The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |  | Director: Peter Jackson
Actors: Viggo Mortensen, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Noel Appleby, Alexandra Astin
Studio: New Line Home Video
Category: DVD
This item is no longer available
Rating:  1740 reviews
Sales Rank: 202179
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
Languages: English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Original Language)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 2
Running Time: 201 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: DN11321D
UPC: 794043113215
EAN: 0794043113215
ASIN: B00110WFYM
Theatrical Release Date: 2003
Release Date: January 8, 2008
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Amazon.com
The greatest trilogy in film history, presented in the most ambitious sets in DVD history, comes to a grand conclusion with the extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Not only is the third and final installment of Peter Jackson's adaptation of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien the longest of the three, but a full 50 minutes of new material pushes the running time to a whopping 4 hours and 10 minutes. The new scenes are welcome, and the bonus features maintain the high bar set by the first two films, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers. What's New?
One of the scenes cut from the theatrical release but included here, the resolution of the Saruman storyline, generated a lot of publicity when the movie opened, as actor Christopher Lee complained in the press about losing his only appearance. It's an excellent scene, one Jackson calls "pure Tolkien," and provides better context for Pippin to find the wizard's palantir in the water, but it's not critical to the film. In fact, "valuable but not critical" might sum up the ROTK extended edition. It's evident that Jackson made the right cuts for the theatrical run, but the extra material provides depth and ties up a number of loose ends, and for those sorry to see the trilogy end (and who isn't?) it's a welcome chance to spend another hour in Middle-earth. Some choice moments are Gandalf's (Ian McKellen) confrontation with the Witch King (we find out what happened to the wizard's staff), the chilling Mouth of Sauron at the gates of Mordor, and Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) being mistaken for Orc soldiers. We get to see more of Éowyn (Miranda Otto), both with Aragorn and on the battlefield, even fighting the hideously deformed Orc lieutenant, Gothmog. We also see her in one of the most anticipated new scenes, the Houses of Healing after the battle of the Pelennor Fields. It doesn't present Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) as a savior as the book did, but it shows the initial meeting between Éowyn and Faramir (David Wenham), a relationship that received only a meaningful glance in the theatrical cut.
If you want to completely immerse yourself in Peter Jackson's marvelous and massive achievement, only the extended edition will do.
| And for those who complained, no, there are no new endings, not even the scouring of the Shire, which many fans were hoping to see. Nor is there a scene of Denethor (John Noble) with the palantir, which would have better explained both his foresight and his madness. As Jackson notes, when cuts are made, the secondary characters are the first to go, so there is a new scene of Aragorn finding the palantir in Denethor's robes. Another big difference is Aragorn's confrontation with the King of the Dead. In the theatrical version, we didn't know whether the King had accepted Aragorn's offer when the pirate ships pulled into the harbor; here Jackson assumes that viewers have already experienced that tension, and instead has the army of the dead join the battle in an earlier scene (an extended cameo for Jackson). One can debate which is more effective, but that's why the film is available in both versions. If you feel like watching the relatively shorter version you saw in the theaters, you can. If you want to completely immerse yourself in Peter Jackson's marvelous and massive achievement, only the extended edition will do. How Are the Bonus Features?
To complete the experience, The Return of the King provides the same sprawling set of features as the previous extended editions: four commentary tracks, sharp picture and thrilling sound, and two discs of excellent documentary material far superior to the recycled material in the theatrical edition. Those who have listened to the seven hours of commentary for the first two extended editions may wonder if they need to hear more, but there was no commentary for the earlier ROTK DVD, so it's still entertaining to hear Jackson break down the film (he says the beacon scene is one of his favorites), discuss differences from the book, point out cameos, and poke fun at himself and the extended-edition concept ("So this is the complete full strangulation, never seen before, here exclusively on DVD!"). The documentaries (some lasting 30 minutes or longer) are of their usual outstanding quality, and there's a riveting storyboard/animatic sequence of the climactic scene, which includes a one-on-one battle between Aragorn and Sauron. One DVD Set to Rule Them All
Peter Jackson's trilogy has set the standard for fantasy films by adapting the Holy Grail of fantasy stories with a combination of fidelity to the original source and his own vision, supplemented by outstanding writing, near-perfect casting, glorious special effects, and evocative New Zealand locales. The extended editions without exception have set the standard for the DVD medium 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
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.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 1740
 My Precious March 7, 2010
David A. Smith (Webberville, Mi, USA)
oh, oh, frodo look out. you might get betrayed. The Return Of The King is the last movie in the series Frodo is almost about to get rid of the one ring. will he succeed and save middle earth or fail and destroy everyone. i guess you'll have to watch and find out. this is a very good movie just like the rest i love these movies. i recommend it to everyone
The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King (Full Screen Edition) February 12, 2010
Arnita D. Brown (USA)
The War of the Ring reaches its climax as the dark lord Sauron sets his sights on Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor. The members of the fellowship in Rohan are warned of the impending attack when Pippin cannot resist looking into Saruman's palantir and is briefly contacted by the dark lord. King Theoden is too proud to send his men to help without being asked, so Gandalf and Pippin ride to Minas Tirith to see that this request is sent. They meet opposition there from Denethor, steward of the city and father of Faramir and the late Boromir. Denethor's family has acted as temporary guardians of Gondor for centuries until a member of the true line of kings returns. This member is none other than Aragorn, who must overcome his own self-doubt before he can take on the role he was destined to fulfill. Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam continue to carry the One Ring towards Mordor, guided by Gollum. What they don't know is that Gollum is leading them into a trap so that he can reclaim the Ring for himself. Though Sam suspects his deceit, Frodo is starting to be corrupted by the Ring's power and the mistrust of Sam this causes is fully exploited by Gollum. The only way good can prevail in this contest is if the Ring is destroyed, an event that is becoming harder every minute for Frodo to achieve. The fate of every living creature in Middle Earth will be decided once and for all as the Quest of the Ringbearer reaches its climax. "The Lord of the Rings- The Return of the King" is one of the most finely tuned and cinematically perfect movie ever made. Not only the best of the trilogy, but a crowning achievement in epic movie making.
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King February 10, 2010
Bank Of America (BX, NY)
Delivered to my apartment in excellent condition.
The DVDs was packaged well and I placed them in the dvd player without a scratch on them. I am completely satisfied with my purchase.
Fantastic Movies February 5, 2010
jslostwithout
My sister had the first two movies and she let me borrow them. I fell in love with them because they were like an MMORPG in a movie. There are three movies and they are all great. I once had the extended versions of the movies and there was a lot more footage in them, but I felt the original ones were better because they were shorter and kept out insufficient scenes. The movies are terribly long, but it is worth it. I had a dream about Sauron and it was a nightmare. So don't watch these movies when you go to sleep, or you will have unpleasant nightmares. Other than that, these movies are fantastic and worth the money!
Amazing January 17, 2010
Daniella Delmont (Florida, USA)
This might be my favorite movie out of the LOTR trilogy just for the amount of emotion and the Battle of Minas Tirith, with Éowyn killing the witch-king. This trilogy have three of my favorite movies of all time.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 1740
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