LOTR Poll--When will you rewatch Fellowship and Two Towers?

You're going to see The Return of the King soon as it opens on December 17, or shortly thereafter, right? So you need to watch the first two once again--how far in advance will you watch them?

have seen them both more times than I can count

to be prepared for the big day!

when the extended version of ROTK comes out on DVD, then I will watch all three in a row while going berserk.

on a similar note, should I buy the three movies separately on as they come out or wait for that potentially incredible all three on one set you know will hit stores in Xmas of 2004 or 2005?

Or shoudl you wait for the 10-year anniversary re-relase super-spectacular greatest DVD of all time???????????????????

I've bought both the Theatrical AND Extended editions of FOTR & TT. The Theatrical versions--not expensive--so I could have a few months of watching before the Extended ones are released. Both editions have "additional" features. Obviously, the Extended ones have far more--but there's no "overlapping".

Serious suggestion: Buy the Extended FOTR & TT. Then, if you're not a fanatic like some of us, getting the extended ROTK will make a nice 3-volume set.

Any future editions will probably NOT repeat the "special" features--but there could be additional stuff. Techies say a High Resolution edition lies in the future. In the commentary track on TT, Jackson & his comadres joke about a future re-edited release--with scenes from all 3 movies rearranged into one really big one. (They WERE joking, weren't they?)

For my buck, the extended and added scenes (most, not all) are there more to justify changes PJ & company made to the script. Not exactly stuff I *missed* and wish were there in the first place. Commentaries are great though. For sheer movie-watching, the theatrical version was just fine left alone, IMO.

the theatrical release. I think they could have put that in theaters and people would gladly have sat through it all. I think it may have something to do with aggreements the studio has with theaters.

haven't seen the extended version of the Two Towers yet.

BIG time.

I think New Line was just frightened of the risk of a 200 minute fantasy on the screen. Now they know people will sit through it, I'm so so so glad there is going to be an intermission in RotK.

I'm going to watch the animated version of The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, and the Two Towers together with my grandmother.

those movies were long and boring. :boring:

Does that count?

We'll be watching both extended versions as much as possible before the 17th. We're even having our oldest son's birthday a day early because we want to go on the first day ROTK is ot.

They butcher the story so bad it is nearly unwatchable. These movies are only enjoyable if you've never read the classic trilogy, if you have they are sacrilege.

I've read the trilogy only four times but I must say the movies have done a fine job in my opinion. They strayed from the books a bit sure but with the exception of using Gimli as comic relief in the second movie I found it justifiable.

I first read the trilogy back in the 60's--several times. Re-read it just before the first movie came out, went on through the Silmarillion & am continuing with other auxiliary Tolkien works.

One encounters variants when studying myth & legend. Tolkien changed his story several times as he was writing LOTR--later, he even admitted that Tom Bombadil might have been omitted. The film version is just a later variant--actually, with the extended versions, more than one.

I don't agree 100% with the changes made to bring the story to film, but I applaud the love for Tolkien that made these stories come to life in such a different medium.

:)

I understand where you're coming from. While watching TTT DVD commentary, it was a hoot to listen to PJ & PB try to explain/justify/rationalize the character changes they made.

I disagree with them, but neither my ass nor my $300 million was on the line. The only thing of mine that was at risk was my imagination. As it turns out, I enjoy their movie(s), yet the movie in my head remains relatively uninterfered with.

Under the circumstances, the PJ movie(s) is better than any Tolkien fan had a right to hope for.

A theatre in Boston is showing both movies back to back, then the third at midnight on the 17th. I couldn't do this, 10 hours of movie chairs would be torture, plus I don't think I could handle the sensory overload.

I'll watch the first two on consecutive weekends, then see the third the following weekend.

once was WAY more than enough

:)

Newsweek did a fun article on ROTK.... but don't read it if you don't want spoilers.

and I'm ready to go. And I'm pleased that Jackson thinks ROTK is the best.

As for the screen adaptation, I've got one major bone to pick: the Faramir transformation is just FUBAR. Faramir has no motivation in the movie to finally let Frodo go. Zero, zip. He did in the books. Tolkien was daring in his characterization, Jackson cryptic.

And as much as I appreciate that Jackson has already done the impossible, the books are a heck of a lot better.

And one more beef: I wanted the EE to explain how Gandalf and The Ballhog went from the lake at the bottom of the mountain to the top. Not one extra frame was added.

The amount of time and thought Tolkien put into the metaphors, imagry, and allegories from literature was enormous. I'm still finding stuff on each re-reading. Yes, he had his super-cheesey moments, but even they are done with a deft hand.

On edit:

As much as I like the Extended Editions as they pace the movie slower, give more build up to the climaxes and give better motivations, the theatre releases being shorter are necessary to bring in the spouses who would otherwise not go and/or file for divorce from the longer versions. If this stuff isn't your cup of tea, that extra 30 to 40 minutes could end a long term marriage.

;-)

There should be one for the 17th and one for everyday from now until the 17th.

So that makes the actual 17th out!

I'm hoping for FOTR on Wednesday or Thursday, TT on Friday or next Saturday. It'll get me back into shape for spending 3+ hour stretches of sitting in the theatre.

I hope ROTK doesn't do the goddam extended version thing. Just release it the "right way" the first time. Of course, this is a vain hope, since there's extra money to be had from selling two slightly-different versions.