The Lord of the Rings - The Return of
the King (Platinum Series Special
Extended Edition) starring Viggo
Mortensen, Liv Tyler
Return Of The King
The greatest trilogy in film history, presented in the most ambitious sets in
DVD history, comes to a grand conclusion with the extended edition of The
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Not only is the third and final
installment of Peter Jacksons adaptation of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien the
longest of the three, but a full 50 minutes of new material pushes the
running time to a whopping 4 hours and 10 minutes. The new scenes are
welcome, and the bonus features maintain the high bar set by the first two
films, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. Whats New?
One of the scenes cut from the theatrical release but included here, the
resolution of the Saruman storyline, generated a lot of publicity when the
movie opened, as actor Christopher Lee complained in the press about
losing his only appearance. Its an excellent scene, one Jackson calls pure
Tolkien, and provides better context for Pippin to find the wizards palantir
in the water, but its not critical to the film. In fact, valuable but not critical
might sum up the ROTK extended edition. Its evident that Jackson made
the right cuts for the theatrical run, but the extra material provides depth
and ties up a number of loose ends, and for those sorry to see the trilogy
end (and who isnt?) its a welcome chance to spend another hour in
Middle-earth. Some choice moments are Gandalfs (Ian McKellen)
confrontation with the Witch King (we find out what happened to the
wizards staff), the chilling Mouth of Sauron at the gates of Mordor, and
Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) being mistaken for Orc
soldiers. We get to see more of Éowyn (Miranda Otto), both with Aragorn
and on the battlefield, even fighting the hideously deformed Orc lieutenant,
Gothmog. We also see her in one of the most anticipated new scenes, the
Houses of Healing after the battle of the Pelennor Fields. It doesnt present
Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) as a savior as the book did, but it shows the
initial meeting between Éowyn and Faramir (David Wenham), a
relationship that received only a meaningful glance in the theatrical cut.
If you want to completely immerse yourself in Peter Jacksons marvelous
and massive achievement, only the extended edition will do.
And for those who complained, no, there are no new endings, not even
the scouring of the Shire, which many fans were hoping to see. Nor is
there a scene of Denethor (John Noble) with the palantir, which would
have better explained both his foresight and his madness. As Jackson
notes, when cuts are made, the secondary characters are the first to go, so
there is a new scene of Aragorn finding the palantir in Denethors robes.
Another big difference is Aragorns confrontation with the King of the Dead.
In the theatrical version, we didnt know whether the King had accepted
Aragorns offer when the pirate ships pulled into the harbor; here Jackson
assumes that viewers have already experienced that tension, and instead
has the army of the dead join the battle in an earlier scene (an extended
cameo for Jackson). One can debate which is more effective, but thats
why the film is available in both versions. If you feel like watching the
relatively shorter version you saw in the theaters, you can. If you want to
completely immerse yourself in Peter Jacksons marvelous and massive
achievement, only the extended edition will do. How Are the Bonus
Features?
To complete the experience, The Return of the King provides the same
sprawling set of features as the previous extended editions: four
commentary tracks, sharp picture and thrilling sound, and two discs of
excellent documentary material far superior to the recycled material in the
theatrical edition. Those who have listened to the seven hours of
commentary for the first two extended editions may wonder if they need to
hear more, but there was no commentary for the earlier ROTK DVD, so its
still entertaining to hear Jackson break down the film (he says the beacon
scene is one of his favorites), discuss differences from the book, point out
cameos, and poke fun at himself and the extended-edition concept (So this
is the complete full strangulation, never seen before, here exclusively on
DVD!). The documentaries (some lasting 30 minutes or longer) are of their
usual outstanding quality, and theres a riveting storyboard/animatic
sequence of the climactic scene, which includes a one-on-one battle
between Aragorn and Sauron. One DVD Set to Rule Them All
Peter Jacksons trilogy has set the standard for fantasy films by adapting
the Holy Grail of fantasy stories with a combination of fidelity to the original
source and his own vision, supplemented by outstanding writing, near-
perfect casting, glorious special effects, and evocative New Zealand
locales. The extended editions without exception have set the standard for
the DVD medium by providing a richer film experience that pulls the three
films together and further embraces Tolkiens world, a reference-quality
home theater experience, and generous, intelligent, and engrossing bonus
features. --David Horiuchi
The War of the Ring reaches its climax as the dark lord Sauron sets his
sights on Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor. The members of the
fellowship in Rohan are warned of the impending attack when Pippin
cannot resist looking into Saruman's palantir and is briefly contacted by the
dark lord. King Theoden is too proud to send his men to help wi thout being
asked, so Gandalf and Pippin ride to Minas Tirith to see that this request is
sent. They meet opposition there from Denethor, steward of the city and
father of Faramir and the late Boromir. Denethor's family has acted as
temporary guardians of Gondor for centuries until a member of the true line
of kings returns. This member is none other than Aragorn, who must
overcome his own self-doubt before he can take on the role he was
destined to fulfill. Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam continue to carry the On e
Ring towards Mordor, guided by Gollum. What they don't know is that
Gollum is leading them into a trap so that he can reclaim the Ring for
himself. Though Sam suspects his deceit, Frodo is starting to be corrupted
by the Ring's power and the mistrust of Sam this causes is fully exploited
by Gollum. The only way good can prevail in this contest is if the Ring is
destroyed, an event that is becoming harder every minute for Frodo to
achieve. The fate of every living creature in Middle Earth will be decided
once and for all as the Quest of the Ringbearer reaches its climax. "The
Lord of the Rings- The Return of the King" is one of the most finely tuned
and cinematically perfect movie ever made. Not only the best of the trilogy,
but a crowning achievement in epic movie making.
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