You’ve seen them once, twice, thrice, and who knows, probably more. I can’t stand to watch them myself, what with out-of-place one-liners like “no one tosses a dwarf,” the scene where John Rhys-Davies harumphs off a horse, and the tone-shattering sequence in Return of the King where Orlando Bloom surf-skis like Brett Michaels channeling Dick Dale down a monster computer-generated elephant trunk.
But if none of that bothered you, and you’re not jaded about the ceaseless repackaging of this fantasy franchise in the pre-buildup to high-def home video releases of the fan-favorite “extended” versions, NCM Fathom and Warner Home Video have just the thing for you.
The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy Extended Edition Event–there went my word count–hits theaters this June for a limited-time engagement. They’re running The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring on June 14, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on June 21, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on June 28. They’ve even got their watches synchronized: each movie kicks off at 7:00 p.m. local time.
Sounds like they’re teasing The Hobbit footage, too–or at least footage of the place they’re filming it. Peter Jackson will introduce the films (not in person) from the set of The Hobbit in New Zealand. If you want a sneak peek, I suppose there’s that.
I can’t tell if the extended extras add up to more or just the same as those released with the DVD versions years ago. The press release says it’s “nearly 3 hours of additional feature footage carefully selected by Peter Jackson.” The Blu-ray versions will reportedly follow around the time The Hobbit hits theaters in late 2012.
And, you know, lest you’ve forgotten:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ojbKTSoFM8&]