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Return of the King Coming Sooner to DVD
daveewart writes "According to the BBC, the DVD for the third installment of Lord Of The Rings will go to DVD quicker than either of the first two parts of the trilogy. It is scheduled for release on 25 May, with the usual 'extended version' to follow 'at the end of the year'." Ya know, I feel like a month after I buy the extended version, they'll release the super-trilogy version with more footage.
Unless they pull a "Terminator 2" or George Lucas, that is. Videophiles know that there must have been half a dozen or more versions of Terminator 2 and Star Wars out in VHS, laserdisc, and DVD. (Terminator 2 had the...let's see...VHS box set, special edition laserdisc, then the regular DVD, then the "ultimate" edition DVD, then the "extreme" edition DVD, etc.) Let's hope that New Line doesn't release a new edition every time it needs additional revenue.
There are a huge number of yeast infections in this county. Probably because we're downriver from the bread factory.
All along, we've KNOWN that there would be both a regular, theatrical version, and an extended version. Peter Jackson simply wanted to put so much more in that he couldn't get away with showing in theaters (since after all, the longer your movie is, the fewer times you can show it a day.)
They've delivered on that promise, and they've also promised that any future releases, such as an entire trilogy box set, would have no new content. Peter Jackson isn't being "revisionist after the fact," he simply knew along there was just too much content and the movies were already too long, and they have to draw the line somewhere. Just because Lucas wants to update his movies ever 10 years doesn't mean Peter Jackson is GOING to.
If you didn't want to buy two sets, you would have known all along to wait for the extended version. Now, if the HD-DVD version has added content, people would have to be crazy to complain. Theres no way i'm going to wait until HD-DVD is out to buy a copy of the movies, so I'm just going to buy the extended now, and HD later.
Apparently a boxed trilogy version is on the way. But since Peter Jackson hadn't heard of it, it's likely to be just a boxed set of the existing discs without anything new whatsoever. And since he'll be busy making different movies for the next several years, I think the RotK:EE will be the end of the LotR DVDs for some time.
Ita erat quando hic adveni.
And I have to say I think it will be worth it. I will certainly buy the 'extended edition' cut this autumn; I've already got the extended edition cuts of the first two movies, and both were well worth the money. I will almost certainly buy the 'single movie' cut when it comes out, unless there really isn't any significant new material.
I'm old enough to remember when discussions on Slashdot were well informed.
Before we start hunting down another directory for selling out, remember much of the reason that the extended versions were delayed was to give Jackson time to finish them. They were not just the ususal "hey look at this footage I found on the floor, lets edit it in" directors cuts but completely scored and sometimes relooped versions. This takes time people.
Will there be a boxed set, of course. New Line wants cash. Will it be anything more other than interviews and other box set stuff you watch once or twice and move on? No. Jackson wants to do something outside of Middle Earth for a while (even if it is just a large stinky ape).
Today is a gift. Save the receipt.
On March 4th this thing had already hit the internet as a two disc dvd rip (check vcdquality's web site). I figured that I would have heard it all over the news sites over the weekend, but I guess it's under the news' radar. Who is the MPAA going to blame this copy on? Looks to me like it is a insider leak as usual. The copy is a full rip including 5.1 surround and complete menu structure. The speed at which it was leaked is amazing, still in theaters and before the DVD was even mentioned to the public. Is suing a 12 year old going to stop this?
Some Tolkien society people I know are hard at work producing a dvd version with elvish subtitles for all the english dialogue instead of the other way round. I doubt it will be available to anyone but their members, but you have to admire/fear the geek factor.
There is still a lot of footage that wasn't used. In the Two Towers, there were hours and hours of fighting at Helms Deep that was filmed of which only a small amount made it into the the film. In FOTR, they filmed the Orcs chasing the fellowship from Moria to the woods, and that was never shown. Now, how much of what was left out was critical to the story? None. How much of it would be usable after the various script changes along the way? Not all. How much would be "story candy" to a fan? Probably some, but certainly not all. I would like the see the Orc chase from Moria, if they could edit it properly (not certain based on directors comments). As to another 3-4 hours of hack and slash at Helms Deep? A couple of minutes, maybe, if they were good fights.
If you've played the RotK video game (out on PS2, Xbox, Gamecube and PC) you've been treated to a whole bunch of footage that most definitely didn't occur in the theatrical release. (Gandalf confronting the king of the Nazgul at the gate of Minas Tirith, far more battle footage from the Black Gate and a whole slew of other stuff that I can't remember at the moment).
This gives me great hope for the extended edition.
I wish I had a kryptonite cross, because then you could keep Dracula and Superman away.
And the source.
Ita erat quando hic adveni.
The Trilogy Edition will be the three EEs in one box. Perhaps a DVD added with extra material, who knows. If an idiot would add a scene to the movies at this point, it would make them worse.
Although it must be said that Jackson, in the commentary track of the FotR, remarks that Gollum in his one-second cameo looks different here than in TTT, so he will probably need to redo that shot.
Quite. In fact, it might never get off the ground since while New Line has the rights to make the film MGM has the rights to distribute; not good. Let's face it, if you were negotiating on behalf of MGM, your goal would be to get as big a slice of the pie as possible. Lots of films have never made it because of lesser issues than bickering lawyers with a scent of tens of millions of pure profit. All we can do is hope that common sense prevails over greed, and how often does that happen in Hollywood?
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
Sure, I'm aware, for example, that Flaubert revised MADAME BOVARY throughout his life, and that there was even a widescreen version of GONE WITH THE WIND (don't ask).
But I suspect that some kinds of entertainment are better received as finished works, rather than as performance art.
Seeing bad movies only encourages them. Watch responsibly
For what it's worth, I remember seeing (maybe in a trailer, maybe in a preview on TTT extended version) an incredible looking shot of the Witch King (on fell beast) slamming to the ground in the broken gateway, with only a mounted figure in white standing in it's way... bitchin' shot, I'm sure it'll be in the extended edition.
"Faith: Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel." - A.B.
Since there is a lot of talk about Jackson making a prequal, (aka 'The Hobbit' ;-) this might provide a oppertunity to also generate new LOTR related footage too, for the 'bumper mega extended edition' that would follow.
Just a thought, just occurs to me that if you're filming in a 'Middle Earth' environment, possibly with some characters, like Gandalf, on set and in costume. Then doing a few small but important 'filler' shots for a even longer LOTR version is possible..
"Oops, I always forget the purpose of competition is to divide people into winners and losers." - Hobbes
New Line want to keep it well clear of the year's really big DVD release. Would you dare go head to head against Lucas-before-he-was-crap?
When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
I still wonder what a Ring of Darkness by Francis Ford Coppola would be like. With CGI, he could get silly without needing a real army. (And I did wish for a little Ride of the Valkyries during Nazgul/eagle fights and the final rescue.)
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
Just rip the DVD under linux with DVD::Rip, youll get some titles not accounted for; most likely these are Easter Eggs. This is the best way of finding Easter Eggs, no damn searching and clicking.
Ya know, I feel like a month after I buy the extended version, they'll release the super-trilogy version with more footage.
Jackson doesn't do crap like that. From the first movie, you knew that the theatrical version would come out 6 months later, and the extended was coming out after that.
Sure, there might be a bundled version in a year or two with all three versions, but Jackson won't add stuff to the film.
If it were lucas, we'd have staggered two month releases of:
LOTR - VHS version
LOTR - VHS widescreen version
LOTR - VHS "THX" widescreen version
LOTR - DVD
LOTR - VHS Special Edition
LOTR - DVD Special Edition
LOTR - DVD Movie of the Year version
LOTR - VHS Extended Edition
LOTR - DVD Extended Edition
All of them not announced until the previous version had been snatched up by burned fans.
In fact, there was a few books, written by Russian SF writer Nick Perumov. Last one was complete crap, but first two quite good. In fact, first one sounds very like JRRT himself.
It's a sequel, 300 years after War of the Ring.
The main idea is that one ring was destroyed, but others, human rings survived, and guy who happens to be hair of Borromir started to collect them. Very well written and connected to LotR.
Rent the first one out
You forgot to rip it first.
--
Adobe's anti-counterfeiting softw
Highlander is another that they keep re-releasing in different "special packages", with little indication of any additional footage since the original Director's Cut 10th Anniversary release.
"But remember, most lynch mobs aren't this nice." (H.Simpson)
-- Joe
I'd love to see Peter Jackson rework these films.
Don't get me wrong, I loved the movies, but some of the effects were bogus. Don't know if it was time, money, technology or all three. I don't expect a remake in my lifetime, so how about revisiting it every couple of years to tweek/update as technology evolves.
Having just rewatched the extended TT DVD last night, I couldn't help but cringe at the funhouse ghouls in Frodo's Dead Marshes plunge. What's with the dead/cursed == green glow? (seen again in RotK).
If MS, Adobe, etc. can get away with annual upgrades, why not a franchise like LotR?
Yes, it's true. This man has no dick.