I would guess that this means that the boxset is not selling quite as well as they hoped. I would be willing to bet a lot of people are holding out for the extended editions.
@Carador: the special features in the currently available The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy are included on Standard Definition DVDs with content ported over from the original 2-disc DVD releases. These were released in August of each year following the theatrical release, therefore preceding the extended DVD release that would come out on the following christmas. So indeed, you read it right: Extended DVD preview.
here at my local walmart they're selling the LOTR set without the supplements or the digital copies. and they're also housed in a much slimmer case, however it still retains the $70 price tag. got mine with all the bonus materials included. don't know if you guys have noticed this or not?
I picked up the box set at Wal Mart here in Canada for $39.95; the price made it worth buying the theatrical releases as a stop gap until the EE's come out. Can't see the indivdual releases matching that price.
I'm not really sure why everyone is so hell bent on the extended versions! I love the EEs just as much as the next person, but Jackson's movie was what was released in the theaters! To me, the EEs were released just to appease the mass amounts of "nerds" in this world (myself included) thinking that the extra footage actually added depth and dimension to the films, which I believe they don't really add that much value. IMHO, it's a nicety, and I don't believe that Peter Jackson ever deemed the EEs as a "director's cut!" And as long as we're being frank, all the awards the films won, were based on the original theatrical releases. None of them were bassed off the extended editions! As far as the picture quality goes, I've seen all three on Blu... twice actually. 95% of the original film looks beautiful and to me, a HUGE step up from the DVD releases. If you want to wait another two to three years for the EEs, that is your choice. The rest of us will enjoy these movies, while maybe not completely perfect, in euphoric hi-definition! Remember, HD doesn't only pertain to picture quality!
Unless you need to replace a damaged Blu-ray Disc, who in their right mind is going to buy just one or two of these? "I really only want to onw 'The Two Towers' on Bluray. I won't buy the others"
They're not really seperate movies. It's one long film cut into three.
This isnt RUSH HOUR 1, 2 and 3 or Bad Boys I and II where you might prefer one over the other.
@ rjmacnc - I think the extended edition would be closer to Jackson's movie since the theatrical cut is what was done to shorten the film for theaters. Usually the extended or Directors Cut is how the director wanted. The Theatrical is after it has been edited for time or content. Not busting balls, just my 2 cents.
I hate when these companies are trying to milk us for these editions, releasing multiple dates with multiple formats, features, etc. That is why I am holding on the extended edition. They are not going to get me double/triple dipped on this one.
rjmacnc, if you're looking to justify buying these editions, you don't have to - if you want to get them for what they are, feel free to do so and enjoy (pumping a few more $ into the coffers of WB.)
However, calling the EE's a "nicety" and not adding much value (??) is off the mark and understating their value. Yes, they ARE better than the TE, and I certainly am not in a minority in thinking so. Are they perfect? no. But it's certainly a richer, more rewarding experience.
Which is why, I think, a lot of fans/people are holding off buying the TE's now. Why should they spend a lot of money when something better should come along, even if it will take a little while? I for one am willing to wait - certainly I'm not willing to double-dip!
And at these movies' lengths I feel that watching now the TE after the EE, knowing what's supposed to come next when it doesn't, it's like watching a chopped-off version of the films.
The extended editions add footage that may not be vital to the story but certainly gives the story more (and needed imho) coherency. I think the ee's are objectively better movies. It angers me that the studio is aware of this and is milking every dollar out of the franchise. In my opinion the extended editions on dvd are still superior to the theatrical release blu's. So I'll wait.
The EEs could be better, but a bird in the hand....And I agree with Frozenpinkey, how do you buy only one or two of these things? I'll never understand studio marketing!
@Carador: No, they're just re-releasing the old special features. That "preview" that you're referring to was actually released when the EEs weren't out yet. Obviously, now, it's obsolete but I guess they decided to leave it in there.
I don't have these, but I guess they just transfered everything from the SD DVD to the blu-ray, regardless off...I guess if you want this cheap, buy them individually from Amazon UK, and it comes to around $35-40 all of them, without the DC of course.
I just saw these PV'd at Blockbuster (in Canada) a few days ago. I've never seen them at new retail, so maybe this was a special thing Blockbuster did up themselves to rent them individually.
I have no need to rebuy these in single cases. I loved the way they packaged the first release, it was like the size of a standard DVD case (i don't display the case that held the digital copies), saves me lot of space on my shelves
I am very much FOR the EE's being released on BD. With that said, they(the EE's) were released for the "purists", and Jackson has gone on record saying he actually prefers the theatrical versions. Why? I have no idea! Most directors want more, not less.
To "rjmacnc", the EE's give much more background story and character development. If you read the books(or maybe you did), you'd appreciate the added footage.
Anyway, I rented these from Netflix and of course they looked great....but I will wait for the EE's to come out....which should coincide with the release of The Hobbit.
who cares? give us extended editions and people will buy them as a set or seperate, nobody's buying the theatrical set, i doubt they'll buy the seperate releases.
I bought the trilogy when it first came out, and after having watched all three movies, I honestly didn't really miss the extended scenes as much as I thought I would. The main thing for me is that the movies are long enough already without adding another 1/2 hour of material. The extended scenes are good, but again, the length doesn't help, and I feel that it doesn't help the flow of the movies.
I haven't decided on these yet. Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Lost, Disney/Pixars and Bonds are a must. I know one thing: I will not buy both the standard and the extended editions; I already did those on dvd and will not do that again on blu-ray.
Also look for more Star Wars dvd "special editions" on dvd before the blu-rays are released. They did this with VHS to get more money out of people before they released dvd versions.
To disagree with the comment about the EE or Director's Cut being the preferred...on Gladiator, Scott clearly states the extended edition is not the director's cut....his preferred version is the theatrical version.
AS I STATED BEFORE YOU DUMBMUTHERFUCKERS, DON'T BUY INTO WHAT THESE STUDIOS ARE DOING. THEY ARE TAUNTING YOU INTO WASTING YOUR MONEY SO THEY CAN SATISFY THEIR GREED LATER ON. THE WHOLE TIME THEY ARE PLAYING ALL OF YOU FOR FOOLS, IF THAT'S OK WITH YOU SO BE IT. I'M NOT A SCHMUCK AND WILL NOT PARTICIPATE IN THESE COMPANIES MAKING MORE MILLIONS JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN'T (OR DON'T WANT TO) ISSUE DEFINITIVE PRODUCT THE FIRST TIME. I KNOW THERE ARE ALOT OF PEOPLE WHO FEEL LIKE ME THEY JUST HAVE'NT GOT THE BALLS TO COME OUT AND SAY IT. IF YOU WANT TO BE BLIND SIDED, GOD BLESS YOU. BUT I SEE THEM COMING A MILE AWAY AND I WILL TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION AS SUCH.......
i want the extended editions. I havent bought the box set and dont think i will. I think i will just have to suck it up and buy it. The only reason i havent bought them yet is because i have a house full of girls and they are not into these type of movies..... but as for myself these movies are the wholly grail of story telling!!! well other than the original starwars movies!
To me the Theatrical versions simply don't exist. I'll hold onto my Extended Version DVD's until a blu-ray upgrade exists for those. So I'll keep waiting.
It's time for HD download with full 1080p and HD audio and no extras and no DVD copy and no digital copy and no previews..... Kaleidiscape.... it does blu-ray now....
Cracks me up... people -1 simply because a fan chooses to hold out (save their $) for the eventual Extended Editions. Some people truly need a life. lol!
i dont care about a TT or EE ,all i care about is good video and aud quality!!!! 5 out of 5 for vid and aud OR NO BUY!!... of course if i pay a premium i would expect the EE's but quality first!!!
The EE "editions"? You want the extended edition editions?!
In all seriousness, I'm on the fence about getting these. The thing is, I'm just not THAT big of a fan of Lord of the Rings (I don't hate it, I have both versions on DVD, I am willing to upgrade, but they are far from being amongst my favorite movies of all time or anything like that, so rushing out and getting them immediately isn't a huge priority). I would like to get them on Blu-Ray at some point, but I'd almost want to wait for some kind of package that actually includes BOTH the theatrical and extended editions, like those limited editions that came out at one point on DVD.
I'm not knocking the theatrical editions at all, but I don't just want one or the other, and I don't want to make multiple redundant purchases if it can be avoided.
That being said, if I do have to purchase the theatrical editions separately, I'm more inclined to get these individual releases than the previous trilogy set. I prefer having each movie in an individual case. I would really prefer all 3 cases to be in a collection-box together, but I'll take just completely separate cases over the current Trilogy set in it's half-assed packaging. Despite the fact that the LOTR films are Far from being my personal all-time favorite movies, the initial Blu-Ray release of the Trilogy deserved better packaging than it got, considering what a big deal these movies are overall.
As a few have mentioned, Jackson has stated repeatedly in interviews that the theatrical editions are the definitive versions of the films. The Extended Editions (like all extended editions of films) are NOT the same thing as "Director's Cuts". In general, "Director's Cut" = better; "Extended Cut" = crap. I am not saying that the LOTR Extended Editions are crap, but they are not the way that the director intended the films to be. They are a way for Newline to make more money. The theatrical editions are the "Director's Cut" of LOTR.
If you prefer the Extended Cuts of the films, that's fine. But suggesting that the definitive, director's cuts of one of the greatest film of all time does not deserve its own release is ridiculous.
I like the TE. I also prefer the individual cases, instead of just one. I just wish the video quality was the same with all three films. With Hobbit in limbo, maybe the EE will come out sooner...
I completely understand that the "Extended Editions" are just what they are... simply extended and not "Directors" cuts, as the theatricals were PJ's chosen cuts. The theatrical versions of these films were great (and certainly deserve their own release) but in my 'personal' opinion (as shared by many others) the Extended Versions were even better. That may not be the opinion of everyone but honestly of all my LOTR's friends there isn't a one I know that prefers the theatricals over the EE's.
My point... release these films the right way! Why not utilize Blu-ray for all it's worth and give us BOTH versions of each film in a beautiful set with all the goodies (and improved video quality to boot). These films made well over a Billion world wide at the box office (not including DVD sales & rentals)! Put the proper tender loving care into a masterful Blu-ray set and we will ALL come with wallets wide open! That's all I'm asking for... and waiting for.
Those of you who keep -1'ing those posts that simply desire a better more complete product have some serious mental issues... I mean seriously what a joke. Do you think this hurts our feelings? lol! It's not like were telling you you can't purchase the theatricals... we just want the EE's to add to our collection. Now feel free to 'tard out' and -1 away for less complete consumer products and less bang for your buck everywhere! Stupid is, is stupid does. lol!
rjmacnc, for your information Peter Jackson intended to include all of the material cut from the theatrical versions in his extended cuts almost from the beginning. He knew that the studio was going to shorten his films for business reasons and so he made it clear that they could do this if he was allowed to put the deleted scenes back into the extended cuts. The Extended Editions are in fact his definitive vision for the trilogy. The value they add is two fold. First they round out some of the characters and points in the plot. Second they bring the films more in line with the novels and satisfied those of us who have read the trilogy multiple times before the films were released. Thanks to the EEs these films are the best rendering of a novel ever. It was as if the vision we all had in our heads had been made "real".
Oh one last question: To what beyond picture quality does HD pertain? I'm not being sarcastic. I'm interested in your viewpoint on this.
I find it laughable that some posters say they will 'stick with my dvd's for 1&2 until they improve the PQ'.....
WTF you on about? These blu's wipe the floor with the dvd's, ok not perfect but ten times better than the dvd, and the audio is astonishing in comparison.
Of course Peter Jackson is going to say he prefers the theatrical editions - educated guess for this comment is to try and shift the sales of the theatrical editions. especially as it will be a while till EE's released.
I feel that I would be "rewarding" the studio for putting out a product that isn't the best it could be if I purchase the box set. Also, for those of us that prefer the TE, should we buy this set, then when they come out with them re-mastered , buy those too? I don't think so.
ill wait until i can get all 3 for $30 before i buy them.
i already have the E on reg dvd. i just dont like paying more than $12-$13 per blu.....thats why i buy used
The question is not whether one prefers the theatrical edition or the extended edition.
The technology exists to present MANY versions of the same film on the same disc, via seamless branching. Releases like Blade Runner and Close Encounters will get my money because they're done the RIGHT way.
End of debate. Theatrical versions are the definitive, director's cuts.
Arguing about which version is "better" is just silly. Some people prefer the extended editions because of the extra content. Other's (like Jackson and myself) prefer the theatricals for the superior pacing and flow of the story. But that is subjective. What is not subjective is which version is the definitive version according to the film's director. We know that is the theatrical version.
True. The problem is that Pav's argument is nothing but baseless theory. If you are trying to determine a person's opinion, yet exclude their own statements from the evidence, it makes the entire discussion pointless.
The reality is that even though the Theatrical Editions are the definitive, director's cuts of the films, Newline Marketing knows full and well that the Extended Editions are going to be treated by the fan base as the definitive versions because fans (unlike the artists themselves) tend to think that more always equals better. That is why the TEs have always had very basic releases (ie. DVD special features on a blu-ray release. WTF is that?) while the EEs have always been packaged as the definitive releases. I'm actually shocked that Jackson would answer that interview question honestly, because it directly undermines the marketability of the EEs.
I think the UK had the trilogy box set, and individual films from day one. I did notice when I saw them instore, the trilogy set has slim blu-ray boxes whereas the individual films had the regular thicker box.
When is Warner going to learn? No one is buying the trilogy, so why would anyone buy these? Just release the extended editions and be done with it. Unbelievable!
(i'm being a smart ass) 
