Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Theatrical Versions) - April 6, 2010

[Diesel]

and theres the merge....

[General Vyper]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

Ok, EE freaks. Name one thing in the extended editions that actually helps the story?

There's nothing essential of course, otherwise the Theatricals wouldn't make any sense. But there are a lot of nice touches and extra scenes which make the EEs better movies, and explain the story more fully. My picks: the lovely Concerning Hobbits intro, Frodo and Sam seeing the elves in the Shire as they are leaving, and all the extra Gondor stuff.

@drichter33 - it was me, sorry. I didn't really think Tom would make it in there but it would be a cool addition, maybe Peter Jackson could play him and shoot a quick scene down the end of his garden.

[Pellaeon]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

If you sign up for pre-order on amazon it's $69.99. I'd say that's more than reasonable.
I also have a hard time believing any LOTR freak, regardless of which version you prefer, will be able to hold off on buying these, no matter what you say on an internet forum. One day, you'll see it at Best Buy and you'll think, "what the hell am i waiting for? Middle-earth, here i come!"

LOL, yep, I placed my preorder. I might take it off because I would imagine someone might have a cool give away.

[drichter33]

Oh, and to chime in regarding the extra footage in the EE's, I will agree that most of it is neat and window dressing and doesnt add much to the story's progression, but I also never felt that it disrupted the films either.

I thought FOTR was the best at it- I liked the extra footage of isilidur and while it ruins the surprise of Bilbo at the party, you gotta think most people buying or watching these have seen the movie once before, so nothing is really spoiled. I enjoyed the extra scene with the elf queen giving the gifts.

I thought TTT had some nice stuff, but less that I really remembered or was wowed by. I did like that the ents showed up at helms deep to sort of finalize the battle as the Uru-khai try to escape.

ROTK was my least favorite, especially how they do that stupid thing showing the taking over of the pirate ship, only to then show up later with the army of the dead to attack those waiting at the dock- that surprise really does get killed.

I cannot off the top of my head differentiate about what was extra in terms of the never-ending ending, but generally there were like 5 different spots they could have ended the movie earlier. I agree about the Necromancer and the mithril unvailing at the gate did not flow well, and by then I was getting tired cause every fight had to have a man on a horse giving a speech like braveheart. After Theoden does it at Minas Tirith and then Aragon again at the Black Gate, I was like enough already.

[JamesKurtovich]

Sweet! Pre-ordered.

[Diesel]

i always wanted to see aragon vs sauron at the black gate

but they cgi'd the troll in his place instead

[ckenisell]

I'll say it again...I'll rent the theatricals and buy the EE's when they become available.

[StimpsonJCat]

I'll wait on the EEs. After watching them I'll never watch the theatrical cuts again. There are a few extended cuts I feel that way about (The Abyss - so love to see this in HD, Kingdom of Heaven, LOTR, Aliens). I think the EE DVDs look fine upconverted for now.

[haste]

ive waited this long to even purchase LOTR on any consumer based medium...i can wait for the EEs.

[AikonEnt]

No extended editions, no sale. I watched the theatrical versions while I was visiting my parents over Christmas and all I kept thinking was 'somethings missing here' or something similar. Only bought the EE on DVD, will only be buying the EE on Blu.

[Diesel]

the blu's have over 30reviews on amazon
........
i hate when people do that
and rate stuff before its even out or rate it based on something else beside the actual product

edit: just read the 1-star ratings, its 1-star because its NOT the extended cuts
ok, so dont give the theatricals a bad score because they are not the extended ones

/rant

sorry

[Riff Magnum]

Originally Posted by Diesel

i always wanted to see aragon vs sauron at the black gate

but they cgi'd the troll in his place instead

I have no idea what you're talking about.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

I have no idea what you're talking about.

aragorn and sauron were supposed to fight at the black gate
but PJ thought the scene was 'inappropriate' or something, so he put the troll in that you see attacking them at the black gate in RotK

[Riff Magnum]

Originally Posted by Diesel

aragorn and sauron were supposed to fight at the black gate
but PJ thought the scene was 'inappropriate' or something, so he put the troll in that you see attacking them at the black gate in RotK

I'm still lost. What do you mean by supposed to fight? It's been a couple years since i read the books or watched the movies, but i don't recall Aragorn ever having to fight Sauron. "Meet you by the flagpole after school Dark Lord," doesn't ring a bell.

[Batman1980]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

I'm still lost. What do you mean by supposed to fight? It's been a couple years since i read the books or watched the movies, but i don't recall Aragorn ever having to fight Sauron. "Meet you by the flagpole after school Dark Lord," doesn't ring a bell.

It was the ultimate battle between the Dark Lord and the King of Gondor, can't remember if Aragorn did better than Isildur or not. Moot point since we'll never see it on-camera.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by Riff Magnum

I'm still lost. What do you mean by supposed to fight? It's been a couple years since i read the books or watched the movies, but i don't recall Aragorn ever having to fight Sauron. "Meet you by the flagpole after school Dark Lord," doesn't ring a bell.

you know at the end after Aragorn goes all Braveheart and gives his speech?
and they fight at the gate against all the orcs
there is a big troll that comes out and fights with them
it was originally going to be Sauron in its place
but they put the troll in instead

i have no idea if Sauron does it in the books or not, i've never gotten to read them

[Riff Magnum]

LOL!! It's not in the books. Sauron is not strong enough to assume a "physical form" remember? That's why he needs the ring back.

[Afrobean]

Originally Posted by drichter33

Not sure what MSRP that guy is looking at, but a 99 MSRP = 34 a BRD.

I know there are deals to be had, but most new release BRD's without any special coupon or anything I always see at Best Buy for around 24.99 to 34.99. After the first week of release they average around 25-30.

The amazon link I though was 70 bucks for the set = 23 per movie which is right in line with what i would expect to pay. They never come out MSRP on the first week of release, so I dont see any problem with the pricing.

But compare this with pricing on other trilogy boxsets. X-men is coming out next week and it is easily obtainable at 55 bucks and many are getting an extra 10 knocked off via a promotion deal.

Normally, I'd agree that 70 isn't that bad for 3 films, but considering they're PLANNING to rerelease them later, I'd say it's ridiculous. Basically, they're not doing the customer any favors here; they're charging more for this than is necessary, then turning around and telling us that they're intentionally holding back to make us pay even more later. And what's worse is that I'm expecting even heavier per-title prices when the extended editions do come.

God... I hope they don't wait for The Hobbit. Sure, do a box set including it when it comes out, but don't hold out for now. Release the extended editions, then when the Hobbit comes out, put together a new boxset including it. No big deal.

ps someone brought up the idea of doing an extended-extended edition: there might not be more footage on the cutting room floor, but it's not impossible for them to repurpose new footage or simply film new footage altogether, especially if they're going to work to imply a connected continuity between the LotR films and the Hobbit.

[Mr.White]

My friend said that all the LOTR DVD's are now OOP,I just saw them all today at FYE!

[cathexist]

Originally Posted by jc480

Link-a-licious

Preorders are available now...I won't be on the list, though. I'll wait for the extended edition. This whole "release multiple editions to milk the public" philosophy really burns me.

...I'll be waiting as well, no reason to purchase the theatrical versions