*** Official Fellowship of the Ring: Extended Edition Review & Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Richard_D_Ramirez]

I'll be happy with the Extended Edition as long as PJ does not re-edit the Weathertop scene to depict Aragorn throwing the torch at the Nazgul because the Nazgul threw first...
8^B

 

[Brian W.]

but in contrast, the Balrog scene just isn't as 'scary' or 'dangerous'.

Interesting that a couple people have said that. I'm wondering, did you see it theatrically? Because for me, on my first theatrical viewing, the balrog scene was absolutely the highlight of the film, almost unbearably intense.

 

[John_Berger]

I'll be happy with the Extended Edition as long as PJ does not re-edit the Weathertop scene to depict Aragorn throwing the torch at the Nazgul because the Nazgul threw first...

Beat you to the punch.
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...821#post939821
This really sucks. I have to wait until next Tuesday. :frowning:

 

[Richard_D_Ramirez]

but in contrast, the Balrog scene just isn't as 'scary' or 'dangerous'.

As Dan has previously stated, the Balrog scene is impressive, but not as emotionally impacting. (Personally, I was more focused on determining if the Balrog had wings! )
Maybe the Balrog scene was less of an emotional impact since we (at least most of us) knew what was to happen. Actually, the following scene depicting the Fellowship's reactions to the events which took place had more of an emotional impact.
8^B

 

[Dan Brecher]

Actually, the following scene depicting the Fellowship's reactions to the events which took place had more of an emotional impact.

Yes definately. Once the choir hits in on Frodo's "noooooooooooooooooo"..... followed by the lone vocal of the young choir boy (did Edward Ross cover this cue as well?). It's great stuff.
Dan

 

[Rob Gillespie]

I think part of my slight disappointment with the Balrog scene concered the reactions of the Fellowship. In the book, it's Legolas who first sees the thing. He pulls an arrow to his bow, sees the creature, drops the arrow, then goes into the whole "Ai! Ai! A Balrog is come!" thing, closely followed by humungeous *shit the pants* from the rest of the gang. The enormity of the impending problem doesn't come across quite as urgently in the film.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Good point Rob. I also think the editing as Gandalf makes his last stand on the bridge also plays into this. I know in other threads people questioned why the others didn't rush to Gandalf's aid. From the way it was shot one couldn't tell how close the party was to Gandalf.

One of the few instances I believe PJ could have improved upon.

 

[Dan Brecher]

I know in other threads people questioned why the others didn't rush to Gandalf's aid. From the way it was shot one couldn't tell how close the party was to Gandalf.
One of the few instances I believe PJ could have improved upon.

That's raised in commentary track 1. But, I should really adhere to my own rules and not discuss the DVD in this thread.
I always felt the book did better in getting across Frodo's realization that Gandalf was going to take this thing head on and that he was in no position to run and help Gandalf. I favour the book more in this respect, as I do in the build up to the Balrog (I greatly miss Legolas' cry).
The film did a nice job, I felt, of showing Frodo's grief. The extended cut furthers this more so as Frodo begins to become somewhat paranoid that the other fellowhsip members and the elves hold him initialy responsible for the loss of Gandalf given what he (Frodo) carries.
Dan

 

[Rob Gillespie]

Agreed - the stuff immediately after the Balrog is incredibly well done (apart from the obvious blue-screen shot of Gimli!).

 

[Jim_C]

Well guys, I just got back from seeing the EE on the big screen courtesy of the Moviefone contest. It was DLP to boot!

I will never watch the theatrical version again. The EE is so much closer to the book.

It was incredible to see the film again on the big screen. The changes that PJ made enhanced the film tremedously. Dan has already given a very detailed review so I'll just talk about what was most important to me.

The Hobbiton sequence:

As Dan said, it's more of a re-edit than just a couple of scenes added. You get a far greater understanding of what it means to be a hobbit and to live in the shire. The scenes in the tavern with Sam, the Gaffer, and Frodo are just great and builds on the Sam/Rosie relationship. I LOVED the addition of the Sackville Baggins' and Bilbos reaction to them. I loved the scene with the elves passing to the Havens. By the time the four hobbits make it out of the shire you get a sense that some time has passed, which is one of the few complaints that people had with the theatrical version.

Aragorn singing the Lay of Luthien while camped:

This scene does two things. First, it helps establish the feeling of time passing along the journey. Second, and more importantly, it sets up a bit of the history for Aragorn and Arwen. This and other scenes to come in Rivendell really builds up their relationship.

Weathertop:

The addition of more footage of fighting between the Nazgul and Aragorn makes it seem much more plausable that he could drive off these creatures. It just works better for me.

Rivendell:

The dialog between Boromir and Aragorn starts to develop the relationship between the two characters earlier than before, which helps the later scenes.

I LOVED Gandalf reciting the Black Speech when Boromir moves to touch the Ring. The way the elves react and Boromir cowers is just amazing. I had chills running down my spine.

The visit to the grave and farewell speech serve to flesh out Aragorn and his past.

I laughed out loud when they left Rivendell. I won't spoil it for you!

Lothlorien:

Perhaps the best addition to the movie. As much as I loved the newly re-edited shire sequence I am much happier with the new Lothlorien. This is for a number of reasons. First, it doesn't feel like a pit stop anymore. From the expansion of Haldir's scenes at the edge of the forest to the added dialog throughout their stay, it gives you the impression that not only are they recovering their strength for the next part of the journey but also getting advice from Celeborn and Galadriel.

Galadriel. I've never been fully happy with the way she was portrayed in the film. In the book you mostly see the side of Galadriel that makes people love her while her dangerous side is rarely seen. The theatrical version is just the opposite. I've always wondered WRT the movie, how anyone would believe that Gimli loves her. Boy has that changed. Galadriel is now the one you've always known from the book. The gift giving scenes were excellent, especially Sam's and Gimli's.

The River and Amon Hen:

I loved the additional camping and dialog between Aragorn and Boromir. This exchange really drives the point home that Aragorn doesn't want Boromir anywhere near the Ring.

The additional fighting really enhances the 'heroic last stand' of Boromir.


There is a lot of additional things I haven't mentioned but Dan covered them well. This movie is SO MUCH STRONGER than it was before and that's saying something.

BTW, the DLP presentation was disappointing to say the least. You could easily see pixels in various areas of the movie. It was obvious that the resolution wasn't high enough for that size screen.

I cannot wait for my gift set to show up so I can watch this again.

 

[Clint B]

I was one of the contest winners from that sweepstakes that New Line had. We are in for a real treat next Tuesday! I won't go into the specifics of the film, because Ron Epstein has already done that in his wonderful review. Let me just say that even though it was a longer cut, I enjoyed it much more, because it filled in some of the gaps and developed many of the characters a lot more. This was important for me because it's been a LONG time since I read the books (probably 15 years, at least). Anyway, just wanted to report on this. Well worth my time (not my money, because the screening was free!).

 

[Jim_C]

Check out this thread for discussion of the EE:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=104948
I also saw it on the big screen tonight and it was amazing!

 

[Damin J Toell]

Was it shown on film or was it a video projection?

DJ

 

[David_SG]

Alright - here are my impressions. Just got back from the Chicago screening. Let me start by saying that it was great to see this on the big screen with a packed crowd - it was a really cool experience. The place went nuts after the trailer for TTT played, and there were numerous instances of loud applause/laughter/gasps from all the new scenes.

Should this version have been released in December? No. Is it better? In my opinion, definitely, although it's hard to look at it objectively right now, since I am starved for new material so of course I really enjoyed (almost) every new scene. Some of this stuff absolutely should have been included. PJ could have made a better 3 hour cut by adding some of the new material and deleting some of the old, but I won't be too critical since a movie can never be perfect.

What really surprised me was how much little stuff was changed that wouldn't be considered new scenes. A lot of the dialogue was re-dubbed, there were enhanced special effects all over the place. Camera shots were held a few moments longer, adding to the overall effect. The cheesy Fellowship shot at the council was changed slightly (I think - don't hold me to this). Instead of the fellowship looking at the camera as if posing for a photo, everybody has their heads turned to their right, looking in the direction of Elrond, which makes the shot much nicer.

In terms of the additions, you've all read about them before, so I won't go into detail. The movie is a lot lighter and funnier at times. The whole new intro to the Shire was fantastic, although somewhat slow. What really impressed me were the several times in which they showed members of the fellowship going to sleep - this really enhanced the overall scope of the journey. And most of the added scenes with Boromir added depth to his character and made his death that much more tragic. And Lorien - WOW! I used to kind of dread this entire sequence, as it was little more than that radioactive Galadriel scene to me. Now, there is real purpose to the Lorien sequence. The elves seem much more "otherwordly" (and we see a lot more of them). And Haldir was actually pretty damn cool! As for the final battle - you'll be amazed with how much faster and more intense the action is. Great stuff!

Now for what I didn't like so much. I thought the scene at the bar in the Shire, while nice, didn't flow. I loved the Sam/Rosie part of that scene, but overall, the scene took away from the impending doom/sense of urgency that PJ was building up to at that point. I also thought Gandalf's extra speech at the C.O.E. was awkward - somewhat hokey - he just sounded a bit weird, and it didn't really add much, in my opinion. I thought some of the new Aragorn scenes were a bit much - the Elrond/Aragorn scene was fine, but the Galadriel/Aragorn scene was somewhat repetitive - PJ kind of hits us over the head with the theme around Aragorn taking his proper place - I don't know, just my initial reaction - I was a bit tired at that point. And I didn't like when Galadriel mentioned Nenya after the mirror seen - it kind of made me laugh, but that's just a minor nitpick.

All in all, this was a fabulous cut. It really did feel like a completely new movie.

 

[Rob Gillespie]

One minor detail I mentioned to Dan on Saturday, is that of Merry and Pippin throwing stones at the Uruks at Amon Hen and knocking several of them out. It sounds implausible, but then I remembered the Concerning Hobbits preface from the book, in which it is mentioned that hobbits are exceptionally accurate with a stone and that the local animals would always know to get out of the way when a hobbit stoops to pick one up. Nice one PJ!

 

[Dan Brecher]

BTW, the DLP presentation was disappointing to say the least. You could easily see pixels in various areas of the movie. It was obvious that the resolution wasn't high enough for that size screen.

That's a shame. Were they running a typical home theatre style projection set up? They really should have used a 3 chip DLP and a good scaler system like Fox have set up to show us DVD on on past HTF meets in LA.

Dan

 

[Jim_C]

>>That's a shame. Were they running a typical home theatre style projection set up? They really should have used a 3 chip DLP and a good scaler system like Fox have set up to show us DVD on on past HTF meets in LA.

 

[David_SG]

I need to watch that Gandalf scene again. My problems with the scene were mostly with Elrond's cheesy body language while Gandalf was speaking, and Gandalf's response after Elrond "scolded" him. His delivery seemed a bit weird. And then after all the turmoil, it quickly goes back to everybody calmly just sitting there. Overall, I didn't think it flowed very well, but that is just my opinion as well.
By the way, I didn't have any problems with my DLP screening - and it was shown on a very large screen. I thought the detail was stunning - not at clear as the AOTC screening, but no complaints from me whatsoever. Of course, I don't have the same eye for this stuff as most here do.

 

[Dan Brecher]

Digital theatre logo is usualy reserved for true DLP screenings. Interesting... Was this full resolution run off a hard drive then or just 480p run off DVD?

Dan

 

[Carlo_M]

I think it's admirable that everyone here is using either Extended Version or Extended Edition as Peter Jackson himself said he wasn't a fan of using the phrase Director's Cut for this version of the film.
That being said, last night on the adverts for Pay Per View television they were trumping up the fact that you could order The Director's Cut of Lord of the Rings complete with scenes never shown in a theater! Apparently the PJ memo about what to call this version never got to PPV TV...
I can't wait until the 12th!!! Thanks for all the advanced reviews!