I'm one of the seemingly few people who has never seen any of the Lord of the Rings movies. Been thinking of finally checking them out sometime soon out of curiosity, so I have one question. Considering that I'm completely new to it all and know nothing about the movies (except that they are based on books I've never read), which would be best to look into? The original versions, or the extended editions? I wasn't sure if the extended editions might be too much at once for a newcomer, or if it'd be better to watch those to get more of the details (and just skip the original releases entirely). Any suggestions?
I dunno, but all we have (and thus all I've really seen) are the extended versions, myself.
I would get the extended for both the Fellowship of the Ring and the Two Towers, as I think it will help you understand the plot a bit more.
Return of the King is REALLY long as it is, so I would get the original, which I think is better than the extended edition.
I would recommend the books too, but actually after you've seen the movies. The books are rather long, and written in this beautiful Oxford English prose we never see anymore. However, the downside of that is that if you're reading the book for "action"/"gripping suspense" you're going to be constantly sidetracked by poems and songs, descriptions of flowers, royal geneologies, folk tales, and so forth. So you'll want the movie for straight plot and action, and the book to flesh things out.
I'd go with the extended editions for ALL the movies.
Yeah, you'll be investing 12+ hours, but it will be worth it. You'll end up going back and rewatching the extended version of "The Return of the King".
You won't be overwhelmed by the extended editions. The books are, on the other hand, overwhelming. I read them in 6th and 7th grade, and was confused by all the names, then became bored with all the poems. Yeah, you'll end up missing a few minor plot points by skipping the books, but all of the important parts remain the same. The ending is a little different but the same message comes across.
So yeah... I'm a pretty big LotR fan myself, if that means anything to you. Be sure to write your reaction down too Zero! I'd love to hear what you think!
I wouldn't touch the extended editions of any of the movies until you've already seen the theatrical edition of that particular movie. At all. The extended editions are too long.
I liked the Houses of Healing montage in the extended ROTK, that's it. They should've kept Christopher Lee and his corny death out, despite his grumpiness with not being in the movie.
And whether you like the books seems to depend on age... when I was a teenager, I was definitely more into action/adventure, while now I have a bigger tolerance for literature and non-fiction.
Thanks to all for the suggestions! I probably will just go ahead and try the extended versions. Considering that I don't usually have a problem with long movies, it sounds like I might be better off doing it that way, rather than watching the originals, liking them, and then needing to rewatch the whole set to see what I missed in the extended versions. So I'll most likely be checking out the first movie fairly soon.
I'm one of those strange people who prefers the theatrical cut of Fellowship of the Ring to the Extended Edition - for the first part of the film, anyway. While the additions to the action scenes and the Council of Elrond are good (and just about all the changes to the second disc), I prefer the original introduction to Hobbiton and Bilbo, and can understand why most of the other sequences were not included originally.
I still haven't got round to buying the extended ROTK...
oooooooooooooooooooooh. spiffy. Definitely pretty good, I should've watched those years ago. There were a few things here and there that seemed a little slow and/or uninteresting (like the dealings with Treebeard in the second movie, or pretty much anything with Arwen, she could've jumped off a cliff for all I cared 
), but I liked most of it overall, and am glad I watched the extended versions. I didn't have any problem with Christopher Lee's death scene in the third movie either, since otherwise I probably would've been wondering what happened to his character at the end. (although I found it interesting to realize that his fate was very different in the books, from what I read here. *MASSIVE movie and book spoilers in link*) And it's also nice to finally fully understand all the "my precious" jokes. I'ma have to buy these.
Which brings up one other question. Looking around online I've found that I could get the extended edition movies for around $20 each, yet the full extended edition trilogy set is $80? o_O Am I missing something? Usually box sets are less than buying each separately, not more...
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and written in this beautiful Oxford English prose we never see anymore
Just out of curiosity, have you seen Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell?
It's not quite in the same class, but...
I personally wish Jackson followed the ending a little more closely... I wouldn't have minded staying for another hour!
Seriously, the ending of RotK made me cry...This coming from a guy who already knew the ending by heart...
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Just out of curiosity, have you seen Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell?
No, what are those?
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No, what are those?
It's a fantasy novel by Susanna Clarke.
