 | | How many people gasped in the cinema at this bit? |
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I was all ready to post a somewhat disappointed review of this bad boy after watching it for the first time. There's a bunch of problems that I feel hold it back from being the work of art it so easily could have been. But you know what? After working my way meticulously through the hours upon hours of supplemental bonus material on this four disc DVD Edition, my opinion on the film itself did a complete 180.
After seeing the stupidly long hours the special effects department were forced to work, how Howard Shore had to get 20 minutes of music written a day, how Peter Jackson was still desperately filming pick-up shots mere weeks before the premier, and how emotional each and every member of the cast got as filming wrapped up and the flick was squeezed out quite literally in the last minute...well, it really puts it all into perspective.
With all that in mind, when going back and watching the film again it's amazing how much more you appreciate all that hard work, and when coupled with the other two movies, it really is about as good a Hollywood blockbuster as you'll ever get. In the interests of constructive criticism however, I'll go into some of the problems that still slightly bother me.
Super Extended Jumbo Director's Special Edition Bumper Pack Remix Cut
I really enjoyed the theatrical version of Return of the King, but out of all the Lord of the Rings flicks it definitely felt the most disjointed. They had an awful lot to cram in there, even for a three and a half hour long movie, and it just seemed to show at times. One example off the top of my head is the fact that Aragorn (who is the titular character, no less) disappears for half the film, then magically reappears commandeering a whole fleet of ships at the end, with no word as to how. It's one of a ton of big old gaping plot holes that somewhat ruined a film which, ironically enough, also has the very best moments of the entire saga.
But that's why we get these Extended DVDs right? It lets Peter Jackson and co. put in all the endless bits and pieces that had to be cut from the cinematic release, and therefore bring them back up to the quality they deserve. And this one certainly has its fair share of new material, a whopping great 50 minutes of it in fact, including everything from slightly extended scenes, to major new characters and plot points. That 50 minute figure is sadly misleading however, as a good 20 minutes of it is in fact devoted purely to the end credits. Boo!
 | | Finally you can see the Witch King take down Gandalf |
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I do love these mammoth packed DVDs though. The extended version of The Fellowship of the Ring is really what made me a fan of this series in fact. After the theatrical release I didn't really appreciate what all the fuss was about, but seeing that enhanced cut on DVD put it all together for me - it just felt so much more complete. It's right up there with the very best fantasy/sci-fi films ever made in my opinion, and even prompted me to read the books.
You can say the same for The Two Towers, a film that was improved immeasurably by its much longer DVD cut. It's a wonderful continuation to the series, and on top of that introduced Gollum to the cinema-going public, possibly the coolest fantasy character of all-time (next to Yoda).
Unfortunately, while like I say I appreciate the sheer unbridled love that seeps from this film, I don't think Return of the King's new extended version quite matches up to its prequels. It's still a wonderful film, but it doesn't quite live up to the sum of its parts.
New Scenes
 | | Christopher Lee in Big Lebowski bowling cameo shocker |
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The major new addition is a more fulfilling end to Saruman's story, played by Christopher Lee. Originally if you remember he was somewhat anti-climactically left alive in his tower, but now he meets a much more fitting and grisly end. This still differs wildly to the book, but that doesn't bother me at all. What bothers me is the slightly ropey special effects work in this whole sequence however, which fails to live up to the incredible acting going on around it. Christopher Lee makes an enormous impression on all of these films, and I somehow felt he deserved a bit better.
The other significant new addition is the introduction of the "Mouth of Sauron" character near the very end. When Aragorn and company march on the Black Gate for the big old final battle, The Mouth now appears for "negotiations" first. The best bit is when he proudly displays Frodo's vest, claiming he's dead, therefore changing the feel of that whole final battle. As far as they know, our heroes have failed, and are merely going out in a blaze of glory. With that in mind, Frodo's subsequent victory feels a heck of a lot more powerful as a result. What ruins the scene though is the pantomime performance from The Mouth (Bruce Spence), who hams it up like nothing else.
 | | That's the Trainman from Matrix Revolutions hiding under there |
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Elsewhere we get a tiny moment of comic relief involving a Gimli and Legolas drinking game. Complete with burps, farts and other slapstick dwarven antics, it feels way out of place.
While these large additions jarred me somewhat, the much smaller and more subtle scenes were great however. There's a brief moment where Sam pulls Gollum aside and gives him a good old threatening. Gollum smiles to himself as Sam walks off, and it becomes clear that this is the moment where he decides to "frame" Sam and get rid of him for good. There's another great new Gollum/Frodo moment on Mount Doom too which I also loved.
Even cooler are some brand new snippets of Merry and Eowyn kicking arse in the heat of battle (including the fate of that vagina-faced Orc who reminds me of Sloth from The Goonies), not to mention Gandalf's brief but bad arse showdown with the Witch King. There's numerous other extra lines and shots chucked in here and there, and although I could never detail the thousands of these tiny additions, in general they all work great, and kinda made up for the stuff I wasn't so keen on.
So a mixed bunch all in all. I dunno, with the huge number of new sequences it just feels like the quantity appears to have made the quality suffer at times. The CGI is obvious in places, and the editing seems sadly conspicuous also. Ultimately some of them just don't feel as polished and complete as the rest of the film.
The Return of the King Redux
 | | Will Elijah Wood do a "Mark Hamil" after this? |
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With the new upgrades out of the way though, how's the underlying flick? Actually it feels a fair bit more relaxed than the original cut - the characters can now live and breath a lot more as a result. It's a shame that the smaller character based moments are usually deemed unimportant enough to get the chop, when these are the parts that make all the big battles and endless sword fights much more powerful. Now that they're back in, the film has a wonderful sense of added weight.
The trilogy as a whole has done an amazing job of making us care about these characters, who let's face it, are otherwise ridiculous fantasy stereotypes. Giving us characters who we not only root for, but also feel emotionally attached to is a fine art to master in any kind of flick, but when they also have pointy ears, hairy feet, and you gotta constantly maintain that suspension of disbelief, it's a million times harder.
Yet Return of the King nails it perfectly. By showing us the underlying friendships straight off, then pinning it against the brutally realistic horrors of war, we get a fantasy film that's as real as any other. It all boils down to Peter Jackson's underlying concept of doing these films as history, not fantasy, and it's paid off beautifully in this film more than either of the two before it.
 | | Possibly the most incredible shot of the whole trilogy |
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As the final installment, Return of the King naturally benefits from many of the saga's most riveting sequences. Frodo's tussle with Shelob is a highlight of mine, and credit must be given to WETA Digital for creating a big old faceless CGI monster that not only looks stunningly realistic, but is also horribly sadistic and full of character too.
Then there's the breathtaking battle of the Pelennor Fields, a never ending rollercoaster of a special effect that just when you think is reaching its climax, strikes back with an even more preposterously epic shot, raising that bar continually higher.
It's with some amazement then, that during the last hour when we finally get to Mount Doom, the film still has your undivided attention - a good thing too considering the film's greatest and most emotional moments are to be had here.
 | | "Mustn't hurt the precious!" |
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Now that I've seen the full and complete Return of the King it's rather hard to rate it among the trilogy though. On the one hand it has unquestionably the best and most gripping scenes of the three, yet in terms of technical film-making, it ever-so-slightly lags behind the other two.
Regardless, all three Lord of the Rings films are still way, way better than everything else Hollywood vomits out every year. It's a fitting end to an exceptional trilogy that will most likely go down as the next Star Wars.
This release is kinda tarnished by an underlying sadness in that it's the final batch of new material we'll see from the Lord of the Rings universe. After three jam packed years of movies, box sets and video games, it feels like the end of an era. That is, until Peter Jackson makes The Hobbit of course...
There & Back Again - A Director's Tale
 | | The Gimp pays a visit to the set |
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As I said, the extras are what make this film shine. Unlike a lot of mainstream DVD releases, the supplements don't feel like needless PR exercises about how certain actors were "sooo great to work with", here we get the gritty, uncensored truth. Peter Jackson's mammoth seven year undertaking has been filmed from beginning to end, and through this extensive footage we get an incredible idea of what it was like to work on arguably the biggest film production of all-time. It's as big a journey for Peter in fact, as it is for Frodo.
Everything you could imagine is covered extensively here, whether it be the costume creation, set design, sound production, recording the score, or the extensive CGI work. All of these are rightly fascinating to anyone who ever wondered how films get made, but the stand-out moment is the hour long portion dedicated to the shooting of the film itself. Seeing the various actors completing their final scenes and getting incredibly emotional at the thought of it all ending is kinda touching in fact. A favourite moment of mine would be Peter Jackson filming the very last scene, and constantly asking Elijah Wood to repeat it again and again, unable to say that final "cut" and draw to an end this period of his life.
All in all the various featurettes culminate in an epic documentary to rival the very best of them, and the most surprising and scary thing to be gleamed from the lot is just how worryingly close this film came to missing its deadline.
 | | The End |
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Rounding off the never ending extras is a somewhat off-topic documentary about young New Zealand film maker Cameron Duncan who passed away during the shoot. This is the sort of thing that deserves to be seen without any baggage at all so I won't go into details, however it's a very sad and moving piece that definitely deserves a watch.
As with the last two sets, we get a whopping great four audio commentaries on Return of the King as well, and once again, the cast's stand out as the most enjoyable. Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd who played Merry and Pippin keep us chuckling, while Elijah Wood and Sean Astin douse us in interesting details the entire time. Pretty much the entire cast pop up throughout though, including Andy Serkis who deserves a special mention as he does parts of his track in character as Gollum.
All in all this is quite the package (oo-er), and ideal Christmas gift material for kids and adults alike. In fact, why not stick on all three extended cuts in a row after plowing your way through that turkey on the 25th and see who can stay awake the longest.
Personally, here's one 11 hour epic I could easily watch from beginning to end.
