Lord of the Rings: Extended Edition Blu-ray Thoughts

Insert nerdgasm here.

OK, so yeah, The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Blu-ray disc set has arrived on Blu-ray, and I must say that this is about as awesome as a Blu-ray set gets. Right up there with last year's incredibly polished and detailed Alien Anthology, the Blu-ray for LOTR has the advantage of not having two (possibly one, as the Assembly Cut of Alien 3 is debatable) crappy films saddling its space. I'll take a look at the films individually:

The Witch-king's wife is such a Bitch-queen.

The Fellowship of the Ring, lauded by hardcore fans for its faithfulness, is probably my least liked installment of the trilogy (not that is isn't great), just because of the way Tolkien wrote the story. A rather long and protracted exposition sequence only lengthened by the Extended version (though I love the Hobbit references, perfect not only as a reflection but also as a little reminder of next year's film), a lack of action for most of the first half (this is a three-and-a-half hour movie in Extended form, by the way, about 100 minutes), and a cliffhanger that doesn't really excite as much as it should, despite the foreboding final shots of Mordor. However, the parts that are great are just so great, that they cancel out these minor niggles and advance forward. Ian McKellen's wise and sagely Gandalf the Grey (McKellen said he liked playing the Grey more than the White, and I agree that it's a more interesting role), Christopher Lee as the dark and powerful Saruman, the brilliant opening scenes involving Sauron's creation of the Ring and subsequent destruction, Gandalf's battle with the Balrog, and of course, Scary Bilbo (seriously, I practically pissed my pants in that scene as a kid). Overall, though, the film is great, just not as amazing as the subsequent films.

You'll come back as a dragon. You'll come back as Viggo Mortensen.

The Two Towers is a increasingly more complex, labyrinthine, and action-packed film than its predecessor, and though it's nearly impossible to follow without repeat viewings, it remains to be a classic of the fantasy genre. So many things in this movie are awesome, such as the epic Battle of Helm's Deep (probably only beat in battle scenes by the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan and Gladiator), Brad f***in Dourif as Grima Wormtongue (in one of those "best casting ever" moments),  and of course, Gollum. Never has a computer-generated character been so ideally realized from book to film. Andy Serkis' voice, motion capture, and Gollum's conflicting and feral personality are about as perfect as it gets. The climax and ending work better than Fellowship, as Frodo and Sam venture off into the unknown, heading toward a situation of great peril. The Two Towers, tricky as it may be, cemented Peter Jackson's place in Hollywood legend.

Master, just let me stick it in the Precious one more time....

As the final chapter of the trilogy, The Return of the King is the best, and is, bar none, the greatest fantasy film ever made. The best of the trilogy (with the best Blu-ray as well, the visuals are amazing) carries a lot of action, drama, tenderness, and thrills in its extended 260-minute run time (that's almost FOUR-AND-A-HALF hours, folks). It is more linear and easier to understand than The Two Towers (provided you DO understand that one already), and features many of the trilogy's finest moments. From The Battle of Pelennor Fields (until the Army of the Dead show up and cut it short), to Frodo's confrontation with Shelob and his wrestle for power with Gollum at the Crack of Doom, almost every scene in this film carries a sense of wonder and awe. Not many new elements are added to this one, with it being an almost completely direct continuation on from its predecessor (whereas it introduced a number of new characters, settings, and situations), but the Extended Edition only gives more of a good thing.

The box set is incredibly detailed (even if the extras are merely from earlier sets), and they're perfect for fans and newcomers alike. It's ideal with The Hobbit a mere 17 months away.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey opens December 14, 2012.
The Hobbit: There and Back Again opens December 13, 2013.

I'm back, bitch.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring- 4/5
Extended Edition- 4/5 (some nice new scenes, but nothing necessary)

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers- 4/5
Extended Edition- 4.5/5 (additional scenes with the Orcs and a Denethor-Boromir-Faramir scene raise it half a star)

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King- 4.5/5
Extended Editon- 5/5 (More Denethor-Faramir, as well as the death of Saruman and Grima fix the only flaw in the original cut)