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The Trilogy as One
jmays writes "New Line is re-releasing 'The Fellowship of the Ring' and 'The Two Towers' except this time, in their respective extended versions. When? Once each week for the two weeks prior to the opening of 'The Return of the King.'"
I felt that the extended edition of fellowship was a lot better than the studio version. It will be fun to see it in the theaters.
I'm less excited about Two Towers since I found the movie to be a disappointment. I'll still go check it out though. (who am i kidding, i'll still probably buy the dvd Tolkien whore that I am).
I don't know about the Dec 16th all day marathon though. Something about going to a movie at 3pm and leaving after midnight. Besides, my GF has enough trouble staying awake in a 1.5 hour long movie.
"I can not bring myself to believe that if knowledge presents danger, the solution is ignorance" - Isaac Asimov
Perhaps more exciting than the extended edition re-releases is the promise of marathon showings December 16th.
FOTR @ 1500
TTT @ 1900
ROTK @ 2300
Not only can you to see the entire story at once, but beat all the other line-standing fans by 1 whole hour!
That must count for some serious geek points in the grand scheme of things.
Call your favorite theater today and request that they carry this special engagement. If they won't, drive to a big city, this ought to be worth it!
Check out this Slashdot article.
KARMA TAG! You're it.
Before any king can return, New Line Cinema will re-release of the first two "Lord of the Rings" pics worldwide, this time with additional scenes and footage added.
Just two weeks before the Dec. 17 release of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" -- the final installment of the Peter Jackson-helmed epic trilogy -- the first two "Ring" entries will be unspooling worldwide.
In memoranda sent to exhibitors on Wednesday, New Line laid out a game plan to promote the third film by refreshing filmgoers' memories with "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers."
Plan calls for putting the films on 100-150 screens in top 10 U.S. markets. Many other U.S. cities will have one cinema participating in the special extended edition screenings. Running times for the extended editions are 208 minutes for "Fellowship of the Ring" and 214 minutes for "The Two Towers."
Advanced ticket sales are scheduled to begin in late September or early October on exhibitor Web sites and movie ticketing sites like Fandango, MovieFone and Movietickets.com.
"The release of the third film affords us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to give audiences a compelling new theatrical experience of Peter Jackson's sprawling vision for this trilogy," said Rolf Mittweg, prexy and chief operating officer for worldwide distribution and marketing.
The cost, one New Line insider estimated, will be between $10 million and $15 million. Due to the extended length of the new prints, the move is being cast as a promotional tool rather than a moneymaker.
"It is important to note," the memo says, "that these events are produced as a marketing/publicity stunt and not as a revenue generating opportunity" and that media support will be limited largely to the Internet and participating theaters.
Starting the week of Dec. 5, the extended DVD cut of "Fellowship of the Ring" will be released in some 100 or so theaters in the U.S. and in 20 theaters in Canada.
Then, the week of Dec. 12, sequel "Two Towers" will unspool, just a month after having preemed on DVD, leading up to a worldwide Dec. 16 daylong marathon, during which all three films will be shown back-to-back. Exhib guidelines call for a 3 p.m. showing of "Fellowship" followed by a 7 p.m. screening of "Two Towers" and then an 11 p.m. screening of "Return of the King," which will carry over into Dec. 17 -- the day of its global release.
Overseas, it's not yet clear whether all exhibs will be showing the new footage-added prints of the previous "Rings" pics. According to one New Line insider, the decision is being left to exhibs, which will make their requests known to New Line in the next few weeks.
Italy and Japan will not immediately be included in the foreign promotional blitz. Italo comedies dominate that country around the holidays, and corporate sibling Warner Bros. will be carpeting Japan with the next "Harry Potter" pic. Triad of "Rings" pics will instead screen in January in Italy and February in Japan.
"King" is produced by Barrie M. Osborne, Fran Walsh and Jackson, with a screenplay by Walsh & Philippa Boyens and Jackson, based on the book by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Just to be clear, these are being released in the theaters. Not on VHS / DVD, which was my immediate thought.
I haven't heard anything, but you might want to check out http://theonering.net/ - they are a good place for LOTR rumors etc.
Personally, I'm hoping to see a bit more character development of Eomer. All that got lost in the theatrical release.
You obviously missed the Fellowship expanded version then; the new scenes *greatly* enhanced the storyline, especially for someone who hadn't read the books.
I don't know, but I had the chance to see (and got my book signed by ;-)) John Howe in Geneva earlier this year. Well amongst an awful lot of interesting things, he said he had seen (all or part of?) the new scenes that would form the extended version, and he totally loved it. He added they really pushed the movie to a new standard, even making it look like a new movie. The new footages is 42 minutes long.
Besides this, he addressed interesting issues (people could ask questions) like the presence of Elves in Helm's Deep and such other things. He answered really calmly and smartly, with precise and interesting arguments.
I really doubt PJ could even manage to do a bad movie with RotK after having seen the two other ones, but I can't wait to find out. And I'm sure I'm not alone in this.
theefer
Yes but the ROTK in theatres this year isn't going to be the extended version. I'd assume you'd have to wait 11 months or so to get the extended ROTK DVD.
As the article points out, this is not meant to be an attempt to generate revenue, but merely a promotional tool.
Releasing 3+ hour long movies in 3 successive weeks in few select theatres with little fanfaire (at least according to the article) doesn't sound like over-exposure. Sounds more like a treat for the fans.
As for a 10 hour movie, while that certainly would be interesting, it would a) involve lots of work by jackson et al. to interweave the films (rather than simply playing back to back) and b) would be expensive as hell. (as two sets of different prints would have to be sent out to the theatres, depending if they were showing ROTK or the entire trilogy movie, or both if they having two different sets.) and c) would be financially disasterous for the movie theaters. (as a 10 hour movie for the price of one, means they are losing admission on at least 2 to 4 films).
As for other arguments regarding milking the cow, New Line and Jackson have ALL along stated that each DVD would be released as a theatrical and an extended edition. True fans who wanted both could buy both, others could pick which one to get. as I recall, there were even signs up at the stores (or stickers on the dvd) when FOTR came out reminding people that the extended version was still to be released.
Three years? Surely you're joking. The plot arc of both "LOTR" and "The Hobbit" is one calendar year: "The Hobbit" begins one spring & finishes the following spring, while LOTR begins & ends in the fall. By stretching it out over 3 years, you're effectively making it three times slower than molasses. Sounds like a blast... :-)
DO NOT LEAVE IT IS NOT REAL
For those too lazy to click a few links. ;)
- Extended opening, in which the hobbits scale a cliff face using the rope Galadriel gave Sam, including a better build-up to the arrival of Gollum.
- More friction between the Uruk-Hai and the Orcs as they transport Merry and Pippin back to Isengard, which better sets up the fight over food that takes place later.
- More scenes of Saruman breeding his army, creating better pacing as the invasion of Rohan begins
- Terrific scene in which Eomer finds the body of Theodred, Theodens son.
- Additional scenes with Merry and Pippin, including extensions to existing Treebeard scenes and the Ent Draught sequence, in which the hobbits grow. In another scene, Treebeards soporific poetry works its magic.
- Theodreds funeral scene, with Eowyn singing a lament.
- A wonderful introduction to Aragorns horse Brego, who we learn was Theodreds horse. Aragorn requests Brego be set free, which places his later rescue in better context.
- Additional scenes between Eowyn and Aragorn, including one in which he attempts to eat a bowl of evil-looking stew.
- More scenes between Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, which expand upon the films politics (including the union between the two towers Gandalf scene from the trailer, though that line is missing from what I can remember).
- More of Sarumans musings, setting up themes that will be explored in The Return of the King.
- Flashback to the circumstances surrounding Boromir being sent to Rivendell for the Council of Elrond, taking place during the re-taking of Osgiliath by the Gondorian army. This sequence briefly introduces John Noble as Denethor, a major character in The Return of the King. I was worried this sequence would seem like an indulgence, but its difficult to imagine the film without it; not only is the character of Faramir, much maligned by fans of the book, given added depth, so too is Boromir enriched by this addition.
- Just before the Ents storming of Isengard, the Huorns mobilise and leave to attend to business elsewhere; they reappear at Helms Deep to kill the Uruk-Hai as they flee.
- New ending, with Merry and Pippin finding a larder at Isengard, including two barrels of pipe-weed; a hilarious scene in which Gimli and Legolas compare their scores after the battle of Helms Deep; Frodo, Sam and Gollum are shown the way out of Osgiliath by Faramir, who threatens Gollum; theres even a brief moment in which Sam and Gollum appear to make peace.
- Along with all these major additions, many more scenes are subtly extended to give more information or reinforce themes already present.
Hell is being intelligent in a world full of idiots.
LOTR begins when Frodo is 33 and Bilbo is 111. The first chapter concerns with their joint birthday party and Bilbo's departure from the Shire.
Fast-forward 17 years, to when Frodo is 50 and Bilbo is 128. Gandalf shows up in the *spring*, tells Frodo all about the One Ring, and then says, I'll be back by fall (of 3018).
The hobbits have their adventures and return to the Shire around November 1st of the *following* year (3019). Then there's a handful more pages, and in 3021, Frodo, Bilbo, and the Three Keepers (Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel) leave Middle-Earth. Sam returns home shortly thereafter, and *that's* when LOTR ends. Technically, the book encompasses a bit over 20 years, although the bulk of the action occurs within a span of about a year and a half.
<pedantic mode=off>
"Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
I do understand and share your feelings about 90 minute films being a waste and deleted scenes/extras on most DVDs not being worth it. I definitely feel cheated when I walk out of a short and overhyped movie, especially when I can tell it's that short because the director couldn't find any more material that qualified as "good".
With that said, there is a HUGE difference with the LOTR DVDs. You're starting with a 3 hour movie in which Peter Jackson made cuts he DIDN'T want to make. Then, they didn't just provide the unfinished deleted scenes on a menu on a separate disc, they integrated those scenes back into the original film along with newly recorded soundtrack material. And they did it so well that the Fellowship movie actually feels different (and more complete). The extras are also impressive in the amount of detail shown about the production process. Most extras are interviews filmed after the fact. These were an integrated part of the production which is why they are actually worth watching. I'm expecting just as polished a job for the Two Towers. If anything, the success of these movies and the DVDs should prove to other studios that we recognize and want quality.
As for raking us over the coals, yes many DVD re-releases do just that (how many versions of T2 exist now?). However, New Line has been very upfront about their plans for the LOTR DVDs. They announced early on that there would be two releases for each movie: one with the theatrical release and minimal extras, and one with an extended version of the film and many different extras. That last part is important. Having bought both Fellowship DVDs I can honestly say in the many hours of extras there is almost no overlap (less than 15 minutes at a guess) between the extras on the two releases. New Line and Peter Jackson have also announced (before either release of Fellowship) that there would be NO super-mega-deluxe editions of the movies. Once all the movies are out, they'll certainly package them together but they'll package them as they are.
Various conspiracy theorists won't believe such announcements, and given the history of the movie industry, I can understand why. But I do believe Peter Jackson if for no other reason than they put so MUCH into the extras that I have no idea what they could be saving.
--Atlantix
Digital is only 1920x1080@24p while 35mm can approach 4x that resolution if shot the right way with the right equipment and the proper grade of film stock.
Ironically, most IMAX transfers to DVD look like crap (I own 30 or so because I just keep hoping) when compared to modern high-quality transfers from 35mm.
Its so lame when people throw this suggestion out there: first, Neo sensed the sentinals. How would you explain that?
1) The alarms in the ship went off, telling them the sentinals are coming. I sensed them from my seat.
Second, are we to believe Neo just happened to gesture at precisely the same time as the EMP went off?
2) I've seen the nice DVD AC3 release, and yes, it does happen at the same time, from the same direction as the ship's EMP entrance.
Third, why would it incapacitate him?
3) Bane(the guy Agent Smith took over) was also knocked out by the EMP blast. I can only guess that they both share the same quality.
Face it, Neo did stop those sentinals. Basically the entire reason we're all going to see the next one is to see how.
That is the point of a cliffhanger and a conclusion.
I really hate Dan Patrick.