“The quest comes to an end, with a few new twists and turns”
SYNOPSIS
The final battle
for Middle-Earth has begun. As Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean
Astin) approach MountDoom,
Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) and the others must fend off the hordes of
Sauron.
CRITIQUE
The Extended Cut of
The Return of the King adds 40 minutes of story (and 10 minutes
of credits) to the already long conclusion of the Lord of the Rings
trilogy. However, instead of dragging the film down, this cut brings
the film together in a way that is far more satisfying than the
theatrical cut. Added to this edition are scenes that expand on the
stories of Merry and Pippin, giving more depth to their friendship as
well as expanding on the subplot of Pippin being forced to mature in
the face of conflict. We are also given the opportunity to see the
final fate of Saruman and Wormtongue. The violence is more brutal in
this cut, while in many situations does not add much to the story, it
does however add more to Gollum’s performance as we can see how brutal
and dangerous he can be.
There are things
that have been added to this cut that are not that important or
somewhat ruin the tension of the film, such as the drinking game after
our heroes return to Isengard after winning the battle of Minas Tirith
or the scenes after the paths of the dead with Aragorn and the Spirits
he has brought into his service. But like in the previous cuts, these
sequences do not drag the films down, but instead add a little more
depth to the film.
THE VIDEO
The transfer is
beautiful, just like the films before it. The colors are vivid and the
black levels are consistent. It’s a very good looking transfer.
THE AUDIO
The film is
presented in Dolby Digital EX 5.1 Surround, and Stereo Surround. Both
mixes are great and use the surround to its fullest.
THE EXTRAS
Discs 1&2:
Commentaries:
Like the previous extended cuts there are 4 commentary tracks. One
features Peter Jackson, Fran Welsh, and Phillipa Boyens; another
features the cast; another features the design team (the production
designer, conceptual artist, art direction, etc); and the
production/post production team (the producers, editors, visual
effects supervisors, etc.) All the commentaries are excellent, giving
great detail about the making of the films (however, for a more visual
experience, it’s much easier to watch the other special features.)
Disc 3:
J.R.R. Tolkein, The
Legacy of Middle Earth:
An in-depth look at the creation of the languages languages and themes
that are found in the Lord of the Rings and the other stories of
Tolkien.
From Book to
Script: A look at the adaptation, from how the chronology of events
changes from book to film through abandoned concepts and alternate
sequences.
Designing Middle
Earth: A
look at the sets of Return of the King
Big-atures:
A third documentary looking at the (not very) miniatures that were
featured in Return of the King.
WETA:
A look at Weta’s challenge of bringing the events of Return of the
King to life.
Costumes:
A look at the changes in the costumes between TwoTowers
and Return of the King.
Home of the Horse
Lords: A
documentary looking at the horse trainers and the horses featured in
the film.
Middle Earth Atlas:
A map that shows the paths of every set of characters in the film.
New Zealand as Middle Earth: A look at the locations used to create this part of Middle Earth.
Disc 4:
Cameras in Middle
Earth:
An extensive making of feature which follows the same path as the film
itself. The documentary is best when it shows how emotional it was to
complete this film (Christopher Lee’s thank you to the crew is
possibly the most wonderful moment of the whole documentary.)
Visual Effects:
WETA Digital’s creation of every battle and effect in the film from
design through completion as well as a 28 second multi-angled look at
the Oliphant battle (with commentary.)
Editorial: Completing
the Trilogy:
A documentary about the completion of the trilogy, which covers and
shows a variety of interesting things.
Music of Middle
Earth:
Howard Shore and the completion of the music for the film.
Soundscapes of
Middle Earth:
The sound design of Return of the King.
The End of All
Things:
A look at how difficult post production was due to the amount of
re-shoots, music, editing, and foley that were happening at the exact
same time, creating difficulties for all those involved.
The Passing of an
Age: A
look at The Return of the King premiere in Wellington, New
Zealand, as well as other premiers and a look at ROTK winning
at the Oscars.
Cameron Duncan, The
Inspiration for “Into the West”:
A documentary about Cameron Duncan, a very talented 16 year old
filmmaker Cameron Duncan that had caught the attention of Peter
Jackson and the crew during the shoot, who ultimately died of cancer
during the shoot. This documentary features both short films he
directed (DFK6498 and Strike Zone) as well as the commercial for Organ
Donation that was shot during the Lord of the Rings shoot.
FINAL THOUGHT
With excellent
documentaries and a much more entertaining and emotional story, this
edition of The Return of the King is definitely worth owning.
