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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.
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.
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.
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.