June 14, 2004

To Buy Or Not to Buy RotK DVD
Eonwe

Pip, you asked whether buying the shorter RotK DVD is worth it. Although I didn't buy the theatrical versions of FotR or TTT, I did buy the RotK DVD when it came out.

The bad news is the extras aren't great and they kind of repeat, and there is no preview of the Extended Edition (although during the extras there are quite a few quick shots that aren't in the shorter version). But I did still buy it. For me, there were two reasons. 1) I can watch RotK whenever the spirit moves me between now and November. Six months is a pretty long time, so that's a pretty good reason. 2) I wanted to own the movie that won a record 11 out of 11 Academy Awards. The EE will be better and much more satisfying for us Tolkien nuts, I have no doubt, but the theatrical version will always be the one that won all the honors, made $1 billion+ at the box office, and had the huge impact on Hollywood.

Those two reasons were enough to convince me to spend ~$20, but maybe not you.

Eonwe

p.s. EE scenes that I spotted in the extras:
1) Merry pledging allegiance to Theoden
2) Pippin & Gandalf on the 'prow' of Minas Tirith
3) Aragorn telling Gandalf 'he has gone unchallenged long enough'
4) Pippin and Gandalf being confronted by the Nazgul on the city walls (BUT I am pretty sure that it is just one of the normal Nazgul, NOT the Witch-King with his black skeleton helmet)
5) more of Sam & Frodo in orc gear I think
6) ???