No. There’s no Tom Bombadil.
That’s what everyone keeps asking me about the extended DVD edition of “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” released Nov. 12. Face it, people. There was never a way he would be in the movie, even with 30 extra minutes. Never.
That said, 30 extra minutes!
I may need a napkin.
Do you even know how long I have been waiting for this? Every moment since I heard about it seven months ago has been shrouded with the stinging pain of anticipation. When the theatrical version was released, it was so hard not to buy it. I had to see it one more time in the third-run theater just to get by.
Cynics might say that I wanted the new DVD to live up to my expectations and am totally biased. But I would argue that my love of the movie would not forgive any faults in the new version, and I would bash director Peter Jackson over the head if he screwed up.
Jackson has nothing to worry about.
The new footage is integrated so seamlessly into the film that it’s hard to tell it was ever missing — unless, like me, you have practically memorized the theatrical release. That is because most of the 30 minutes is spread through the film with just a few extra lines here and an extra setting shot there. In the scene selections, there are six new scenes listed while 19 scenes are extended.
This should come as no surprise. Jackson created such a tightly-knit film, the only way to cut it down was by taking a little fat off many scenes — and I’m sure doing that was like pulling out eyelashes.
So what’s actually there? The “Fellowship of the Ring” title is reworked and inserted over a shot of Bilbo working on his book, rather than over Frodo reading among the trees. This is a wonderful new scene where Bilbo’s narration adds even more flavor to the Shire and the all-important Hobbits. There is also more character development for Aragorn giving insight into his fear of his kingly bloodline.
But by far, my favorite addition is showing the gifts of Galadriel. They are of monumental importance in the rest of the books, and yet only Frodo’s gift was illustrated. What about the elf cloaks? The broaches? Lembas? LEMbaaaas!!!
They’re all there. I love life.
To be fair, the theatrical release of the film is exceptional in itself and you are not a bad person if you don’t care about the extra footage. With an extra half hour added to the three-hour original, the time spent watching could be devoted to knitting a good-sized sweater, or, if you will, afghan.
Because the movie is so long, they spread it over two discs. Though I don’t like my viewing experience interrupted, I’ll gladly trade that for the extra features. I haven’t even touched the other two discs of supplementals or listened to any of the four commentary tracks, but as soon as I can block off a day, I’ll get right on that.
I’m the first one to admit that the marketing of this movie in all its facets has been nothing short of genius and this edition is the ultimate ploy to squeeze money out of uber-geeks like me — note the Argonath bookends that I did not buy. But the product is so glorious that I willingly bow to my corporate masters.
Now, let’s hunt some Orc!