Stars:
Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortenson, Sean Astin, Cate
Blanchett, John Rhys Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominick Mongghan, Orlando Bloom,
Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, and Andy Serkis
Writers:
Fran Walsh, Phillippa Bowens, and Peter Jackson
Based
On The Novel By: J.R.R. Tolkien
Director:
Peter Jackson
Feature
length: 208 minutes
Extras:
“The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers” Final Trailer, “A Day In The Life
Of The Hobbit” Featurette, 20-Page Collectible Booklet
Languages:
English Stereo Sound
Subtitles:
N/A
Packaging:
Four-Disc Digipack Gatefold Within A Slipcase
Sound:
Stereo Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2001/VCD Release: 2002
Theatrical
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Home
Video Distributor: Audio One Entertainment For New Line Home Entertainment (In
Malaysia Only)
MPAA
Rating: PG-13
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
After
seeing “The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers” two days ago I have got
“Middle Earth” on the brain and am looking forward to seeing it on the big
screen again. Like many consumers here in the United States I have both the
widescreen theatrical cut and the huge five-disc collector’s set released this
past November. Well since the release of “The Lord Of The Rings: The
Fellowship Of The Ring: Special Extended DVD Edition,” the extended version
has popped up on NTSC VHS and is coming to a pay per view channel near you if it
has not already. I thought the “Extended Edition” was a DVD exclusive, but
while most of the extra features are exclusive to the four-disc DVD set and
five-disc collector’s DVD set, the actual extended cut of “The Fellowship Of
the Ring” is not exclusive to DVD at all.
To
my surprise it appears that no one will be denied the chance to own a copy of
the extended cut regardless of whether or not they have a DVD player, VCR, or
even pay per view because New Line Home Entertainment has released “The Lord
Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring: Extended VCD Edition” abroad and a
copy was sent for my review. Audio One Entertainment handled the MPEG-1
compression and distribution for this four-disc set, which is somewhat different
from the American DVD version.
For
starters, there is no way one can compare the extra features included on the DVD
to the VCD counterpart, but judging this release as a VCD set alone, it is among
the best video-CD imports to be released this year if not the best. The entire
extended version of “The Fellowship Of The Ring” is presented here and
spread across four video-CDs to give maximum space for the picture and sound
compression. The results are consumers get the uncut extended release presented
in a letterboxed (2.35:1) aspect ratio, which is a rarity for VCD imports in
general, and the picture by VCD standards is quite exceptional. Again the DVD
has the better picture and is enhanced for 16 by 9 televisions, but this VCD
release is very impressive with nice detail and minimal MPEG-1 compression
artifacts, which are inherent to the format. The overall image is a shade or two
lighter than the MPEG-2 DVD version, but at least it is a digital format, which
means it should last a lifetime and not degrade like the VHS tape version
certainly will.
The
English Stereo Soundtrack is also quite nice with a good audio mix using the
left and right channel speakers as well as the subwoofer and if your home
theater system has a few pre-programmed DSP modes, you can easily have the
soundtrack automatically remixed to Dolby Pro Logic without any loss of the
audio quality. Unfortunately there are no closed captions for the hearing
impaired, but there are no foreign subtitles burned into the screen either so
the image is left unobstructed by burned in foreign language subtitles. The
soundtrack is digital CD quality so even the little nuances can be enjoyed,
which has been a factor on all of the home video releases of “The Fellowship
Of The Ring.” The soundtracks whether it be DVD or VCD are simply great for
what they are regardless.
There
is one extra feature included on the VCD, that is not on the DVD counterpart and
that is the complete final version of the theatrical trailer for “The Two
Towers,” which has a running time of about 2 ½-minutes and precedes the
feature on disc one. The “Day In The Life Of A Hobbit” featurette follows
the film on disc four. There is a twenty page booklet included within the set
that contains a synopsis of the entire film, a content menu dictating what is
included within the four-disc set, notes on the Special Extended Edition, a
breakdown with paragraph descriptions of every new element added into this cut
of the film as well as notes on select cast members and a listing of the awards,
nominations, and honors the film has received since it first premiered
theatrically in December of 2001. Some
facts regarding Author J.R.R. Tolkien and the film’s production are also
listed within the booklet.
The
booklet and the Digipack gatefold along with the slipcase are so similar to the
DVD counterpart, that if you put them on a shelf together, it is very easy to
mistake one of the other at face value. The VCD set is also copy protected using
the AFMA Anti-Piracy Program to ensure that all copies are legal original VCD
releases authorized by the studio and distributor.
It
cannot be denied that despite the limitations of the VCD format, New Line has
done a great job that is comparable within the scope of capabilities of the VCD
format to the DVD counterpart.
If
you are a “Lord Of The Rings” fanatic or collector or are looking for
something to playback on your CD-ROM drive, “The Lord Of The Rings: The
Fellowship Of The Ring: Special Extended VCD Edition” is for you. Please note
that these VCD discs are PAL formatted and while many DVD players can playback
both PAL and NTSC VCD titles correctly, not all DVD players are backwardly
compatible with VCD so please check your DVD or VCD player’s documentation
before you buy. The price for this set is less than half of the DVD counterpart
and could make a great stocking stuffer or post holiday afterthought.
“The
Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring: Special Extended VCD Edition”
is available for purchase now and can be easily bought along with other
interesting titles, some of which have yet to be released on DVD, from www.eurekamovies.com.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.