Return of the King DVD on May 25th (sort of)

returnoftheking3.jpgThe first 2 Lord of the Rings films were released on DVD in August, but it seems that with the trilogy finished, the powers that be no longer see a need to hold off the release of the third installment. Return of the King is coming to DVD on May 25th, which is good news… sort of. You see, the extended version (the one that most people really want to buy) still won’t be coming out until the Christmas holidays sometime. Why torture us like this? The reason is simple: They know that stupid suckers like me can’t wait until November or December to buy this movie, therefore I’ll buy the versions that gets released in May AND later buy the extended version, thus increasing their sales and profits. It’s a low down disgusting game they’re playing… but brilliant at the same time. I hope I can’t hold out and just wait for the extended version… but… I… am… soooo…. weaaakkkk.

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17 thoughts on “Return of the King DVD on May 25th (sort of)

  1. Personally, I know I’ll never touch the two disc sets once the four disc version comes out, so I don’t bother buying them … well, I bought the first one, but I sold it again once the big set came out. I’ll rent the theater cut of this one, but as far as buying something, it’s the big version all the way …

  2. thank you chris! exactly how i feel. i too own both versions of FOTR and TTT, and of course all three soundtracks, FOTR and TTT several times over (with different covers). i personally have already reserved my copy ROTK at Blockbuster (movie rental and buying store, in case you don’t have them wherever you live- I live in California)and I can’t wait until May 25th!! I think I’ll go crazy before then, as its no longer in theaters. however, i did see it five times (no joke) in the cinemark before it left us, so that’ll have to console me until the 25th i guess. well yea thats all i have to say now.

  3. Hey,Folks,, the ROTK released on may is a completely diferent version of the extended dvd.
    first you have the original version of the theater, then you have many extras that is not gonna be in the extended version!!!
    like the video of the song of the ROTK, sung by anni lenox…..
    so if fou are a really fan of the LOTR buy this released and then buy the extended version too..
    As i did with FOTR and TTT..
    it worth

  4. Thats very strange. We get alot of pirated copies of films here in the UK. However, 95% of them are pretty bad copies. I got gangs of new york, which was filmed with a video camera in a cinema and copied on to DVD. We get copies of films with Chinese subtitles which generally arent bad copies, but they tend to be five times removed from the original and so still not great! Ive decieded just to wait to buy a new release until its between 6-months to a year old. Its surprising how quick some films make the “on sale” shelf these days.

  5. The whole chinese copy thing exists in kind of a legal gray zone … China simply doesn’t have copyright laws so these copies are perfectly legal in their country of origin … if the local rights holders wanted to they could pursue cease and desist orders to stop the importers and retailers from bringing outside copies into the country but it’s not cost effective to do that for such a small niche market, so they generally leave it alone. Some of these things are very high quality, some aren’t. It’s a crapshoot, but considering I can get three discs for twenty bucks down there it’s a crapshoot I indulge in fairly regularly to check out films and decide if it’s worth the $ to track down more ‘official’ copies …

  6. So is the selling of copies not illegal in China Town? It makes me laugh when you read copy right warnings and it says “the coping and distribution of this dvd could seriously hinder further productions, when films like Spiderman 2 are costing $200,000,000.00 and will probably make double that easily! In England the entrance fee to the cinema costs about ¬£5.50, then your popcorn is about ¬£2,50, a soda is about ¬£2.50. You are not allowed to take your own stuff in from the outside so that makes ¬£10.50 per person! To rent on dvd costs about ¬£3.00 for 2 nights or to buy a new release is on average about ¬£17.00 for a single disc release and ¬£20.00 for a double. Most of the extras they put on are crap anyway. I would rather have one disc with the film, a making of documentary and the best of the deleted scenes! I paid ¬£40.00 for the indiana jones box set and found out it had been cut to gain a PG and not 15 certificate! Lucas may release an uncut version next year. Im gonna wait for at least 6 to 8 months before I buy a new release!

  7. Poor David. You’re pretty much doubling the dollar amount when you exchange pounds to CDA dollars. And while Day-vuhl’s suggestion about bootlegs in Chinatown is… well… those of us in that Chinatown circle have made our peace with the kind souls at the 421 stores [The Last Samurai is there now – only $10.00], David is out of luck unless he wants any of us to send him a copy. Like I’ve said. We in this Chinatown circle have made our peace with the lax copyright laws.

  8. Okay. Fair point maybe rip-off is too strong a word. Then again, I live in England and prices of new release DVD’s are extremely high. Not sure how much the lord of the rings dvds are (not a fan) but seem to remember the first one being about ¬£22.00 (not sure what that is in Canadian dollars). Then the re-release was about ¬£25.00. Now if the fact they re-release the film isnt a rip-off then maybe the price they charge , for a film that had grossed over double its cost in the American cinemas alone, is. Now if want the film, we dont have much choice but to pay it.

  9. I see where you’re coming from David, Seriously, I do. But that’s the market place. You offer the public what you think they’ll buy. And if you think they’ll buy it, AND a better version of it later, then you do it.

    It all goes back to the point that these companies aren’t MAKING you buy their product. YOU CHOOSE to buy it. And if YOU CHOOSE to buy the special edition as well, that’s your choice. No one is making us buy it.

    And I’m not a parent, but i think I can say with some certainty that my kids will never get everything they want. If I break down and buy my kid both versions of a film, then that’s MY fault and not the studios fault.

    But such is the nature of marketing, and more specificlly marketing to children.

    Remember, all they’re doing is offering it. Can we really say they’re really ripping us off if all they’re doing is OFFERING somthing that we can choose to buy or not buy? Yeah it’s a little dirty of them, but I’ve seen worse.

    Cheers!

  10. Point taken. However, how does a parent explain to a child that, although there favourite film is out, they have to wait 6-months for it because a better version is being released. They wont want to wait and will insist on having that one. And in 6-months time when the new super version comes out, they wont that to. Dont you notice that alot of these “special” edition re-releases are films which are popular with young children LOTR, Harry Potter, x-men etc etc.

  11. The thing is David, that these companies can’t MAKE you buy anything. They offer you a product, you know what you’re getting, and WE decide if we want to buy it or not. Therefore, I don’t think we can say they’re “ripping off fans”.

    Just because they release somthing “better” (like an extended version) six months or a year later doesn’t force us to buy it. It’s like buying a top of the line computer, and then finding out a month later that the same company put out a BETTER computer. You knew what you were buying, so it isn’t a rip off. It would only be a rip off if you bought your computer and then found out 6 months later it would no longer work unless you buy the new upgrade. THAT WOUDL BE A RIP OFF.

    Is it underhanded? Yeah, I think it is. But is it “ripping off fans”, no I don’t think so.

  12. I remember, before the advent of DVD’s, when you had to wait ages for a film to be released on to video. Just imagine the film hasnt been released to buy, and hire it. I think the way these production companies treat us, the buyer is disgraceful. There needs to be some sort of regulatory body to govern how many times, in how many different guises films can be released. All these special edition releases just 6-months after the original release is a joke! I can understand maybe a special edition three to five years later, but soo soon is a joke. The LOTR is one of the biggest villians when it comes to ripping of fans!!

  13. Hold off as long as you can, and when you can’t resist, just rent the video. You’ll have it for 5 days so that should assure you at least ten viewings. That should hold you till November. I’m pulling for you.

  14. I am not weak. I wait until the extended version comes out so it looks nice next to my other extended versions.

    It also looks nice next to the lack of my “wasted money on these versions” sets.

    I learned my lesson with Star Wars. I have 4 versions of the Star Wars Movies. (Classic Letterbox, Special Edition Letterbox, VHS and now DVD)

    When I get my Special Edition on DVD I will put the rest up for sale on Ebay

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