Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King - Special Extended Edition

Cast View all

	Cate Blanchett	Galadriel
	Ian McKellen	Gandalf
	Andy Serkis	Gollum/Smeagol
	Hugo Weaving	Elrond
	Sean Bean	Boromir
	Orlando Bloom	Legolas
	Karl Urban	Eomer
	Ian Holm	Bilbo
	Elijah Wood	Frodo
	John Rhys-Davies	Gimli
	Marton Csokas	Celeborn
	Viggo Mortensen	Aragorn
	Sean Astin	Sam
	David Wenham	Faramir
	Jed Brophy	Featured Orc
	Liv Tyler	Arwen
	Dominic Monaghan	Merry
	Bernard Hill	Theoden
	Billy Boyd	Pippin
	Miranda Otto	Eowyn
	Sala Baker	Featured Orc
	Phil Grieve	Orc commander
	Katie Jackson	Featured Child
	Billy Jackson	Featured Child
	Lee Hartley	Featured Orc

Crew View all

Director	Peter Jackson
Writer	J.R.R. Tolkien, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson
Producer	Peter Jackson, Michael Lynne, Eric Monette, Mark Ordesky, Barrie M. Osborne, Rick Porras, Jamie Selkirk, Robert Shaye, Fran Walsh, Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein
Musician	Howard Shore
Photography	Andrew Lesnie

Trailer

Edition details

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Notes

Story Synopsis:
Finishing what "The Fellowship Of The Rings" and "The Two Towers" started, "The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King" finalizes the epic tale of a hobbit’s journey to save Middle-earth from evil. "The Return Of The King" swept the 76th Academy Awards®, winning in every category in which it was nominated, including Best Picture (a feat in itself, being the first-ever film in the fantasy genre to win). As The Two Towers wrapped up, the dissociative creature Smeagol/Gollum (Serkis) had revealed his intent to betray Frodo (Wood) and Sam (Astin). As the three make their way toward Mordor, he leads them up the stairs of Cirith Ungol to a great and terrifying uncertainty. As Isildur’s true heir, Aragorn (Mortensen) ventures into the Paths Of The Dead to enlist the help of thousands of cursed souls who had not fulfilled their oath to fight against Sauron with Isildur. Along with Gandalf The White (McKellen), Gimli (Rhys-Davies), and Legolas (Bloom), Aragorn leads the last of the great men of Gondor and Rohan against the looming enemy forces. And as fate lays in the hands of a halfling from The Shire, the battle of good versus evil rages on. But you can be sure that, by the final (final!) end of the movie, everyone has hugged. (Suzanne Hodges)



DVD Picture:
With the movie being spread across two discs, the anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 DVD picture is a satisfying visual experience that is slightly more refined when compared to the previously released theatrical edition. The majority of the film takes place in territories near the fiery realm of Mordor, so ashy grays and cold, dreadful blues are utilized to enhance the tone and heighten the tension of the overwhelming evil. Blacks are occasionally grayish and milky. Where there were problems with shimmering details on the previous release, the picture is more solid and clean on the Extended Edition. Edge enhancement and pixelization are also noticed at times, but neither are terribly obtrusive. This version is definitely the definitive edition, both content-wise and visually. (Suzanne Hodges)

Soundtrack:
The Dolby® Digital Surround EX™ and DTS-ES® soundtracks of this extended edition DVD release are absolutely breathtaking. With incredible panning and imaging around the entire holosonic™ soundfield, it is extremely easy to forget you are sitting in a room filled with loudspeakers, instead feeling as if you are sitting in the middle of the action. Deep bass articulation is especially powerful in the DTS-ES track, but is apparent in both soundtracks with an utter abuse (if there is such a thing) of the LFE channel. Sub-25 Hz bass is often presented in each of the available channels, and our sound level meter is often pegged out because of the all out sonic assault from each loudspeaker. The incredibly wide and deep front soundstage commands attention throughout the film, creating a wonderful environment for depicting on-screen action. Surround activity is held to off-screen action and atmosphere effects, and really keeps the audience engulfed in the story. The additional scenes not only help fill the holes of the story, but are also sonically crafted to fit perfectly with the previous DVD mix, making for a presentation so seamless you would have to assume the mix started with this version and got cut down for the original release. The DTS-ES track offers a level of clarity not available with the Dolby EX track, especially with an increase in low end articulation and spatial envelopment. (Danny Richelieu)

This Disc Contains The Following WSR-Rated Superb Qualities:
Superb Sound Effects Recording Quality
Superb Music Score Recording Quality
Superb Special Visual Effects Quality
Reference Quality
Superb Cinematography
Collector Edition


The final appendices for the trilogy is packaged in a fold-out four-disc DVD set. Some special offers and an insert booklet are included in the packaging. The menus are formatted in a way that is identical to the previous Extended Editions. Disc One and Disc Two include four audio commentary tracks: the first with director Peter Jackson and writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens; the second with design team members Grant Major, Ngila Dickson, Richard Taylor, Alan Lee, John Howe, Dan Hennah, Chris Hennah, and Tania Rodger; a third with production/post-production team members Barrie M. Osborne, Mark Ordesky, Jamie Selkirk, Annie Collins, Rick Porras, Howard Shore, Jim Rygiel, Ethan Van Der Ryn, Mike Hopkins, Christian Rivers, Alex Funke; Joe Letteri, Randy Cook, and Brian Van’t Hul; and a cast commentary featuring Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Sean Astin, John Rhys-Davies, Bernard Hill, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto, David Wenham, Karl Urban, John Noble, Andy Serkis, Lawrence Makoare, Smeagol, and Gollum. Another humorous Easter Egg (a prank Dominic Monaghan played on Elijah Wood) is found somewhere on Disc One. Click around and you will find it. Same goes for Disc Two, where you can watch the MTV Movie Awards’ final spoof on The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. This time, Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn press Peter Jackson to provide a sequel to the trilogy (a quadruplelogy?).

Disc Three begins with a 29-minute J.R.R. Tolkien: The Legacy Of Middle-earth featurette that delves into what drove Tolkien to write The Lord Of The Rings. Next is a From Book To Script menu selection that offers a 25-minute Forging The Final Chapter featurette, which discusses how timelines were used to create Return Of The King. In addition, there is a five-minute abandoned concept of Aragorn battling Sauron presented in storyboard format. Next is a Designing And Building Middle-earth menu, which features a 40-minute Designing Middle-earth featurette, which once again highlights the artists and locations that brought Middle-earth to life; a 47-minute Weta Workshop highlight, sure to thrill fans of the armory designed by the props wizards; a 20-minute Big-Atures featurette on the miniatures used to bring Minus Morgal, the Tower Of Cirith Ungol, the City Of The Dead, Grond, and The Grey Havens; a 12-minute Costume Design highlight with Ngila Dickson; and design galleries featuring the people, realms, and miniatures of Middle-earth. Home Of The Horse Lords is a 30-minute featurette all about the hooved movie stars used in the trilogy (a must-see for horse lovers). There is also an interactive map that follows the journeys made in Return Of The King, and a New Zealand as Middle-Earth map with featurettes for the locations used for the third part of the trilogy. Disc Four brings the final Appendices of the trilogy, professing the passing of an age. Starting with Filming Return Of The King, you are greeted with a 72-minute making-of featurette, which explains how one of the first scenes shot for the trilogy was actually a scene in Return Of The King and takes you to the final 24 hours of principal photography and “pick up” shots. Visual Effects are next, with another Weta Digital highlight (42 minutes) and a multiangle demonstration of the visual effects design for the Mumakil Battle. Go to the end of the journey with Post Production insight with a 22-minute look at the editing, an additional 22 minutes with Howard Shore and his enveloping music score, yet anther 22 minutes listening to different soundscapes within the soundtrack, and 21 minutes with final mixing to come to The End Of All Things. The Passing Of An Age is a 25-minute featurette that reveals what a huge premiere Return Of The King received in Wellington, New Zealand. How exciting! They put American premieres to shame! The clean sweep at the Oscars® is also documented in this featurette. Finally, meet Cameron Duncan: The Inspiration For “Into The West” in a 32-minute documentary about a young filmmaker who did not want to be forgotten, and view his two short films. (Suzanne Hodges)

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