somehow rushing the ROTK EE out the door so he could get on with the new project.
I don't think he wants to revisit the material anymore. And Howard Shore and everyone else are on other projects too.
I think an HD edition is inevitable (hopefully blu-ray instead of hyper-compressed MPEG4 HDDVD) but I don't see much in the way of special material. The only "fix" I'd like to see is reducing Frodo's size when he looks out the balcony in Rivendell. I think they goofed the proportions up on that one.
There is a dream sequence where Frodo turns into a Gollum-like creature. It's not really necessary.
I'd love to see some way to insert Radagast into the picture, but that would be pretty expensive to pull off, I think.
I would like them to insert a cut-in of Denethor's palantir. Suppodely that was deliberately not shot and I think that's a big creative mistake on PJ's part, one they repeatedly make excuses about.
I'd rather have footage with Denethor's palantir vs. Aragorn's.
I'd also like them to re-insert the scene where
Eowyn kills an orc in the glittering caves. That was taken out in order to hold back on showing Eowyn as a warrior, but I also think that was a creative mistake.
But most of the unused footage left over would not fit in with the chosen continuity of the adaptation. You have Arwen at Helm's Deep, Aragorn fighting Sauron, perhaps alternate death scenes for Saruman. Stuff like that.
50 minutes of additional footage is not a marketing gimmick. That's an enormous amount of new footage to add to a film and I'm sure it's all worth it as all the theatrical versions, as long as they are, have rushed pacing (up to the epilogue of ROTK).
The fact of the matter is that PJ filmed the equivalent of more like 6 movies vs. 3, and that's why they are so long. There is an established maximum running time even for epics and PJ just decided to go over the limit, knowing that this was the only chance we were likely ever going to have to film this stuff.
What may have seen like a risky luxury at the time on the part of the studios will return huge dividends in the end. PJ got his actors together and rolled film endlessly (not to mention multiple pickup sessions) which is what I or any other Tolkien fan probably would have done in that case. The allure of Lord of the Rings is the immersion into the world and you only get that feeling when you're in there for a while and feel like a part of the journey. You don't get that book-like feeling with even 3 90-minute movies. Regardless of the limitations of theatrical movies (no pause button), DVD is the ultimate venue for this sort of extended immersion.
You really are not supposed to try to digest the entire story in one large feast.
You really have to watch the films episodically over a longer span of time, which is how most people read the trilogy in book-form.
It's just that so many people have such poor memories and their lives are so hard to schedule that they'd have a hard time committing to follow a storyline that took 12+ hours to watch over the course of a week or two of viewings.
Re:And then the complete set will come out... (Score:3, Insightful)
Why? Are you seriously claiming you didn't know that there would be an extended version of this movie released? It's not as though it's been any kind of a secret.
Hell, if they'd only released the extended version people would be complaining that they couldn't buy the theatrical cut.
Trilogy DVD? (Score:3, Interesting)
Fellowship (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Fellowship (Score:2, Funny)
50 Minutes! (Score:3, Insightful)
On a totally unrelated note, here is some sophisticated LotR humor in the form of a 2meg wmv file [larnercorp.com].
Re:50 Minutes! (Score:5, Informative)
Re:50 Minutes! (Score:4, Funny)
Not for those of us who can read.
-Colin [colingregorypalmer.net]
What exactly is new: (Score:4, Informative)
Re:What exactly is new: (Score:3, Insightful)
I guess I will have to wait for the release to find out.
Re:What exactly is new: (Score:2, Insightful)
Some movies don't need millions of dollars of CGI. Flying elementals, midair swordfights and great big floating eyeballs. Now that's a work of Art!
No, I think we get to see that anyhow... (Score:3, Interesting)
One of the teaser-trailer-for-TV clips, I think, showed Aragorn holding a palantir wrapped in a towel and saying something sound-bite-ish. Since all of that segment of story was moved from TTT to ROTK, it would make sense for this scene to be in their third film as well.
Counter-argument: in the movie, Aragorn and Co are surprised by Sauron's attack on Minas Tirith. In the book, Aragorn uses the palantir to let Sauron know that he is alive and kicking, in order to jolt Sauron into attacking before his
Re:What exactly is new: (Score:2)
Abandoned Concept: Aragorn Battles Sauron (ehhhhhh???)
Probably refers to the battle with the palantir, doesn't it?
Re:Commentary track(s)? (Score:3, Informative)
Audio Commentary 1: The Director and Writers
Peter Jackson (Director/Co-Writer/Producer)
Fran Walsh (Writer/Co-Producer)
Philippa Boyens (Co-Write)
Audio Commentary 2: The Design Team
Richard Taylor (WETA Workshop Creative Supervisor)
Tania Rodger (WETA Workshop Manager)
Grant Major (Production Designer)
Ngila Dickson (Costume Designer)
Alan Lee (Conceptual Designer)
John Howe (Conceptual Designer)
Dan Hennah (Supervising Art Directo
Patience (Score:5, Funny)
Extended?Oh. (Score:5, Insightful)
Cue in all the bashers of "numerous" editions.. (Score:4, Informative)
And even if you missed that, by now you should know how it will go..pattern recognition, anyone?
Yes, there will be a boxed set with all the extended editions bundled into one nice compilation, but nothing beyond that. And if the Hobbit ever comes, they might also release a new box set with the Hobbit included. And they will release Bluray/HD-DVD versions when the formats become available.
However, the actual *content* will not change. There's the extended cut and the theatrical cut. No need to bash Peter Jackson about squeezing money out of gazillion different editions..So there will not be a "hook" to upgrade to the later box set releases (HDTV resolution on the next format might be enough, of course...but then you probably are not going to feel ripped off).
50 more mins (Score:2, Insightful)
Did any one else think that the ending after the ring was destroied was far to looooooong
Re:50 more mins (Score:2)
Oh well, I am still eagerly awaiting the Extended Edition. My plan is to watch all three EE's back to back. We'll see if I actually have the stamina to pull it off, though....
Re:50 more mins (Score:2)
But beside drinking too much pop, my wife cried during EVERY ending version. So... it's probably not that bad.
badgers? (Score:5, Funny)
Box colours, still wrong... (Score:5, Interesting)
Green for Fellowship is fine, it's the most nature centric of the trilogy, so it makes sense. To me though, The Two Towers predominant colour is blue, the film is full of old stone, dark forests, and rainy battles, it's a very cold film. Likewise, the color of ROTK is red. The film is full of fire, lava, blood, passion and anger. So why flip those two around?
Am I on my own on this one?
Re:Box colours, still wrong... (Score:2, Insightful)
Yup, pretty much.
Re:Box colours, still wrong... (Score:2)
Re:Box colours, still wrong... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Box colours, still wrong... (Score:2)
Re:Box colours, still wrong... (Score:2)
I think it would've made sense if scourging of shire were filmed and shown (rather lenghty anti-climax). As it is, it's claimed to have too long and slow ending (haven't seen it yet, waiting for extended).
Re:Box colours, still wrong... (Score:3, Insightful)
In Other News... (Score:5, Funny)
A distraught Lord Of The Rings fan has climbed Buckingham Palace disguised as Batman to protest the absence of the valley of Tom Bombadil in the popular movie trilogy.
Director's License (Score:5, Funny)
never-before-seen? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:never-before-seen? (Score:5, Funny)
Why start now?
*ducks*
The box is Blue!! (Score:2, Informative)
That is going to look really good beside the two brown previous boxsets. Admittedly the two previous shades of brown were slightly different, but this is a very blue shade of brown.
25% More Fake Endings! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:25% More Fake Endings! (Score:5, Insightful)
When credits roll, you have time to digest and go through the movie experience, relax, and reflect, while still maintaining the 'mood' that the movie has created. (Especially if you happen to be on a date and watching a 'chick-flick' - you can keep the nice, romantic feeling going instead of rushing into the jam-packed exits and stepping on other people's toes). Granted, this may not apply to all brainless actionflicks, but I digress..
I'm glad that more recently, more and more movies are putting stuff (some little joke or something) after the credits (Pirates of the Caribbean:Undead monkey comes at you, Phantom Menace: Darth Vader's breath, etc. See IMDB:s "crazy credits" for more details.). Makes more folks stay PUT until the movie is really finished. Of course, people like Jackie Chan have always inserted bloopers to the credits sequence..keeps people in their seats.
So, if you got up at the end of RoTK for three times...well, too bad! If you really were in such a hurry why didn't you leave on the first time? You could at least wait through the initial credits sequence (Director, cast etc) if you are not interested in names of key grips and listening to the soundtrack in the theatre is not good enough for you.
Re:25% More Fake Endings! (Score:4, Interesting)
I completely agree with what you said. Oh, there are some movies I don't care for and so I get up right away. But usually I like to stay for the credits, and mostly for the reason you gave: to stay in the movie state for as long as I can. We enter a different conscious state when we watch movies. That state is broken when the movie ends, and is really broken when you turn around up the aisle and start jostling the crowds as you flee for your car. If you have just watched a great movie, what's the rush? Why not enjoy the end music that is designed to encapsulate the mood of the movie? If it's a modern day drama, you can see where it was filmed, you can catch the music credits to see who is singing those songs (hey, whaddya know, the cast of Chicago really did their own singing!), you can see in the credits who played that third guy from the left whose face seemed so familiar but you can't quite put a name to his face, and so on.
And with RoTK, if you left early you left without seeing those beautiful paintings of the main characters, and as the only time the end song was played. Those were worth staying for. So let people snipe at you by saying, 'Duh, I can think about those things as I drive away in my car' (in a totally different state of mind while you obey traffic laws), or 'Dude, you're stuck up cuz you think you're better than me' (when this is not a comparison of people with people). Staying for the end credits is worth doing.
Episode I (Score:3, Funny)
If Peter Jackson does get the rights/funding to make The Hobbit, then that will in effect be Episode I of the LOTR saga.
I can't wait to see the cynicism from the cognoscenti once they learn there's a prequel in the works: "the actor who plays young Bilbo is terrible and he doesn't even sound like James Earl Jones, why did they have to destroy my childhood?"
Does it have... (Score:3, Funny)
To be released December 14 (Score:5, Informative)
Movie Trilogy of the Beast (Score:4, Funny)
Hobbit Love (Score:3)
New scenes (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Tom? (Score:2)
Thank goodness that the LOTR: ROTK extended edition will be out for Christmas, because seeing the movies (preferably the first screening on New Year's Day when the cinema is nearly empty) has become something of a ritual the last few years, and it will be sorely missed (unlike Star Wars Episode 3, which will be best forgotten...)
Re:Tom? (Score:5, Interesting)
Oh sure they filmed a half hour of singing and spoken word poetry just for the .05% of their audience that would demand it.
Purists are never going to be happy with a modern adaptation of Tolkiens work, he wrote some wonderful stuff and created the modern fantasy novel - but he was racist and sexist as most people in his time and society were, he had an appreciation for poetry that is inaccesible and boring to modern audiences.
I love the books (I've read them more than 20 times since I was a child) but I really enjoy the movies too - but they are are alternate forms of the same story. The details and presentation must change between the two.
I personally believe that had Tolkien lived and changed with the times he would have loved the movies that have been made so far. I'm looking forward to the Hobbit eventually.
Re:Tom? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Tom? (Score:5, Insightful)
Personally I think it's a big conspiracy though. In 20 years time we will get a new release of LOTR the way "it was ment to be". Complete with 10 extra hours of songs in elvish noone understands, and in the new version Gandalf screams as he falls with the Balrog.
Seriously though, if you don't see the movies because of the lack of a specific scene then you're just stupid. Particularly the first movie is very beautiful and even the one with least digressions from the original story. Get the extended editions though.
Very few appreciate Tom Bombadil on the first read through. In order to understand his character you first need to know quite a bit about the world of middle-earth, and at that point on your first read through you still don't have that knowledge. (Just like the hobbits.) Considering that severe cutting had to be done it's no surprise that the 30+ minutes part which actually doesn't have any meaning in the rest of the movie was cut.
Scouring was cut for similar reasons. It is just yet an example of how the media differ. There are other changes I don't agree with in the movies, but these two I understand and agree with.
Jackson vs. Lucas (Score:5, Insightful)
Fun that everyone bashes Lucas for his multiple releases but it is quite silent about Jackson.
The difference is the handling of the whole thing. Lucas created a story with the original theatrical releases of the Star Wars trilogy - he wasn't using a story that'd been around in one form or another more > 50 years. After he created his story, he went back and changed the story around - making some changes that seem to have pissed off a couple of people here and there...
Biggest difference with LOTR is the attitude behind the DVD marketing. The changes & omissions from LOTR (especially the cutting of Saruman from ROTK) pissed off some people as badly as Greedo "shooting first." But instead of hiding behind artistic license or "piracy concerns" a la Lucas, Jackson's giving people a choice. He's releasing versions which reincorporate scenes that got cut - AND he's still marketing the theatrical versions for those who want them. (Do thank Jackson for not wetting on your childhood memories when you can load up your DVD, or your BD-ROM rip or whatever, of the original LOTR in 25 years.)
It's shrewd marketing, of course. Plenty of people will buy the LOTR theatrical disks and then go back and buy the expanded triology. Say what you will about Lucas and his rights to do what he wants with his movies, but I think Jackson's creating a better public image than Lucas - AND he's getting paid for it.
Re:Return of... (Score:4, Insightful)
Plus, if I remember correctly, there was a rebate for those who bought both versions. So if you really couldn't wait the extra 6 months for the extended version, you could buy the regular version and get a little bit of a break on the extended version.
If Jackson's goal was really to maximize profits, he would have released the theatrical versions, waited a few years for everyone to buy that, and then announce the extended version after profits from the theatrical version had tapered off. Plus, he would make people who bought both pay full price, rather than offer a little bit of a rebate.
Personally I find his attitude a lot more palatable than George Lucas who is obviously out to milk the Star Wars franchise for all its worth.
Re:What? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Wait a minute ... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:You know... (Score:5, Insightful)
What you mean is "If any of the stuff they cut actually made the movie better in theaters they would have left it in the theatrical edition."
DVD is not theater - different audience (fans), different viewing environment (couch, pause button, etc), all of which means that the judgement of what is "best" is different. And it seems to favour longer movies, with more extras.
e.g. for the first 2 LotR movies, the DVD versions are in my opinion far superior, but I don't know if I could have sat through either in a cinema.
Re:Before we all gang up on George Lucas again (Score:3, Insightful)