Return of the King Extended Edition

[Darth_Pugwash]

He dies after Gandalf and co talk to him at Orthanc.

I am looking forward to this - I will probably get for Christmas.

 

[nonconformist]

Why don't they extend Apocalypse Now Redux with random stuff to make it a whole 50c minutes longer-then you have Apocalypse Now Redux Redux!! And noone will notice the random stuff, as it will look as if it was intended! Muhahahahaha! :bwaha:

 

[Desmond Hawkins]

I honestly thought all three movies were FAR too short.

Each should be at least 4 hours long, and preferably 5. What can I say, I like long movies.

This is better, but I personally wish that all the movies together were 15 hours long.

I am serious, then they wouldn't have to leave out ANYTHING.

 

[Boleslav]

I honestly thought all three movies were FAR too short.

Each should be at least 4 hours long, and preferably 5. What can I say, I like long movies.

This is better, but I personally wish that all the movies together were 15 hours long.

I am serious, then they wouldn't have to leave out ANYTHING.

Even Tom Bombadil and all the bad poetry?

 

[Fetus4188]

Tom is awesome, no dissing Tom

 

[Plotinus]

The biggest problem with the movies is that Jackson is horrible at editing. He cuts out relatively important events and leaves in huge amounts of people just talking. It's boring. Almost all of the second movie is people talking and preparing for the big battle; the same with the third. The pacing is terrible, and it gets very boring.

God, yes. Ever see "Citizen Kane"? That was just people talking. And "Psycho", you'd think would have been exciting, but no, all talking and hardly any killing people. And don't get me started on "Casablanca". Talk, talk, talk...

In fact, now I come to think of it, the original book was just a bunch of words! How boring is that?

Really, though, I am definitely looking forward to getting my hands on this. These films are really made for "extended editions" - too long for cinemas, really, even in the cinema version, but perfect for taking up an entire evening and really revelling in it all...

 

[Milan's Warrior]

I loved number 1, liked number 3 and was quite disappointed by number 2.
I think number 2 should be shot again, the battle at HelmDeep should be much shorter and something else should be put in to make it more interesting.

 

[Cuivienen]

Even Tom Bombadil and all the bad poetry?

Oh, Tom can be in there, just... "toned down." i.e. No bad poetry, just a singing character. I actually miss Buckland, the Old Forest and the Barrowdowns far more than the Scouring of the Shire or the Field of Cormallen (which are the two other major scenes left out of the movie). I think the Scouring would have slowed down the movie too far at the end and irretrievably lost the sense of magnificence you get when RotK is over. It worked in the book, but wouldn't on a screen.

Oh, and Ghan-buri-Ghan was missing from the movie, but the Druedain were not exactly the most exciting part of RotK anyway.

I loved number 1, liked number 3 and was quite disappointed by number 2.
I think number 2 should be shot again, the battle at HelmDeep should be much shorter and something else should be put in to make it more interesting.

I agree that Helm's Deep was too long, but what would you put in its place? Unlike FotR and RotK, TTT got no major cuts (just a lot of material shifted into RotK).

 

[Taliesin]

I think each of the three films has its own distinct character, certainly. I loved both I and II-- the first was more bucolic, while the second was more Germanic and awe-inspiring. The third, if any of them, was the most disappointing for me. I don't know exactly why. I felt that neither the battle for Minas Tirith nor the trek into/through Mordor was satisfactory. I still enjoyed the film, but not as much as the previous two. Hopefully the extended edition will improve it.
My own preference would be to lengthen them all, both to include Tom Bombadil, the Barrow-wights, and the Scouring, and to correct the sometimes strange plot divergences. One of the most bizarre choices was Faramir's kidnapping of Frodo and Sam in The Two Towers-- I still don't understand why they had to go to Osgiliath.

Plotinus: thank you for reassuring me that when I have my Ph.D., I will still be able to love Lord of the Rings.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Oh, Tom can be in there, just... "toned down." i.e. No bad poetry, just a singing character.

That would be an exquisite addition. "The oldest of all" shouldn't be left out.

 

[Taliesin]

1. Oh, Tom can be in there, just... "toned down." i.e. No bad poetry, just a singing character. I actually miss Buckland, the Old Forest and the Barrowdowns far more than the Scouring of the Shire or the Field of Cormallen (which are the two other major scenes left out of the movie).

2. I think the Scouring would have slowed down the movie too far at the end and irretrievably lost the sense of magnificence you get when RotK is over. It worked in the book, but wouldn't on a screen.

3. I agree that Helm's Deep was too long, but what would you put in its place? Unlike FotR and RotK, TTT got no major cuts (just a lot of material shifted into RotK).

1. I completely agree with you. The Old Forest and Barrow-downs add a great deal of mystery and wonder to the story.
2. I guess I have to agree with that. No Hollywood movie would ever follow the demise of ultimate evil and the passing of beauty from the land with "Well, I'm back", especially since it would remind people of the bump-on-the-head device in the Wizard of Oz. Still, it's a shame we don't get to see the hobbits cleaning up house.
Possibly the studio also felt the Scouring was too anti-industrial or something-- we can't be criticising "progress" that close to home.
3. I just think the judicious removal of even a minute or two of dark, rainy hack-and-slash would have done wonders for Helm's Deep.

 

[CivCube]

Taliesin, if you haven't seen the extended Two Towers DVD yet, you must. Faramir's character and motives are more easily explained, and the added forty minutes give much better pacing to the whole movie.

 

[Yaype]

As soon as I get my copy of the extended edition and am finish with exams, it is LOTR day. I am going to watch all three extended editions in a row. It will be beautiful.

 

[-0blivion-]

How do they do Saruman's death without the Scouring?

Grima stabs him on top of Orthanc when Gandalf and co are talking to them, and he falls off and is impaled on a watermill. Tad Gruesome.

Watched it last night, 6-11 (1 hour breaks). Some of the extended scenes are really useful and worthwhile. Great job Director

 

[Taliesin]

Taliesin, if you haven't seen the extended Two Towers DVD yet, you must. Faramir's character and motives are more easily explained, and the added forty minutes give much better pacing to the whole movie.

I have seen it, and I agree that the background of Faramir greatly improved the movie. However, that doesn't change the fact that they altered the plot.
Actually, now that you mention it, I remember it being explained on one of the extras why they did this. Once they decided to push Cirith Ungol to the third film, they realised that Frodo and Sam needed some obstacles, including a climax, in the second. If Faramir had been as accommodating and friendly as he was in the book, there would have been some dramatic let-down, as Frodo and Sam would not have faced any challenges to speak of.

 

[TrailblazingScot]

Grima stabs him on top of Orthanc when Gandalf and co are talking to them, and he falls off and is impaled on a watermill. Tad Gruesome.

Watched it last night, 6-11 (1 hour breaks). Some of the extended scenes are really useful and worthwhile. Great job Director

Now, all this invention wouldn't have been necessary, if they had been true to the books, which to be honest made more sense that much of the film.

 

[Darth_Pugwash]

Most of the changes make alot of sense, but there are afew changes that I can't understand...Elves at Helms Deep? Faramir the baddie? Gah.

Leaving out things like Bombadil and the scouring of the Shire were good moves though, I don't think they would have worked on film. The scouring in particular would be a bit much after the ring was destroyed.

 

[CivCube]

I have seen it, and I agree that the background of Faramir greatly improved the movie. However, that doesn't change the fact that they altered the plot.
Actually, now that you mention it, I remember it being explained on one of the extras why they did this. Once they decided to push Cirith Ungol to the third film, they realised that Frodo and Sam needed some obstacles, including a climax, in the second. If Faramir had been as accommodating and friendly as he was in the book, there would have been some dramatic let-down, as Frodo and Sam would not have faced any challenges to speak of.

Not only that, but the Ring's dramatic power would have been vaporized. After being built up so much in FOTR as being an ultimate evil, Faramir's refusal would have alienated the audience.

 

[Wolfe Tone]

I got my trilogy boxset of the extended editions yesterday. I got them for £45, some of the best money I've ever spent. I watched the Fellowship last night, The Two Towers this morning and I'm going to watch Return of the King later tonight. I deceided to wait for the boxset so this was the first time I've seen any of the extended editions and I've very impressed. The movies are so much better than the theatrical versions, which I loved. I find it hard ot believe that any one would byt that other set of DVDs when there is the extended editions to be bought. I can't wait to get stuck into the various audio commentries.

 

[Cuivienen]

I own all three standard DVDs as well as the EE of FotR and TTT, but only because the Theatrical Editions came out first.

Most of the changes make alot of sense, but there are afew changes that I can't understand...Elves at Helms Deep? Faramir the baddie? Gah.

Faramir as, well, not bad, but not perfect, makes some sense. As Taliesin said, with Shelob and Cirith Ungol in RotK, Frodo and Sam needed an obstacle. Even more so, Perfect!Faramir doesn't even make much sense from the storyline standpoint -- even the most noble and powerful characters, Gandalf and Galadriel, were unable to completely resist the ring. I actually liked PJ's version better than Tolkien's in that respect.