Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Lord of The Rings DVD, Now or Later?

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the stuff-to-consider dept.

Entropy_ah writes "As many of us know, the Lord of The Rings: Fellowship of The Ring DVD was released Aug. 6. It is a 2 Disk version of the movie with a few added goodies. However, New Line Home Entertainment is going to release an extended 4 disk version and a DVD gift set on November 12th. The Kanas City Star has an article discussing the merits of each addition and touches on the issue of this being an attempt by the movie companies to gouge as much money from die-hard fans as possible." I'm waiting, but I definitely find this whole mess frustrating.

2 of 355 comments (clear)

  1. Why the anger, people? by gilroy · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I really don't understand the rage on slashdot about this. The two sets offer different things and it's entirely possible that for some people, they offer enough value to justify the combined price. (I'll admit to being one of those people.) As has been mentioned, this isn't some underhanded, backroom thing -- "Aha, now that they've bought the lame first version, let's slip out an enhanced one and get their money again!". The producers have been extremely public about the plan. You haven't been "suckered" into buying a disc and then seeing it replaced a few weeks later.


    Believe me, I know the anger people feel. I'm one of the chumps who bought the Tron bare-bones CD virtually the day before Disney announced the two-disc enhanced version. And I'm steamed about that, because the second release is a proper superset of the first -- the entire first release (which was essentially just the movie) is contained in the second.


    But that's not the case here. Not only have I been told, upfront, that there is a later set coming. I also know that the second set is not just a proper superset of the first. The first contains things that the second won't. So my value is not negated.


    For the casual fan (and believe it or not, there are a lot of casual LOTR fans), the August release is what they expect: A faithful reproduction of their moviegoing experience, with some typical extras thrown on as is de rigeur. For the hardcore fan, the November release is what they desire: The extra scenes, some more background, a wealth of detail. And the really, truly diehard fanatic can simply consider this a single, 6-disc set that happens to be released in two parts but has all the things a diehard fanatic would want: the theatrical movie, a "director's cut", a Two Towers preview, behind-the-scenes footage, background detail, audio commentary.


    To my eye, these guys are the first in Hollywood to realize that the DVD market is not homogenous -- to not treat everyone as the lowest common demographic. They're giving people options rather than making one dictatorial decision. I think it's a development we should applaud, not attack.


    (Aside: Note that what transforms this from an underhanded marketing ploy to a consumer-friendly menu of options is the fact that all three discs were announced simultaneously, putting information into the hands of the consumers and empowering us to make an intelligent choice. That's perhaps the most important lesson of the current age: Freely-available information empowers the citizenry.)

    --
    The Mongrel Dogs Who Teach
  2. Re:It's funny... by buffy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You're comparing apples to oranges. ET, Star Wars...these all were the original product.

    Peter Jackson and crew have an difficult challenge in the making of the LOTR movies--they are NOT the original product. They are a rendition of the original printed materials--books that are remarkable in their depth and detail. That is one of the reasons so many people have fallen in love with the story.

    A commerical movie is bound by time, and of course, stuff has to be cut out. The 4-disc set allows Jackson to meet the demand of so many viewers to see the additional content that only true Tolkien lovers would appreciate.

    One of the extras on the 2-disc set includes a "behind the scenes" preview of The Towers, which include interview bits with Jackson. He expresses a dislike for the term "Director's Cut" since it implies that the original theatrical edition is not what the Director wanted to portray. In the case of FOTR, this is not the case. The 4-disc set is a Special Edition, to statisfy the needs of all the Tolkien fans in the world to simply see more of that world, and the visual development of the characters within.

    Given that they spent the time to capture all this stuff, and that there is obviously a commercial demand to see it, I think that the decision to present the additional edition is smart. I also don't think Jackson and crew are stupid--they know the types of cricism that they may recieve for the two editions, and are more than going to make up for it in content.

    If you're not a Tolkien fan who has repeatedly read the books, and seen the first movie several times (gads, just calculate the amount of time you've probably spent) then simply don't buy it.

    Just my $0.02.