I do believe that Peter Jackson is attempting to go for Star Wars and Evil Dead Series level of double-dipping with his Lord of the Rings releases. First we had several DVD releases, then the theatrical editions were released on Blu-ray in single and box set form. After that the Extended Editions were finally released in box set form. Now the Extended Editions are being released again, this time in single form.
Each film is five discs and contains all the special features found in the box set, these are just available individually instead of as a set. However, I imagine that most avid LotR fans probably picked up the box set. So who are these individual releases for? Is there someone out there who really loves Two Towers and only wants to own that one? Or perhaps there are those who couldn’t afford the box set and can now slowly buy these one at a time over a period of time? I don’t know, but nonetheless, here they are.
I was able to sit down and watch all three extended films in one day which I’d never done before. In fact, outside Return Of The King, which I reviewed way back in 2006, I’d never seen the first two in their extended versions.
I’ve never been the biggest LotR fan. In fact, before the films came out my only exposure to them had been the 1977 animated The Hobbit. I didn’t even see Fellowship in the theaters. However, sitting down and spending twelve hours in Middle Earth, I must say, was a pretty awesome experience and I think I’d even go so far as to say, the best way to experience these movies. It’s great to watch one of the films and enjoy it on its own merits, but to experience the entire story in one sitting is pretty awesome. It gave me a much better understanding and appreciation of the story.
The biggest fault I find with the Extended Editions is that the films are spread out over two discs so you have to change discs in the middle every time. As if that wasn’t annoying enough, the menu load time on the second disc for each film was painfully slow. Perhaps it was just my player, but it felt like it took forever for the second disc to load, and when you’re ready to continue the film that was so rudely interrupted by the limits of technology that load time feels even longer.
Despite this technological limitation these are fantastic films and I feel I enjoyed the Extended Editions even more than the theatrical ones. I won’t call these the greatest film trilogy of all time (I’m looking at you Star Wars Original Trilogy!) but these certainly are amazingly epic. If you’ve got a day to kill, this is one fantastic way to do it.
The films are presented in 2.4:1 widescreen and DTS-HD Master Audio surround sound. These are amazing looking films. The are beautifully shot and the special effects are gorgeous. The sound is mostly great, I found myself turning the volume up and down a bit throughout between the loud battles and the more quiet scenes, but not nearly as bad as some other films. All-in-all masterfully looking and sounding films.
Sadly, there are no new special features included here, but I’m not sure what else Jackson could add. Each film comes with three discs that are loaded with the same hours of extras that the box set had. You get several commentaries on each film, a plethora of documentary featurettes, galleries, storyboards, the Coasta Botes documentaries, digital copies of the films and much more.
What else can I say? These are pretty damn amazing films in all their extended glory. If you didn’t pick up the box set for some reason, then now is your chance to buy them!
New Lines Cinema presents The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and Return of the King Extended Editions. Written and Directed by: Peter Jackson. Based on the novels by J.R.R. Tolkien. Starring: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Andy Serkis, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, John Rhys-Davies and Liv Tyler. Running time: 228, 235 and 263 minutes. Rating: PG-13. Released: August 28, 2012.
