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The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring is one of the most highly anticipated DVD releases of 2002. Roadshow Home Entertainment recently held the official launch party, pulling out all stops to make this A Party of Special Magnificence. We sent BrandonV and StefM along to report on proceedings, and we hope that this report will give you all a taste of the air of anticipation surrounding this very special DVD release. More importantly, we sent them along to get the low-down on the specifications of the 2, 4, and 5 disc versions of this release. Lord Of The Ring fans will not be disappointed...
As Brandon V and I entered the Daintree Cafe in Sydney's Darling Harbour, the biggest hobbit birthday bash of the year had just kicked off. With everything from a three- tiered birthday cake, traditional hobbit burgers, ale, Irish stew
to the hobbit band "Avalon" on hand, we just knew that this was going to be a very special birthday party indeed for one Bilbo Baggins.
The large screen displayed the LOTR logo and we hoped for some visual delights on that very screen before the night was over - we were not disappointed.
First to greet the crowd was Roadshow Entertainment's Managing Director Chris Chard. Chard talked about the phenomenal success of the film worldwide and how Roadshow Entertainment were very proud to be associated with the DVD and Video releases of the film. He then introduced the first guest of the night, LOTR Producer
Barrie M. Osborne.
Osborne explained that two versions of the DVD would be released, a 2 disc theatrical version in August and a special 4 disc extended version in November. He also spoke about the love of the DVD and Video mediums that LOTR Director Peter Jackson has and that Jackson has wall- to- wall DVDs and videos, ranging from the most obscure titles to the biggest blockbusters. He then handed over the podium to LOTR Executive Producer Mark Ordesky.
Ordesky continued to talk about the extended release version of the film and then treated us to some slides which contained stills of some of the extra scenes which will make up approximately 30 minutes of extra footage in the extended release version. These included the "gift giving scene", a more violent final battle scene which was cut from the theatrical version due to ratings issues and also other extra scenes which would be included to aid character development. We were also told Jackson was taking extra care to get the home versions of the film perfect and that included overseeing every aspect of the DVD and Video releases.
Ordesky then commented that if people thought "The Fellowship of the Ring" was visually stunning they have seen nothing yet, as the next installment "The Two Towers" will top it. Finally, the moment was right to present the highlight of the night - the world premiere of a 3 minute clip of "The Two Towers" with a video prologue by Peter Jackson himself.
The night was rounded off by a fireworks display which then left the crowd to party on into the night.
The release date of the Theatrical 2 disc DVD version of the film is slated for August 6, 2002 and the 4 disc special extended version will follow on November 12, 2002.
A very entertaining and educational night was had by all and I am sure that just about everyone is looking forward to the release of these very special DVDs.
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Standard 2 disc theatrical version |
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| Retail price around $42.95 | |
To celebrate the highly anticipated release of The Lord Of The Rings:
Fellowship Of The Ring ('LOTR') on DVD,
Stef M and I attended "a party of special
magnificence". The party was held on Tuesday, June 4 at the Daintree Cafe, Darling
Harbour, Sydney.
On arrival, we discovered that the Daintree Cafe had been transformed into Middle-earth, and the party recreated Bilbo Baggins' Birthday Party scene from LOTR. A generous amount of food, beer and wine was on offer, and the crowd was abuzz with excitement at the sight of a huge screen displaying the LOTR logo.
The lights dimmed and Chris Chard, Managing Director
of Roadshow Entertainment, took to
the podium. Chard welcomed the guests, and spoke briefly about the phenomenal success of
the movie. He mentioned that not only had LOTR been critically
acclaimed, but it had also grossed over US $850 million worldwide. Chard then introduced
the two overseas guests attending the launch, LOTR producers
Barrie M. Osborne and Mark Ordesky.
The LOTR producers both spoke very enthusiastically about the movie, and the upcoming DVD and VHS release. They also presented stills from some of the scenes which will appear in the extended version of the DVD. Video greetings from some of the cast, and the director Peter Jackson, were also screened for us. Best of all, however, the producers screened an extended trailer for The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers. This looks to be one of the most amazing and visually stunning movies ever based on this very exciting trailer.
The producers also made mention of the fact that the director,
Peter Jackson, is a 'DVD
nut'. He apparently has a dream home-theatre system, and just about every DVD ever
released in a massive library in his home. With the 4-disc 'special extended edition' DVD
of LOTR, Jackson will be aiming at producing the greatest DVD
EVER. He is an avid fan of the medium, and knows exactly what DVD/Home Theatre buffs
want.
Furthermore, thirty seconds of a battle scene that was cut to get a more family-friendly
rating theatrically will be restored to the 'special extended edition' DVD.
In regards to the DVD, the theatrical version of the movie will be released on DVD and VHS on August 6, 2002. This will be followed by a Special Extended Edition of the movie on DVD and VHS on November 12, 2002. "The utilisation of a simultaneous global release date means that Australian consumers do not have to wait to own their own copy of The Lord Of The Rings. The decision to issue two staggered releases will allow Director Peter Jackson time to finish post-production work on The Two Towers and The Return of the King, and complete the special extended edition four-disc DVD, which will be highly anticipated by fans of the trilogy" said Chris Chard.
| Special Extended Edition | Collector's Box |
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Retail price around $74.95 |
Retail price around $169.95 |
