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HTF REVIEW: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Ext. Ed.) (merged w/"PQ and SQ" thread) - Page 15

post #421 of 437
12/2/03 at 11:00am
If they let him free, then why did he still have riding equipment on him? Or did he not have it on him....

Maybe they didnt let him free, and he was just left over by one of the fallen warriors.

Maybe the commentary sheds some light....
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post #422 of 437
12/2/03 at 2:03pm
Quote:
With the documentary-style interviews, I often notice flickering and irregularities around the interviewees' outlines -- especially the ears and hands, which sometimes almost seem to disappear for a second. This happened on a few different displays, but I'm not sure if it's a problem with the disc or if I'm just imagining things... since no one else seems to have discussed it, I'm thinking it might be a disc issue.
Welcome to the world of special effects. What you see is blue/green screen photography. What they did is that they have put screens behind the people they interview and later added the backgrounds. Since supposedly it’s done for the interviews, it must have been done with less care and that’s why you see the outlines. If it was done properly (for a movie scene for example), you shouldn’t notice them.
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post #423 of 437
12/2/03 at 2:27pm
I just saw the 'let him free' thing to be more symbolic than literal.

Aragorn is riding the horse before the warg attack. Horses are intelligent creatures with finely attuned senses. It's not beyond reason for the horse to go looking for it's master. He obviously has a connection to the animal.

As much as the reason for this part of the film is a ham-fisted mechanism for Aragorn to see the oncoming Uruks, I did like the way it was filmed. I think with hindsight, having some screen time just with Aragorn is a good thing.
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post #424 of 437
12/2/03 at 2:38pm
Imagine how messed up it would be if, in the scene on the beach where Arwen kisses Aragorn, she fades away and we have Brego kissing him.

(Remember "The Mask", the dream sequence where Jim Carrey's character is making out with Diaz?)
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post #425 of 437
12/2/03 at 2:41pm
During that scene it bugs me how Aragorns sword, and knife jump back into his scabbard as he falls....

I would have rather had Gimli or Legolas pick it up and return it to him at helms deep.

Another sword blooper is during the "Do not trust to hope..." part. Eomer's sword falls out of his scabbard, and it had to have hit Viggo, or landed near him.
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post #426 of 437
12/2/03 at 3:15pm
I just watched the ee for the first time. Wow , I felt this film benefits alot more from the directors cut than the first film. Although I enjoyed both ee this one tied up alot more loose ends imho. I am so ready for rotk !
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post #427 of 437
12/3/03 at 12:13pm
Quote:
Anyone know of a DVD where I can see the final trailer for Return of the King?

There is one thing I can think of. The limited edition of the ROTK soundtrack (coming out dec 9) comes with a DVD that has a "supertrailer" for all three movies. I don't know if they just put the three trailers back to back or if they did something else, though.
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post #428 of 437
12/3/03 at 12:34pm
I was thinking this "Supertrailer" is going to end up being footage of all 3 movies put together to kind of tonally tell the story of LOTR--set to Howard Shore's music. Although I'm kind of hoping the music they use is the official, never heard before concert version of the Requiem music they used in the Two Towers trailers and the ROTK video game ads...although that kind of screws me because for the last 4 or 5 months I've been trying to do just that exact same thing with some video editors and the "unofficial" Requiem Orchestral version music that I edited together

I know I'm probably going to buy the limited edition ROTK soundtrack just for that trailer and the Howard Shore documentary. I love film scores, and while I dont' think the ROTK soundtrack is QUITE as good as it's two predecessors, it's still really great music.
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post #429 of 437
12/3/03 at 1:15pm
Quote:
Welcome to the world of special effects. What you see is blue/green screen photography. What they did is that they have put screens behind the people they interview and later added the backgrounds.


Thanks; the thought had occurred to me but I hadn't seriously considered it. I guess I just figured that they would've been more careful with it, especially for the EE... even on my father's small tv, it's annoying enough for him to comment - and his eyes aren't what they used to be.
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post #430 of 437
12/9/03 at 12:55pm
I don't know if this is better here or in the movie discussion, but here is an interview with Peter Jackson discussing the movies and the DVDs:
Q: What's the definitive version of these films?

JACKSON: The theatrical versions are the definitive versions. I regard the extended cuts as being a novelty for the fans that really want to see the extra material.

http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/445/445262p1.html

He discusses much more, including such things as cutting Christopher Lee out of ROTK and his upcoming King Kong movie.
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post #431 of 437
12/9/03 at 11:41pm
Thank you for the interview Chris. I just love PJ. He's like George Lucas when he made A New Hope, before he turned into a devious businessman and started believing his own hype. I don't think anything like that will happen to PJ b/c he's much more collaborative than George and he has so many great ppl in New Zealand with him at Weta.
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post #432 of 437
12/10/03 at 6:31am
I got the ROTK CD/DVD soundtrack with the "SuperTrailer" and watched just that part last night. It's about 6 1/2 minutes and seems to be a completely new compilation of trailer moments from the three films. It's a very effective composite trailer.
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post #433 of 437
12/14/03 at 6:23pm
Watched the EE last night and part of the extra discs this afternoon. Here's what I think:

The film- absolutely love this version of the film. It far outclasses the Theatrical cut and provides more background explanation. My favourite scenes (that I can remember) are the scenes with the Uruk-Hai running into the forest and getting stomped as well as the Faramir flashback and the Merry and Pippin scene finding the food stash at Isengard. This is the version that will be watched from now on..... Oh yes, the Easter egg on disc 1 was a laugh riot.

Disc 3 - quite a lot to go through...I only went through 3 of the documentaries but found them very informative. As good as the FOTR:EE.

Disc 4 - haven't looked at it although at over 3 hours of material, I know what to expect here.

The Gollum Disc - sure it's like an informercial, but since I see these items at a local comic shop near my workplace, It is interesting to see how these things are made.

I love this set......looking forward to the ROTK film on wednesday as well as the ROTK:EE boxset next year.
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post #434 of 437
12/15/03 at 8:17am
Quote:
Thank you for the interview Chris. I just love PJ. He's like George Lucas when he made A New Hope, before he turned into a devious businessman and started believing his own hype. I don't think anything like that will happen to PJ b/c he's much more collaborative than George and he has so many great ppl in New Zealand with him at Weta.


Of course, we wouldn't expect PJ to have the same attachment to LOTR since he didn't actually create the story.
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post #435 of 437
12/15/03 at 12:20pm
I know this probably echoes earlier thoughts in this thread, but after pouring through all of the documentaries and featurettes on Discs 3 and 4 (with the exception of the majority of the production galleries), I finally got started with the extended cut last night. I watched the first 30 minutes late last night, followed by another 30-minute segment early this morning, so I'm now at the halfway point on Disc 1. Everything I've seen thus far has been great! Especially the new footage.

The early clip of Frodo falling all of two feet to the ground was amusing, and the later clip of Gollum going off on Sam was a good addition as well. I also like Gandalf's wiseguy comment to Aragorn before they leave Fangorn Forest - another amusing moment that I'm glad PJ put back into the film.

Of course, I'm going through the film now in preparation for seeing Return of the King this weekend. It's gonna be great, the DVD and the new movie! Of course, it's all a precursor to next year's new 4-disc (maybe 5-disc?) EE of ROTK. Let's bring it on and have that 12-hour marathon!
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post #436 of 437
12/15/03 at 4:39pm
Finally got around to watching this last night.

The video quality is reference all the way.

Audio quality? Wow! The DTS ES track is amazing. The clarity in the subtle details is very impressive, giving a very natural feel. Restraint was used when appropriate, and the surrounds could really kick in when called for.

This is an extremely well done sound mix....one of the best that I have ever heard. And they did it with class, without being "gimmicky" like many other blockbusters that are released on DVD.
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post #437 of 437
12/15/03 at 10:24pm
I cant wait to see Return Of The King on Wednesday this should be great. It will definatly be a long movie at 3 Hrs and 42 Minutes (222 minutes). Makes me wonder how long the EE version will be. I can't wait for all three EE dvd's to be out so I can watch them back to back. It will be fun as I will watch FOTR and TTT EE dvd's on Tuesday and then go see the ROTK on Wednesday. Can't wait to hear the feedback from everyone that see's ROTK.

To everyone at Home Theater Forum

Have a Merry Chrismas and a safe and ejoyable New Year
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