DESERVES MORE THAN 11 Oscars

Rating: Null/10 (29 May 2004)

When one talks of the all time great movies, the Godfather Trilogy (well actually the first two), Schindlers List, Saving Private Ryan comes to mind. Now, add to that list the Lord of the Rings Movies by Peter Jackson. In fact it would be rude, nay, disrespectful to Prof Tolkien,if the entire three movie were not taken as one long 11 hour epic and judged based on that alone. Return of the King (ROTK)continues the story immediately where the last movie left off about two little Hobbits' quest to destroy the evil One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom in Mordor. In the meantime, the humans are preparing for round two of the obsession by the evil Sauron to wipe them off the face of (Middle) Earth. if the battle at Helms Deep at the end of movie two set the future standard for battle sequences in film, the battle at Palennor Fields completely blows it away and redefines the mark. To many fans, this theatrical release is but an extended trailer for the inevitable butt-numbness that is the Extended Edition that is slated at Christmas time. But this release is no slouch either clocking in at an incredible 200 minutes long.
Video Quality:
I have to admit at being worried that some compromises in quality had to be sacrificed to fit the entire movie on only one disc. However, the transfer was absolutely pristine and simply puts some of the other movie transfers at half the length to shame. Incredible. All said, there was some blurring in the fast moving battle-scenes but you'd have to be a pick-wit to notice. Reference quality.
Sound Quality:
Like the previous two releases, the movie comes with Dolby Digital-EX surround and it absolutely rocks, my movie room was a earthquake zone when the movie was over. Lots of low frequency rumble will have your neighbors keeping 911 busy. All in an excellent sound field and sound transfer. It remains to be seen if the DTS version in the extended edition can top this excellent offering.
The Extras:
I have to admit that I was a little disappointed at the offering in disc two where the extras are housed. The extras contained two documentaries which only newbies will really get excited about and a national Geographic special comparing LOTR characters and situations to real life events and characters like William Wallace and Benjamin Franklin etc. Missable. There are a few web featurettes and an introduction to the coming video strategy game by EA. Perhaps the BIGGEST disappointment is the absence of the music video of the Oscar winning song "Into The West" by annie Lennox. How hard can it be to put in a simple music video to complete the offering. If I were rating the extras I would definitely give it a 2 out of 10. Having the music video could have redeemed the lackluster offering. But considering that I am getting my hands on the DVD two months early, its a small price to pay, although I feel that they should have put in the music video.
Roll-on Extended Edition.