The Two Towers DVD Release Dates

FortKnox writes "Mark these dates on your Calendar: 8/26/03 & 11/18/03. These are the (US) DVD release dates for The Two Towers. Like Fellowship, the first date is the release of the DVD, and the November date is the release of the special edition (with rumored extra 48 minutes of footage). Another one ring.net page has more details on the actual footage."

Comments

Why?

[mnassri]

Can someone please tell me why they can't just put them out at the same time? My faith in humanity is hoping the answer is not solely greed.

-Maher-

Re:Why?

[dtfinch]

It's greed. They don't want you to just buy the special edition and be done with it. By delaying the special edition, they may be able to get you to buy the regular edition as well.

Re:Why?

[EvanED]

I can see 3 months helping a lot. They could probably get everything done in time for the first release date if they really tried, but remember that they are also working on Return of the King. Remember, no matter what, the bigger set would take significantly longer to prepare, so no matter what if they were released at the same time they would have been able to get eh 2-disc one out well before. So they figure why not? People who would only get the 2-disc set will be more inclined to get it rather than pirate it, while most people who would get the expanded one would probably wait anyway. And a few of them might buy or rent the 2-disc one in the meantime, which I suspect is probably more of a bonus than a motivation.

I don't really buy the argument that it is a greed thing; maybe that is involved a little bit, but I don't think it's the major role. Remember, they announced (I think... if not, they will soon) that there is going to be a special edition, and I doubt that they will expect too many people to buy both. (Rent perhaps, but that's about where I think that theory ends.) Meanwhile, I see putting together a DVD like that to be a time-consuming venture.

(And for any of you who think this is like what Lucas is doing, remember that Lucas released Episode I to VHS under the official line that NO DVDs were to be released until after Episode III, while just a couple months later reports surfaced that he was in fact working on an Episode I DVD, which was announced a couple months later. Had I (and many other fans) known a DVD was in the works, there's no way I owuld have bought the VHS. *That's* sleazy. There's no trace of sleaze in the Lord of the Rings.)

Waiting for the complete set?

[ic3p1ck]

I'm personally waiting for the complete box set. I hope it will include all the extended versions of the three movies with all the extras, i.e greater than the sum of these intermediate special edition releases.

Save your money.

[Asterax]

I really don't see much point in buying the LotR DVD's seperately. You just know that New Line will compile together all three movie's in one big massive package with an infinite amount of DVD extra's.

Re:Save your money.

[evilviper]

Well, some of us buy DVDs for the movie, and don't care very much about the rest. Deleted scenes are always good, but if you want interviews with air-headed actors, just watch the late shows.

Re:Save your money.

[coupland]

Your comment makes no sense. If a single compilation is what you want then you are guaranteed not to get it. The media industry has proven time and again that it makes no sense to release something their customers want when it's easier and more profitable to release many iterations of something you ALMOST want. Hopefully you'll buy them all and make them rich. Star Wars for example, will we ever see a digital DVD compilation? No. Not while you keep buying things piecemeal...

Re:You know

[Ark42]

So does The Matrix and Starwards... what I want to know is why Futurama doesn't have its own catagory :)

Sure go ahead

[trotski]

Mark the dates on the calander! Be the first on your block to own TTT! Show your support for the MPAA!!!

After all, most of you guys talk the talk, but who here is willing to walk the walk? This is exactly what the MPAA and the RIAA count on; that in the end, people dump their principles and BUY MORE STUFF!!!!

Don't get excited about stupidity like this, rent the DVD, make a VOB and share it, but for crying out loud, don't run out and support the leeches that are fighting to destroy out freedoms, and rip money right out of our pockets.

Re:Hmm...

[Dylan Zimmerman]

I, for one, knew months before the release of the normal FotR DVD that there would be an extended edition. Anyone who really pays attention to this stuff knows well in advance.

Re:Likewise with FOTR extended DVD

[buffy]

I'm a poor college student and I was so happy that I could spend $30 on a 4 Disc DVD, and get a FREE (afternoon shows here are $5.50) showing of the newest LOTR movie. It was very nice walking in to the theature after classes, handing them my coupon, and sneaking a bottle over to the water fountain because I was too broke to even afford a drink.

Wait a sec. You were broke, but still had the $30 to spend on a 4 Disc DVD? That's sick.

Broke is broke. Having $30 to by a movie that you have the luxury to have a DVD player to play in is NOT broke.

So sayeth the fat white computer dude with a good job, and who worries about buying that new Wolverine XBox game 'cause he hears it kind of sucks. -buf

Herein lies the problem

[Galvatron]

I KNEW this was going to happen. With so many people getting burned on special editions, people won't buy the original releases anymore. Now, the studios are practically obligated to make special editions, which further reinforces people's avoidance of the standard edition. I honestly think the DVD market is permanently fucked up by this, I can't see any way that the studios can reverse the assumption that all movies that were at least decent will have special editions, so there's no point in buying it when it's first released. I'm sure it was a tremendous moneymaker when they started, but now Hollywood's shortsighted greed has obligated them to waste money printing a non-special edition that no one wants, and filming special filler, just so that people will believe them when they release the real version.

Re:Herein lies the problem

[MtViewGuy]

I think you have to understand why we're getting two different releases of each LoTR film on DVD.

The first edition is the version we originally saw in the theaters, the version that is likely to be a big hit in the rental market (Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, etc.). The second edition is the long edition movie on two discs with added scenes, Dolby Digital and DTS soundtracks, multiple track commentaries and two-disc Supplementary material set intended for the serious videophile and serious movie fan. For historical reasons, I think it's actually better to have both editions available.

Re:Herein lies the problem

[beowulfcluster]

At least the LOTR people are upfront with it and tell everyone there will be a special one later. They did this with the first one as well, in case someone doesn't know. They were nice enough not to piss people off by first releasing the normal one and then announce the special one two months later when the fans had already bought the first one. I guess when you have a movie that'll make one "billion" dollars either way, you can afford to be nice (but it still isn't the norm in movieland so props to them for that).

For Your Consideration

[D iz a n k Meister]

I was in the Philippines over the New Year and I came across a very nice Muslim women who sold me an awards screener for The Two Towers on DVD for $2 US. I have seen the movie in the theater(obviously) so I can attest to the screener's validity and quality. Basically a pretty dope find, and the whole movie is on exactly 1 DVD(huge plus IMHO).

I also bought all 3 Indiana Jones movies and the first 3 Star Wars captured from Laser Disc on DVD. Total cost: $14 US. Arrrr Matey!!!

Re:Lucas

[BollocksToThis]

Umm, did anyone happen to watch the extras that came with the first DVD?

I did, and what I saw amounted to one big fucking commercial.

"Hi, I'm some chick who works for bla bla corp, oh look! Collector's editions of the original trilogy in book format! That's pretty interesting, why don't we show some shots of that while I keep talking? Did you know we sell these? Mmmm, these books sure do look nice... I wish I could be saying 'Only $69.95!' right about now... hey, let's have a shot of the director. He seems to be saying something. Oh, he's saying he wanted to be true to Tolkien's original trilogy! Well, let's fade him out and fade back in this shot of the trilogy that we happen to publish! The only thing missing from this 'making of' feature is an 800 number!"

At least some of the extras on the Star Wars DVDs didn't appear to have anything to do with trying to sell me more crap.

Re:The smart move

[KikassAssassin]

Actually, I'm planning on buying both versions of the DVD, because I'm sure none of my friends are going to let me keep borrowing their copy to let me watch it 30 times before the extended DVD comes out. Renting is out of the question, because the cost of renting a movie that many times would be rediculous.

Sure, if you're only planning on watching it one or two times, renting might be a better plan, but I'm already having withdrawls since the movie left the theaters in my area a month or so ago.

Re:You know

[Rob Simpson]

Ah, but the beauty of it having its own category is that you can exclude it using your Preferences/Homepage menu, instead of whining about LOTR topics. So, uh, why didn't you go do that?

Re:Lucas

[daVinci1980]

Why is it that when Lucas re-edits movies and adds scenes to them, we consider it evil, but when its LoTR its okay?

And before you think I'm just whining, consider the amount of bandwidth spent discussing this specific evil.