Product Description

The final battle for Middle-earth begins. Frodo and Sam, led by Gollum, continue their dangerous mission toward the fires of Mount Doom in order to destroy the One Ring. Aragorn struggles to fulfill his legacy as he leads his outnumbered followers against the growing power of the Dark Lord Sauron, so that the Ring-bearer may complete his quest.

DVD Features:
3D Animated Menus
DVD ROM Features:Exclusive online content Link to www.lordoftherings.net
Documentaries:3 in-depth programs that reveal the secrets behind the production of this epic adventure, including: "The Quest Fulfilled: A Director's Vision" (23:05) "A Filmmaker's Journey: Making The Return of The King" (28:30) National Geographic Special (45:57)
Featurette:6 featurettes --Aragorn's Destiny (3:25) --Minas Tirith: Capital of Gondor (3:10) --The Battle of Pelennor Fields (2:14) --Samwise the Brave (4:32) --Eowyn: White Lady of Rohan (3:45) --Digital Horse Doubles (4:35)
Other:2-DISC SET The Battle For Middle Eath Continues--Video Games from EA (3:00)
TV Spot
Theatrical Trailer:Original Theatrical Trailers "The Lord of The Rings" Trilogy Supertrailer (6:45)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1497 in DVD
• Brand: NEW LINE HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2004-05-25
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: AC-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Dimensions: .40 pounds
• Running time: 201 minutes

Amazon.com
With The Return of the King, the greatest fantasy epic in film history draws to a grand and glorious conclusion. Director Peter Jackson's awe-inspiring adaptation of the Tolkien classic The Lord of the Rings could never fully satisfy those who remain exclusively loyal to Tolkien's expansive literature, but as a showcase for physical and technical craftsmanship it is unsurpassed in pure scale and ambition, setting milestone after cinematic milestone as the brave yet charmingly innocent Hobbit Frodo (Elijah Wood) continues his mission to Mordor, where he is destined to destroy the soul-corrupting One Ring of Power in the molten lava of Mount Doom. While the heir to the kingdom of Men, Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), endures the massive battle at Minas Tirith with the allegiance of the elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom), dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) and the great wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Frodo and stalwart companion Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin) must survive the schizoid deceptions of Gollum, who remains utterly convincing as a hybrid of performance (by Andy Serkis) and subtly nuanced computer animation.

Jackson and cowriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens have much ground to cover; that they do so with intense pacing and epic sweep is impressive enough, but by investing greater depth and consequence in the actions of fellow Hobbits Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd), they ensure that Return of the King maintains the trilogy's emphasis on intimate fellowship. While several major characters appear only briefly, and one (Christopher Lee's evil wizard, Saruman) relegated entirely to the extended version on DVD, Jackson is to be commended for his editorial acumen; like Legolas the archer, his aim as a filmmaker is consistently true, and he remains faithful to Tolkien's overall vision. If Return suffers from too many endings, as some critic suggested, it's only because the epic's conclusion is so loyally inclusive of the actors--most notably Astin--who gave it such strength to begin with. By ending the LOTR trilogy with noble integrity and faith in the power of imaginative storytelling, The Return of the King, like its predecessors, will stand as an adventure for the ages. --Jeff Shannon

DVD features
Like the first two Lord of the Rings installments, the theatrical-release DVD of The Return of the King has superior picture and sound quality, and that's the important thing. The features on disc 2, however, fall a little short. Two brief documentaries (23 and 28 minutes) chronicle the making of the trilogy and have some good information, but they're best suited to those who aren't very familiar with the films, and some of the material overlaps. A surprise is the complete National Geographic Beyond the Movie program, but it's mostly an excuse for film clips as it draws rather tenuous connections between Tolkien and history, such as comparing Aragorn to William Wallace or Gandalf to Ben Franklin. The six lordoftherings.net featurettes (17 minutes total) are part recap and part making-of, and the Eowyn and digital-horse segments have some appeal. Also included are trailers (including the trilogy supertrailer), TV spots, and a pitch for the related video games (the already-released Return of the King plus the upcoming Battle for Middle-Earth). Unfortunately, some of the more enticing features of the previous theatrical releases are missing: no music video, no preview of an upcoming movie (obviously, because all the films have been released), and no preview of the inevitable extended edition (presumably because there's a longer time between the release of the ROTK theatrical version and the release of the extended version). Still, the film doesn't really need any extras to make it a worthwhile pickup. --David Horiuchi

From The New Yorker
The final act of Tolkien's saga. Many hours after Gandalf (Ian McKellen) showed up in the Shire and arranged for the transportation of a significant piece of personal jewelry, Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) staggers to the brink of Mount Doom and prepares, if he can muster the will, to cast the One Ring into the flames. By any standard, it has been an exhaustively splendid trip, crammed at once with private anxiety and lofty overviews of public strife. In this last installment, we are privileged witnesses not just to the Ringbearer's quest but also to a furious pitching of battles, as an ocean of orcs beats against the shining walls of Minas Tirith. The old gang-Legolas (Orlando Bloom), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), and Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen)-is on hand to save the day and, by implication, the future of a civilization. The director, Peter Jackson, loyal as ever to the original book, has inherited a serious case of anticlimax; he is no more capable than Tolkien of finding a pastoral peace, at the close, that can match the energy of his war. Nevertheless, there should be enough here to dazzle the doubters; will Jackson have the nerve to remix his work, in all its majesty, and release a ten-hour marathon next year? -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

New scenes and unseens
The extended DVD of "Return of the King" is filled with many new and extended scenes that will please fans who love Tolkien's original story. The July 26, 2004 San Diego Comic Convention featured a preview of many scenes, some introduced by Peter Jackson himself. (Some of these scenes were recently featured in the sneak preview trailer at Lord of the Rings.net, although now it seems to have been removed). In reference to a couple of reviews on the board here -- if you're waiting anxiously for the Scouring of the Shire, don't hold your breath. That segment was NEVER filmed by Jackson, therefore it will NOT be included in the extended edition DVD. But there ARE plenty of great scenes to be included:

· We hear Christopher Lee's booming voice echoed over a dark screen that lightened to reveal Saruman on top of Orthanc. He warns our heroes of something festering in the heart of Middle-earth and that they will all die.

· We see Frodo and Sam in their Orc disguises joining the column of Orcs as they march out of Mordor.
· There are numerous shots of the Houses of Healing with Faramir, Eowyn, and Merry all seen.
· A lot more looks to be added to the siege of Minas Tirith, as there was a bunch of new battle footage.
· Frodo and Sam venture into the Crossroads and a few clips from that section were included.
· The Mouth of Sauron is featured pretty heavily. If you've played EA's Return of the King video game you'll recognize the scene. The Mouth of Sauron rides out of the Black Gate and presents Frodo's mithril coat to the Fellowship.
· Aragorn reveals himself to Sauron by approaching the Palantir in Minas Tirith and wields Anduril to show that the Heir of Elendil was alive.
· We get to see more of Saruman later in the preview when he knocks Wormtongue down and also fires a giant fireball from his staff that engulfs Gandalf on Shadowfax.
· There's more of Frodo and Sam in Mordor after they join the column of Orcs and before they discard their disguises. In one scene, Sam looks to the dark sky of Mordor and tells Frodo that he can see light as one little star can be seen glimmering through the clouds.
· And yes, we will finally get to see Gandalf facing down the Witch King. It happens exactly as we've seen, but when Gandalf holds up his staff the Witch King pulls out his sword and holds it to the sky where it spouts flames. As he brings it down, the air around the burning sword is distorted.

That was just the preview. New Line treated fans to three full clips, with the third introduced by Peter Jackson himself:

· There was a nice scene of Pippin and Faramir in Gondor where Faramir explains to the Hobbit how the small Gondorian armor he was wearing belonged to a young son of the Steward when he was a kid. Faramir further explains how Boromir was always the soldier and he wasn't.
· A scene that takes place about five days after they were healed by Aragorn features Faramir and Eowyn on a balcony at the Houses of Healing where Eowyn falls for Faramir.
· The Paths of the Dead is extended from where it ends in the theatrical cut. After Aragorn poses his offer, the dead laugh and go back into the walls. A massive earthquake starts, and the Three Hunters must escape an avalanche of millions of skulls.

· Described, but not shown, another scene expanded in this edition is the scene where Pippin finds Merry on the battlefield. Now, Pippin searches the field for an entire day after everyone else has gone back into the city. He finally locates Merry at night in the new version of the scene.

Just a few weeks to go till the "Return of the King" extended edition hits the stores!

A miraculous accomplishment
Peter Jackson proved me wrong when I said, like many people, that Lord of the Rings would be a bust: Spielberg-adventure at best, Lucas-disaster at worst. Had I known Tolkien's classic was in the hands of the guy who directed Heavenly Creatures, I would have been more optimistic. As it turns out, my expectations were completely overturned. In some ways the films are actually better than the books, especially in terms of emotional power. Competent actors, amazing cinematography, and a brilliant music score combine to offer us Middle-Earth as we'd never imagined it.

Fellowship of the Ring is the most polished film, with its elegant episodic pacing. We start in the idyllic world of the hobbits and flee with Ringwraiths hot on our heels; we rest in Elrond's sanctuary and plunge into Moria; we come out grieving and console ourselves in Galadriel's safe (yet unsettling) dream-wood, and then wind up surrounded by Uruk-hai. This is a quintessential fantasy road-journey containing three episodes within an episode, each beginning in a haven and followed by a dark journey. The pacing is flawless, and the plot unfolds to a perfect beat.

Two Towers is the ambiguous film. It's excellent (or at least the extended version is) but structured in a way that the hobbits become sidelined by the Rohan story. As they are the soul of Tolkien's epic, we feel slightly nonplussed at their consignment to B-storylines. Ironically, the film is a showcase for cgi characters Gollum and Treebeard, who manage to steal the show from within these storylines.

Return of the King is the most dramatic film, tragic on almost a biblical level, and certainly the most satisfying. I can understand why Elijah Wood calls it "better than one and two combined". It centers on the hopeless mission to Mount Doom, which, as every fan knows, is the heart of the story. Around this we're bombarded by apocalyptic chaos and destruction on the Pelennor Fields, followed by Aragorn's hopeless march on the Black Gate. We finish at the Grey Havens, the best ending in literary and cinematic history, which encapsulates all of Tolkien's themes: courage, friendship, suffering, and passing on. It just doesn't get better than this.

Peter Jackson deserves more accolades than I'm capable of heaping to the point of overkill. Minor quibbles aside, the extended versions of these films are masterpieces to be treasured as much as the books. Tolkien's classic may be pure, but the movie's cinematography takes us where even the written word cannot go. Tolkien's writing is irreplaceable, but Howard Shore's music taps deeper into Middle-Earth's soul. The text is sacred, but the scriptwriters changed it anyway so that it could actually work on screen. The entire project has been too good to be true, and I'm still in awe of it.

Latest Details On ROTK: Extended Edition
Not sure why there's such a vacuum of information available here on ROTK- the platinum extended edition release.

Its no secret that Peter Jackson has finished the version - and that it contains a whopping 65 minutes of additional footage that was cut from the theatrical version, putting the final movie at four hours and ten minutes. Awesome!

Apparently there was some rumor that New Line Cinema was going to cheap out on the special effects for the extended release version - and go with a cut-rate American outfit instead of the New Zealand firm they've worked with on the prior two films - but this was just that - a rumor, as far as I've been able to obtain.

New Scenes from the book to appear in the extended release version include the following: Confrontation with Saruman at Isengaard in which the Palantir is acquired (tossed out tower by Wormtongue), Parley with the Mouth of Sauron outside the Black Gates, Merry pledging his swoord and allegiance to Theoden, Sam and Frodo, disguised in Orc garb, marching with (and then escaping from) Orc Troop in Mordor, Eowyn and Faramir meet in the Houses of Healing in Gondor, and finally, a scene in which Aragorn reveals himself to Sauron in the Palantir.

All in all, good stuff. The only liberty it sounds Jackson has taken with the material is that Saruman is killed in the confrontation at Isengaard - falls to his death from the tower - rather than simply cast from the order, stripped of his power and humiliated by Gandolph, as the book. We can certainly live with that, can't we?