Extended RotK Expected December 14

sbowles writes "DVDAnswers is reporting that New Line plans to release the four-disc extended edition of Return of the King on the 14th of December. As of yet, the LotR official site has not posted an official release date or an official list of contents for the set. This older IGN article gives some great details on the sneak preview presented at the San Diego Comic Con."

Comments

Extended?

[Rick Zeman]

Do we get to find out what happens to Saruman? Or does he go "poof" like "The Scouring of the Shire" did, too?

Re:Extended?

[Brackney]

He's in the extended version.

Theater release?

[EReidJ]

There was a rumor going around some time ago that the Extended Edition would be released in theaters before or at the same time it was available on DVD. Anyone know of the status of this? Is it really going to happen, can we see these wonderful new scenes on the big screen?

Re:Cue the adjective jokes

[Hentai]

Feh. You know, I wouldn't MIND a "Super Ultra Mega-Expanded Edition", personally. If they were smart, and interested in really soaking us all, they'd do something like this:

A $450 'Ultimate Edition' box, that comes with all 3 Extended Edition movies on 10 DVDs, with 2 CDs of soundtrack, and all three books (plus The Hobbit) in hardbound, AND a rolled-up parchment map of Middle Earth, with annotations of everyone's journeys throughout the movie.

If they wanted to REALLY soak us (and make it worth it!), they could up it to $750 for a 'Limited Edition' version (only 10,000 made!), with each having an extra, random object:

Either one of the Elven, Dwarven or Human Rings, or Sting, or an Elven Cloak and leaf brooch, or a Horn of Gondor, or other similar item: 9,999 in all. Then have the 10,000th box have a reproduction of the One Ring, and a certificate for a vacation to New Zealand, and lunch with Peter Jackson.

Re:My 2c

[Aqua_Geek]

Yeah, I see what you're saying. The evil doesn't just disappear with the destruction of the ring. That section of the book provided a "well, the main source of evil has been defeated but there are still lesser ones to deal with" idea. I think the same applies today (replace "evil" with "enemy"). Not to start a fire here, but look at the situation in Iraq. Yeah, Sadam has been captured. But is the fight over? Absolutely not. There are still other people and groups of people to deal with. The notion that, once you take out the leader of your enemy the war is over, is a fallacy - a fallacy which, I would have to agree with you, is portrayed in this film.

It's a slightly more realistic ending than "Hey ho, the Ring is gone, everything is perfect again."

The movie does point out, though, that everything is NOT perfect. Everyone walks away from it changed. I think one of the best quotes from the movie comes at the end when Frodo is writing everything in the book:

How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend, some hurts that go too deep, that have taken hold.

This idea that they are changed as a result of this experience is depicted very well in the scene at the bar. They are all sitting around the table, looking at one another. They are not drinking by the pint as they were at Bree; they are not dancing on the table like they did in Rohan. They are different - they are almost solemn, they have a new outlook on life - a new respect for it and what it means to be alive, and they know just how much that life is really worth. Meanwhile, the life they once knew just goes on around them - barely even taking notice of them. They are now somewhat separated, distant from that life. As Frodo says, you can't go back to it. Things have changed. Some things will never be the same again because of this experience you went through. People who have lost a loved one close to them, for example, know this idea very well. They have a new appreciation for life, a deeper understanding about what really matters. They live each day to a fuller extent than before. Many of the people around them - friends, neighbors, coworkers - still live as they always have. But this person is changed as a result of the experience of losing someone. And consequently they cannot go back to their life before.

OK, I'm off my soapbox...
When I read the Scouring, I hated that part of the book - to me it didn't feel like it fit with the rest of the books. It almost felt as if I put down The Lord of the Rings and picked up "Short Guys with Hairy Feet and Other Assorted Children's Stories by J.R.R. Tolkien." I felt like I was in the frickin forrest with Robin Hood and his merry men - fighting against the 'Shirriffs' and Sharkey and whatnot. No, really. I couldn't get that image out of my head while reading. I kept thinking that any minute now, Robin Hood's gonna jump out and steal some cash...