A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Lord of the Rings Trilogy - Extended Edition -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

Another thread I am late to the party on and I am
about to open old wounds. Stay with me.

Finally picked up this extended boxed set through
Amazon's pre-Christmas sale. In fact, as of this
post, it's probably still on sale at just under $50.

Spent the last two days watching the three films.

You know, I am just amazed by this trilogy. It
is one of the most epic films of our time -- for
our generation. Now 11 years since the original
film, it's startling to see how well the effects hold
up. In fact, the battle at Helm's Deep is one of
the most breathtaking sequences ever filmed.
I simply love the way this movie was craftily
edited to the point where you feel your pulse
quicken during the action sequences.

...of course, the Director's Cut is the definitive
way to watch this film despite the fact it clocks
in at what I am guessing is 4 hours per film. Still,
I never felt the pacing was off, with the exception of
some of the scenes involving Denethor (John Noble),
which I felt went on a bit too long.

My favorite scene which only appears in the
extended version is that of Galadriel (Cate Blanchett)
presenting parting gifts to the fellowship. It is a
beautifully filmed sequence that still burns in my mind.

I did notice the green push in Fellowship of The Ring.
Perhaps I wouldn't have if the controversy regarding
the transfer never existed. Nevertheless, there were
some shots that seemed to be pushing more green
than they should be. Did I find it distracting? Not really.
Did I compare these scenes to the old transfer? No.
So, don't take my observations as problems that necessarily
exist.

Otherwise, picture and audio are as perfect as one
would expect them to be.

I think history is going to be very kind to these films.

Now to find some time this week to start sifting through
all the supplemental material.

 

[TheBat]

fathom events showed all 3 extended editions before the release on blu rays. it was one each week for 3 weeks. it was great to see the films on the big screen.
Jacob

 

[Carlo_M]

I did notice the green push in Fellowship of The Ring.

Just keep telling yourself that any scene with Elrond in it means you're in the Matrix and you'll be just fine...

 

[Kevin EK]

For me the scene that always sticks in my mind is the one in Fellowship where Galadriel is offered the Ring by Frodo and turns it down. But not before voicing what could potentially happen...

 

[Jay G.]

As for the running times of the EEs, they run between 3 1/2 hours to 4 hours long, although the full credits for ROTK EE extend it to around 4 1/3 hours.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

(that's what I get for messin' with the fans)
Thanks for the correction.

 

[Kevin EK]

The theatrical cuts are more general audience friendly in terms of their length, but are still full of plenty of detail. And keep in mind that the theatrical cut of Return of the King won Best Picture, although I believe it won representing the trilogy.

The extended editions are tailored for fans (like myself) who would like to see all the rest of the material, including the fate of Saruman, the footage of Boromir in The Two Towers, and things to that nature. The Mouth of Sauron scene in the third film feels like a deleted scene either way. For me, the extended editions are also worth the time for all the extras, which give the most thorough accounting I can imagine for these films. And that's before you get into the multiple commentary tracks.

I have both versions of the trilogy on Blu, and am happy to do so. I can show the theatrical versions to more casual viewers and the longer cuts to the more dedicated fans who are willing to spend over 3 1/2 hours on each film.

 

[varnish]

Your darn tootin!!

 

[dpippel]

Originally Posted by Kevin EK /t/312235/a-few-words-about-the-lord-of-the-rings-trilogy-extended-edition-in-blu-ray/1080#post_3882984
The theatrical cuts are more general audience friendly in terms of their length, but are still full of plenty of detail. And keep in mind that the theatrical cut of Return of the King won Best Picture, although I believe it won representing the trilogy.

True, but to be fair the extended edition didn't exist at the time and was never released theatrically. I still consider it superior to the theatrical cut. The extended editions are definitely aimed at the fans though. Several of my friends consider the theatrical cuts too long and overindulgent.

 

[Ethan Riley]

True, but to be fair the extended edition didn't exist at the time and was never released theatrically. I still consider it superior to the theatrical cut. The extended editions are definitely aimed at the fans though. Several of my friends consider the theatrical cuts too long and overindulgent.

They don't bother me, in the sense that these films are adaptations of three mighty long and complicated books. It's better, for me, if the films are long and complicated as well. That's how I see it. Actually at this point, I can't even watch the shorter versions anymore; feels like something's missing.
Remains to be seen if there'll be extended versions of the Hobbit films too. God, I hope so--

 

[Yorkshire]

I see these are coming out in the UK as individual single disc editions on Monday - £11 each.
Not sure about the US.
Steve W

 

[Jason Charlton]

Remains to be seen if there'll be extended versions of the Hobbit films too. God, I hope so--

But "The Hobbit" is not three long and complicated books, yet PJ has already "expanded" the film to roughly the same length as the entire theatrical LOTR trilogy.

A film should be exactly as long as it needs to be.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Originally Posted by Jason Charlton /t/312235/a-few-words-about-the-lord-of-the-rings-trilogy-extended-edition-in-blu-ray/1080#post_4007496

But "The Hobbit" is not three long and complicated books, yet PJ has already "expanded" the film to roughly the same length as the entire theatrical LOTR trilogy.

A film should be exactly as long as it needs to be.

Yeah but the Hobbit is also an adaptation of LOTR appendices and Silmarilion material so its not exactly padded.

 

[dpippel]

A film should be exactly as long as it needs to be.

Nice reference!

 

[Sumnernor]

Originally Posted by Yorkshire /t/312235/a-few-words-about-the-lord-of-the-rings-trilogy-extended-edition-in-blu-ray/1080#post_4007468
I see these are coming out in the UK as individual single disc editions on Monday - £11 each.
Not sure about the US.
Steve W

The site says 1 disk BUT of you look at the disk cover - it says TWO disks.

 

[Brian W.]

Yeah but the Hobbit is also an adaptation of LOTR appendices and Silmarilion material so its not exactly padded.

There's actually no "Silmarillion" material in the Hobbit movies -- they don't have the rights. It's all from the ROTK appendices.

 

[Jay G.]

 

[FoxyMulder]

I wonder if Peter Jackson is going to do a George Lucas on us and replace Ian Holm's early scenes in the first trilogy and replace him with Martin Freeman, perhaps replace the CGI of Gollum so that it fits in better with the Gollum of The Hobbit, releasing these films as single's from the boxset might be the final cash in before we get a new boxset containing "ultimate editions" with brand new footage and a new edit of each film, i expect North America will also get these as single editions next year.

2015 for new edits with all new scenes for the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, i think so, 2012 for The Hobbit, the sequel a year later and the final film in 2014, then all the extended editions, then late 2015 the massive ultimate boxset of all the films.

 

[Bryan Ri]

Hi everyone. I was thinking about picking this set up on blu, but I have concerns about the picture quality based on some of the conversations happening around here. I already have the theatrical editions and consider myself a fan of the series. Are these work picking up on blu, or are the picture problems as prevalent as some of you suggest?

 

[benbess]

Hi everyone. I was thinking about picking this set up on blu, but I have concerns about the picture quality based on some of the conversations happening around here. I already have the theatrical editions and consider myself a fan of the series. Are these work picking up on blu, or are the picture problems as prevalent as some of you suggest?

Imho they are definitely worth it. They are a little on the green side once in a while, but in general I'm more impressed by the improvement in resolution over the other releases of this classic trilogy.