The Extended Edition...really should be called the Distended Edition.
--Discs 1 and 2--
The "only" extras on Discs 1 and 2 are the audio commentaries. However, four audio commentaries for a four-hour-plus movie provide a qualitatively different experience with each fresh viewing of the film. You can watch the movie with one audio commentary, or you can switch between the tracks and the primary soundtrack with the audio button.
1) The Director and Writers: As expected, this track covers the overall artistic vision of translating Tolkien´s books to the screen. The speakers make some apologies for the changes that they made, but they also explain the necessity of writing for a movie rather than being slavishly faithful to the nuts and bolts of Tolkien lore. Whether or not you entirely buy what they say is a matter of opinion, of course, but Jackson and his writers (Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens) make it known to the world what they had to do.
2) The Design Team: The participants for this commentary detail what they did during the preparation stages. Basically, they had to create the look of Middle-Earth, from the costumes and the sets to the way the complex action sequences would be shot. You can see their developmental work on Discs 3 and 4.
3) The Production/Post-Production Team: Commentary 3 will give you an idea of how the film began to and did take shape.
4) The Cast: Most of the cast members gathered together to record their comments at the same time. Obviously, Commentary 4 provides the most fun since you feel as if you´re part of one big group hug.
--Disc 3--
The extras on Disc 3 deal mainly with the pre-production stage of the project. The titles of the featurettes are basically elf-explanatory, so it´s not necessary to discuss them in great detail. Suffice it to say that the featurettes are very thorough, leaving no stone unturned. Since he´s all over the place anyway, Peter Jackson filmed an introduction for Disc 3.
--"J.R.R. Tolkien: The Legacy of Middle-earth"
--"From Book to Script: Forging the Final Chapter"
--"Designing Middle-earth"
--"Big-atures"
--"Weta Workshop"
--"Costume Design"
--"Home of the Horse Lords"
--"Abandoned Concept: Aragorn Battles Sauron"
--"Middle-earth Atlas": An interactive map that follows four different groups of characters during their "LOTR 2" journeys.
--"New Zealand as Middle-earth"
Though I did not actually make my own counts of the total number of stills in the galleries, I would not be surprised if Disc 3 had more than a 1,000 pictures alone.
--Disc 4--
The extras on Disc 4 deal mainly with the production (filming) and post-production stages of the project. Once again, the titles of the featurettes are basically self-explanatory, so it´s not necessary to discuss them in great detail. The actors who played the hobbits replace Peter Jackson in Disc 4´s introductory video segment.
--"Cameras in Middle-earth"
--"Weta Digital"
--"Editorial: Completing the Trilogy"
--"Music for Middle-earth"
--"The Soundscapes of Middle-earth"
--"The End of All Things"
--"The Passing of an Age"
--"Cameron Duncan: The Inspiration for ´Into the West´"
On Disc 4, you´ll also find additional photo galleries as well as multimedia demonstrations of visual effects and other post-production work.
--DVD-ROM--
Those of you with DVD-ROM access can use the weblinks encoded on the DVDs.
--Miscellaneous--
With everything housed in a book-like package, a glossy booklet provides chapter listings and information about the set´s bountiful extras. There are also coupons and promos for "LOTR" items, including an empty box for the three EE releases.
Film Value:
I think that "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" is a better installment in the "LOTR" cycle than "The Two Towers", but its length is punishing. What powerful moments it has (Sam carrying Frodo, Viggo Mortensen´s excellent performance, everyone bowing to the hobbits) are separated by interminable battles, interesting but unnecessary asides, and cheap, crowd-pleasing elements (the way that the Witch King is defeated). I still like "The Fellowship of the Ring" much more than its "sequels" because it is about much more than just fights and badly-done jokes.
By the way, notice how my complaints are about what was shown, not what I thought should have been shown (which would´ve been unfair to the movie). :-)
Easter Egg Alert:
Disc 1--Go to the Scene Selections menus, and highlight the horizontal picture of the last chapter on Disc 1. Press down on your remote control´s direction pad to highlight a ring icon. Click on the ring icon to watch a gag interview with Elijah Wood conducted by Dominica Monaghan.
Disc 2--Go to the Scene Selections menus, and highlight the horizontal picture of the last chapter on Disc 2. Press down on your remote control´s direction pad to highlight a ring icon. Click on the ring icon to watch a skit that played during the 2004 MTV Movie Awards.
Discs 3 and 4--Go to the Main Menu, and move the menu cursor to the circle icon at the bottom of the page. Click on the icon to access the DVDs´ production credits.
The "only" extras on Discs 1 and 2 are the audio commentaries. However, four audio commentaries for a four-hour-plus movie provide a qualitatively different experience with each fresh viewing of the film. You can watch the movie with one audio commentary, or you can switch between the tracks and the primary soundtrack with the audio button.
1) The Director and Writers: As expected, this track covers the overall artistic vision of translating Tolkien´s books to the screen. The speakers make some apologies for the changes that they made, but they also explain the necessity of writing for a movie rather than being slavishly faithful to the nuts and bolts of Tolkien lore. Whether or not you entirely buy what they say is a matter of opinion, of course, but Jackson and his writers (Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens) make it known to the world what they had to do.
2) The Design Team: The participants for this commentary detail what they did during the preparation stages. Basically, they had to create the look of Middle-Earth, from the costumes and the sets to the way the complex action sequences would be shot. You can see their developmental work on Discs 3 and 4.
3) The Production/Post-Production Team: Commentary 3 will give you an idea of how the film began to and did take shape.
4) The Cast: Most of the cast members gathered together to record their comments at the same time. Obviously, Commentary 4 provides the most fun since you feel as if you´re part of one big group hug.
--Disc 3--
The extras on Disc 3 deal mainly with the pre-production stage of the project. The titles of the featurettes are basically elf-explanatory, so it´s not necessary to discuss them in great detail. Suffice it to say that the featurettes are very thorough, leaving no stone unturned. Since he´s all over the place anyway, Peter Jackson filmed an introduction for Disc 3.
--"J.R.R. Tolkien: The Legacy of Middle-earth"
--"From Book to Script: Forging the Final Chapter"
--"Designing Middle-earth"
--"Big-atures"
--"Weta Workshop"
--"Costume Design"
--"Home of the Horse Lords"
--"Abandoned Concept: Aragorn Battles Sauron"
--"Middle-earth Atlas": An interactive map that follows four different groups of characters during their "LOTR 2" journeys.
--"New Zealand as Middle-earth"
Though I did not actually make my own counts of the total number of stills in the galleries, I would not be surprised if Disc 3 had more than a 1,000 pictures alone.
--Disc 4--
The extras on Disc 4 deal mainly with the production (filming) and post-production stages of the project. Once again, the titles of the featurettes are basically self-explanatory, so it´s not necessary to discuss them in great detail. The actors who played the hobbits replace Peter Jackson in Disc 4´s introductory video segment.
--"Cameras in Middle-earth"
--"Weta Digital"
--"Editorial: Completing the Trilogy"
--"Music for Middle-earth"
--"The Soundscapes of Middle-earth"
--"The End of All Things"
--"The Passing of an Age"
--"Cameron Duncan: The Inspiration for ´Into the West´"
On Disc 4, you´ll also find additional photo galleries as well as multimedia demonstrations of visual effects and other post-production work.
--DVD-ROM--
Those of you with DVD-ROM access can use the weblinks encoded on the DVDs.
--Miscellaneous--
With everything housed in a book-like package, a glossy booklet provides chapter listings and information about the set´s bountiful extras. There are also coupons and promos for "LOTR" items, including an empty box for the three EE releases.
Film Value:
I think that "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" is a better installment in the "LOTR" cycle than "The Two Towers", but its length is punishing. What powerful moments it has (Sam carrying Frodo, Viggo Mortensen´s excellent performance, everyone bowing to the hobbits) are separated by interminable battles, interesting but unnecessary asides, and cheap, crowd-pleasing elements (the way that the Witch King is defeated). I still like "The Fellowship of the Ring" much more than its "sequels" because it is about much more than just fights and badly-done jokes.
By the way, notice how my complaints are about what was shown, not what I thought should have been shown (which would´ve been unfair to the movie). :-)
Easter Egg Alert:
Disc 1--Go to the Scene Selections menus, and highlight the horizontal picture of the last chapter on Disc 1. Press down on your remote control´s direction pad to highlight a ring icon. Click on the ring icon to watch a gag interview with Elijah Wood conducted by Dominica Monaghan.
Disc 2--Go to the Scene Selections menus, and highlight the horizontal picture of the last chapter on Disc 2. Press down on your remote control´s direction pad to highlight a ring icon. Click on the ring icon to watch a skit that played during the 2004 MTV Movie Awards.
Discs 3 and 4--Go to the Main Menu, and move the menu cursor to the circle icon at the bottom of the page. Click on the icon to access the DVDs´ production credits.
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]12523[/release]