5/5 DVD Info
  by 1stVideo
1. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition). 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 Jackson's 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.
Peter Jackson's 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 Tolkien's world, a reference-quality home theater experience, and generous, intelligent, and engrossing bonus features.

THE RETURN OF THE KING, the third and final film in Peter Jackson's THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, finds Middle-earth on the cusp of great change. Weary hobbits Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) venture further into the dark realm of Mordor, guided by the increasingly desperate Gollum (Andy Serkis), the two-faced former owner of the Ring that Frodo must destroy in the fires of Mount Doom. Meanwhile Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) contend with the deranged ruler Denethor (John Noble) at the once-mighty city of Minas Tirith, as Merry (Dominic Monaghan) joins Éowyn (Miranda Otto) and the Riders of Rohan to hold back the forces of Sauron. Amidst the chaos, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) must rise to his destiny, aided by Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) in assembling allies for a massive battle that will decide the fate of Middle-earth. With RETURN, Jackson brings J.R.R. Tolkien's world-renowned tale to a stunning conclusion. As with THE TWO TOWERS, the director deftly weaves various storylines together in one remarkable scene after another. Spectacular visuals complement Jackson's sharp focus on the characters and their emotional battles. While the special effects help to create huge battles and frightening creatures on a previously unseen scale, they never outshine the excellent ensemble of actors who bring the heart of the story home. A truly astounding work of filmmaking, THE RETURN OF THE KING skillfully concludes one of the greatest trilogies in cinema history.

Features:
Discs 1 & 2: Widescreen (2.35:1) version of the special extended edition of Return of the King, with more than 50 minutes added to the theatrical release by director Peter Jackson; four audio commentaries by director and writers, the design team, production team and the cast featuring more than 30 participants including Peter Jackson, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Orlando Bloom and academy award winners Richard Taylor, Howard Shore...and many more; cast commentary also features dialogue between split-personality characters Gollum and Smeagol (Andy Serkis); Dolby Digital EX 5.1 surround sound; DTS ES 6.1 surround sound; Stereo surround sound; English subtitles and closed captions; Spanish subtitles.
Disc 3: The Appendices, Part V: "The War of the Ring"- ; disc intro by Peter Jackson; "J.R.R. Tolkien: The Legacy of Middle-earth" documentary; from book to script: "From Book To Script: Forging the Final Chapter" documentary; abandoned concept: Aragorn battles Sauron; designing and buidling Middle-Earth: "Designing Middle-Earth" documentary, "Big-atures" documentary, "Costume Design" documentary; design galleries with 2,123 images, including the peoples of middle-earth, the realms of middle-earth, and miniatures; "Home of the Horse Lords" documentary; "Middle-earth Atlas: Tracing the Journey of Fellowship" interactive map; "New Zealand as Middle-earth" interactive map with on-location footage.
Disc 4: "The Passing of an Age"; disc intro by Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan; filming The Return of the King "cameras in Middle-earth" documentary, production photo gallery with 69 images; "Weta Digital" documentary on the special effects, "The Mumakil Battle" demonstration and multi-angle interactive feature; Post production documentaries incluing "Editorial: Completing the Trilogy," "Music for Middle-Earth," and "The End of All Things"; "The Passing of an Age" documentary; "Cameron Duncan: The Inspiration for 'Into the West'" documentary, "DFK6498" short film, "Strike Zone" short film; DVD-ROM content, including access to exclusive online features.

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Platinum Series Special Extended Edition Reviews:

"...Peter Jackson has created the mack daddy of all movie fantasies, and RETURN OF THE KING brings the film version of Tolkien's trilogy to a combustibly exciting close..." -- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"...The conclusion of Peter Jackson's masterwork is passionate and literate, detailed and expansive..." -- Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
"[K]ING is a meticulous and prodigious vision made by a director who was not hamstrung by heavy use of computer special-effects imagery." -- Elvis Mitchell, New York Times
"As a model for how to bring substance, authenticity and insight to the biggest of adventure yarns, this trilogy will not soon, if ever, find its equal." -- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
"[T]he third film propels the work into the stratosphere of classic movies. Key characters are enhanced, new civilizations visited and battles fought more intensely, even as feelings and motivations are plumbed more deeply and movingly."-- Claudia Puig, USA Today
"RETURN OF THE KING dispatches its characters to their destinies with a grand and eloquent confidence. This is the best of the three..."-- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
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2. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition): The extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was perhaps the most comprehensive DVD release to date, and its follow-up proves a similarly colossal achievement, with significant extra footage and a multitude of worthwhile bonus features. The extended version of The Two Towers adds 43 minutes to the theatrical version's 179-minute running time, and there are valuable additions to the film. Two new scenes might appease those who feel that the characterization of Faramir was the film's most egregious departure from the book, and fans will appreciate an appearance of the Huorns at Helm's Deep plus a nod to the absence of Tom Bombadil. Seeing a little more interplay between the gorgeous Eowyn and Aragorn is welcome, as is a grim introduction to Eomer and Theoden's son. And among the many other additions, there's an extended epilogue that might not have worked in the theater, but is more effective here in setting up The Return of the King. While the 30 minutes added to The Fellowship of the Ring felt just right in enriching the film, the extra footage in The Two Towers at times seems a bit extraneous--we see moments that in the theatrical version we had been told about, and some fleshed-out conversations and incidents are rather minor. But director Peter Jackson's vision of J.R.R. Tolkien's world is so marvelous that it's hard to complain about any extra time we can spend there.

While it may seem that there would be nothing left to say after the bevy of features on the extended Fellowship, the four commentary tracks and two discs of supplements on The Two Towers remain informative, fascinating, and funny, far surpassing the recycled materials on the two-disc theatrical version. Highlights of the 6.5 hours' worth of documentaries offer insight on the stunts, the design work, the locations, and the creation of Gollum, and--most intriguing for rabid fans--the film's writers (including Jackson) discuss why they created events that weren't in the book. Providing variety are animatics, rough footage, countless sketches, and a sound-mixing demonstration. Again, the most interesting commentary tracks are by Jackson and writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens and by 16 members of the cast (eight of whom didn't appear in the first film, and even including John Noble, whose Denethor character only appears in this extended cut). The first two installments of Peter Jackson's trilogy have established themselves as the best fantasy films of all time, and among the best film trilogies of all time, and their extended-edition DVD sets have set a new standard for expanding on the already-epic films and providing comprehensive bonus features.

Not seen in theaters, this unique version of the epic adventure features over 40 minutes of new and extended scenes integrated into the film by the director. DVD set consists of four discs with hours of original content including multiple documentaries, commentaries and design/photo galleries with thousands of images to give viewers an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at the film. Frodo Baggins and the Fellowship continue their quest to destroy the One Ring and stand against the evil of the dark lord Sauron. The Fellowship has divided and now find themselves taking different paths to defeating Sauron and his allies. Their destinies now lie at two towers - Orthanc Tower in Isengard, where the corrupted wizard Saruman waits and Sauron's fortress at Baraddur, deep within the dark lands of Mordor.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary
DVD ROM Features
Documentaries
Interactive Menus
Interviews
Photo gallery
Production Sketches
Scene Access