Is the LOTR Blu-Ray due sooner than we think? (1 Viewer)

[dpippel]

There is no choice if the EEs won't be released until 2011. You're going to wait whether you like it or not. Besides, with all of the extra material contained in the existing standard def EEs I can't imagine how much more "ultimate" Jackson can make them. Are there going to be 24 hours worth of supplements as opposed to 18? It is of course his and the studio's decision to make. I just don't think it serves the fans very well at all.

 

[dpippel]

Exactly. So why not release both versions at the same time and make everyone happy?

 

[dpippel]

Are you really trying to rationalize the viability of a 2-3 year wait on the EEs because if they just happen to screw up the TEs it will give the studio time to fix things??? Whew.

 

[Clinton McClure]

It's just another double dip attempt. No more, no less. One in which I am not participating.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

What Clinton said. EEs only.

 

[RickER]

Lou, your sig looks a little fuzzy this morning? Did Pac Man have to much fun last night? I know its not me!

Ummm...I will buy the theatrical versions, for the right price. Of course i will buy the extended versions too! Its LOTR on Blu-ray. I have to buy it!

 

[Jim_K]

Why you ungrateful SWINE! I can't believe you people have the audacity to expect a catalog release on BD to be the definitive version of a title. How DARE you people begrudge the studios the opportunity to milk their titles for all they're worth! YOU people should get on your knees and thank Warner for the opportunity to purchase their same titles over and over and over again. Don't you realize that they're enabling you ingrates to help our economy!

[/REMOVES TONGUE FROM CHEEK]

 

[TravisR]

Because they're not trying to make everyone happy- they're trying to make as much money as possible. And I don't say that to mean "Ohhh, Warners is so greedy!", it's just a reality of business that every company wants to make as much money as they can (which, in this case, means that a large number of fans have to wait to get what they really want). If they spend the next three years selling the theatrical cuts, they make money on those and then they sell the EEs to the people who actually manage to wait and to the people who bought the TCs and rebuy the EEs so there's no downside at all for the studio waiting.

Just to clarify, I'm not saying that that's a good thing. I'm just saying that that's the way it is and it probably won't change.

 

[David_B_K]

I waited on the SD DVD EE's, and can wait on the Blu-ray EEs. I do not begrudge them what they are doing. You guys who buy the Theatricals will help stimulate the economy, so go for it.

I have so many movies to watch and re-watch, that I am not going to feel compelled to buy the theatricals now. I do not regularly watch 4-hour movies over and over. At least they are up-front that the EEs will follow (as they were with the DVDs) so they cannot be accused of any bait and switch. I am more annoyed when Blu-rays are released sans much or all the special content that was on the SD versions.

Besides, the DVDs look pretty good upconverted, so it's not like watching crap.

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

When you guys can learn the difference between examples and rationalizations and read the rest of a post, feel free to contribute something worthwhile. I mean, you guys can't even fathom the fact that there's a choice here that a lot of releases aren't given, let alone the fact that what you want is by all measures not what most everyone else wants, nor the fact that the studios and producers are being up front about their plans. But hey, if you're going to ignore an entire post based on a misinterpretation of two sentences, I guess we shouldn't be surprised.

 

[Ed Moxley]

I'd love it if they put 36 hrs. of supplements!

 

[JulianK]

I imagine they'll be working on a way to integrate a lot of the behind-the-scenes material into some sort of interactive format, for the EEs.

That's going to take a lot of work, and probably isn't something they could have done in time to have finished discs in the shops by Christmas, even if they'd wanted to.

 

[Jim_K]

No I think I correctly interpreted your post.

 

[Todd smith]

What about renting? For my 1 or 2 time a year LOTR-a-thon I can rent until the real versions hit.

 

[Kyle_D]

In addition to what has been stated above about this being a business decision, I would also like to believe, in willful naivety, that Peter Jackson is withholding the Extended Editions from this release specifically to give fans the incentive to wait for the super duper deluxe "definitive" edition he has planned to coincide with release with The Hobbit. He's been talking up that release since the films first hit DVD, and if fans are only going to buy one copy of the trilogy in hi-def, he'd rather see them buy the future release. Withholding the EEs makes it easier to hold off and wait.

 

[Shad R]

I'm going the other way with this. I plan to buy the theatericals, rent the EE.
I know, I know, I'm a not a real fan I guess.

 

[Dave H]

Actually, it is a good thing for a company to make money (especially in these times). I'm not referring to you Travis, but I really don't understand the big deal. If someone doesn't want the theatricals, then just wait for EEs as they are obviously coming. In all actuality, I haven't decided whether or not I will buy the theatricals yet. However, I feel no need to throw a temper tantrum over the EE's not coming for a few years while only the theatricals are available.

 

[Jesse Blacklow]

Obviously, as you seem entirely willing to ignore actual real-world info and claim fact is opinion all so that you can get indignant because you have a complete misunderstanding of what someone says. Congratulations!

 

[Ray H]

Hmmm. At this point, the real question is do I need this? I bought all three versions of these three films on DVD and still feel a bit ashamed for having done so. But this is HD! And these are the LOTR movies! Movies like these are the reason some get into Blu-ray. I've been trying to nail down whether I could live without the theatrical editions. I don't know. Looking at the extended editions, they certainly do represent a richer and fuller experience, but the theatrical versions are very well and tightly edited. The theatrical version of FOTR is perfect as it is. The EE just adds more. With TTT and ROTK, I'd say only a handful of the added scenes from the EE really deserved to be in the theatrical versions. So I've preordered this on Amazon. At least I'll have many months to decide.

 

[Martin Teller]

The whining in this thread is incredible. WE WANT IT NOW WAAAAAH!!!! I love the LOTR series too, but we've got TWO versions of it already, a SEVEN-DISC Blu-Ray set on the way, and the guarantee of the EE's at some point in the future. But you're still not satisfied.

Do you jerks realize how many great films haven't been released on DVD in this country yet? Not a single Satyajit Ray film (except the long out-of-print and horrible transfer Apu trilogy), not a single Ritwik Ghatak film, only a handful of Kaurismaki, no Time of the Gypsies, no Love Streams, no Page of Madness, et cetera et cetera. Hell, we didn't even have The Exterminating Angel until a few months ago. And don't even get me started on my list of great films that have subpar, non-anamorphic, barebones discs.

We have BEAUTIFUL versions of the Extended Editions on DVD already, overloaded with special features and even reasonably priced. But still you whine, whine, whine. Ingrates.