Official details of LotR:RotK Extended Edition DVD
New Line has finally, officially
announced the DVD release of the 4-disc The Lord of the Rings: The
Return of the King – Special Extended DVD Edition! As we expected, the
DVD will street on 12/14, featuring a 250 minute version of the film
with over 50 minutes of new footage and scenes. The film will be
presented in anamorphic widescreen video (2.35:1) with audio in both
Dolby Digital 5.1 EX and DTS 6.1 ES surround sound. The film will be
presented on Discs One & Two, complete with four newly-recorded
audio commentaries by the director and writers, the design team, the
production team and the cast. These will feature more than 30
participants (including Peter Jackson, Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Orlando
Bloom, Richard Taylor, Howard Shore and many more). The cast commentary
will also feature a dialogue between split-personality characters
Gollum and Smeagol (Andy Serkis).
Discs Three & Four (The
Appendices) will include the usual in-depth documentaries and other
features. Disc Three (The War of the Ring) will include a video
introduction by Peter Jackson, the final part of the J.R.R. Tolkien:
The Legacy of Middle-earth documentary, the From Book to Script:
Forging the Final Chapter documentary, an abandoned concept featurette:
Aragorn Battles Sauron, the final parts of the Designing Middle-earth,
Big-atures, Weta Workshop and Costume Design documentaries, design
galleries with more than 2,100 images (divided into The Peoples of
Middle-earth, The Realms of Middle-earth and Miniatures), the Home of
the Horse Lords documentary, and more interactive Middle-earth Atlas:
Tracing the Journeys of the Fellowship and New Zealand as Middle-earth
interactive maps (with production footage).
Disc Four (The
Passing of an Age) will include a video introduction by Elijah Wood,
Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan, the final part of the
Cameras in Middle-earth documentary on the making of the film, a
production photo gallery with more than 60 images, the last part of the
Weta Digital visual effects documentary, a multi-angle The Mumakil
Battle interactive demonstration, the Editorial: Completing the
Trilogy, Music for Middle-earth, The Soundscapes of Middle-earth and
The End of All Things documentaries, The Passing of an Age documentary,
the Cameron Duncan: The Inspiration for Into the West documentary, the
DFK6498 and Strike Zone short films and finally the usual DVD-ROM
content on all discs.
