Now THAT was a director’s cut. It was everything youse guys have been saying it is, and more.
Things I loved in the restored scenes:
The elves walking in the forest, and their singing. It put me in mind of the strange chorale pieces in “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Very unearthly and perfectly appropriate for elves.
“Concerning Hobbits” - Lots more funny and endearing footage of hobbits, as well as more of Ian Holm’s wonderful voice in the narration.
“At the Green Dragon” - There’s a pub I’d like to visit! But they only serve half-pints, I guess.
Now, we all know there’s no experience like seeing a film of this magnitude on the big screen. But I’ll say this for the DVD - during the cave troll battle in Moria, I was much better able to make out what was going on. On the big screen, that scene was so big and overwhelming and fast it was almost a blur. Now I see all the great choreography going on. Wow!
I bought the DVD last night at Best Buy (thanks for the heads-up gobear!), and stayed up far too late watching it. Though I couldn’t really afford the time or the money, I must say it was well worth both the cost and the crusty eyes this morning. It’s almost a different film!
Probably my favorite “added” scene, in terms of what I felt it added to the story, was the Wood Elves’ procession in the forest. It establishes a lot with just a little, and really gives that part of the film a stronger flow. I always felt that the cut that excised it seemed awfully abrupt, even before I was really aware that there was something actually missing! Now I know why I felt that way.
And I love the subtle changes Howard Shore made in the score for some of the added footage. The music is basically the same, but in parts I can hear subtle differences in instrumentation and timing that really improve upon already-great music.
The film as a whole feels a little slower than the theatrical version, which I like. It’s not quite as relentless as it was before, and it gives you a little more time to know the characters. The subtle changes in Frodo and Gandalf’s first exchange, for example, or even in the way Isildur dies at the beginning really put a different spin on things.
This reminds me of the first time I saw the British version on Legend, after having watched the American version for so long. I like both versions, it’s hard to decide which is actually better. I think I’d have to say that, as a fan of the books, the extended version is definitely holds more true to the story and feeling that Tolkien expressed.
Thank you indeed, Mr. Jackson! Only a month left now until Two Towers…
Is there a scene in the extended version of a whole load of hobbits drinking and singing and dancing in a pub? My aunt was a hobbit extra. The only scene where she thinks she would have been recognised was as above, but it was cut from the original release. She’s been hoping it would be put back in in the extended version.
Wow this must be the greatest DVD ever. The packaging alone was almost enough to justify the purchase. Then four fat dvd’s packed with features not to mention the amazing transfer. And all just for 25 bucks. Amazing. I thought it would be a lot more expensive.
BTW someone mentioned trading cards. I didn’t find any. Can anyone describe them?
I got them with the 50 buck version, along with the bookends. It is three cards, looks like it might be part of a game? One is Legolas, one is Aragorn, and the third is Gimli. They are holographic, really nifty!
Yes I found a while back that there was yet another collector’s edition. I am wondering whether I would have preferred that. Still the EE was great deal.
I bought it yesterday afternoon, and watched last night.
When the movie first came out, the two things I thought I would like to see more of were a) the Shire and b) Lorien, so I am very happy at this point.
I loved all the new Shire scenes, especially the opening with Bilbo writing.
I was surprised, however, to see that Lobelia was not the hobbit woman who disapproved of the fireworks. Did anyone else think she was?
My favorite additions to Lorien:
[ul]
[li]Celeborn got more than one line! He was even mentioned by name.[/li][li]Sam’s extemporaneous poem about Gandalf’s fireworks. [/li][li]The gift-giving, especially Gimli’s blustering shyness about asking for a strand of Galadriel’s hair.[/li][/ul]
I don’t think anyone’s mentioned it before (and sorry if they did and I missed it), but one addition that I also liked was Isildur putting on the ring, and it slipping off his finger, just before his death.
There are so many little things added, some no more than a few seconds long, but they make the movie so much richer and, I imagine, explain a bit more to people who aren’t familiar with the story. I’m glad I waited to get this version instead of buying the earlier one.
I saw most of my brother’s copy last night. I haven’t been able to buy it for myself, because my birthday’s coming up, blast it.
Who would have thought a three hour movie could need to be fleshed out? But that’s what it felt like, and the movie felt so much more complete in this version. F’rinstance, one of my biggest complaints was that the fight scene in the Mines of Moria was really really choppily edited and hard to follow. The restored version was far better, and you could see why they had to edit it so ruthlessly.
I’m already looking forward to seeing the restored DVD version of Helm’s Deep.
I loooved this DVD and the extra footage that they added. It wasn’t a “typical” director’s cut at all, where they often put back in things that were best cut out. Every little snippet or entire scene added to the story. Tolkien geeks of the world - Unite!
I liked some of the completely new scenes, such as the scene at the Midgewater Marshes and Aragorn singing the lay of Luthien, Aragorn talking to Galadriel about Arwen, and Aragorn talking to Celeborn about the Uruk-Hai. Especially that last one, I thought that it really added to the tension leading up to the Uruk-Hai chase-through-the-woods to Amon Hen. I felt that this wasn’t adequately explained in the original theatrical release. “You’re being tracked…” Spooky. Also loved the gift-giving scene, although Sam didn’t get his box of dirt with a mallorn seed - just the rope.
oh, and
Yep - the scene at the Green Dragon pub is included. That’s the one with the memorable “Rosie knows an idiot when she sees one” quote.