I’ve seen bits and pieces of the various Lord of The Rings movies, but never watched them from start to finish. I put The Fellowship of The Ring in my Netflix and decided on the extended edition. Did I make a mistake in picking the extended edition over the theatrical release?
Get the extended ones; it’s a good call.
The extended cuts are the full cuts, to me. We’re talking about 30 minutes more per movie and a lot of it is quality stuff.
Get the extended and soak them in. They’re great. 
Agreed. The scene where the Hobbits discuss Lembas (Elvish bread) alone is worth it.
Yeah, extended is better. I didn’t get the significance of the Elves’ gifts until I saw the extended version. There were other bits too, that made for a much more satisfying experience (Hobbits getting high, one getting higher). None of the additions feel like filler.
On DVD, the extended version occupies two discs per volume, six discs for the whole, a presumably unplanned but pleasant echo of the six “books” which were Tolkien’s own division of the story.
The EE of FOTR is a big improvement. TT not so much. ROTK is a disaster in EE because it includes some things that were portrayed the opposite in the book. I won’t spoil it for you.
Seconded. FOTR’s extra footage was tres cool for a LOTR geek like me, but not crucial. TT and especially RTK’s extras were cool to see but ultimately dispensable. I own all the theatrical releases and EE’s, and the the theatrical releases really stack up fine on their own.
FOTR EE was better paced and the Elvish stuff was extended and just a bit more twee. Perfect for the geek. But not commercial. It was the strongest of the trilogy.
I loved all the EEs. When I watch these movies, I want to spend as much time there as possible, even if some things conflict with the books.
My wife and I agree that the Two Toweres actually benefitted most from the extended cut. In fact, it’s our favorite movie in the series.
ROTK is also much better in extended cut, but not as much as the other two. I mean, since the movies are so good, you should really just get the ones that have the most in them.
And watch the epic(even longer than the movies) making of documentaries some day. No films have ever been documented as well. Speaking of which, I hope they document the Hobbit filming as much.
The theatrical cuts deviate from and sometimes conflict with the book, too. If deviation from the book is really a problem, you should just avoid the movies entirely.
The first movie is a strong movie with the extended cut but I didn’t feel the extras were needed.
The second movie is vastly better with the extended cut (for contrast the theatrical version is a movie about the Battle of Helms Deep. The EE is a movie that has the battle of Helm’s Deep in it. Feels like a totally different movie).
The third movie is a weaker movie in the EE version. They included a lot of junk and silliness they cut for the theatrical version. Though there is one scene I really enjoyed in the EE version.
Watch the EE versions all the way through. There’s only one movie not improved by them and even that one has something to make up for it.
The only argument against seeing the extended editions is that it’s a long time to sit in one place in front of a screen. If you’re watching them at home, though, you can put in an intermission to stand up and stretch, or take a potty break, or whatever, whenever you need one. So go for the extended.