The Return of the King [1980] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

Amazon.co.uk Review

The greatest trilogy in film history, presented in the most ambitious sets in DVD history, comes to a grand conclusion with the extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Not only is the third and final installment of Peter Jackson's adaptation of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien the longest of the three, but a full 50 minutes of new material pushes the running time to a whopping 4 hours and 10 minutes. The new scenes are welcome, and the bonus features maintain the high bar set by the first two films, The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.

What's New?

One of the scenes cut from the theatrical release but included here, the resolution of the Saruman storyline, generated a lot of publicity when the movie opened, as actor Christopher Lee complained in the press about losing his only appearance. It's an excellent scene, one Jackson calls "pure Tolkien," and provides better context for Pippin to find the wizard's palantir in the water, but it's not critical to the film. In fact, "valuable but not critical" might sum up the ROTK extended edition. It's evident that Jackson made the right cuts for the theatrical run, but the extra material provides depth and ties up a number of loose ends, and for those sorry to see the trilogy end (and who isn't?) it's a welcome chance to spend another hour in Middle-earth. Some choice moments are Gandalf's (Ian McKellen) confrontation with the Witch King (we find out what happened to the wizard's staff), the chilling Mouth of Sauron at the gates of Mordor, and Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) being mistaken for Orc soldiers. We get to see more of Éowyn (Miranda Otto), both with Aragorn and on the battlefield, even fighting the hideously deformed Orc lieutenant, Gothmog. We also see her in one of the most anticipated new scenes, the Houses of Healing after the battle of the Pelennor Fields. It doesn't present Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) as a savior as the book did, but it shows the initial meeting between Éowyn and Faramir (David Wenham), a relationship that received only a meaningful glance in the theatrical cut.

If you want to completely immerse yourself in Peter Jackson's marvelous and massive achievement, only the extended edition will do.

And for those who complained, no, there are no new endings, not even the scouring of the Shire, which many fans were hoping to see. Nor is there a scene of Denethor (John Noble) with the palantir, which would have better explained both his foresight and his madness. As Jackson notes, when cuts are made, the secondary characters are the first to go, so there is a new scene of Aragorn finding the palantir in Denethor's robes. Another big difference is Aragorn's confrontation with the King of the Dead. In the theatrical version, we didn't know whether the King had accepted Aragorn's offer when the pirate ships pulled into the harbor; here Jackson assumes that viewers have already experienced that tension, and instead has the army of the dead join the battle in an earlier scene (an extended cameo for Jackson). One can debate which is more effective, but that's why the film is available in both versions. If you feel like watching the relatively shorter version you saw in the theaters, you can. If you want to completely immerse yourself in Peter Jackson's marvelous and massive achievement, only the extended edition will do.

How Are the Bonus Features?

To complete the experience, The Return of the King provides the same sprawling set of features as the previous extended editions: four commentary tracks, sharp picture and thrilling sound, and two discs of excellent documentary material far superior to the recycled material in the theatrical edition. Those who have listened to the seven hours of commentary for the first two extended editions may wonder if they need to hear more, but there was no commentary for the earlier ROTK DVD, so it's still entertaining to hear him break down the film (he says the beacon scene is one of his favorites), discuss differences from the book, point out cameos, and poke fun at himself and the extended-edition concept ("So this is the complete full strangulation, never seen before, here exclusively on DVD!"). The documentaries (some lasting 30 minutes or longer) are of their usual outstanding quality, and there's a riveting storyboard/animatic sequence of the climactic scene, which includes a one-on-one battle between Aragorn and Sauron.

One DVD Set to Rule Them All
Peter Jackson's trilogy has set the standard for fantasy films by adapting the Holy Grail of fantasy stories with a combination of fidelity to the original source and his own vision, supplemented by outstanding writing, near-perfect casting, glorious special effects, and evocative New Zealand locales. The extended editions without exception have set the standard for the DVD medium by providing a richer film experience that pulls the three films together and further embraces Tolkien's world, a reference-quality home theater experience, and generous, intelligent, and engrossing bonus features. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

Good exposure for Tolkien, Fantasy's best .......2007-11-02

I cannot believe the sheer number of negative reviews for this movie. Granted, THE HOBBIT was a more successful film. The reason is because these movies are for children, and written as such. THE HOBBIT does well in this situation because it is for children. THE RETURN OF THE KING not so much. The animation style is the same as THE HOBBIT. Gollum is good. The best part of this particular film is the sequence between Eowyn and the Witch-King of Angmar. That is well done. The Mouth of Sauron is also in there*. Orodruin is done well too.
One thing I don't like about both films is current packaging. I bought them before they turned over, and each is well represented with original art from the film. These new covers, however, go totally away from the animation style used to convey Tolkien's world to the audience. Bad cover art. Almost as bad as the phallus on the original cover of THE LITTLE MERMAID.

John Huston makes the ultimate Gandalf. His voice sounds exactly like a Gandalf would sound. One thing I don't like is in the end of the movie they have Gandalf imply hobbits evolved into men, which is against Tolkien's conceptions and his Christian view of the world and its inhabitants.

THE RETURN OF THE KING suffers simply because of how much they had to cut away. One of the funniest things I have ever heard in the movies is here: they state of the first two books, over 800 pages, that Frodo and Sam had many brave adventures until they got the to gate of Cirith Ungol. Legolas and Gimli are nowhere to be seen. Aragorn is poorly portrayed, and based on interaction between him and Gandalf it seems they dislike each other, which is of course not true. You don't get the feel of Aragorn like you do in the books. There is much cut away from THE RETURN OF THE KING. The Scourging of the Shire has no place in this one. Indeed, they say it is based off Part III of THE LORD OF THE RINGS. But because of its limits, THE RETURN OF THE KING cannot adequately show the grandeur and epic scale of THE LORD OF THE RINGS.

The best thing about this is it gets exposure to people that might otherwise not watch or know about Tolkien. This film in particular, because of its limited time and scope, does well in portraying the book. But lets face it, any 365 book that is adapted to a 98 minute movie is, of course, going to not be totally represented. Overall, they've done a good job on this film, considering the audience and that they've been able to shine just a little light on Tolkien's achievement. Of course, these two films (this and THE HOBBIT) are much better than that horrible Bakshi adaptation. (The animation was some of the most realistic, but the film itself was terrible). But between these three films, we still have not gotten a good picture of THE LORD OF THE RINGS as a whole. The last half of THE TWO TOWERS hasn't been touched at all. Lets hope this new three film version by Peter Jackson will be up to snuff. This will be live action, and I'm really looking forward too it.

As I watched this as a child, the chief thing I remembered was the song "The end of the ring, the return of the king." I never could find it when I read through the novel. Too bad...I liked that. For its effort and exposure to children - **** stars.

*An interesting note: Aragorn says in THE TWO TOWERS that Sauron does not let his name be spelt or spoken, and then the ambassador says he is the Mouth of Sauron. How can that be? We have come to a contradiction*

Mike London

Originally issued on Amazon.com on February 11, 2001

the king returns.......2007-09-11

Gandalf said it best: "I will not say: do not weep. For not all tears are an evil."

And it's of tempting to weep as the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy draws to a close, with the "Return of the King." Peter Jackson's brilliant adaptation ends the classic fantasy epic with a bang... but then quiets down to let us bid farewell to these lovable characters. Astounding direction, action, and a little pang when it's all over.

Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) are still following the treacherous Gollum (Andy Serkis) on the path to Mordor, with the increasingly strained Frodo unaware that Gollum is sowing suspicion between the two best friends. By the time he realizes his mistake, he's been dragged into the lair of Shelob, a monstrous spider, and then abducted by orcs who want the Ring he carries. Determined to find his friend, Sam heads into an orc citadel on his own.

Meanwhile, Gandalf (Ian McKellen) takes Pippin (Billy Boyd) with him to Minas Tirith, after the hobbit has a close encounter with Sauron through a palantir. \Not only is the city under siege, but the Steward Denethor is slowly going insane, even sending his one remaining son, Faramir (David Wenham), on a suicide mission to reclaim a dead city. With Minas Tirith crumbling, Aragorn's (Viggo Mortensen) only hope may to be summon an army of the dead, who will only obey the King of Gondor. But even the dead won't help him if Frodo doesn't destroy the Ring -- and its power over him is growing.

The "Lord of the Rings" trilogy is one of those once-in-a-lifetime movie experiences. There has never been anything quite like it in movie history, and there probably never will be again. It seems somehow fitting that the book that every other fantasy has to measure up to, has now become a sweeping cinematic triumph that actually stays halfway loyal to the books. Good things come to fans who wait, I guess.

And in this movie, Peter Jackson really outdoes himself. You know those battle scenes in "Two Towers" and "Fellowship of the Ring," with the swooping camera and thousands of orcs, clashing with men on a gloomy battlefield? In "Return of the King," Jackson surpasses that. There's everything from volcanic eruptions to an invasion of howling ghosts to the attack of the oliphaunts (like elephants, only bigger). Each action scene is a shattering ride, and there's no guarantee that all the beloved characters will make it out alive. Some of them don't.

But if Jackson manages the epic battles well, he does an even better job with the gentler, quieter moments. The action slows down, and the characters take a moment to support and comfort each other, such as Gandalf comforting the frightened Pippin with a description of the afterlife. Jackson and his fellow screenwriters Fran Walsh and Phillippa Boyens throw themselves into the semi-formal language of Tolkien's world, resculpting Tolkien's words into rich movie dialogue.

Elijah Wood gives an unparalleled performance as Frodo Baggins -- it's hard to imagine any young actor in recent memory who has given a performance this wrenching. Frodo's deterioration is horrifying to watch, and the climactic scene at Mount Doom displays just what the Ring can do to even the pure-hearted hobbit. Sean Astin follows up with his powerful performance as Sam, who is increasingly the "strong" hobbit, demonstrated in a tearjerking scene as they scale Mount Doom.

But all the supporting cast also give powerful performances -- Boyd and Dominic Monaghan put their characters through some intense growing pains, and the "I'm going to take care of you" scene is enough to bring tears to your eyes. Mortensen and McKellen are astounding as the kingly outcast and the kick-butt wizard, while Miranda Otto, David Wenham and Bernard Hill are brilliant on the sidelines.

Perhaps the most striking thing about "Return of the King" is the final fourth of the film. While the "multiple endings" may annoy some viewers, it seems somehow right to gently let go of these characters rather than have a sudden, splashy finale. And whether they have a happy or sad ending, Jackson never lets us forget that they all made sacrifices to battle Sauron.

"Return of the King" brings the epic "Lord of the Rings" trilogy to a close, and cements Jackson's reputation as a master filmmaker. With the outstanding cast, beautiful scripting and amazing direction, this is the best of the "Lord" films -- and that's saying something.

Oh well.......2005-09-29

It's hard to watch films such as this without being aware of all the hyperbole that seems to go along with expensive movies these days. I really enjoyed the first two films although I didn't particularly think that they were the best films I had ever seen. Watching, and listening to, the various commentaries I got sense of what an achievement the making of these films was. I can see why Peter Jackson is so respected by those who know about film but, to a certain extent, without being so closely involved I don't feel the same awe as some others do.

This film didn't engage me as much as the others did. I found that it dragged, and not because of the length. The endings are fairly dire and it seemed to me that the makers had too obviously strived to top whatever they had done in the second film. Unfortunately, they only increased the scale, not the quality. So, in The Two Towers we had battle of 40000 (or whatever) and in ROTK it therefore had to be 100000 (or whatever). But the tension and emotion of the battle of Helm's Deep was not repeated. I didn't feel that the survival of the heroes was in question in. When Gandalf charges down the mountain in TTT, with the prodigal son in tow, it was a moving experience with its religious symbolism. When the riders of Rohan charge through the battle it seemed as though it was a pale echo of what had gone before.

Anyway, this is just so much carping. The film, up until the last half hour and the many endings is good. The extras are as comprehensive as before and the commentaries are well worth listening to, even though you have to sit through the film twice more. I gave the first two films 5 and this one 4. It was a bit of a disappointment for me but only because of the high standards that had been set previously.

Well worth the money.......2005-09-11

This is one of the best purchases I have ever made. The extras in the Box Set really rounded off an excellent product.

Good, Bad and the Ugly.......2005-06-06

Here it is, the final piece of the extended trilogy. 5 (yes, Five) discs of Return of the King and an extra disc about the composing of the soundtrack - and what you get doesn't disappoint, even if you are a Tokein purist (like me).

Nearly an extra hour of additional footage allows you to see what happens to Saruman, more shots of Minas Tirith (which is by far one of the best set pieces ever made), in addition to filling plot holes, and also see some more at Pelennor Fields. But my personal favourite is that Denethor's best line in the book (albeit a little shortened) 'You may triumph on the field of battle for a day, but against the power that has risen in the East there is no victory'

The extra features, are par for the course for the series. I don't think exhaustive quite cuts it - you get all the little bits about how the film was made, the design aspects and set construction, as well as a deleted scene. The only way you could get more special features is if they'd invited you onto the set.

Thats the good. The bad only rely applies if you are a Tolkein purist (in which case why are you watching the films!). Saruman's fate is not as written, and there is no scouring of the shire. Faramir's dream ('I saw a great wave....') is now given to Eowyn, and I'm not sure how well it works. Its not bad, its just not quite right.

-Spoiler warning:

The Ugly - ditto, this is purist stuff. Everyone and their aunt will notice that between Gandalf picking Pippin up after the Gate is broken, and his arrival at the tomb of the stewards, his staff is missing. We see how that happens, but frankly its not that impressive. All the rumours of the Gandalf/Witchking slugfest are just that. The lines and the CGI in that scene are great, its just not quite right (if Gandalf can take on a demon of the ancient world as Gandalf the Grey, then how come he can't take on the Witchking as Gandalf the White kind of problem).

So, if you're going to buy this, get it for the special features and the 4'' polystone Minas Tirith. The extra scenes are nice but a little out of place at points - if you bought the extended editions of the other two, you'll want this box set rather than the 4 disc set, simply for the sculpture (yes, I like the sculpture)

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