More speculation on the opening “Plunge” described by the writers in this article.
Ben rejected the ‘Gandalf and the Balrog falling’ theory:
“Almost certainly not, surely. Any sight of Gandalf early in the film would pre-empt the moment when the Three Hunters find him, which is quite clearly supposed to be his big entrance in TTT, I think. The footage of him and the Balrog will be shown in flashback soon after that, as in the book.”
Loressar Erchamion: “Maybe the opening of TTT shows the boat plunging to the bottom and making its way down the Anduin? Or maybe this is wishful thinking on my part, hoping we’ll get an early intro to the mysterious Captain Faramir of Ithilien.” 😉
David: “It could also be the plunge into the anduin made by Deagol for the ring, we already have some shots from this story telling part, wouldn’t be a bad opening considering Gollum’s right around the corner. Would also kind of continue the prelude to FOTR when we see Isildur “plunge” as well.”
Mendil: “Some have speculated that it is Gandalf and the Balrog plunging into the depths of Moria. I for one don’t believe it (or maybe I don’t want to believe it). It seems that this scene would play when Gandalf meets the Three Hunters, as a flash back.
“Some have also speculated that it is Frodo plunging into the Marshes. But obviously this can’t be the opening.
“We have a clue though – it’s “pure Peter Jackson”. What does this mean? I think it means that there is a frightening moment, delivered as a complete surprise. What else could it mean? I feel that, when this is spoken, they are referring to Jackson’s earlier movies, and not what he did in FOTR. So I’ll be looking for a big scare.
“My surmise is: It is the scene with Sam and Frodo descending the cliff in the Emyn Muil, where they first remember the elven rope. I bet this is turned into a real cliff-hanger! And it’ll involve Gollum, too.
“I cannot see how the Gandalf/Balrog battle would be considered a “pure Peter Jackson moment”.”
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Orangeblossom Brambleburr writes:
“Just an update on the status of Project Elanor, the community service project inspired by Sean Astin’s 9/11 call for participation in the United Day of Service campaign. Since our first announcement of this project on TORN, we have teamed up with national youth literacy charity Reading Is Fundamental Reading is Fundamental and they have formed an action committee to help find a suitable space for us to landscape as a children’s reading garden. We have also received pledges of help during the actual event from over 40 local fans, as well as extensive financial donations and other gifts. Thank you cards to those donors to help will be sent out later this week.
“The best news by far, however, is that our Founder, Victoria Bitter, was able to meet Mr. Astin himself on 9/11 and explain the project to him. He is well-known for being an active supporter of children’s literacy, and his response was enthusiastic. Much to our delight and that of the staff at Reading is Fundamental, Mr. Astin expressed his appreciation for the project, indicating that he would like to support Bit of Earth in this endeavor and even participate in Project Elanor itself!
“In light of Mr. Astin’s generosity, the date remains fluid, as we wish to accommodate his schedule however necessary. Unfortunately, the attempts we have made so far to determine when he would be available have not been returned by his management. With TTT drawing near, we understand that they are likely quite busy, but we are confident that Mr. Astin is a hobbit of his word, and greatly looking forward to seeing this project through to a conclusion worthy of Sam’s own garden!”
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Eien fround these pics on ha-movie.com and sent us the links. Could they be official posters for the release of the movie across Asia?
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It’s not received a lot of attention, but Australia (and New Zealand) are getting a Region 4 release of both the Special Extended Edition DVD and the Collector’s Edition.
The R4 release apparently will have a funky green cover/sleeve as opposed to the plain grey of the R1 and R2.
For those not keen on buying from overseas through Amazon or other overseas DVD outlets, and having to fret about exchange rates and shipping charges, what are the alternatives?
Well, I’ve had my eye on Ezydvd.com.au for a while, and their prices have remained static for the past couple of months – $174.95 for the Collector’s Edition and $74.95 for the Extended Edition (prices in Australian dollars and include shipping).
Recently though, I’ve been shopping around, and I discovered that dvd orchard has the R4 Collectors Edition on special right now (including free shipping via TNT within Oz for pre-orders) for only $159.95. The Extended Edition is also available for pre-order for only $69.95 (also has free shipping).
You can check it out here. The release date is listed as 12/11/2002 … just scroll down through the list and select your poison.
The Ozdvd warehouse also offers a good deal. The Collectors Edition is $170.95 and the Extended Edition is $67.95. Check them out here. No mention about free shipping, though.
Planet DVD only seems to be carrying the Extended Edition. From them, you’ll pay $68.95 if you’re a non member and $65.95 if you’re a member with free shipping within Australia. I couldn’t find a price for the Collectors Edition anywhere on their site.
Update:
David writes that Atlantic DVD have have the collectors boxset for $145.95. Go here to look. They also have the Extended Edition for $69.95 here.
International postage costs start at A$3.50 for Asia/PAcific area and A$5.50 for the rest of the world for 1 DVD and go up from there for each additional DVD.
Update 2:
Some of the best prices for R4 so far are:
In Australia: Devoted
Extended Ed: $64.95
Collector’s: $144.95
Apparently, they also have a free shipping deal going at present.
For those in NZ, check out: DVD Video Planet
Extended Edition: NZ$76.95 Aus$59.35
Collector’s: NZ$179.95 Aus$138.79
While DVD VideoPlanet’s prices are the best in R4, because they are based in NZ, the benefit of the discount is lost on those of us in Australia because of the trans-tasman shipping required. (Devoted is a better deal). I can’t say how this would affect someone elsewhere who’d like to take advantage of the low Oz or NZ dollar however (and who has a PAL/R4 compatible system).
Here are the prices of the Collector’s editon and Extended Edition from Family Box Office.
Collector’s Edition – Australian Residents AU$159.50
International AU$145.00 = US$79.75 approx
Extended Edition – Australian Residents AU$67.60
International AU$61.15 = US$ 33.63 approx
The reason for the price being cheaper for international customers is that they do not have to pay our GST (goods & services tax). No free shipping, apparently.
Prices from The DVD Stop
Collectors Edition for $143.95 AUD.
Extended Edition for $62.95 AUD.
Prices from dStore Australia:
Collectors Edition for $160.50 AUD.
Extended Edition for $72.05 AUD.
Prices from DVD Crave:
Collectors Edition for $141.45 AUD.
Extended Edition for $63.50 AUD.
Price from Total DVD:
(No direct links available.)
FOTR Boxed set – $170.95 AUD
FOTR Extended Ed. – $70.95 AUD
Prices from HMV Australia:
Collectors Edition for 144.95 AUD.
Extended Edition for $79.95 AUD.
Prices from The Video Shift:
Collectors Edition for $159.99 AUD.
Extended Edition for $69.99 AUD.
Prices from Vidz of Oz:
Collectors Edition for $171.57 AUD.
Extended Edition for $76.46 AUD.
PlanetDVD did have the Collector’s Box for sale on their website at $140.95 but it was only as a limited pre-order.
And, to find out the cheapest price from any online store check out this price crawler – just type in ‘Lord of the Rings’ and it will list all the various prices for the most competitive deal. DVD Price Crawler
Good grief, that was a lot of information! Thanks heaps to everyone who wrote in and helped out. The response was truly overwhelming.
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Last month Japanese fans were relieved to see the subtitles in FotR DVD were repaired considerably to what they had been in the film version. Now they are tortured again.
“On October 18th, the new TTT trailer was released by the Japanese distributor on the Web. Dubbed version was good, but those who love the actors’ own real voices chose the other version with subtitles—and they found a familiar frustration. [Eowyn says] “Preparations? Warning?” No viewer can possibly imagine Eowyn here is really saying, “They were unarmed. They had no warning.”
Another example. Sam : Wonder if this is the way Gandalf meant? (Note that “We’re lost” is eliminated) Frodo: Everything is unpredictable. “This is a Zen dialogue, not a translation at all,” exclaims an ex-leader of Petition for Better Subtitles in FotR. What’s in Frodo’s mind here is the tragic fall of Gandalf, but these subtitles ignore it. Such were the lines that filled FotR when seen in theaters. And Nippon Herald, the distributor, declares that the same subtitler will stay in her position.
A group of fans have started preparing a new petition. “How we wish we didn’t have to do this,” says another leader. “All we ask is: Just show us what is being said. Why should it be so difficult?”
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This review of Electronic Arts’ The Two Towers for PS2 was sent to us by Mumm Rahh.
Well Ive played “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” by EA Games, and i must say, Im impressed. Never before have i seen cut scenes and actual game play transition. The rendered environments and charicters are beautifully done and the sound effects and voice acting is wonderful. Its really great to see that they have finally made a good game off a movie.
And now, the downside
Game play, while fun at first is not very challenging, and a bit repetitive(even on the hardest difficulty setting) And its quite short(I finished it with all three charicters the day after i got it(Again on the hardest setting). I was personally disapointed that this game was only single player, as this style of game play lends itself perfectly to having even up to four players. But its a good game, better then most and really worth the 52$ The intigration of movie clips and impecable graphics really make this game something else.
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