September 28, 2004

What's 4 Hours and 10 Minutes Long?

I don't know Will, what is four hours and ten minutes long?
I'll tell you... the Extended Edition of Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, that's what! Just watching RotK is going to constitute one major butt-numb-a-thon! Imagine what watching all three extenditions with an hour break between each will be like. You do the math. I plan to do just that too and I plan to make a partay out of the glorious cinematic event. I better stock up on popcorn, snacks, and the ingredients for homemade pizzas and Zombies!! And maybe some extra comfy cushions.

Read all about....

LOS ANGELES, California (Hollywood Reporter) -- The December 14, 2004 home video release of director Peter Jackson's extended version of the Academy Award-winning "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" will feature 50 additional minutes of new footage, a new musical score and a cameo appearance of Jackson being felled by an arrant arrow.

The 200-minute theatrical version of "King" has sold more than 10 million combined DVD and VHS units since its May 25 release, according to several industry sources.

The extended-version home-video releases of the first two films in the "Rings" trilogy, "Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Two Towers," have sold about 5 million combined DVD and VHS units each, generating high sales expectations for the $39.99 extended "King" release.

"With even more added footage than the special extended editions of 'The Fellowship of the Ring' and 'The Two Towers,' this new version of 'The Return of the King' is truly a landmark cinematic experience," New Line Home Entertainment president and chief operating officer Stephen Einhorn said.

NLHE's "King" extended four-disc DVD and double-cassette VHS will feature 300 additional special effects shots and scenes among the 50 additional minutes of never-before-seen footage, giving the new extended version a 250-minute running time.

The limited collector's edition DVD of the "King" extended version includes a fifth disc that contains a 52-minute feature, "Howard Shore: Creating the Lord of the Rings Symphony -- A Composer's Journey Through Middle-Earth." The bonus feature includes excerpts of live concert footage of the Lord of the Rings Symphony recorded with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. There's also a hand-painted polystone sculpture of Minas Tirith and its accompanying keepsake box.

All DVD and VHS extended versions of "King" will be featured in a widescreen format with Dolby Digital EX 5.1 Surround Sound, DTS ES 6.1 Surround Sound and stereo surround sound.

The extended-version DVD also offers four audio commentaries. One is from Jackson, while the other three include members of the cast and the production crew -- among them actors Elijah Wood, Sean Astin and Orlando Bloom and Academy Award winners Richard Taylor (makeup), Howard Shore (music) and Randy Cook (visual effects).

Posted by Will Burnham on Tue Sep 28, 2004 | Comment on this entry | TrackBack
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Comments

I'm sure it will be the finest 4 hours and 10 minutes I've ever spent! I can't wait!

Posted by: Becky on September 28, 2004 02:02 PM

December 14th cannot get here soon enough!!

Posted by: Jeff on September 28, 2004 07:30 PM

I'm gonna be smart and just take the whole day off from work this time!

Posted by: Jaime on September 28, 2004 11:58 PM

I cant wait to watch this on my TV!

Posted by: Dave on September 29, 2004 02:10 PM