GUEST POST: The Lord of the Rings Extended Editions (Jackson, 2001-2003)
Apparently 26 February is (canonically speaking) the anniversary of the Breaking of the Fellowship in The Lord of the Rings. So, it’s appropriate that today’s recommendation is from subscriber JJW of Melbourne, VIC:
In late January Melbourne’s Astor Theatre was showing not just the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy but the extended editions back-to-back-to-back. I went along and crammed myself into one of the teeny little seats for almost 13 hours.
Much like the extended editions, the piece I originally wrote for Funerals & Snakes, ended up being far too long, coming in at just under 3000 words and included a few (non-movie related) tangents.
To which Dan said something like: “Fool of a Wood.”
So what follows is my theatrical release, condensed and deciphered from notes I took in the theatre.
The showing kicked off with Air New Zealand’s so-bad-it’s‑good Hobbit safety video, and given the run time for all three extended versions is equivalent to flying from Auckland (Orc-land?) to Los Angeles, it was a pretty fitting way to start things.
The extra scenes really come into their own when the fellowship hit Lothlorien. They add so much context and lore to the movie that it’s even worth having to listen to the dude who simps for Galadriel.
Peter Jackson’s take on Gollum/Smeagol is legit very good. The first insight into his split personality and externalising the internal fight between the two, really does help the portrayal of something that doesn’t quite come across in the books and could be seen as a nice comment on mental health in general.
But the best bit of the entire trilogy is the Ents. Give me more ents. I would devote serious time to a movie or show about Ents.
Brett McKenzie’s cameo was a highlight. I wish they had used ‘Frodo, Don’t Wear The Ring’ as music during the credits.
The battle scenes in Return of the King are amazingly epic and still stand up to modern CGI, and in fact are probably better because of the use of real life effects.
The extended edition allowed PJ to throw a few extra endings in there.
Final thought: The Lord of the Rings extended editions are very good. The additions add depth to the films which the original theatrical releases lack. I’ll definitely be back next year to watch them again.
My extended edition about the extended editions is scheduled to be posted today be read over on David Farrier’s Webworm.
Where to watch The Lord of the Rings Extended Editions
Aotearoa: Digital rental from Neon or a digital purchase from Apple
Australia & Canada: Digital purchase from Amazon, Apple or Microsoft
USA: Streaming on Max
UK: Digital rental from Amazon or digital purchase from the usual outlets
Advisory
The original extended versions of the Lord of the Rings pictures were made available in a beautiful Blu-ray box set that looked like this:
This edition is out of print and, for now, the only physical media version that’s available is this 4K remaster that features all three films (in theatrical and extended versions) and The Hobbit series (both of versions of all three films).
That sounds like a good deal, especially if you have a 4K setup.
Except, Peter Jackson – like his hero George Lucas did with Star Wars – has gone back to the LOTR films and reconstructed VFX shots and recoloured everything to match the later Hobbit films.
A close friend of mine worked on the original colour timing for the 35mm film of the originals and is, frankly, heartbroken. They will not look like how you remember them. They will not look like they were ever shot on film.
I don’t know from here whether the digital editions that are available for purchase online are the new remasters or not but they do appear to be 4K versions. Buyer beware.
Probably the best experience you can have wth these films is to go to somewhere like the Astor and watch the 35mm film versions. Me? I’m keeping that beautiful original box set.
