Rating: 
Summary: holy cow... what a dissapointment.
Review: After sitting it out on LOTR 1 & 2, i thought the "return of the king" was gonna be a notch above. how wrong i was, the lord of the rings: the return of the king is just as boring and dissapointing as it's predecessors. what was going through peter jackson's head while he was filming this i'll never know. i would definitely give this boring piece of film 0 stars if amazon.com would let me. where is hollywood going these days? it's obvious they're running out of good ideas. little statistic here; in 2003 they had come up with 5 remakes, and 14 sequels, embarassing i know. anyhow, i'm gonna give peter jackson one more chance and see his new 'King Kong this year.
Rating: 
Summary: Restoring the King: Tolkein's Masterpiece, Fully Realized
Review: I attended the theatrical release of *Return of the King* on December 17th, 2003, queuing in line for two hours and waiting another hour once seated in the auditorium. The energy of the room seethed with barely retrained anticipation, a tangible excitement, along with perhaps a trace of nervousness - Jackson was 2 for 3, but *King* was the watershed: the one film where all of LotR's themes, character arcs, plot development and essential tension would find climatic resolution...or else fail, either spectacularly or disastrously, rendering all that before a wasted effort. I personally had no doubts as to Jackson and co.'s abilities, and the film more than exceeded my expectations, capping the cinematic momentum of its two predecessors and paying satisfactory adaptation to the book(s) upon which it was based. And yet, a feeling of incompletion haunted my euphoria, a sentiment very much similar to my reaction to the theatrical version of *The Two Towers*. The special effects blew me away, the acting more than once tugged a tear from my eyes, yet in the end I knew what I had witnessed was a truncated version of *Return of the King*, with a rumored hour of footage left on the editing floor. The cuts were dramatic - Saruman, the Witch-King/Gandalf confrontation - and, in some places, disconcertingly obvious, the rough transitions and haphazard pacing occasionally jerking me from the spell of the film. I consoled myself that an Extended Edition would eventually `complete' the movie I had just witnessed, filling in the blank spaces and producing a much ~smoother~ viewing experience. Such had been the case with *The Two Towers*, another film that suffered in its condensed version and subsequently became a masterpiece upon the Extended release.
It is my firm belief that Peter Jackson as his illustrious associates (all several thousand of them) filmed these movies to *be* a 12 hour cinematic cycle, and the demands of the in-theater attention span (and New Line's profit margin) forced into necessity the widespread and sometimes arbitrary editing process. The films themselves, when compared side by side, are testament enough; and the voluminous evidence as to the trials and tribulations of paring this four hour epic down to size, by way of the documentaries featured on this edition, set this impression in stone. Like many others, I have no desire whatsoever to re-visit the theatrical releases, the Extended being the true completed rendition of *LotR*.
The additional material of *Return of the King* tends to focus on small, intimate character moments, increasing the weight and depth of the story as a whole; and in the subtle lengthening of individual scenes, turning chopped cliff-notes *LotR* into a fully realized creative scope. And what scope this is! It's easy to see why *Return of the King* amassed the box office returns and awards that it did - the film elevates all that brought forth previously, and enhances it tenfold. The battles are bigger and incredibly intense, with much more at stake; the emotional denouement of Frodo and Sam's journey, from the pastoral Shire to the hellish pits of Mt. Doom, is devastating. It helps that every aspect of the filmmaking process was taken up a notch post-production. Return of the King has the best special effects of the three movies (the best I've ~ever~ seen, to be honest), the grandest and most resonant score courtesy of Howard Shore, and an overall confidence/mastery of cinematography and scale that, on a purely aesthetic level, make *Return of the King* an artistic wet-dream, breathtakingly beautiful to an astonishing degree. And now with the original editing restored and the drama allowed its maximum impact, this film has become cinematic near-perfection, the crown jewel of Jackson's masterpiece.
That said, *Return of the King* does have its share of minor flaws that even the Extended cut was unable to overcome. The opening flashback fishing scene with Smeagol and Deagol struck me as overtly goofy, especially in lue of its homicidal conclusion. The Armies of the Dead, when viewed afar, look rather fake, the only real CGI mishap. Denathor's character remains sadly underdeveloped, his madness via palantir-corruption strangely excised. And the much-hyped Witch-King/Gandalf fight comes in far too abruptly and, though I'm no purist, violates the original text. But these are minor when compared to the Lighting of the Beacons...Minas Tirith, in all its [miniature] glory...the Houses of Healing...the Ride of the Rohirrim...the entire Oliphaunt confrontation...the cataclysmic choice at Mt. Doom. At last, at long last, a fantasy world has come to life on the silver screen: a mythos has been made real.
The effort involved to make it feel as real as possible is chronicled and concluded on the two Appendices discs; and, more than before, the toll it took to produce these movies, and the exactitude of craft Weta achieved, is presented with painstaking detail. Although early reports about *RotK* were positive - Jackson constantly stating that it was the easiest and most fun to make - the Appendices reveal that this was an affirmation-façade: *RotK* more than doubled the number of effects shots of the first two movies combined, and proved a nightmare for Jackson and Jamie Selkirk to (not quite) successfully edit into a cohesive whole. Particularly revealing is a section where one of the peak effects shots, that of the Oliphants colliding, was rejected due to cinematography issues: the staff went back and composed the shots in a 48 hour stretch, on the very threshold of the deadline. Amazing stuff! It's rewarding to see these artisans go up and beyond anything they thought they were capable of, and in turn fashion some of the best work in cinematic history.
Filming *The Lord of the Rings* was once considered impossible by conventional standards; but with the right amount of passion, dedication and love for the source material, a little team from New Zealand surmounted all odds and produced a stunning success. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Great adaptation of a very complex trilogy.
Review: I have read the LOTR 7 times in the last 30 years, and the story is still as compelling and moving as the first read. Peter Jackson's adaptation of the LOTR "The Return of the King," was nothing short of amazing. I am very aware of the departures, compromises and reworkings of the original storyline, but fans of the both the books and the movies need to understand that book authoring and movie making are two very different challenges. In a trilogy as complex and interwoven as the LOTR series, I think that Peter Jackson did what no other director was able or courageous enough to do, and do phenomenally well, with his films. Was there any character wrongly cast in the films? Aragorn was incredible, Gandalf was brilliant, and Gollum himself was a marvel of Shakespearian proportions, not to mention the technology involved to bring him to life. The movies, even with their flaws for us Tolkien puritans, are well worth owning, especially the extended versions, despite their added length. Most of us wish the story would go on forever anyway.
Rating: 
Summary: The KING of the Entire Trilogy
Review: I loved "The Return of the King" in the theater. I thought it felt much different than the previous films, with more humor, more story, and definitely more battle sequences. Some people might wonder why I gave the film 4 stars. Well, it's because I didn't enjoy the ending. After the Mount Doom sequence, I think the film gets pretty boring. But, it is a great movie.In this Extended Edition, we will see the death of Saruman, which was covered up in the theatrical release with a few cheesy lines from Gandalf and Treebeard. We will also see a pledge scene from Merry to King Theoden. There are many other extended sequences, including a song from Arwen (which makes the White Tree of Gondor grow), a new Palantir sequence where Aragorn reveals himself to Sauron, and a Houses of Healing scene revealing the romantic backstory between Faramir and Eowyn. Another scene that will be added is the confrontation at the Black Gate between the Mouth of Sauron (played by Bruce Spence) and our heroes. Also, an awesome battle sequence between Gandalf and the Witch King will be added and the death of Gamling on Pelennor Fields will be able to be viewed, along with a scene where Frodo and Sam (disguised as orcs) escape a column of orcs marching to Cirith Ungol on their final leg of the journey to Mordor (this is the stupid "Where There's a Whip" scene in the Rankin/Bass "Return of the King"). As for the special features, Peter Jackson will proabably include his usual documentaries, the commentaries by all of the cast members, a few pre-viz and photo galleries, along with a special easter egg of an MTV "Lord of the Ring" spoof (as he has done before with "The Council of Elrond" parody with Jack Black and the MTV Awards Gollum acceptance speech). All in all, this Extended Edition of "The Return of the King" will be a great way to end the Special Edition series. I look forward to watching it.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing cinematic accomplishment
Review: I think these films have done an EXCELLENT job of capturing the essence of Tolkien's writings. Once I read the Silmarillion I was completely drawn in. Vividly imaginitive and truly epic story-telling. The films stay true to these themes even with the changes done in the story! I really don't mind them. The Extended DVDs are a must for any fan of Tolkien! I'm anxious to get the third one! For me the Return of the King is THE best film ever made.
Rating: 
Summary: hollywoodized
Review: I'm sorry, but all the hype, all the denial won't help in years to come with the third insallment. IT WAS BORING. the EE is better than the theatrical release and that is why I'm giving it two stars. i would like to give it 2 and a half but can't. I LOVE THE FIRST MOVIE. the EE is near flawless film making. So how can you go from that to this silly, overly self-important, deliberately manipulative story telling. WHA' HAPPENED? I'll tell you what. the director got caught up in his own hype. Christopher Lee had every right to be annoyed and at least this version fixes that. the story is more fleshed out, as it is with all three EE's, but it still doesn't fix the fundamental floors of a film with far too many endings, a magic user who does barely anything magical, and characters that have been given the hollywood treatment (the rot started with the 2nd flick). once the new smell wears off this one many will see it for what it really is: overly long and boring.
Rating:
Summary: Tolkien's story, Jackson's movie
Review: It's interesting how the ultimate movie fan reviewed LOTR:ROTK as if Peter Jackson wrote the story. Yeah, he wrote the screenplay, and he did change quite a bit to make it more dramatic for the silver screen, but this story was written 60 years before Jackson started developing it for the screen. And as much as I love the books (I've read them a couple dozen times), I gotta tell ya, Jackson made some great changes. I did think that the Battle of Helm's Deep in LOTR:TTT went on a bit long, but his addition of the elves added depth and tragedy that the book did not have. Jackson fleshed out characters that Tolkien had left as two dimensional (such as Boromir) and made them even better. Aragorn became a lot more accessable and human, and Gandalf had humor and humanity. But the ending of the third movie was the ending of the third book, only more concise, dramatic, and emotional. Jackson did a fabulous job with this epic story. I don't think that anyone else could have done a better job. I can't wait for the extended release of The Return of the King.
Rating:
Summary: A whole DVD experience
Review: No one ever before the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy durst to do as Peter Jackson with his trilogy: to create a whole new edition of the film to be released exclusively on DVD.
Something similar has been done before with `Criterion' or `Director's cut' editions, but this as a new project is something to admire. Jackson's love for both the original books and filmmaking can be seen here.
First of all, 50 minutes added of film sound definitely attractive if you have seen the previous films extended, most of the extra scenes are extracted directly from the books, highlights to see in this new edition:
- The voice of Saruman. This sequence will show you the final fate of our beloved white wizard.
- Cross-roads of the Fallen King. A beautiful sequence directly from the original book.
- The Wizard's pupil. There's more on Denethor than meets the eye.
- Peregrin of the tower guard. Another one from the book.
- The Corsairs of Umbar. Check out Peter Jackson's cameo here... with the whole production team!
- The Witch King's hour. Originally seen in the trailer for the movie, the confrontation between Gandalf and the Witch King is here!
- The Houses of the Healing. Featuring a song by Liv Tyler, beautiful.
- Aragorn masters the Palantir. He shows to Sauron himself!
- In the company of Orcs. Frodo and Sam march in Orc lines just as they do in book 3!
- The Mouth of Sauron. The evil character who greets the Fellowship at the Black gates.
And of course there are new scenes that represent minor changes but that add more depth to every single character in the film.
The extra material as usual is the most comprehensive documentary I have ever seen in DVD history (think about it, 6 discs full of additional material), including some abandoned and actually filmed concepts featuring Aragorn fighting Sauron himself!
One recommendation though, if you haven't bought this 4 disc set, go for the special edition set that includes a miniature of Minas Tirith beautifully crafted by Weta Designers and a bonus DVD featuring excerpts from Howard Shore's live presentations of the film's music. The two extras are worth the $20 difference.
Rating:
Summary: Latest Details On ROTK: Extended Edition
Review: Not sure why there's such a vacuum of information available here on ROTK- the platinum extended edition release. Its no secret that Peter Jackson has finished the version - and that it contains a whopping 65 minutes of additional footage that was cut from the theatrical version, putting the final movie at four hours and ten minutes. Awesome! Apparently there was some rumor that New Line Cinema was going to cheap out on the special effects for the extended release version - and go with a cut-rate American outfit instead of the New Zealand firm they've worked with on the prior two films - but this was just that - a rumor, as far as I've been able to obtain. New Scenes from the book to appear in the extended release version include the following: Confrontation with Saruman at Isengaard in which the Palantir is acquired (tossed out tower by Wormtongue), Parley with the Mouth of Sauron outside the Black Gates, Merry pledging his swoord and allegiance to Theoden, Sam and Frodo, disguised in Orc garb, marching with (and then escaping from) Orc Troop in Mordor, Eowyn and Faramir meet in the Houses of Healing in Gondor, and finally, a scene in which Aragorn reveals himself to Sauron in the Palantir. All in all, good stuff. The only liberty it sounds Jackson has taken with the material is that Saruman is killed in the confrontation at Isengaard - falls to his death from the tower - rather than simply cast from the order, stripped of his power and humiliated by Gandolph, as the book. We can certainly live with that, can't we?
Rating:
Summary: Quite Enjoyable.
Review: The final movie is wrapped up here in a very nice form. The extended scences show somw humorous parts that were cut out (I cannot imagine why) and a bit more of Faramir's history and estranged relationship with his, er, "special" father. Some of the appendicies are a little boring and redundant, but the movie is just SO WONDERFULL I almost cry knowing that it's over. One alternate ending found on the appendicies (which disk it was on fails my memory) is worth a look, even though it's shown in storyboard format.An added extra are the two "easter eggs"; one hidden on each disk. Though I won't say what they are here, they are really funny. One extended scene is quite dull (Eowyn discusses a dream to Aragorn) but that's why they make fast forward buttons. Enjoy!
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