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Lord of the Rings Extended versions

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I've only seen the Theatrical DVD versions of LOTR and I have always wondered if the Extended versions of all the movies are any good. For thoes who own or have seen them: What are (just name a few if you could) some of the major extensions of the films? Are they any good? I've read the books and I like them very much. Would I like the extended movies? And the most important question of all, is it worth the money?

Thanks alot,
Vass
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they are light years ahead of the theatrical releases, i actually disliked ROTK in the theaters

but the EE of it is fantastic

all of the EEs are better then the Theater versions, they have more depth and flow. the reason, the EEs are the real versions, they mad those then cut them to make the theatrical releases, or so it seems when you watch both versions
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the theatrical releases are much better movies ie randomly pop it in and enjoy, but the ee are superior in terms of story telling. I dont even own the regs, just the EE...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v170/Kingsama/samasig.jpg
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i whole heartedly agree the extended cuts are fantastic!!!i have both versions but the EE is the only ones i watch.
DJ
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yeah i have the who EE set, and thats all i have.
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To be honest, I think the extended versions were what turned me off to Lord of the Rings. I was only casually into it to begin with, but I've seen so many different versions and packagings and box sets that I just decided to forget it. And that's really the problem with most movies nowadays is that there are all these "UNRATED!" or "EXTENDED!" versions. Damnit! I just want to buy a movie! I don't want to have to choose door number one or door number two! At least George Lucas waited 20 years before he started throwing out special editions.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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I'd have to say that out of all the "Director's Cut"s and "Extended Edition"s I've seen over the years, these are probably the only ones that are actually worth a damn. the extended-ness is actually worth watching for a change, especially for fans of the book.

http://i.imgur.com/7N84TM8.jpg

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I don't know what you mean regarding the LOTR packaging, all they had were Standard Widescreen, Standard Fullscreen, and the theatrical editions(par for the course in DVD choices).
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings."
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Originally posted by: Nanner Split
I'd have to say that out of all the "Director's Cut"s and "Extended Edition"s I've seen over the years, these are probably the only ones that are actually worth a damn. the extended-ness is actually worth watching for a change, especially for fans of the book.


exactly, the EEs are really completely different movies, they have different flow different emotion and everything. that one scene added to towers where you see boromir taking ogilerath changed his character in so many ways, he was lovable and after watching the whole thing again it changes the emotion when he dies. so muc better, the EE would have won best picture of all there respective years if released.
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Originally posted by: TheSessler
I don't know what you mean regarding the LOTR packaging, all they had were Standard Widescreen, Standard Fullscreen, and the theatrical editions(par for the course in DVD choices).


I don't mean that. I mean the regular release, the special release, the different box sets, the ultimate box sets, the leatherbound-looking box sets... just too many different ways to buy.

There is no lingerie in space…

C3PX said: Gaffer is like that hot girl in high school that you think you have a chance with even though she is way out of your league because she is sweet and not a stuck up bitch who pretends you don’t exist… then one day you spot her making out with some skinny twerp, only on second glance you realize it is the goth girl who always sits in the back of class; at that moment it dawns on you why she is never seen hanging off the arm of any of the jocks… and you realize, damn, she really is unobtainable after all. Not that that is going to stop you from dreaming… Only in this case, Gaffer is actually a guy.

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Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
To be honest, I think the extended versions were what turned me off to Lord of the Rings. I was only casually into it to begin with, but I've seen so many different versions and packagings and box sets that I just decided to forget it. And that's really the problem with most movies nowadays is that there are all these "UNRATED!" or "EXTENDED!" versions. Damnit! I just want to buy a movie! I don't want to have to choose door number one or door number two! At least George Lucas waited 20 years before he started throwing out special editions.


I'm with TheSessler, not entirely sure what you are complaining about. I presume you had nothing against the Fullscreen/Widescreen versions so I wont include them in my tally... That leaves two versions, Theatrical Two-Disc and Extended Four-Disc.

It definitely isn't what I would call flooding the market and in fact each release was specifically targeted at different markets. The two-disc was just for casual fans (or collectors who must have everything and who would only complain if they didn't have multiple versions to collect) and the four-disc was for hardcore fans or those very interested in filmmaking. I would have hated it if they didn't release the huge amount of extra material found on the four-disc set, but Joe Average would have also hated paying $30 instead of $15 for each movie just to receive a whole bunch of stuff he doesn't care about.

So Joe Average never had to make any decision, it was two-disc all the way (and likely Fullscreen), cheap, smaller package for the DVD shelf, no disc change and no wait. Did they disservice the fans by having two versions, the second released a couple of months later? I don't think so. For starters they always made it quite public that the second version was coming and what would be on it. Secondly neither version contains any of the same material as the other, different cuts and different extras so collectors both get something to collect, but don't have any of that annoying overlap.

Now, there was a third way to get the movie, in a special collector's box much like Star Wars, Spider-Man and The Matrix has done. These all contain the DVDs available in cheaper packs but in a big box with other material. These packs included books and/or sculptures/busts/bookends, stuff that only hardcore collectors cared about and stuff only hardcore collectors could afford as they were usually twice as much as the regular versions. The LotR sets did include a fifth disc, but most of the material was already covered on the other discs sufficiently, were available separately or most people didn't care about! FotR contained a National Geographic documentary (available separately and seen on TV), TTT contained a disc about Weta Workshop and how they created the Gollum statue in the pack (which if you don't have the statue I'd doubt you'd care) and RotK contained a disc about the LotR Symphony that toured around for a while. None of the discs have much to do with the making of the movie so I don't care about any of them.

But really, two versions for two very different markets. This isn't like all those other movies that get release after release with very few changes to the extras at all like The Fifth Element or.... Star Wars!

[edit]Hehe, I knew I shouldn't have left my computer mid-post! Now there was this response....
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Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
I don't mean that. I mean the regular release, the special release, the different box sets, the ultimate box sets, the leatherbound-looking box sets... just too many different ways to buy.

That really is still only the two and a half versions. There is zero difference between the individual discs and the box sets except that they are in a cardboard box and slightly cheaper. I don't get your point as obviously they originally had to be released individually as the movies were made (much like the Star Wars prequels), and of course they will give you the option of buying the set together, everyone in every industry does that, the Star Wars OT, the Star Wars prequels and entire set when Ep III comes out, tons of other movies and TV series do it, books are in sets, music CDs, games, etc, etc. Simply the cheapest way to buy any product.

Would you prefer if all series were only released separately? This means more expense, more chance your local video store will be missing one or two discs (either unordered or sold out, as I keep on running into with the Superman movies) and no box to put them in which the collectors will just love. OK, obviously that doesn't work, so lets not release individual movies and only release box sets. Well, if I only liked A New Hope, The Matrix or Superman I and II and hated the rest of the movies in those sets then I'm stuck, I have to buy the whole set. Or if I liked The Phantom Menace I would have to wait six years to get it! OK, so I also like Indiana Jones so I go to buy the movies. Unfortunately they aren't available as they are working on a new movie in the series. Fast forward a couple of years... but I still can't buy them! Apparently there is the slightest possibility of another sequel as the last was popular. No plans for a sequel, but you never know! Well, George, Steven and Harrison are all looking a bit frail, hopefully they will all die soon so that possibility is wiped out!

Hehe, so yeah, all I'm really saying is I still don't get why this situation has made you dislike LotR! [/edit]

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there were onyl tw versions to clarify, the standards and the EEs

the standards came in widescreen and fullscreen and were in a regular dvd case

the EE came only in widescreen and were in teh leather bound case. there were two ways you could buy this, the real way that he scam way, that big box thingy with the figure in it, well all it is a model in a box with the leather bound version inside with it so its not relalt hat confusing, one copy to buy and thats the outta box EE leather bound edition everything else is just uncivilized.
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EE's, definitely. They definitely add a lot of material that people who read the books are looking for. I can also tell you that there's more material out there that didn't make the cut, so I'm hoping in a few years they release a new version again.
Nemo me impune lacessit

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Suit yourself Shim, I love my little statue of Minas Tirith.
"I don't mind if you don't like my manners. I don't like them myself. They're pretty bad. I grieve over them during the long winter evenings."
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EE all the way.
For those who already own them though word is Jackson plans on making a Lord of the Rings uber box set sometime after king kong.


lets hope not
"Never. I'll never turn to the darkside. You've failed your highness. I am a jedi, like my father before me."
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Anyone here every read Harvard Lampoon's 'Bored of the Rings'? Funny stuff, though many of the word-play jokes are out of date (ie Gandalf's parody name 'GoodGulf'). Ever since I read it I can't see 'Minas Tirith' in print without thinking of 'Bored'; they called the city 'Minas Troney'.

Well, I laughed.

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yeah that is annoying

yeah when jackson releases them on blueray or hd which ever one i am getting it again just so i dont have to get up and do all that stuff.
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Originally posted by: PSYCHO_DAYV
ALL I WATCH ARE THE EEs. YES, IT'S ANNOYINING TO HAVE TO GET UP AND PUT THE NEXT DVD IN TO FINISH OUT THE MOVIE. OCCASIONALLY I'LL WATCH JUST THE THEATRICAL VERSIONS, BUT IT'S RARE.


I used to have these GIANT DVDs that you had to get up and flip over just to see the second half of a regular length film- not to mention how many sides there were in a special edition...

I used to call them (does Dr. Evil finger quotation motion) 'Laser Discs'.
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Originally posted by: PSYCHO_DAYV
ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS HAD ONE OF THOSE "LASER DISC" PLAYERS. WE USED TO WATCH MOVIES ON THESE "LASER DISCS."


I ruined several 'Laser Discs' because my needle was dull and kept scratching the surfaces.

lol
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Although I own only the extended editions (and they are great films), I actually thought that the theatrical versions of Fellowship and Towers were tighter films. Maybe it's just because I was exposed to them first, but I was also exposed to the theater ROTK first and the extended version is worlds better.

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They shorter versions are tighter. Peter Jackson even thinks so which is why he chose to release those in theaters. The EEs were always meant to be fan-gravy (and don't get me wrong- I love fan-gravy like that!) and they are well done, but in filmmaking terms there is more in the EEs than *needs* to be there to tell the story.

PS: Did anyone else here other than myself go to the 'Trilogy Tuesday' showings of the LOTR trilogy? That was hands-down the most fun I've had a movie theater in YEARS. What a blast! AMC theaters went all out- ultra bargain snack prices, let us bring in pillows, blankets and the works AND they bought the entire theater pizza to eat between shows!! How cool is THAT???

CNN covers the trilogy (but not the show I was at here in Florida)