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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!
I know that I'm probably going to get flamed by the /. faithful but I really
:-)
did not enjoy the first LOTR film and decided to not bother with the rest of
the trilogy. I couldn't imagine the tedium of sitting through an extended
version.
The problem with them was that they were quite simply boring. Although the
filmmakers had done this incredible technical job of putting the world of
Middle Earth on the screen it felt horribly sterile. Of course it's often
the case that a film doesn't work as well as the way you imagined the book,
but in the case of LOTR the film seemed to have little merit. It was a
long road movie without the depth of the Middle Earth world and relationships
between the characters and the different type of characters lost in the
filming.
Not trying to troll, just that the film had all the look of Middle Earth
without any of the feeling. A bit like Matrix Reloaded: all shiny but
hollow at the same time.
John.
(Of course there was the incomparable Liv Tyler
so it wasn't a totally wasted 3 hours
Anyone has clue to what scenes will be added to the extend version of TTT?
As if most slashdot members didn't have a bad enough case of office ass...
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.
Call me a pawn of 'the man', but I will be there in the theaters for both of them. The military-entertainment complex will thank me, but my bladder won't.
Three and half hours... Why don't they have intermissions anymore?
- -
Are you an SF Fan? Are you a Tru-Fan?
Just to be clear, these are being released in the theaters. Not on VHS / DVD, which was my immediate thought.
Reminds me of an old Foxtrot cartoon....
The sister asks her kid brother and his friend where they are going. They say they're going to watch 3 Star Wars movies. She says, "All three? back-to-back?" They reply, "No, all three...three times in a row."
Um... No, they weren't. Not by a long shot. Of course, I'm a fan.
"I'm not impatient. I just hate waiting." - My Dad
My only... my precious...
Because this time, we really wanted a dozen walkers in the background and thousands of Ewoks scurrying around in the foreground!
PepperHacks - Hacking the Pepper Pad
Holy shit I had dreamed about something like this happening.
Months ago I had said to my friends "Since I can't do it in theaters, I'm gonna get all the extended DVDs when they come out and watch them in a row.". Now I CAN do it in theaters. Hurray.
I am a filthy pirate.
Perhaps I should read the article a bit closer next time. I thought they were re-releasing the DVD's, not re-releasing in the theaters. But my gripes still remain. -John
"The definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing and hoping for different results"
I've heard Tolkien originally wanted the three series into one large book. The title of this submission "The Trilogy as One" got me thinking. I wonder if they'll splice all three movies together when the next generation DVD comes out. Then you could take it all in as JRR intended. Sure, it'd be a marathon... but I think lots of geeks would dig it.
I saw on TechTV that this trilogy will include features about the fourth book. Anybody catch the name?
You mean The Revenge Of Sauron ? No, Peter Jackson clearly stated only the first three books would be part of his movie trilogy.
theefer
Man that theatre is going to smell bad. Dec 16th = Smelly LOTR day.
My Ass hurts.
I saw both movies, because I see at least 80% of movies that come out purley out of boredom.
Yet I must admit that I was quite excieted about LOTR, only to be disapointed.
Maybe I expected too much, maybe I allowed myself to be a victim of the hype. Maybe it'd be better had I gone in expecting nothing like I did with Fight Club and come out feeling that I had just seen the best movie of the year if not the decade without expecting it.
I am not saying that LOTR is bad, it certainly deserves an A+ for effort, for acting, for the effects and for the enviroment and atmosphere they managed to create.
Yet with all that LOTR just feels hollow, something is missing. It just feels too much like an action flick. There was supposed to be something of an epic scale in LOTR, a great strugle, yet I don't think the movie is able to get that across.
In Soviet Russia, the television watches YOU!
I'm going to take a wild guess and say that New Line is going to release the ultra mega super insane LOTR pack about a year after LOTR:ROTK comes out. I am waiting until then to buy the dvd. This dvd will contain all the full length movies and a huge stack of extras. They might even throw in a big full color map or something like that. It will probably be unbearable expensive, too.
Help I'm a rock.
I'm NOT gonna survive on theater popcorn, hotdogs and mega-jumbo Cokes for 11 hours. I hope they have intermissions between the films so we can hit the mall food court...
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
...that portrayed faramir correctly. I can forgive all the other stuff they messed up in the two towers but the whole faramir business and taking the poor hobbit back to gondor just drives me crazy...kind of like Jar Jar did when I saw EP 1.
Alas I'll still buy the videos.
======== In the future, everything will be artificial. ========
They are ruining our right to privacy and have bought off corrupt politicians and death to all the capitalist dogs who.. Oh quick, another special edition release of LOTR! WHERES MAH CHECKBOOK.
Who buys a movie they've seen anyways, that's something I've never understood.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Probably Nov 2004, right around when they're likely to release the extended version on DVD...3 months after the theatrical version on DVD...10 months after it first hits the threaters.
The Lord of the Rings by Jack "Rockin'-Robin" Tolkein
Part II
At that very moment, some wood elves were making an important discovery. Gollum had vanished!
Could it be that he found the ring from Isildur who fell into a swamp and floated down the stream? Gandalf frowned.
"Uruk-hai!" shouted Aragorn. "Gazundheit" said Gimli. "Orcs!" shouted Aragorn, and four hundred and twenty thousand orcs thundered down on the tiny camp. The Man Who Would Be King rolled on the ground, grappling with the murderous beasts. A left and a right. A left. Another left and a right. An uppercut to the jaw. The fight was over. And so the little Hobbits were saved.
Frodo sat by himself looking over the wastes of Mordor. He had learned a little about volcanic rock formation, but more importantly, he had learned something about life.
So? New Line was forward thinking enough to take a leap of faith and let Jackson film all three at once (with obvious benefits to the viewers). Why not let them reap the rewards of their big millions gamble (it could have flopped. big.)
No, reelly I don't!
catheter sales expected to rise 1200% for the month of December.
---
WARNING:Slashdot karma not redeemable in the afterlife.
How DARE you express such an opinion! I flame thee, sir! Feel my flame! I liked the movies and will not tolerate your going on a PUBLIC forum and having the UNMITIGATED GALL to state a difference in taste! Flame! Take that! And that!
FLAME FLAME FLAME
- Just wanted to make your prophecy come true...
teach your self how to self catheterize your self during the movie
/ 00 3972.htm
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article
Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.
Complete concurrance. I can't make it through the books. I've tried three times, and I always get bored/apathetic/annoyed after they leave the mushroom farmer guy for another 100 pages of trail walking.
The first movie felt very true to the books. Long, dull, lots of walking and hiding. To paraphrase John Goodman in Barton Fink, my butt was sore after the first 45 minutes.
The second movie (to which I was drug by my wife) was actually quite good, IMHO. I'd highly recommend it to anyone. The Gollum/Smegiel (sp?) sequences have to be seen to be believed.
ceci n'est pas un sig.
They never should have made the movies. If they wanted to bring it to the screen, they should have done it in a series format. 1hr * 52wks * 3yrs would have given plenty of time to do the books justice...
-1 Uncomfortable Truth
I'd be excited about seeing them on IMAX too if I hadn't been disappointed with the IMAX Star Wars Episode II release. It looked fuzzy, the way something does if you blow it up 2x. Unless PJ shot with IMAX film, I think we'd get the same result :(
What is your Slash Rating?
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.
Back when there were intermissions my grandfather would leave my grandmother alone halfway through Charlton Heston movies to go fishing.
I'm sure theaters wouldn't mind an opportunity to sell more snacks. Then again, there are so many jackasses now that most people would stampede in and out, everyone would lose their good seats, and people might get PO'd or hurt in the hubub.
I remember there was talk about how they initially left out some scenes in the FOTR theatrical release because it would have given them an "R" rating. One has to wonder if the extended-edition DVD release of the FOTR (which still had a PG-13 rating) still cut out the violent scenes from all releases, or if the MPAA changed their mind, or if they will include the violent scenes in the re-release and give it an "R" rating?
... that 9 months from December, we'll see a sharp decline in the number of babies born.
"Derp de derp."
I'm so glad I didn't buy any of the DVD's for the LOTR trilogy, just because I feel really bad for all the fans who have a "sucky" version or have spent tons of cash on all the different versions of the dvd's. Because of this i'm just gonna wait till the summer after ROTK to buy whatever becomes the "almost-most-fulfilling-3-dvd-set-of-themoment" then at least i'll have all 3 and of only paid one price instead of owning 6 versions of each of the first movies AND the trilogy as a set.
Ave Molech Setting
Please call me when they have released the "Truly Final Director's Cut of the Entire Trilogy with No More Special Editions in the Pipeline to Bleed You Dry With, We Promise - Special Edition - Widescreen" DVDs.
Once they do, I will wait 9 months and THEN buy it.
Of course, I am just bitter because I bought a lousy Fullscreen edition of Fellowship by accident. Lousy, no good, pan-and-scan.
Use Python
Poor $27-per-month-earning bastard...
Lately democracy seems to be based on the skybox, the Happy Meal box, the X-box, and the idiot box.
Wow, how long have you been saving that link for an opportunity to get a +5 funny?
It's nothing but crumpled porno and Ayn Rand.
Actually ...
Sauron Defeated (book 9 of the history of middle earth) contains drafts of JRR Tolkien's planned
"Epilogue" to LotR. "The Peoples of Middle-earth", Vol 12 of HoMe, contains drafts of a planned sequel, "The New Shadow".
So there actually sort of was a book 4.
"Teachers leave us kids alone
I'm NOT gonna survive on theater popcorn, hotdogs and mega-jumbo Cokes for 11 hours. I hope they have intermissions between the films so we can hit the mall food court...
How NOT to smuggle food into the movies...
- See each movie multiple times in theatres.
- See the re-releases in theatres.
- See the IMAX Ultimate LOTR Marathon theatrical release.
- Buy each movie DVD on first issue.
- Buy the Extended Edition DVD on first issue.
- Buy the Extended Edition DVD collector's 3-pack (with bonus material).
- Buy the Super Extended Edition with more bonus extras DVD 5-pack.
- Buy the "Superbit" 3-pack (with better image quality).
- Buy it all again on HD-DVD.
New Line will make plenty of money!Reading Slashdot is ruining my spelling and grammar.
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
Granted, the book was richer than the movie in content, but the visuals were incredible. Plus, if you get a chance to watch the World Series of Poker on ESPN, you can imagine Scotty Nguyen in the role of Gollum. Just throw the championship bracelet on the table and wait for him to screech "The Precious! MUST HAVE THE PRECIOUSSS!"
(I know, that will be lost on most of this audience, but if you've seen it, you'll know what I mean.)
If the Star Wars people put even one hundredth of the thought and effort into "Phantom Menace" and "Attack of the Clones"...