The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Extended Edition) (2001-2003)

[BugsLifeWasAlright]

I near fell asleep in the dang theatre!

[John The Grudge]

I'm so frustrated. I received this set from Amazon and inside The Two Towers box was discs for The Return of The King. Sent it back and got a replacement. Exact same issue with that so sending that back now. I'm in the UK so postage is costly and it'll take weeks for me to receive the replacement.

[ditcin]

Originally Posted by worldchmps

I felt the prequels were just so so in the theaters. The original movies were totally amazing in the theaters. I have the extended set but also the non extended set as I never could decide which to keep. But I loved the movies in the theaters. With the prequels, I walked out of each one going, meh. The effects weren't as good. The plot wasn't as good. They ended at points that didn't feel like high points (to be continued should always happen at a high point) and the acting didn't seem all that great. I almost felt like they should have just skipped doing them altogether. The second movie was the best of the three because of Smaug but he was killed five minutes into the last movie. Truthfully, I liked the animated movie far better than the prequels. At least the animated movie was cohesive and was easy to follow.

The $55 is a good price so I'm tempted but I'm 50/50. I want the prequels because you want the story that leads into the main books but that's where I can't decide whether to keep my standard movies or get the prequels. Maybe if the price was $40 it'd be an easier buy for me, like the original extended edition has been to. I got it at $45 a year or two ago. $55 still seems like a lot for movies that weren't as good as the previous trilogy.

If you like them less, pay less - by them used. I've gotten BDs in excellent condition.

[TheHutt]

I finally got to photograph the three Japanese Lord of the Rings extended edition versions. These are the best looking editions of LOTR worldwide.

Detailed photos: FOTR | TTT | ROTK

[Cook]

Wish the U.S. had gotten something like that.

[Brandon K]

Originally Posted by TheHutt

I finally got to photograph the three Japanese Lord of the Rings extended edition versions. These are the best looking editions of LOTR worldwide.

Originally Posted by Cook

Wish the U.S. had gotten something like that.

That's what the DVDs looked like, of course, which is one reason for keeping the DVDs...

No New Line logo on Return of the King? Why can't spines match

Now all it needs is a digipak foldout (again, like the DVDs) inside the slipcase, instead of Blu-ray case.

I definitely miss the amazing packaging some DVDs had. Quite a few nice packages in my collection.

Wonderful photos!

[Cook]

I've still got the DVD releases. The packaging is so damn nice I hate to get rid of them.

[Cook]

Originally Posted by Oubadah

When were these released, and why are they all in English?

According to Amazon.co.jp, FOTR was released on 2014/07/09. TTT was released on 2014/12/03. ROTK was released on 2015/12/04.

And they aren't entirely in English.

[grim_tales]

Originally Posted by TheHutt

I finally got to photograph the three Japanese Lord of the Rings extended edition versions. These are the best looking editions of LOTR worldwide.

Detailed photos: FOTR | TTT | ROTK

Theyre beautiful. Just like the US DVD EE sets

[TheHutt]

A bit more about the contents of the Japanese sets:

- The movie blu-rays are region free and contain an English and a Japanese menu. When the player is set to a non-Japanese menu language, the English menu is displayed, with the following language and subtitle options:

Audio: English
Subtitles: English HOH, Dutch

When the player is set to a Japanese menu language, the following language and subtitle options are available:
Audio: English, Japanese
Subtitles: English HOH, Japanese.

The bonus DVD discs (Region 2, NTSC) contain only Japanese menus and subtitles.

[MechaGodzilla]

Originally Posted by TheHutt

I finally got to photograph the three Japanese Lord of the Rings extended edition versions. These are the best looking editions of LOTR worldwide.

Detailed photos: FOTR | TTT | ROTK

[Show spoiler]

[Show spoiler]

Those are ****ing gorgeous! I'm still waiting for a box set of all six films but if I weren't I'd seriously consider picking up those.

[StingingVelvet]

I think the US box sets are gorgeous too.

[Geoff D]

I don't think there's such a thing anyway. Most filmmakers/actors can't gabble for two hours straight, never mind for three or four hours, so naturally there'll be some editing to cover breaks, moderator questions (yes, there's usually someone there to prompt them) and so on.

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by Oubadah

I've been listening to the commentaries on this set. They're generally OK, but the Sean Astin/Elijah Wood parts make me cringe. It's the first time I've found myself fast-forwarding though a commentary because it's too painful to listen to. Poor old Andy Serkis can barely get a word in edgewise.

Aside from the Pete/Fran/Phil commentary, they're all edited together from multiple recording sessions. I wonder if that means there exists somewhere a full-length Christopher Lee commentary, a full-length Ian Mckellen commentary, etc, etc. that we might get in some ultimate extreme special edition one day.

The biggest story to come out of the commentary tracks was Boyens boasting about improving Tolkien's writing and commenting on his failures as a writer. Jaws hit the floor all over the world.

[Geoff D]

Eh, I like the Fran/Phil/Peter commentaries. As for the story itself, yeah: Tolkien knew full well the price that war extracted from people, but in the face of sheer unadulterated evil taking over the world the only way to protect it is to fight. (just finished reading LOTR again just a couple days ago, in fact)

[MechaGodzilla]

As far as the novels vs. the films go I agree with Christopher Lee; some changes were for the better, some for the worse.

[Vashetti]

Originally Posted by Oubadah

I've been listening to the commentaries on this set. They're generally OK, but the Sean Astin/Elijah Wood parts make me cringe. It's the first time I've found myself fast-forwarding though a commentary because it's too painful to listen to. Poor old Andy Serkis can barely get a word in edgewise.

Aside from the Pete/Fran/Phil commentary, they're all edited together from multiple recording sessions. I wonder if that means there exists somewhere a full-length Christopher Lee commentary, a full-length Ian Mckellen commentary, etc, etc. that we might get in some ultimate extreme special edition one day.

I believe some of the cast didn't actually sit down and do a commentary on the films. For example I've noticed audio of Christopher Lee in the commentaries that was lifted identically from interview footage of him in the Appendices.

Essentially for some of the cast they cobbled together interview clips and soundbites to give the illusion of a full commentary, along with the cast who actually recorded one.

[UUUUGGGGHHHH]

Is there anywhere to buy the Japanese Extended Editions for Fellowship of the Ring and Two Towers? It looks like only third parties have them available on Amazon.co.jp.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Eh, I like the Fran/Phil/Peter commentaries. As for the story itself, yeah: Tolkien knew full well the price that war extracted from people, but in the face of sheer unadulterated evil taking over the world the only way to protect it is to fight. (just finished reading LOTR again just a couple days ago, in fact)

The Peter/etc. commentaries are great and offer real insight into the decision making processes. I've never liked cast commentaries really, I like really informative "film school" style ones.

[Falaskan]

Originally Posted by TheHutt

I finally got to photograph the three Japanese Lord of the Rings extended edition versions. These are the best looking editions of LOTR worldwide.

Detailed photos: FOTR | TTT | ROTK

anyone think these would fit in the current blu-ray trilogy set we have here?