Two versions of LOTR, buy both keep both? (1 Viewer)

[Michael.Hoffman]

I think I'll do the same as I did last year. Rent the theatrical and buy the EE. If I really feel like it I may end up buying the theatrical, but truth be told the EE will probably suffice.

 

[Neil Joseph]

I bought the FOTR theatrical but sold it when the 4 disk came out. I intend to do the same with TTT especially because I missed it theatrically so I won't be able to hold out until Nov when the 4 disk comes out.

 

[Richard Kim]

I didn't like the EE version of the Fellowship meeting with Haldir and the elves in Lothlorien. The theatrical version was just fine, but the EE transitions from day to night to day and then night again! The effect is jarring and pulls me out of the etherial mood of the scene. Very poor editing. Also, the costuming in one of the added scenes is inconsistant with the rest of the film (I believe the actor commentary talks about this).

 

[Ricardo C]

Agreed. First of all, the nightime scene where Gimli cusses Haldir out (btw, he says "I spit on your grave" in Dwarvish ) look to have been shot way early in the filming process. Gimli's hair is completely different than in the rest of the movie. And the next scene, when Haldir and the rest look upon Caras Galadhon, looks... "plain". The rest of the Lórien sequence has a very ethereal look to it, but this one scene looks as though it was filmed and left alone, with no digital manipulation of any kind.

Overall, I prefer the EE to the TE, but the arrival in Lórien, as well as the intro to the Shire, are much better in the TE.

 

[Sean Bryan]

I loved the original theatrical version of Fellowship. However, I find the EE to be the superior version.

In my opinion, the changes made to the entire Lothlorien sequence were the biggest improvements. And there is no editing error with the Lorien intro. This has been hashed out before. They arrive at the border at sunset, and they are taken up into the trees to debate whether they will be permitted to enter Lothlorien (at which point the sun has now set; see, after sunset it gets dark). They argue for a while and then set out (either while it is still dark or at sunrise). Either way it doesn't really matter because it is a long journey which is illustrated by the fact that they show them walking through the next day (the sun comes up in the morning and it gets bright again, for those that are confused by this) and they don't arrive until sunset (about 24 hours since they reached the border). You can take this as "choppy editing", I see it as demonstrating the passage of time over a long journey. In the theatrical version, it plays like they arrive at the border near sunset and then make it all the way to Galadriel (or the bottom of her tree) while it is still sunset. So like a 15 minute walk? No, that did not feel right at all. Too abbreviated.

As for the fact that some of the make-up and costumes are a bit different when they go into the trees at the border: This is minor. Hardly any worse than "Boromir's disappearing hand", "Aragorn's sword that he drops, then has in his hand, then it's gone again", the car (which is supposedly removed from the EE), etc... These are goofs that were in the theatrical version and didn't detract from the overall quality of the film at all in my opinion. They are movie goofs, they happen. I feel the same about the costumes/make-up in this EE scene (the differences are subtle as well). The story was improved, and that is what is most important. Can you honestly say that Boromir's character didn't benefit from his kind words to Frodo in the trees in this scene, or were you too distracted by Gimli's hair style to notice?

I found the changes made to Boromir's final stand and death to significantly enhance the emotion of that scene. Loved it. Boromir's character was greatly improved from his additions in the EE (his telling of his dream at the counsel, his kind words to Frodo, his confrontation with Aragorn about the worth of Men and Aragorn hiding from what he is, etc..)

While there are elements to the original into that I prefer over the EE (the original does have a smoother, more natural flow to this scene), I still feel that the new "Hobbit intro" is great and helps to illustrate what exactly Hobbits are and how they live. I actually felt this was lacking in the theatrical version when I fist saw it. So if I had to choose between the two intros, I'd have to go with the EE intro.

Anyway, both versions are excellent films, and you really can't go wrong with either. I just think that if you are a hard core fan, you might want to have both.

However, if I am going to show a friend "The Fellowship of the Ring" for the first time (and they are likely to only see one version of the film), I'm showing the EE. That is the more complete (and truer to the novel) version of the "story".

 

[Lars_J]

Since there is no overlap with the "special features" - I prefer to see both DVD releases as one big 6-DVD set. And I certainly want to own both versions of the movie, and I plan to do the same for TTT & ROTK.

As for what version of the film I personally would show a friend/newbie: Without a doube the theatrical cut. It is IMO a leaner and better edited. So what if it doesn't show some extra book scenes? If the person hasn't read Tolkien before it won't make a difference.

 

[Tony Whalen]

I bought both versions, but I'm uncertain if I'll do that with the next two films...just because I haven't touched the theatrical cut since getting the EE.

Guess I'll decide when the theatrical cut of TTT comes out.

 

[AllanN]

In this case I believe the EE to be what Peter Jackson really wanted the movie to be. LOTR is a huge story. But releasing a 3:30+ "blockbuster" movie to the general public is a bad idea from the studio brass point of view. (The general public might not want to sit through a near 4 hour movie, and you can't pack as many showings in per day.) So to at least get the movie made and in the theater Jackson and Co. needed to make some concessions. But his full idea of the movies where able to be played out on DVD. So im waiting for the EE.

 

[Brad M]

This will be probably the only series of movies that I would do this for.

Hey! Quit picking on Star Wars!

 

[Ricardo C]

These are goofs that were in the theatrical version and didn't detract from the overall quality of the film at all in my opinion. They are movie goofs, they happen. I feel the same about the costumes/make-up in this EE scene (the differences are subtle as well). The story was improved, and that is what is most important. Can you honestly say that Boromir's character didn't benefit from his kind words to Frodo in the trees in this scene, or were you too distracted by Gimli's hair style to notice?

Enjoying the improvements to the story doesn't keep me from being annoyed by flaws that should have been corrected the first time around.

 

[Bill Williams]

I'm like a lot of the others who have voiced their thoughts here: I got both versions, and I'm hanging on to both versions.

In addition to the difference in the extras in both versions, the 2-disc sets of the theatrical cuts will complement one another in set-up and design, as will the 4-disc extended versions complement one another in design and set-up.

 

[DaveGTP]

Yes, Sean, I believe everyone knows that "after sunset, it gets dark". However, the transition from a brightly lit afternoon to night time was too brusque, something that could have been easily fixed with a two-second shot of the Fellowship walking deeper into the woods as the sun sets.

I've always felt that FOTR had a lot of time-compression problems making it hard to tell how much time has passed. This falls right in with the rest of them, I guess. I few fades or something would have helped the movie with time-compression issues.

But, I remember them walking into Lothlorien in the theatrical cut, then walking up the path to meet with Galadriel and it's suddenly dark, with the city suddenly brilliantly glowing ...

Big fan here, fantasy/sci-fi reader, I am a sucker for good fantasy. I will own both again. Despite never watching the theatrical cut again. I might though!!!!

 

[Ryan_C]

I will probably keep buying both, as I did with FOTR. If as others say, you take into account the cost of renting the TE a few times, plus the low cost when it comes out, and if New Line does the rebate again if you buy both the EE and TE, you basically pay almost nothing for it.

 

[Brian W.]

They arrive at the border at sunset

No, they don't. It's afternoon, maybe even late afternoon, but it's still several hours till sunset. Thus the continuity problem. The scene does make a very jarring transition from day to night. And if they were going to insert a completely different scene there, they should have held Gimili's reaction a hair longer on "The Dwarf breathes so loud." It's too clipped to come at the end of a scene. I think if they had gone back to the raw footage and held his reaction maybe half a second to one second longer, the jump to the night scene wouldn't have seemed quite as abrupt. It's a bad cut, in my opinion.

So even aside from the costume continuity errors (the night scene was done on the fifth day of shooting), I think the theatrical version of the arrival in Lothlorien is far superior.

 

[David_SG]

In this case I believe the EE to be what Peter Jackson really wanted the movie to be.

I tend to disagree with this statement. I think Jackson understood from the beginning that the growing DVD market gave him the opportunity to make two very different versions of the same movie for two very different mediums, which is exactly what we have here (and all the justification you need to purchase both versions!).

I can definitely understand why some people prefer the EE - it's got some great character moments that add more depth to the overall story, and it does really bring the movie closer to the books. But those extra moments come at the expense of damaging the overall narrative flow of the movie. Fact is, while I really do like the extra Shire stuff, it serves as a secondary prologue at the time when the story really needs to get going, and get going from the perspective of Frodo, not Bilbo.

Fortunately, I think home viewers (or at least the hard core fans) are more willing to accept a "looser", more episodic version of these movies, which is why the EE does work so well. Sure, you can argue that the theatrical is far from nimble at almost 3 hours, but to me, it works much better from a standalone, cinematic perspective.

With that said, I fully expect to prefer the EE of Towers over the theatrical because I don't think Towers, as the middle chapter, works as well as a standalone film or is anywhere near the cinematic masterpiece of the theatrical Fellowship, so we might as well get more Gollum/Sam/Frodo interaction. But seeing as how PJ & Co. felt compelled to play around with Boromir's death scene, I just hope they resist the temptation to make further crimes against perfection in the Towers EE.

 

[Brian W.]

But those extra moments come at the expense of damaging the overall narrative flow of the movie.

Exactly!!!

 

[nolesrule]

Well, I don't think late afternoon would be several hours from sunset. Afterall, it is mid-January and the sun does set to the west, right where the Misty Mountains happen to be.

We should ask someone from Colorodo Springs (or maybe Denver) what time it gets dark there in mid-January. While Lothlorien is a bit farther south in lattitude than Colorado Springs, it's close enough for a comparison.

EDIT: Sunset in Colorado Spings would be at 5pm. It is completely dark by 5:30.

 

[SarahG]

I bought both FOTR....

And Kept both


And will by buying both TTT

and Keeping both...

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Interesting post Dave. It should be noted that PJ has stated that this story was made for DVDs and home viewing so one could argue that, in fact, the EE is the true version.

In regards to being looser - I can somewhat agree with this except for the Lothlorien sequences. The extra scenes contain necessary information that should have been in the theatrical version.

 

[Brenton]

Don't chalk it up to how much I big a fan I am. The Lord of the Rings films are my favorite movies of all time. The novel is my favorite book. I believe that it has nothing to do with how much I love the movie, but more to do with how much of a DVD pack rat I am. I have no reason to own a disc that, come November, I will have no desire to ever watch again.