Site created 12/15/97.	review added: 12/8/04 updated: 12/9/04 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 4-Disc Special Extended DVD Edition - 2003 (2004) - New Line Part Two - Supplemental Material Back to Part One review by Bill Hunt, editor of The Digital Bits Film Rating: A Disc Ratings (Video/Extras): A/A Audio Ratings (DD/DTS): A/A+ Specs and Features Discs One & Two (See Part One) Disc Three: The Appendices, Part V - The War of the Ring Peter Jackson introduction (2 mins, 16x9, DD 2.0), J.R.R. Tolkien: The Legacy of Middle-Earth documentary (30 mins, 16x9, DD 2.0), From Book to Script: Forging the Final Chapter documentary (25 mins, 16x9, DD 2.0), Aragorn Battles Sauron abandoned concept animatic (5 mins, 16x9, DD 2.0), Designing Middle-Earth documentary (40 mins, 16x9, DD 2.0), Weta Workshop documentary (47 mins, 16x9, DD 2.0), Big-atures featurette (20 mins, 16x9, DD 2.0), Costume Design featurette (12 mins, 16x9, DD 2.0), 53 production design galleries (on the miniatures and the peoples and realms of Middle-Earth - with select audio commentary), Home of the Horse Lords documentary (30 mins, 16x9, DD 2.0), interactive Middle-Earth Atlas (16x9, DD 2.0), interactive New Zealand as Middle-Earth map with location video (16 mins total, 16x9, DD 2.0), DVD credits, help text, "play all" feature, disc index, DVD-ROM features (including weblinks), animated film-themed menus with sound and music, subtitles: English and Spanish Disc Four: The Appendices, Part VI - The Passing of an Age Cast introduction (2 mins, 16x9, DD 2.0), Cameras in Middle-Earth documentary (73 mins, 16x9, DD 2.0), production photo gallery, WETA Digital documentary (42 mins, 16x9, DD 2.0), Mûmakil Battle multi-angle visual effects demonstration with optional commentary (30 sec, 16x9, DD 2.0), Editorial: Completing the Trilogy featurette (22 mins, 16x9, DD 2.0), Music for Middle-Earth featurette (22 mins, 16x9, DD 5.1), The Soundscapes of Middle-Earth featurette (22 mins, 16x9, DD 5.1), The End of All Things featurette (21 mins, 16x9, DD 2.0), The Passing of an Age featurette (25 mins, 16x9, DD 2.0), Cameron Duncan: The Inspiration for "Into the West" featurette (32 mins, 16x9, DD 2.0 - includes 2 Cameron Duncan short films: DFK6498 and Strike Zone which can be viewed separately), DVD credits, help text, "play all" feature, disc index, DVD-ROM features (including weblinks), animated film-themed menus with sound and music, subtitles: English and Spanish As with the previous sets, Discs Three and Four collectively form The Appendices, and are designed to serve much the same function as The Appendices in the original books. Disc Three specifically deals with the monumental production effort involved in closing the trilogy out in The Return of the King, from scripting to production design to locations. Disc Four really wraps these extended editions up by looking at the actual production filming, the post production and the impact that this journey has had on the cast and crew. Before we start looking at the contents of these discs, you should know that virtually everything is presented in anamorphic widescreen video, and the menus feature Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. Most of the rest of the video material is in Dolby Digital 2.0, with the exception of the music and sound design featurettes on Disc Four (which are in full 5.1). In a nice touch, subtitle text is available for the documentaries in both English and Spanish. Both Discs Three and Four feature a brief video introduction (by Peter Jackson and Elijah Wood with other cast members respectively) explaining what you'll find on the disc and how to access it. Furthermore, each of the discs has additional help text on how to access the material, along with a complete index of the disc's contents. There is also a "play all" mode that will allow you to view all of the featurettes and documentaries. However, as with the previous Appendices discs, if you do this there are several items that you'll have to view separately (the galleries and other material). My feeling is that perhaps the featurettes on these two discs are even better that those on the previous edition - certainly they're more emotionally laden. There is a sense from all involved that their journey together is about to end, and what an extraordinary time it's been for all of them. We start with Disc Three, also known as The Appendices, Part V - The War of the Ring. The first major piece on this disc, J.R.R. Tolkien: The Legacy of Middle-Earth, provides more historical background on man behind the original books, and addresses some of the specific issues that ultimately influenced his writing of Return of the King and the legacy of his Lord of the Rings as a whole. It runs about 30 minutes. Striking here are insights about Tolkien's relationship with his wife, which would ultimately influence his writing of Aragorn and Awren (among other romantic pairings in the stories), as well as more background on additional influences, particularly his relationship with the friends of his youth. Of all of his boyhood and later school friendships, there were four that were most impactful on his life. When World War I broke out, Tolkien and all of his friends soon found them fighting on the front lines. Fighting in separate units, Tolkien would share his early writings (that would later develop into Lord of the Rings) with one in particular by letter. This friend greatly appreciated Tolkien's work, and wrote back: "May God bless you, my dear John Ronald, and may you say the things I have tried to say long after I am not here to say them, if such be my lot." This friend, and all but one of Tolkien's other friends, did not survive the war. What a powerful, and terrible, motivating force this must have been on Tolkien's later life. In From Book to Script: Forging the Final Chapter, Jackson, Walsh and Boyens talk about how they had to restructure the narrative of events from the books, because Tolkien did not write the various character stories chronologically. In addition, events from The Two Towers had to be moved into the script for Return of the King, so that Jackson could intercut the character paths in correct chronological order and make the drama more cinematically interesting. Various cast members and Tolkien expects also talk about what was left out of the books for the sake of the films and what was newly created for the films, while still drawing upon elements from the books in order to keep even the new material true to the spirit of Tolkien's writings. What's particularly cool here is that we get glimpses of alternate takes of a few scenes (particularly Frodo's dismissal of Sam), as well as glimpses abandoned concepts and scenes (like an early planned final confrontation between Aragorn and Saruon at the Black Gates, and "whatever happened to" scenes for Gimli and Legolas after the Fellowship parts at Minas Tirith). Jackson and company also talk specifically about some of the new footage that's been added back into this extended cut. As part of this section, we get the full storyboard/pre-vis animatic for the conclusion of the final battle, in which we see how planned final confrontation between Aragorn and Saruon would have played out, and how it would have intercut with the final destruction of The Ring on Mount Doom. It's very cool to see, greatly dramatic in and of itself, but you can understand why it was ultimately changed. Next up is a section on the film's production design, which begins with the 40-minute, Designing Middle-Earth documentary. This is particularly interesting, because John Howe tells us how the various location designs evolved from other elements in the production - Minas Morgul for example, was deliberately designed to recall Minas Tirith, while also suggesting that it had been perverted by the orcs who took it over. There's a great deal of discussion on the construction of the massive, live action Minas Tirith set. We get a glimpse of the real life influences for the designs, we see the construction efforts, we get a look at fun details that never actually get seen on film (for example, the Rat Catcher's hut). The piece features occasional dramatic readings of descriptions from Tolkien's writings, even as we see the design artwork describing the same thing from the film. The doc closes with footage of John Howe, Dan Hennah and Grant Major accepting their Oscars for their work on these films. The Big-atures featurette looks at the miniatures unit's efforts to design and construct the various models needed for Return of the King. The crew worked on these films over 1,000 days, and by the end, they were getting very good at what they did. They were also getting a little stir crazy. There's fun video of a bizarre party the team held in honor of their 666th day on the production. There's also a funny moment when we see the team celebrating at their wrap party... when they get a call from Peter Jackson saying that they need one more miniature shot for the new footage being added back into this extended DVD version of the film. Weta Workshop picks up on the doc of the same name from The Two Towers extended DVD. We watch as the artisans and craftspeople construct the various armor and props needed for this film - particularly daunting for the massive scale of the film's climactic battle scenes. Richard Taylor, the workshop's creative supervisor, takes us through the workshop archives and shows us lots of little design touches to the armor, weapons and costumes that never made it to the film, but which really added to the realism for the actors. We learn that each culture had its own cultural evolution/history worked out in great detail, so that (for example) the armor that the soldiers of Gondor wear in this film has evolved logically from the armor that the Human army seen in the prologue of The Fellowship of the Ring wore (thousands of years earlier in the history of Middle-earth). We see how the Grond battering ram was designed, how Shelob and Gothmog evolved, how the Mouth of Sauron was made just a little more creepy at the last minute, and how the workshop team was called upon to create a full-sized, dead mûmakil for shooting scenes of the aftermath of battle... and how the team had a huge party around it later and took their crew photo standing on top of it. There's also a Costume Design featurette that address how Gandalf's clothing has evolved from the first film to reflect the changes in his character. We also see how other costumes particular to this film were inspired and created, and how the actors themselves were often involved in the design process. For a closer look at these characters, costumes, props and locations, there's a massive, interactive gallery of production reference photos, design drawings and other artwork. This artwork section is actually broken down into over 50 separate galleries, organized by subject. You can view the artwork in slideshow mode, or individually. Selected images have their own audio commentary clips featuring members of the production team, who explain what you're seeing. There are literally thousands of images to peruse, and they're all presented in good quality, so you can fully appreciate the detail and artistry of what you're being shown. The last major video segment of Disc Three is a documentary entitled Home of the Horse Lords. It deals with all of the equestrian work that went into the trilogy, and this film in particular, given its epic battle scenes. We see how many of the actors bonded strongly with their horses, and how at least one never quite got the hang of it. There's a funny moment where we learn that, late in the production, the Weta team managed to create an anamatronic horse for use in close-up filming of actors riding. We see Peter Jackson riding the thing, looking every bit the big, enthusiastic kid he his. There's also a nice moment where we learn that Viggo Mortensen not only purchased his own horse from the film, but also bought one for one of the trainers as a gift. As with the previous 4-disc sets, Disc Three is rounded out with a pair of interactive maps, that help you to understand the geography of the film. The Middle-Earth Atlas allows you to follow, step-by-step, the journey that the characters take in the film (there are four separate character paths you can select). It tells you what happens at each step along the way and then gives you clips of the major events that take place at that location. New Zealand as Middle-Earth, in turn, allows you to see where in the "real world" each film location was shot, and includes viewable location video for each place (some 16 minutes in all). Disc Four of this set is entitled The Appendices, Part VI - The Passing of an Age. It really covers the brunt of the production itself, along with the post-production and the film's premiere. It also deals with the emotional impact of the last days of filming on the cast and crew, and how they felt about their time together and what they've accomplished. The first major piece on the disc is the Cameras in Middle-Earth documentary. It chronicles the production - the actual shooting - and takes us gradually through the film, starting with the first scenes shot for Return of the King. It moves through each major scene and sequence in the film, showing us fun glimpses of what happened behind-the-scenes. There are many fascinating stories told by Jackson and the actors. We learn that the scene where Frodo sends Sam home was shot over the course of an entire year. Sean Astin's portion was shot first in November of 1999, and then for various reason's Elijah Wood's portion wasn't filmed until December of 2000. There are many glimpses of unused footage, and we get to see the filming of scenes that weren't seen by fans until this new extended cut. There are also uniquely interesting moments. For example, we see Sir Edmond Hillary (the first man to reach the top of Mount Everest and another favorite son of New Zealand) visiting the set. We learn how Christopher Lee seemed to have "unique" knowledge of the sound that a person makes when they get stabbed in the back (Lee was in the British OSS during World War II). There's so much more - over 70 minutes worth. The piece winds down by showing us the last days of principle photography and the pickup shooting a year later. We get to see some of the final shots with each actor and the pickup shooting a year later. There are incredibly emotional moments as the cast and crew says good-bye to one another. Particularly powerful is a bit in which we see Jackson shooting the last pickup shot with Elijah Wood as Frodo. The set is packed with people who wanted to be there for the moment, but they're completely silent as Jackson asks for take after take, despite the fact that they all know they got the shot they needed very early on. No one wanted it to end. When he finally does call "cut", Jackson and Wood embrace and both break into tears. This last installment of Cameras in Middle-Earth is really very good. Fans will find it completely engaging, entertaining and certainly bittersweet. Supporting this section is a gallery of about 50 production photographs, showing funny and poignant moments behind-the-scenes (some of these photos were taken by Viggo Mortensen). The WETA Digital documentary talks about how the effects house has grown over the course of the three films, and how challenging it was to handle the task of completing the 1,488 visual effects for Return of the King. You see the stress and amusement as digital artists and programmers emerge from meetings with Peter Jackson, during which he's just asked for completely new shots to be completed. Everyone is silently melting down wondering, "Oh my god, how the hell are we going to complete this?" Just how difficult was their task? With just four weeks to go until the effects had to be delivered to make the film's release date, the crew had more than 800 shots still to complete - more than they'd had to do for the ENTIRE first film of the trilogy. But complete them they did, in a heroic effort, and you'll see exactly how they accomplished such a feat in this documentary. It ends as very much a salute to the WETA Digital team. Supporting this documentary is a 30-second Mûmakil Battle multi-angle effects demonstration. It allows you to view each of the different visual elements that went into making the sequence (previz, live action plates, 3D animation, etc) by themselves with the angle button on your remote, or altogether. Additionally, you can listen to optional commentary by effects supervisor Jim Rygiel and members of the effect team, who describe how the shots were built. In Editorial: Completing the Trilogy, we see Jackson reunited with editor Jamie Selkirk, who first worked with the young filmmaker on Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles and his other early films. We learn how difficult it was to shape the film, particularly given the fact that so much footage that had been intended for The Two Towers was bumped into Return of the King. We also learn that the final edit still wasn't complete when scoring had to begin in London, so the entire editorial team was moved to London to allow Jackson to split his time between the edit room and the scoring stage. Music for Middle-Earth provides insights into composer Howard Shore's work for the film, and we learn just how much he really loves this music - so much so that he's created a travelling symphony. We see just how carefully Shore planned the scores for these films - a hint of a theme that can be heard very briefly in Fellowship became the major thematic emphasis for King. We also learn that Shore had a cameo in the film, and that he was still scoring right until the last minute, because the film kept changing in the edit room until very late in the process. Music for Middle-Earth end with Shore conducting his symphony to the enthusiastic responds of a live audience. This piece is presented in 5.1 surround sound. The Soundscapes of Middle-Earth covers the daunting task of creating the sonic landscape of such an epic film. There are a number of interesting stories on how this was done, including footage of the sound crew shooting giant cement blocks bring dropped from a crane onto wood and other debris. It's also presented in 5.1 sound. One of the most interesting pieces on this disc is The End of All Things , which addresses the intensely stressful final weeks of post-production, which quite literally went right to the end. There were many people on the production who were afraid it wasn't going to be finished in time. In fact, the final reels of the film was literally turned over to New Line just a handful of days before the film's Wellington premiere. The last major segment concerning the film is The Passing of an Age, which gives you a look at the Wellington premiere, the cast and crew's reaction to the enthusiastic fan response, the whirlwind press tour for the various premieres around the world, and finally the award season acclaim for the film. We see Return of the King sweeping the Oscars, and the cast and crew gathering in Jackson's L.A. hotel room with all their golden statues - a personal and emotional moment for them. What I appreciated the most, however, was what happened three weeks later... Jackson and company were back in New Zealand, filming one last shot for the extended cut for this DVD release. Jackson has a great line here: "That's the best thing to do - win the Academy Award for best movie BEFORE you finish shooting the last shot!" Disc Four of this set concludes with a fitting tribute to a passionate and talented young New Zealand filmmaker named Cameron Duncan, whom Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens had been impressed with and grown quite fond of. Duncan was fighting a difficult and ultimately losing battle with cancer, but he continued to make films right up until he passed away. Upon hearing of his death, Duncan inspired Boyens to write the words for Return of the King's Oscar-winning closing song, Into the West. Included as part of this tribute are Duncan's last two films, DFK6498 and Strike Zone which can be viewed as part of the tribute, or separately. What an immensely fun and satisfying journey these films, and these extended edition DVDs, have been! There's a line that Théoden says to Aragorn in The Two Towers: "If this is to be our end, then I would have them make such an end as to be worthy of remembrance." Without question, Peter Jackson and his filmmaking fellowship have crafted a worthy finale to their The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The Return of the King is a landmark cinematic achievement, absolutely deserving of its recent Oscar sweep and Best Picture win. And New Line's 4-disc The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Special Extended DVD Edition is a wonderfully fitting way to celebrate and enjoy it one last time. I'd like to extend my personal, heartfelt thanks to Peter Jackson, to the cast and crew of these films, and to DVD producer Michael Pellerin and the entire team involved in creating these discs for the most fun I've had in a movie theater, and in my home theater, in a very, very long time. You know, I never imagined I could recapture as an adult a little of that same thrill I got as a kid the first time I saw Star Wars, but these films made me believe again and that means a great deal to me. Peter... thank you for that. Bill Hunt billhunt@thedigitalbits.com Back to Part One The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - 4-Disc Special Extended DVD Edition The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Collector's DVD Gift Set
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