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Will LOTR:ROTK Extended Edition Hit Cinemas?
yootje writes "Two articles today on TheOneRing.net about rumours that the extended edition from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King will come in theaters before the release on DVD. The first article can be found here, the second one here. Both come from people who work in a cinema themselves, one in the UK and one in Denmark."
Sigs cause cancer.
Article one:
Extended Editions Headed to the Cinema?
7/06/04, 9:43 pm EST - Xoanon
Gandalf of Denmark writes: I work in a cinema in Denmark, and on the latest list of releases, it was mentioned that in mid-October Lotr 1,2 & 3 Extended version would be shown in a select number of cinemas. It would seem likely that they are showing the extended versions, a few months ahead of them coming out on dvd, so the December release, seems like a good bet for the dvd's so far.
Article two:
Further Evidence ROTK EE Coming to Theaters
7/07/04, 11:59 am EST - Celeborn
Ringer Baggins of the Shire sends in this tidbit: I work for Odeon cinema chain in the UK, we recieved a letter on Tuesday 6th July explaining that during October the 3 extended editions of the Lord Of The Rings films will be shown on Sunday's. This means ROTK EE will be shown before it is available to buy on DVD!
I saw both of the extended versions of Fellowship and Two Towers at a cinema in the UK in the two weeks leading up to the release of ROTK. Well worth seeing first on the big screen, so I'll be looking out for the extended ROTK (and the triple-bill extended all-dayer!)
You also have to keep in mind that Peter Jackson stated publicly, before any DVDs were released, that there would be two editions of each movie, and that fans were free to choose which one they wanted to buy. Of course, that didn't stop some people from buying both. But this is not the same thing as, say, releasing four unique editions of Terminator 2 on DVD, with very little to differentiate them, or selling a "Collector's Edition" of the Mummy that wasn't even in widescreen, then immediately releasing an "Ultimate Edition" in widescreen and with more extras. At no time has Peter Jackson or New Line attempted to cheat or otherwise expoit their fanbase. Please remember that before you start complaining again.
There they were, sitting in the van with all those dials, and the cat was dead. -V. Marchetti, CIA
Despite Sauruman's absense, the movie still worked. It should be good to put him back in though. I too would have liked the scouring of the shire, but you have to face it, it isnt going to happen. They didnt film it.
sigh
No, the extended RotK will not include the Scouring of the Shire. It wasn't even filmed.
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IMDB indicates that the extended edition is 250 minutes.
http://imdb.com/title/tt0167260/combined
They were headed across the ocean, to the Grey Havens, where elves go instead of dying. I can't speak with authority on why Frodo and Gandalf were let in, but Gandalf was an Istari (so was Saruman, but he fell from grace) and, like Frodo, was a ring-bearer.
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The "Grey Havens" were where they left from. They were going to the Blessed Realm of Aman, specifically to the city of Valinor where the gods live. It's kind of like dying, because 1) it's paradise and 2) you don't get to come back. Gandalf being an Istari (which is just Quenya for wise) means that he was one of the Maiar, a race of demiurgic beings similar to the lower choirs of angels in Christian mythology. He was born in the West, in Valinor, and so he gets to go back. All of the Elves who originally went to Aman from Middle Earth in the First Age (including Galadriel and Elrond) also get to come to the West when they are ready. Frodo and the other Ring-bearers get to go because they touched a ring of power, and this makes them special.
And actually, yes... I did take a class on this shit.
IAALS.
Here's the general info:
FOTR theatrical: ~ 3 hours
FOTR EE: ~ 3 hours, 30 minutes (not counting the "fan credits" tacked to the end, which take a -long- time to run)
diff: 30 minutes
TTT theatrical: ~ 3 hours
TTT EE: ~ 3 hours, 40 minutes
diff: 40 minutes
ROTK theatrical: ~ 3 hours, 20 minutes (incl. 8 minutes of credits)
ROTK EE (announced): ~ 4 hours, 10 minutes
diff: 50 minutes
(The "Scouring..." chapter was never filmed (outside of a series of "hommage" shots shown in the "Mirror of Galadriel" sequence of FOTR; however, scenes depicting the fate of Saruman himself have been announced for inclusion.)
For FOTR and TTT the new footage was re-integrated into the main film, and significant parts of the score re-recorded to accomodate these changes.
As someone who has watched both the theatrical and EE cuts multiple times (and expierenced the "Trilogy Tuesday" oening of ROTK last December), I am confident that the ROTK EE will improve the pacing and characterization issues of ROTK (that also afflicted FOTR and TTT) in the same way that the EEs improved those films*.
While additional eye candy and additional treats for those who want to see "more of the books" onscreen are more or less a given for these EEs, it's actually the pacing changes and deeper characterization thatmakes the EEs improvements over the theatrical cuts.
* For those who wonder about the whole "EEs feel shorter" assertion, here's a quick explanation: while the EEs are longer in timespan, the more measured pacing in the EEs gives more chances to the audience to breathe and "catch up" with the events of the film, while becoming more familiar with the characters; more varied pacing allows the audience to re-engage and become more involved with the characters and their experiences, thereby extending their patience for long sequences and making the film "feel shorter" to them despite the longer running time.
All of the Elves who originally went to Aman from Middle Earth in the First Age (including Galadriel and Elrond) also get to come to the West when they are ready.
Actually, *all* of the Elves get to go to Valinor, even the ones who haven't been there before. Only a very few of the Elves in Middle Earth in the Third Age had ever been to Valinor (Galadriel, for one), most either refused to go in the first place, or have been born since then (like Elrond).
It's also worth mentioning that Sam eventually goes West, since he was (for a brief time) a ring-bearer. It is also suggested that Gimli goes, too, though I don't remember what allows him to go.
He decided to just watch the government, and kind of scale it down to size, and run his life that way. --Laurie Anderson
...can go to Valinor whenever they feel like it. Frodo and Sam pass such a group in the extended first DVD, and in the books there's a much longer sequence involving them.
(And there's no rush; the "last ship" in the movies wasn't about to sail, because there was no last ship. Plenty of Elves were left in Middle-Earth, and Cirdan "sail all you want, we'll make more" the Graybearded just kept building the damn things...)
Galadriel, however, was special. She was the only remaining one of the Noldor who had been banned from Valinor. (The others were dead or had returned.) The ban was rescinded at the end of the First Age. She was still too proud for her own good, though, and refused to accept the invitation. Also, she was one of the first to rebel, so the Valar were not keen on letting her back in.
Once she had learned how to get along with others, and in reward for her work against Sauron, the invitation was re-extended to her, and she accepted. So in her case, yeah, she had to wait until she was ready.
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Actually, it's not suggested that Gimli departs, it's stated in the Appendices to The Return of the King.
"1541: In this year on March 1st came at last the Passing of King Elessar. It is said that the beds of Meriadoc and Peregrin were set besides the bed of the great king. Then Legolas built a grey ship in Ithilien, and sailed down the Anduin and so over Sea; and with him, it is said, went Gimli the Dwarf. And when that ship passed an end was come in Middle-earth to the Fellowship of the Ring."
I don't feel like looking it up, but I recall that Gimli was allowed into the West because of his great friendship with Legolas and Galadriel.
Also, this post addresses a question elsewhere in this thread: there is no hard time limit on when Elves can depart from the Havens; in fact, Galadriel, Elrond and others tarry for a few years in Middle Earth, after the destruction of the One Ring. Those that stay longer, however, were subject to a sort of fading. That is what the Three, the Elven rings, were forged to protect against. Thus those Elves who wielded the rings held the the memory of the Elder days.
What ultimately happens to Elves who remained in Middle Earth is never explicitly stated so far as I know.
To extrapolite a little more geekily:
First there was Ilúvatar:
"The name among Elves of Eru, the One, from whom the Ainur had their being. Through the Music of the Ainur, Ilúvatar created the World and the beings who inhabit it, and only he fully knows its fate."
Then the Ainur:
The primordial spirits, who existed with Ilúvatar, and with Him created the world through the Music of the Ainur. After the creation of Arda, many of the Ainur descended into it to guide and order its growth; of these there were fifteen more powerful than the rest. Fourteen of these great Ainur became the Valar, or Powers of Arda. The fifteenth, Melkor, turned aside from that path and became the first Dark Lord. The many lesser Ainur that accompanied the Valar into Arda are known as Maiar.
"'Valar' is the name given to the fourteen powerful spirits who took physical form and entered Arda after its creation to give order to the world and combat the evils of Melkor. They dwelt originally on the Isle of Almaren, but after its destruction long ages before the Awakening of the Elves they removed to Aman and there founded the realm of Valinor."
On the Maiar:
"Of the many spirits that descended into Arda at its beginning, those of lesser stature than the Valar, though they were still powerful, were known as Maiar. Each of the Maiar was attached to the 'people' of a particular Vala. So, for example, the Maia Ossë, as a spirit of the sea, belonged to the people of Ulmo, while Curumo, the Maia who came to Middle-earth as Saruman, belonged to the people of Aulë the Smith.
In the Third Age, there were still Maiar in physical form to be found in Middle-earth. The most important of these were Saruman, Sauron (originally also of Aulë's people), and Olórin, known as Gandalf, who belonged to the people of Manwë and Varda. " (Manwë and Varda are, in essense, the King and Queen of Arda; Arda being Elder Speech for the world and all taht is in it)
Notably speaking of Gandalf:
"In origin a Maia of Manwë and Varda, Gandalf came to the northwest of Middle-earth after a thousand years of the Third Age had passed, with four others of his order. At the Grey Havens, Círdan entrusted him with the Red Ring, Narya, to aid him in contesting the will of Sauron.
Gandalf wandered widely in Middle-earth, and learned much of its races and peoples. Unlike his fellow Wizards Saruman and Radagast, he never settled in a single place. He was instrumental in the victory of the War of the Ring, but during that conflict he battled with a Balrog, and though he was ultimately victorious, his spirit left his body, but was sent back to Middle-earth to complete his task.
Gandalf finally left Middle-earth in 3021 (Third Age), when he departed over the sea with the Ring-bearers."
And no, I didn't memorize all this, but everyone who is curious about the twisty, turny, more-involved than any sane fiction should be world of Middle Earth should check out The Encyclopedia of Arda
Actually if you skip those scenes, you get Lord of the rings and Return of the King And we all know how great those were.
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