Product Description

This critically acclaimed epic trilogy follows the quest undertaken by the hobbit, Frodo Baggins, and his fellowship of companions to save Middle-earth by destroying the One Ring and defeating the evil forces of the Dark Lord Sauron. All three titles in their extended editions are packaged together: "The Lord Of The Rings Motion Picture Trilogy Special Extended DVD Edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #66 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-12-10
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Number of discs: 12
• Formats: PAL, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 12
• Running time: 681 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The extended editions of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings present the greatest trilogy in film history in the most ambitious sets in DVD history. In bringing J.R.R. Tolkien's nearly unfilmable work to the screen, Jackson benefited from extraordinary special effects, evocative New Zealand locales, and an exceptionally well-chosen cast, but most of all from his own adaptation with co-writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, preserving Tolkien's vision and often his very words, but also making logical changes to accommodate the medium of film. While purists complained about these changes and about characters and scenes left out of the films, the almost two additional hours of material in the extended editions (about 11 hours total) help appease them by delving more deeply into Tolkien's music, the characters, and loose ends that enrich the story, such as an explanation of the Faramir-Denethor relationship, and the appearance of the Mouth of Sauron at the gates of Mordor. In addition, the extended editions offer more bridge material between the films, further confirming that the trilogy is really one long film presented in three pieces (which is why it's the greatest trilogy ever--there's no weak link). The scene of Galadriel's gifts to the Fellowship added to the first film proves significant over the course of the story, while the new Faramir scene at the end of the second film helps set up the third and the new Saruman scene at the beginning of the third film helps conclude the plot of the second.

To top it all off, the extended editions offer four discs per film: two for the longer movie, plus four commentary tracks and stupendous DTS 6.1 ES sound; and two for the bonus material, which covers just about everything from script creation to special effects. The argument was that fans would need both versions because the bonus material is completely different, but the features on the theatrical releases are so vastly inferior that the only reason a fan would need them would be if they wanted to watch the shorter versions they saw in theaters (the last of which, The Return of the King, merely won 12 Oscars). The LOTR extended editions without exception have set the DVD standard by providing a richer film experience that pulls the three films together and further embraces Tolkien's world, a reference-quality home theater experience, and generous, intelligent, and engrossing bonus features. --David Horiuchi

Synopsis
Peter Jackson's suitably massive interpretation of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. All three huge, action-packed movies in one box. See individual titles from Entertainment in Video for greater detail.

Customer Reviews

Worth Every Penny
This Lord Of The Rings Extended Edition Trilogy DVD set is the litmus test for which all future DVD sets should be compared to. As well as the longer versions of each film, there are literally dozens of hours of extras, from historical accounts of Tolkien's life, to production design, to story drafts, actor interviews, special effects, art design, you name it, it's here. This set is as epic as the movies.

The Lord of Films
Totally disagree with the last reviewer. This film has stopped me going to cinema simply because after it there has not been one production that compares. I read the book and have to admit was pretty bored. However the film is fantastic.
As for the dvd. The picture is brilliant on dvd and I just wonder how much a HD version will improve this. The extended bit adds so much value and in total over 3 films is about 2.5 hours longer. The soundtrack if you have surround speakers is crisp and fantastic. The dvd really is a benchmark for all dvds and to date not one I have seen so far compares to the extras that you are given. I have owned the dvds for well over 3 years and still have not been able to go through all the extras on the discs. Peter Jackson is a fantastic director and the extras shows how much love he had for the project. I have to admit I do beleive the orcs could have been done a lot better. I just dont think they look that real. However Gollum has to be one of the greatest creations ever. He is played well by Andy Serkis. The reason why the directors need to change some things is simply because what works in print doesnt necessarily work on the big screen. There are some things that should also have been removed. The ghosts in the 3rd part of the film is just a silly idea. Why not get them to fight from the beginning or send them to destroy the ring with Frodo as no one can fight the dead. They just cant die unless Aragon wishes them. I can understand that Peter Jackson couldnt remove this from the picture but I wish he had. It ruins it somewhat. However the rest of the film is fine and the way its told it seems as the events actually happened a long time ago.
This DVD definately does not disappoint and if you have never seen Lord of the Rings extended edition then you are missing o`ut on a fantastic film experiance. You can pick each disc seperately for under £10 now and it really is value for money. I still watch it a few times a year and the scope never ceases to amaze me.

Presumptuous mediocrity
Peter Jackson's self-described "adaptation" of The Lord of the Rings is basically an example of fan-fiction, the genre in which professed fans of a particular writer carry on the story after the end of the book: for example, Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett's life together after they got married. Why I describe Jackson's effort as "presumptuous" is because he decided it was OK to rewrite the original work itself, to "fix it up" in accordance with his own tasteless "aesthetic". It's "mediocre" simply because, as film critic John Marriott said of George Lucas, the trouble with Peter Jackson is that "he can't write and he can't direct". His alterations are neither minor nor necessary: they grotesquely distort the arc of the story and render most of the leading characters unrecognisable. That's fine if the alternative is valid but it is far from that. Like Jolene, Jackson "took" LOTR "just because he could".