The Fellowship of The Ring Extended Edition is definitely I think the definitive version of the film despite Peter Jackson’s preference towards the Theatrical Editions for the trilogy. The majority of the changes apart from the obvious restored deleted scene here and there were just extensions to existing scenes or alternate shots/dialogue that weren’t even noticeable when watching it for the first time to compare, which made the pacing and momentum as good as or even better than the Theatrical Cut. I was showing my parents the Theatrical Edition of the movie to show them Lord of The Rings for the first time and while we all enjoyed it, I felt it was jarring in some spots due to those extra scenes and tidbits that were missing. The Two Towers and The Return of The King Extended Editions appear to be more of a mixed bag with fans and cinema buffs in general. The Two Towers I mainly enjoy in it’s extended format apart from the scene where Merry and Pippin are mucking around with the forest water which I would have left out, whereas The Return of The King I actually lean towards the Theatrical Edition being better due to the scenes that actually undermine the pacing and wreck the suspense and tension (the extended Army of The Dead scenes being the biggest offender), despite great scenes such as Saruman’s demise, the Mouth of Sauron and Aragorn and the Palantir only being available in the Extended Edition. The Return of The King’s theatrical release was sort of already an “Extended Edition” itself running at 3 hours and 20 minutes, with the official Extended Edition being 4 hours and 12 minutes, way longer than the extended cuts for ‘Fellowship’ and ‘Two Towers’.
So funny you mentioned that little detail, when you see the rider head off from the dock, it was a lovely visual with the two little lanterns, and that wailing sound, very haunting! As much as I liked concerning hobbits, I couldn’t stand the visual of the dumb hobbit fiddling with his earwax :)
I've seen the extended edition so many times through the years it might as well be the standard edition.
The Fellowship of The Ring Extended Edition is definitely I think the definitive version of the film despite Peter Jackson’s preference towards the Theatrical Editions for the trilogy.
The majority of the changes apart from the obvious restored deleted scene here and there were just extensions to existing scenes or alternate shots/dialogue that weren’t even noticeable when watching it for the first time to compare, which made the pacing and momentum as good as or even better than the Theatrical Cut. I was showing my parents the Theatrical Edition of the movie to show them Lord of The Rings for the first time and while we all enjoyed it, I felt it was jarring in some spots due to those extra scenes and tidbits that were missing.
The Two Towers and The Return of The King Extended Editions appear to be more of a mixed bag with fans and cinema buffs in general. The Two Towers I mainly enjoy in it’s extended format apart from the scene where Merry and Pippin are mucking around with the forest water which I would have left out, whereas The Return of The King I actually lean towards the Theatrical Edition being better due to the scenes that actually undermine the pacing and wreck the suspense and tension (the extended Army of The Dead scenes being the biggest offender), despite great scenes such as Saruman’s demise, the Mouth of Sauron and Aragorn and the Palantir only being available in the Extended Edition.
The Return of The King’s theatrical release was sort of already an “Extended Edition” itself running at 3 hours and 20 minutes, with the official Extended Edition being 4 hours and 12 minutes, way longer than the extended cuts for ‘Fellowship’ and ‘Two Towers’.
So funny you mentioned that little detail, when you see the rider head off from the dock, it was a lovely visual with the two little lanterns, and that wailing sound, very haunting! As much as I liked concerning hobbits, I couldn’t stand the visual of the dumb hobbit fiddling with his earwax :)
good review man i love these movies but i must say i think i like the hobbit films even more...i know blasphemy right?