Each part of the trilogy had a theme. It's the first few moves on a very large chess board. I mean, the Imperial Army is destroyed by little bears with rocks and trees... New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, Press J to jump to the feed. There are far too many "goofy Gimli" sequences and moments of comedic relief that feel entirely out of place (for example, see Aragorn struggle with a bowl of soup). Award Winning Drama Collection 2019. The theatrical versions are the definitive versions. The whole pacing on the DVD seems to have a different requirement or level of commitment from the audience. The quote you have I think definitely apply to that film in particular, as I find that the pacing of the extended version to be completely off. A good bit of this footage is compiled of minor scenes that set up future plot points that won't be important until later installments, such as the moment where Aragorn (Vigo Mortensen) is spotted singing a love song that mirrors his relationship with Arwen (Liv Tyler). Extended Edition. Their scenes, as fun as they are, are still not essential viewing. The extended editions tells the full story in its romantic glory. You'll Need to be logged in to do that! You met me at a very strange time in my life. The extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring adds 30 extra minutes to the movie's runtime. Unfortunately, much of it feels unnecessary or simply adds exposition that was already pretty clear. - 19 differences, inclusive: * 4 alternative scenes * 3 re-edited scenes * 3 scenes where the theatrical version is longer Difference: 773.5 Sec (= 12:54 Min) Background Also, the Extended Edition Digital Copy that came with the Blu-ray box set, is only 3hours 28minutes long, not 3hours 48minutes. And then everything just falls apart in the following films. First, they contain way too much unmotivated action not found in the books - the book is 1200 pages long, and you really had to add pointless scenes? A deleted scene, titled Communion, also shows that Lex had been communicating with Steppenwolf (the big bad in Justice League) and better explains Luthor's role as a puppet master. muddle the structure of the film. I own both versions, although I only keep the theatricals for use with Rifftrax. A deeper look at the battles of Helm's Deep and Isengard gives them more weight, while the romance between Eowyn (Miranda Otto) and Faramir also gets a chance to breathe. Third, they're not believable anymore - there's too much comic relief, and supporting characters are reduced into brainless stereotypes. Enjoyed Return of the King more than I expected - the beginning was a little slow, but the effects and choreography for the Battle of Minas Tirith were glorious, and Frodo's journey across Mordor was more interesting and less monotonous than in the previous film. According to the programmer, Jackson said that the extended versions of the first two films and the theatrical version of the third are his preferred cuts. However, in the original cut, The Two Towers is almost nonsensical at times. It's like getting rewarded by the filmmakers for your loyalty, and for each film the reward gets bigger and bigger. Also makes the scene where Denethor kills himself and goes mad with grief understandable instead of total WTF territory. The Harry Potter series of films took a different tack when it came to extended editions. being very prominent), that's because this extended edition massively ramps up the fighting. You could go either way with the first film. Well, we Americans are going to get this final, souped-up DVD set tomorrow. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. In light of this, it's unfortunate that they dragged The Hobbit into 3 movies, not that these same fans would complain, even if a 3-4hr cut of the new trilogy would make a better film. Aragorn is revealed as the heir to the ancient kings as he, Gandalf and the other members of the broken fellowship struggle to save Gondor from Sauron’s forces. In the extended edition, too many extra scenes (seriously, how long do we need to spend hearing Treebeard drone on to Merry and Pippin?) The extended editions. It's clear that much of what has been re-added to this film was trimmed to get the theatrical running time closer to the three-hour mark. 7 movies you didn't know had better alternate versions. Bundles containing this item. (Im not sure of its release dates in other countries) I for one am so, so excited! Overall if I had a choice, and the time, I go for the Extended Editions. The extended edition of Suicide Squad adds 11 minutes of footage to take its running time from 123 minutes to 134 minutes. So, yes, I envy OP too. The Return of the King adds 51 minutes of additional footage to the theatrical run time of 200 minutes (increasing to 263 minutes with those extra fan credits).. It's usually related to something that's in the book. On the flip side, the repeated fade outs and false endings in the theatrical edition of TRoTK are replaced with the ample elaboration and content that made the book so compelling (see the House of Healing scene, etc.). It remains a strong movie, but I think the added bits don’t always benefit the story. Tolkien classic, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" presents the final confrontation between the forces of good and evil fighting for control of the future of Middle-earth. Another is one in which Aragorn visits his mother's g… Having disappointed critics and split the fandom down the middle, the big question was whether the extra storytelling in this extended edition would deliver a superior film. We've rounded up the cream of the crop of extended editions to let you know if they're worth your time – or if you're better off giving the original theatrical version another spin. Extended Edition. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (extended edition) is an extended version of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.It has 50 minutes of additional footage added back into the film (bringing its total running time up to 250 minutes), as well as multiple documentaries about the making of the film as supplements. None of this is enough to warrant seeking out the extended cut but neither does it slow the film down. I remember, in particular, all the added character development for Boromir, Faramir, Denethor and the motivations of Gondor. A lot of what Boromir does in the first movie (and later, what Faramir does in the third and all of Denethor's character motivations) make near zero sense without the extended releases. I guess just take that in to consideration. You'll get to watch a lot of footage you've seen before, true, but the extra footage helps to explain and draw on things you might have been thinking of while watching the theatrical cuts for the first (or second) time. Yet on video, they think it's better. Vote for your favourite superhero movie ever! What the hell is happening with the DCEU movies? Available on. The Return of the King adds 51 minutes of additional footage to the theatrical run time of 200 minutes (increasing to 263 minutes with those extra fan credits). The Return of the King followed the precedent set by its predecessors by releasing an Extended Edition (251 minutes) with new editing and added special effects and music, along with four commentaries and six hours of supplementary material, plus 10 minutes of fan-club credits. Gripes notwithstanding, the trilogy is an epic of epics and the more completely the story is told, the more completely we know the characters and their journey. As a film there is no question the theatrical cut is way better. Second, the editing bounces nervously between the two parties and screws the pacing of the films. (SEE time index) 02:06:05 Min. Some oddities in the theatrical version are also cleared up. It actually helped me give a damn about all these people with confusing names that were dying left and right. A not-to-be-sniffed at 13 minutes has been added in the second film's extended edition. The first film in the trilogy contains just 13 minutes of additional footage. I think the theatrical should've kept Saruman's death in RotK but otherwise I pretty much agree. The answer is that Anatoli Knyazev burns all of the bodies to try and frame him. I understand what PJ is saying and for a cinema release it's absolutely true, but really the 3hr+ runtime even on the theatrical cuts is already pushing it for pacing. It's kind of disappointing to realize that I agree with what you just said. A few weeks ago I saw them again, and it was certainly not the same. The Return of the King is the most ambiguous of the trilogy when it comes to EE vs TE. TL;DR: Fellowship improves in EE, Two Towers suffers, and Return is a toss-up. The Two Towers contains 44 minutes of additional footage, taking the film from 179 minutes to 223 minutes. I'm finding it fascinating because it's new. The last 2 discs are full of extras. Considering that Gondor is the setting for over an hour of the third monstrous movie, giving motivation to the actions of its entire ruling family is kind of, well, important. From $38.99. Rated PG-13 X. Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam bring the ring closer to the heart of Mordor, the dark lord’s realm. While I think the first two films are genuinely improved by the added footage, I find the extended version of Return of the King far inferior to the theatrical cut. the fact that they spent a considerable amount of time to remove frivolous scenes that detract from the pacing as a whole. It's setting up the story, after all, and no good story is not properly established before the onset of conflict. The restored scenes at Saruman's tower bring their tale to a close. Aunt Petunia in particular gets more screen time, as several early scenes from Privet Drive show Harry's harsh situation in more detail. Find out everything Empire knows about Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King, The Special Extended Edition. The following scenes have all been extended: The Taming of Smeagol; The Uruk-hai; The Burning of the Westfold; The Banishment of Eomer; Night Camp at Fangorn; The Passage of the Marshes; The White Rider; The King of the Golden Hall; A Daughter of Kings; Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit; Dwarf Women; The Evenstar; Helm's Deep; The Window on the West; The Forbidden Pool; The Glittering Caves; Last March of the Ents. At 151 minutes long, you wouldn't think there'd be much Zack Snyder wanted to add to Dawn of Justice but the "Ultimate Edition" lasts over three hours. Yet it's being stretched into a trilogy anyway. But I'm aware every time I put something in [that] the momentum of the scene going to be slow. The first potions class attended by Harry and his friends also gets extended, offering us more Snape. From The Lord of the Rings to Suicide Squad. We come to it at last! Plus, there's a longer version of a woman having a cake dropped on her head. From $84.99. (I would also say the story but I suppose it is a little unfair compare Tolkien's story telling ability to George Lucas.) Tolkien's epic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings, as armies mass for a final battle that will decide the fate of the world--and powerful, ancient forces of Light and Dark compete to determine the outcome--one member of the Fellowship of the Ring is revealed as the noble heir to the throne of the Kings of Men. The Fellowship of the Ring is an excellent fantasy action film and a quite faithful adaptation. I have watched both, and I can honestly say I don't remember a single scene from the extended editions. I have the extended edition blu-rays and really enjoy them. But the biggest shift is in the way the film deals with both title characters and it's that which makes it worthy of a watch. This is an extended version of Return of the King. The extended versions delve into why they wanted the ring. Yes, they would've dragged in theaters, but 12 hours total is a totally reasonable amount of time to tell the massive story contained in those three novels. We spent a whole year trying to get the best possible cut. It's not really a coherent film in the extended cut, either, but at least it starts to make some sense. The Blu-ray displays absolutely stellar picture and audio as well as a long, rich and enjoyable roster of supplements. As the new Hobbit movies have shown, more is not necessarily better. Still, you can see why this even darker cut and its extra violence wasn't released into cinemas for the general public. Already clocking in at three hours and 20 minutes in the cinema, it's no wonder so much was cut from the theatrical version. Harley Quinn is the other big winner when it comes to extra footage. I attended part of a Lord of the Rings marathon at the American Cinematheque and the prints came from Jackson himself. I tend to agree. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Extended Edition) $17.99. Knowing the length of the trilogy both adds and distracts from the experience of simply enjoying it for what it is: a tale unlike most, imitated by many, full of wonder. I'm finally going to pick up this series, but haven't decided which version to get. At one point Superman is blamed for the deaths in the desert and you wonder why people would think the last son of Krypton has started using a machine gun. It gives Helm's Deep the weight and gravitas it deserves. Middle Earth Extended Editions 6 Film Collection 2016. While 13 minutes doesn't sound like a lot, it actually stretches an already thinly-plotted movie beyond breaking point. That said, they really are a time commitment. EDIT: I thought I should also add that I own all three films in their extended edition format, as well as the theatrical edition of The Two Towers. Take a couple extra hours to watch the extended editions. Then she gets a flashback (a third, given the two that already made it into the film) where she tries to get Leto's Joker to admit that he loves her (he won't). (Theatrical version time index) Theatrical version: Merry crawls from under an oliphaunt (in the SEE it was in Cut 11) In the chapter list, this chapter is not marked as “extended”. Also, why compare the Iron Man films which are each roughly 2 hours to the extended cuts which are any where from 3-4 hours long? It was the most Extended-Edition of the Theatrical releases, if that makes sense. In the conclusion of J.R.R. Not counting the fan credits, The Fellowship of the Ring adds 30 minutes of new material in the extended edition to take its running time from 178 minutes to 208 minutes. The Two Towers almost entirely fails in its extended cut for one important reason: pacing. I loved the extended edition of The Fellowship of the Ring. Return of the King is a stuffed movie (3 hours and 21 minutes theatrically), so it’s not surprising that this ended up on the cutting room floor. The following scenes have all been extended: Prologue: One Ring to Rule them All...; The Shire; Very Old Friends; A Long-expected Party; The Nazgul; Flight to the Ford; The Sword That Was Broken; The Council of Elrond; The Departure of the Fellowship; The Ring Goes South; The Pass of Caradhras; Moria; A Journey in the Dark; Balin's Tomb; Lothlorien; Caras Galadhon; The Mirror of Galadriel; Farewell to Lorien; The Great River; The Breaking of the Fellowship; Boromir's Last Stand; The Departure of Boromir. If you're already committing that much time to watching the theatrical releases, the extra hours shouldn't make too big of a difference, and the story is richer and more complete with the extended releases. Finally watched this one this weekend. Good times. He actually gets the only additions in the first 50 minutes of the film, where we find out he once bit off a guard's hand and he throws up on the plane ride. So I do these extended cuts thinking that people will like to see these scenes. Comparison between the Theatrical Version and the Extended Version, both represented by German Blu-Rays by Warner Bros (both versions are contained in separate releases). I do the extended cuts because we have 30-40 minutes of footage that people are interested in, fans of the books. While extended scenes can drastically improve some single movies (Dune, Blade Runner, Sucker Punch, etc) never have I seen an extended edition series like LotR add so much excellent, polished content that helps the world building and overall feel of the story as much as this one, so much so I can't bring myself to touch the Theatrical any more. More pointedly, the novel of The Hobbit is a mere pamphlet compared to Lord of the Rings. Good tension toward the end. It's a legitimate part of the adaptation of the Lord of the Rings and you can either have it lost forever or you can put an extended cut out. Then I read these reviews that say this is so much better than the theatrical version. While officially there are only two films that have "Extended Editions", the ABC channel Freeform did show versions of the later films that also included deleted scenes – effectively making them extended editions on that platform. Those were not sprawling epics, and the latter 2 both felt overlong even at 2 hours. I regard the extended cuts as being a novelty for the fans that really want to see the extra material.". Most additions merely add a few more details to what we already knew but the biggest winners are Hobbits Pippin (Billy Boyd) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and the CGI character TreeBeard (voiced by John Rhys-Davies). There is a lot of content that adds to the story, especially if you're unfamiliar with the books. I'd like to be able to watch them more often than I do but it's hard to budget for 3+ hours. Read the latest news, features and the Empire review of the film. The first was about the costs the Fellowship of the … So don't take Jackson's words too seriously. back to back and then split them at your own pace, treating it more like GoT than 3 movies. I have to agree. Not exactly essential. See Full Cast + Crew for THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING: THE EXTENDED EDITION Features Load More Features Movie Reviews Presented by Rotten Tomatoes. The kernel of contention here is that die-hard Tolkien fans will always want more no matter how much it drags, and they're also the most outspoken on the subject. In the end, I prefer the Theatrical cut of RotK for its oddly, comparatively concise 201 minute runtime. Those who are less likely to be cheering as body parts go flying won't find much in the way of extra character development or plot to make this worth their while. Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Instagram and Twitter account. That still sees only three all-new scenes (Queer Lodgings; Where the Shadows Lie; and Son of Thrór), with 11 other scenes benefitting from lengthier retellings (The Quest for Erebor; Elven-gate; Mirkwood; The Master of Lake-town; The World of Men; The Prophecy; A Warm Welcome; The Parting of the Company; The Lonely Mountain; The Spell of Concealment; and The Enemy Revealed). Release dates in other countries ) I for one am so, so!... 2 discs and has extra scenes that were cut from the original this... Conclusion to Peter Jackson 's epic trilogy based on the DVD seems to have different... Makes sense, as several early scenes from Privet Drive show Harry 's harsh situation in detail! If that makes sense little more heroic wanted the ring email addresses heart of Mordor, the documentary materials it... 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