Extended Edition Report, Los Angeles, November 5, 2002:
I won’t go into detail, as I expect so many other TORn reporters will cover the DVD in detail. Let me just say this:
This is a different movie. Footage has not merely been “dropped in” or added; scenes have been CHANGED, and in some case footage removed because of material added elsewhere. I hate to be a spoiler for those who might like the surprise of seeing this for themselves. So it merely remains to be said: watch every moment of this new version carefully, as you may be in for some real surprises!
Well, I am happy to report that FOTR, the extended version is the ONLY version I will ever watch again! It was pretty much everything I hoped for and more. With the original version my primary criticism was that it cut way too much out of the Shire and Lothlorien…..both of those issues are now are taken care of…..wonderfully!
The other important difference is character depth……Boromir especially, but also just about everyone else had more depth…….the hobbits, Gandalf, Aragorn, Arwen, Galadriel, Gimili, Legolas……it was great to see those interrelationships between characters come to life!
On the technical side, I would say that the sound has been greatly enhanced and the digital transfer was very clean. I noticed much more surround effect and and the dialog was clearer. The Mines of Moria, the Balrog and the drums of Moria were all noticeably more tense. The sound of the Moria drums actually made my chest rattle and feel heavy…..it was really cool! Hopefully this comes through on my DVD surround system at home!
There was also some great additional fighting footage which was excellent! It really made the scenes flow better and less confusing. The sequence of events in each fight scene is much clearer. The fighting also made it clear that our hobbits are a little tougher than what they appeared to be in the original! Wow! The fight scene at Amon Hen is extended beautifully and we see some great extended action of Legolas’s bow work, Gimli’s Axe and Boromir’s courageous stand.
I could go on and on but then I would be giving too much away…….suffice to say that it was an extraordinary evening and makes me even more enthusiastic to see The Two Towers………this time I think Peter will get pretty much all he wants with no constraints from the studio.
41 days to go! I can’t wait! There is a Santa Claus and his name is Peter Jackson!
My husband and I got to view the digital projection of the Fellowship of the Ring Extended version at Universal City Walk in Los Angeles.
We were able to get reasonable seats ( center back ) even though a large central area was taped off for VIPs. I was surprised that the theater wasn’t completely filled. I was expecting a real crowd for something like this. Those who didn’t come really missed out.
We were really impressed with the digital projection. We have seen FOTR many times before, but never with this much clarity and sharpness. It was really beautiful! And each new scene seemed like a new gift, like finding something more under the Christmas tree after you thought everything had been opened.
We liked most of the additional scenes… the sections on the Hobbits and the Shire, more camping out on the trail, more on Lothlorien, more Gimli. The two scenes we weren’t too sure about: the addition to the Council of Elrond and the extended scene of Boramir and Aragon in Rivendale looking at the shards. I am not sure wether or not the actions of the characters made as much sense with the new edit. But, they were a lot of fun to see.
I didn’t feel the film was too long, even for sitting in a theater. Of course, being fairly familiar with something can make it seem to go by faster, so it is hard to know how I would feel if it had been released this way.
However, I do remember that I wished the first release was longer, giving more time to fulfilling the richness of the books. This extended version goes a long way to reaching that goal. It also has more humor in it, with the scene leaving Rivendale my favorite humorous addition.
I hope “The Two Towers” will be shown digitally, because that is definitely the way to see it.
My son and I were one of the lucky people who got to see the extended DVD at the Chicago location.
The extra footage was funny (the extra Hobbiton stuff is a hoot!), touching (Aragorn singing the Lay of Luthien), scary (was Haldir going to turn them back at the border?), beautiful (the first view of “Elvendom on Earth”!), and sweet (Sam and Frodo talking about Rosie on the way out of the tavern).
We loved every minute of it. It’s got all the frosting on the cake now, and they should have put it out this way in the first place.
As wonderful as it was to sit in a room full of maybe 300 other people just as crazy about LOTR as we are, I could have lived without the teenage girls behind us screaming every time Sean Bean entered the scene. To say nothing of CRYING when Boromir died! But of course, they won’t be in my living room when I buy it on Tuesday. (My son’s remark – did they think he was going to pull through this time?!)
I don’t think I will ever watch the original theatrical release again. This one was too incredible.
Just wanted to say that the Miami report on the sound quality of the THX sound and the experience of seeing the movie in digital was spot on. I saw it at McClurg Court in Chicago, and was finally able to see and hear things I had missed in all previous viewings (for example: the “Ashes on my tomatoes!” line, and the bird’s nest in the eye of the Argonath (sp?) statue.
Also, same feeling about the scenes – definitely should have had the longer Lothlorien in the original, while the other additions made it a richer, deeper, and (often) funnier movie! Viewers like myself who wanted more of the hobbits will be happy with the extra small bits.
The addition of scenes of Frodo with Bilbo, Sam, and Gandalf added to the appreciation of Frodo’s character, as the added Aragorn scenes did for Aragorn. And thank heavens they showed the TTT preview beforehand! I had not been able to manage to see it until then. Thank you Moviefone! Only disappointment: I had hoped it would be a bigger “event”, but it was very sedate. Still – I hope that they can use digital projection and THX sound in more theatres for TTT!
I was lucky enough to see the Extended Cut last night in Seattle, thanks to Moviefone. My experience is almost a carbon copy of Miami MOFO s, just on the opposite coast. I had to drive 3 and 1/2 hours from Portland to Seattle…but it was very worth it!
The theater was an amazing experience-no flicker, absolutely AMAZING sound. Everyone should get the joy of seeing it that way.
But it was the movie itself that I really, really loved.
I have loved the books for decades. And I was one of the crazy ones who saw a midnight showing of FOTR last December so that I could be one of the first. I think Peter Jackson has given us an incredible gift. As my brother said last night (he came with me) – It’s amazing to get a great technical director AND someone who loves the books. And he’s right. The original cut of FOTR was a great, great movie.
But this is so much better.
My main complaints with FOTR were fairly minor. They obviously emphasized the action over the depth of story telling in what they put on screen. It was all well done, but it made the first cut seem so breathless and intense. And, I didn t like Lorien-too short, and Galadriel in my mind should have been obviously good but offering a test to the Fellowship, not possibly bad who might be tempting the Fellowship.
Those two areas have been so vastly improved by the extended cut. It’s not just the extra stuff – it s how the extra stuff slows down the pace, gives room to breathe, and adds so much more meaning to the action stuff. You understand more deeply why they’re risking their lives to destroy this ring. You realize what’s at stake. You have time to laugh, and breathe, and know the characters.
And Lorien – it’s heaven. Galadriel now feels right. There’s now a reason for the Fellowship to be there.
I’m glad the first version my daughters will see (in a few more years) will be this extended edition. And if you haven’t seen it, make sure you get the new version and watch it as soon as possible. You will love it!
