DVD Review HTF REVIEW: "Lord Of The Rings Extended Edition" (with screenshots) (1 Viewer)

[Neil Joseph]

Excuse me for asking this question, the thread is a little long and I have not found yet.

There are no trailers on this release despite the massive amount of extras. Perhaps they exist as an easter egg?

 

[Nick Sievers]

Neil,
It has been discussed but you can only find them on the Original 2 disc version. New Line didn't want to replicate any of the extras for this new Extended Version.

Although since it wasn't on the Original disc they should have included the "Internet" Preview.

 

[Jimmy Gonzalez]

Thanks, Ken and Chad.

J-

 

[Nick Senger]

Neil, one does exist as an easter egg on disc two. It is the four minute trailer for TTT that appeared at the end of Fellowship's theatrical run. Look about four or five messages above this message to find out how to get to it.

 

[Brian W.]

I've been watching the Editorial Demonstration and it's fascinating.

I watched that last night, and to me it's easily the coolest thing on the DVD. Maybe there have been such things on other DVDs, but none that I own. It was so interesting to see the two lines that were cut: Elrond's, "Nine companions to match the nine ringwraiths" and Merry's "Did you hear that? We're part of the Fellowship," right before "Great. Where are we going?" And it's neat to watch the actors' "off camera" reactions that we've never seen before. You can watch Sam listening to the whole conversation in the bushes!

 

[EricW]

does anybody object to where the movie stops for the disc-change? i'd think a better place was the point after the river spirits take out the wraiths, and Frodo blacks out.
then, you put in disc two and he wakes up next to Gandalf. this would have taken away 20 min off disc 1 and added them on to 2, and it would have been a bit lob-sided, but i think it would have flowed better...

 

[JohnE]

Maybe this is the wrong place to ask, but just what in the hell is PJ going to have left to offer on the TTT EE release? I'm friggin amazed at how much cool stuff is on these discs. I've spent three hours watching and I'm still not done. Great stuff!

 

[Jimmy Gonzalez]

Just finished watching everything that the extended edition had to offer and man..... it is breath taking.
First thing I noticed was the DTS ES track and how good they used center surround channel. The rear ES channel made a HUGH difference in my HT. Arrows flew behind and across the back of my theater room like I expect it to.
Allot of information was sent to the rears and rear center. This HAS to be a new mix because it puts the DD EX track to shame. SW AotC and FotR EE are two movies that best show their respected sound formats and prove that that extra speaker or two in the back make for a better surround field.
The picture was as good as it gets. Right up there with attack of the clones. On my 53" Panny everything looked so clear... It really was like looking out my window and seeing the shire.
As for the added footage. I loved most of it(did not care for the fart joke) the new score and new Boromir's death scene was superb.
I liked how they fleshed out the Shire and extended the prologue. blah blah etc etc.
You can tell that I am happy with this package. I can write forever about the special features and such but I am sure you guys already know how they cover every aspect in great detail.
Thanks again ChadM and Ken for telling me where the easter egg was. I think I will watch it again RIGHT NOW!

 

[BrettisMckinney]

Is the booklet in your R1 package made from plastic or is it paper? By the look of the pics of it it kinda looks thick but when i got mine its just thin smooth plastic. A little dissapointed. I must say that the DTS is the best i've heard yet..unbelievable! Same goes for the picture, i need a bigger tv!

 

[Dan Brecher]

does anybody object to where the movie stops for the disc-change?

I only object to the missed opportunity that was having no full intermission sequence right there. The Many Meetings music cue hits that lovely high note as the fellowship theme plays out in the council of Elrond, and that would have been such a perfect chance to lead into an intermission but alas that's the one thing they didn't think to do which really surprised me. Shore could have had a field day scoring an intermission sequence.

I don't consider this PJs final definitive release of FOTR so I am not that frustrated over the disc change placement.

Dan

 

[Ron-P]

I finally watched 'some' of the EE last night and the dts track is hands down superior to the over-blown dd track. The bass is much more balanced with the rest of the sound track, it's tighter and cleaner. It's also more spacious sounding and less localized. Excellent dts track. This epic deserved a better sound track and it finally has it. I'm very happy. Now, if I could find the time to sit and watch the movie.
Peace Out~

 

[Aaryn Chan]

I think there will be a 4 hours cut sometimes when HD-DVD will be released. And I hope to get the isolated score track.

 

[Dan Hitchman]

Jimmy Gonzalez,

The DTS-ES track WAS a remix. Those studios using DTS-ES learned long ago that you need to change the way the mix is balanced and sounds spread out and panned in the rear channels when doing a full 6.1 discrete mix which the newer DTS-ES format could reproduce in the home. The Haunting, Blade 2, Bones, and The Fellowship of the Ring speak volumes of a repurposed soundfield comprised of at least three discrete surround channels.

Too bad Lucasfilmm, Gary Rydstrom, and Dolby hadn't figured that out when they created DD EX. Lucasfilm should have gone with DTS since their codec could support the addition of other discrete channels.

Dan

 

[Brent Hutto]

We finally had time to watch the Extended Edition tonight. What a treat! As soon as the credits started rolling, my wife asked "So how many days is it until The Two Towers?" which is exactly what I was thinking at that moment. We had to settle for watching the Easter Egg trailer. Here are my thoughts on the new edition in no particular order:

In terms of the narrative and emotional punch of the movie, the restored Boromir arc was the only addition of major consequence, IMO. It seems obvious that in order to get the original edition under three hours they consciously pared away all but the barest bones of Boromir's story. In this version I found it almost unbearable to watch him being killed. Sean Bean is quite an actor but you'd have never known it from the Theatrical Edition.

All of the additions were nice but between the new Concerning Hobbits narration and the extra scenes at the Green Dragon, the movie seemed to take a long, long time to ever get out of the Shire. Not that there's anything wrong with that...it's all quality material but the new stuff makes the first half of the movie feel noticably longer.

Lothlorien is now a much more crucial and interesting part of the story than was evident in the Theatrical Edition. More so the additional scenes spread all through it than the gift-giving, which was a treat but seemed added on--the only portion of the new material that seemed so. However, the gift-giving was a nice treat not least because we got to see a lot more Cate Blanchett and I'm a big fan.

The video on this version of the DVD is better than the original. There were occasions of graininess before but not a single hint of it that I noticed this time around. I think there was a slightly broader color palette, too. I also think they didn't as aggressively filter the high frequencies from the image this time because there was an overall sense of greater sharpness (very slightly).

The audio on the Extended Edition is so much more open and less fatiguing that it's not even funny. There must have been serious problems with over-processing of the soundtrack on the Theatrical Edition DVD. They didn't make the same mistake twice. We used the DTS track but I did switch briefly to the DD 5.1 track for comparision and it sounded very similar, if perhaps a bit harsher at moments.

I was expecting the Aragorn/Arwen story to gain a little something in the new cut (similar to what happened to the treatment of Boromir) but I remain unmoved by that particular arc at this point in the story. I will say that Liv Tyler is otherwordly beautiful as Arwen and speaks Elvish wonderfully.

The depiction of Gimli upon their departure from Lothlorien was really something. What a silly dwarf! Not that I can't understand feeling a little dazed after the Queen of the Elves has been whispering secrets inside your head.

For some reason, I found Samwise to be much more likeable and personable in this telling of the story. It was just the summary effect of many brief moments where a shot was held a little longer on his expression or he got an extra few words of dialog. To a lesser extent that was true of Merry and Pippen, as well. In particular, their personalities seemed much more distinct from each other in this version.

I'd better stop now. It's hard to be objective while I'm still wearing my Gandalf tee shirt (from mckellen.com) but I love the new edition but at the same time I appreciate how well the Theatrical Edition was put together. I don't begrudge the extra half-hour but given that an under-three-hour version had to be made I really don't feel that people who saw only the original are giving up anything. The Extended Edition is simply an improvement from a "very good" movie to one that's "very, very good".

 

[Stephen_L]

Just finished enjoying the Extended Edition and see no need to ever watch the Theatrical release DVD again. This new edition corrects so many of the flaws in the original film. The pace seems more relaxed, a real sense of character is developed and the Fellowship's journey has a greater sense of time and distance.

Though it is quibbling, I have a problem with a couple of the new sequences. The introduction of the Ring with Boromir's clear desire to possess it and the "Black Speech" didn't work for me. I thought the theatrical film's treatment of Boromir's desire was more subtle; the EE hammers you over the head with it. Also Gandalf's "Black Speech' is muddled, incomprehensible and never fully explained (he was reciting the poem engraved on the ring)

Secondly, the scene revealing Caras Galathon, the City of Green Towers didn't work for me. Don't get me wrong; I loved the stunning image of the City of Trees, but Haldir's stagey introduction seemed like bald exposition. Haldir lives there and would not likely give the "Chamber of Commerce" type intro. Why not have one of the hobbits ask what the city is, and have Legolas, who has never seen it before speak of it in reverential tones.

These are the most minor of complaints though. The new material is almost uniformly splendid and satisfying.

 

[David Coleman]

Just got done watching this one and yes it is the DVD of the year! I don't think there's ever been a better produced disc save PEARL HARBOR: VS and FOTR is 2x the movie that was. Loved the DTS as was improvement over the DD. The pic quality was also improved. Very impressive!

David

 

[Brian W.]

Secondly, the scene revealing Caras Galathon, the City of Green Towers didn't work for me.

Exactly what I said in an earlier posting. I hated this part. Actually, I prefer the transition into Lothlorien as it was handled in the theatrical version.

I prefer the new Council of Elrond bit, but I agree that Gandalf's voice is nearly drowned out, and if you don't know the books, you have no idea what he's saying. I didn't care for the sound mix choices in that little part.

 

[Doug_B]

Wow, this is gonna be tough after reading so many comments. I have EE on order, but I'm not gonna watch it until I get a new proj (a couple of months?).

 

[Dan Brecher]

And I hope to get the isolated score track.

We'll have Shore's intent for a box set release of all three complete scores mixed and edited to form a 3 act opera by then.

Dan

 

[Jeremy Allin]

Could someone answer this for me?
In the theatrical cut, immediately following "The Fellowship of the Ring" title, it says 'The Shire...60 years later'. Is this portion absent in the extended cut or is mentioned elsewhere?
Thanks!