The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Extras Discs

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The Fellowship of the Ring

You get four commentaries with the film, one with the Director and Writers, one with the Design Team, one with the Production and Post Production Team, and one with the Cast. The subtitle streams are used to flag up who is speaking in each commentary track, useful given the number of contributors.

Blu-ray disc 1 also has an Egg, the MTV Council of Elrond skit which lasts 3:29.
Blu-ray disc 2’s Egg is the Theatrical Preview of The Two Towers (3:34), and both Eggs, as well as the film proper, get introductions from Peter Jackson.

The Appendices merely repeat the PAL DVD discs from the DVD Extended Edition release.


The Appendices Part One: From Book to Vision

Introduction (1:17)
J.R.R Tolkien – Creator of Middle-Earth (22:27)
From Book to Script (20:03)
Visualising the Story
--Storyboards and Pre-Vis: Making Words Into Images (13:29)
--Early Storyboards x3 (10:50)
--Pre-Vis Animatics x2 (3:26)
--Animatic to Film Comparisons x2 (4:17)
--Bag End Set Test (6:33)
Designing and Building Middle-Earth
--Designing Middle-Earth (41:12)
--Weta Workshop (43:06)
--Costume Design (11:32)
--Design Galleries
Middle-Earth Atlas
New Zealand as Middle-Earth

The film comparisons are multi-angle featurettes, some of the images in the design galleries get commentaries, and the New Zealand as Middle-Earth section gets minute or so long location scouting featurettes.


The Appendices Part Two: From Vision to Reality

Introduction (0:28)
Filming the Fellowship of the Ring
--The Fellowship of the Cast (34:42)
--A Day in the Life of a Hobbit (13:10)
--Cameras in Middle-Earth (49:43)
-- Production Photos
Visual Effects
--Scale (15:36)
--Miniatures (16:19)
--Weta Digital (24:54)
Post Production: Putting It All Together
--Editorial: Assembling An Epic (12:44)
--Editorial Demonstration: “The Council of Elrond” (~1 min)
Digital Grading (12:16)
Sound and Music
--The Soundscapes of Middle-Earth (12:39)
--Music For Middle-Earth (12:30)
The Road Goes Ever On (7:26)


The fifth disc is also a DVD, and did get a limited edition release back in the day that ‘levelled up’ the Extended Edition releases. It contains just one extra, The Fellowship of the Ring: Behind the Scenes feature documentary which lasts 84:51. It’s a warts and all, fly on the wall piece that is well worth watching.

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The Two Towers

Once more you get four commentaries with the film, one with the Director and Writers, one with the Design Team, one with the Production and Post Production Team, and one with the Cast. The subtitle streams are used to flag up who is speaking in each commentary track, useful given the number of contributors.

Blu-ray disc 1 also has an Egg, the MTV Award Best Virtual Performance which lasts 2:55.


The Appendices Part Three: The Journey Continues...

Introduction (1:48)
J.R.R Tolkien: Origins of Middle-Earth (29:28)
From Book to Script: Finding the Story (20:57)
Designing and Building Middle-Earth
--Designing Middle-Earth (45:48)
--Weta Workshop (43:46)
--Design Galleries
Gollum
--The Taming of Smeagol (39:32)
--Andy Serkis Animation Reference (1:45)
--Gollum’s “Stand In”(3:18)
--Design Gallery
Middle-Earth Atlas
New Zealand as Middle-Earth


The Appendices Part Four: The Battle For Middle-Earth Begins

Introduction (1:07)
Filming the Two Towers
--Warriors of the Third Age (20:58)
--Cameras in Middle-Earth (68:17)
-- Production Photos
Visual Effects
--Miniatures (24:20)
--Weta Digital (27:31)
--Abandoned Concepts
--Editorial: Refining the Story (21:59)
Music and Sound
--The Soundscapes of Middle-Earth (21:27)
--Music For Middle-Earth (25:22)
--Sound Demonstration: “Helm’s Deep” (1:08)
“The Battle For Helm’s Deep is Over...” (9:28)


The fifth disc in the set offers The Two Towers Behind The Scenes feature documentary (106:21).

Click here to return to The Two Towers review.

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The Return of the King

One final time you get four commentaries with the film, one with the Director and Writers, one with the Design Team, one with the Production and Post Production Team, and one with the Cast. The subtitle streams are used to flag up who is speaking in each commentary track, useful given the number of contributors.

Blu-ray disc 1 has an Egg, a mock interview with Elijah Wood which last 8:39. The Egg on disc 2 lasts 5:50, an MTV skit with Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, and Peter Jackson.


The Appendices Part Five: The War of the Ring

Introduction (1:30)
J.R.R Tolkien: The Legacy of Middle-Earth (28:16)
From Book to Script
-- From Book to Script: Forging the Final Chapter (24:02)
--Abandoned Concept: “Aragon Battles Sauron” (5:04)
Designing and Building Middle-Earth
--Designing Middle-Earth (38:20)
--Big-atures (19:10)
--Weta Workshop (47:27)
--Costume Design (12:02)
--Design Galleries
Home of the Horse Lords (30:15)
Middle-Earth Atlas
New Zealand as Middle-Earth


The Appendices Part Six: The Passing of an Age

Introduction (1:35)
Filming “The Return of the King”
--Cameras in Middle-Earth (73:15)
-- Production Photos
Visual Effects
--Weta Digital (40:25)
--Visual Effects Demonstration: “The Mumakil Battle” (30 second multiangle featurette)
Post-Production: Journey’s End
--Editorial: Completing the Trilogy (21:20)
--The Soundscapes of Middle-Earth (22:10)
--Music For Middle-Earth (22:02)
--The End of All Things (20:38)
The Passing of an Age (24:11)
Cameron Duncan: The Inspiration For “Into the West”
-- Cameron Duncan: The Inspiration For “Into the West” (32:24)
--“DFK6498” (4:37)
--“Strike Zone” (11:17)


The fifth disc in the set offers The Return of the King Behind The Scenes feature documentary (112:02).

Click here to return to The Return of the King review

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