The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy : New Line Platinum Series Special Extended DVD Edition (The Fellowship of the Ring/The Two Towers/The Return of the King)

New Line Home Entertainment, 2002-2004. Three DVD Boxed Sets. As New discs with As New inserts in As New boxes. From a private collection. Not from a library. Not a rental. Twelve DVDs. 11 hours and 21 minutes runtime. PG-13. No DVD Region Code listed. Three sets of four DVDs each are complete with inserts inside three faux-leather boxes with inserts and discs. [Platinum Series] [Special Extended Edition] [Widescreen].

These three Special Extended DVD Editions bring almost two hours of extra action to the many hours seen in the theatrical versions. In addition, there's a bevy of extra materials on the two extra DVDs found in each of the three Platinum Series Releases. Each box has four DVDs.

The Special Extended editions of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings present the greatest trilogy in film history in the most ambitious sets in DVD history. In bringing J.R.R. Tolkien's work to the screen, Jackson benefited from extraordinary special effects, evocative New Zealand locales, and an exceptionally well-chosen cast, but most of all from his own adaptation with co-writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, preserving Tolkien's vision and often his very words, but also making logical changes to accommodate the medium of film. The almost two additional hours of material in the extended editions (about 11 hours total) delve more deeply into Tolkien's music, the characters, and loose ends that enrich the story, such as an explanation of the Faramir-Denethor relationship, and the appearance of the Mouth of Sauron at the gates of Mordor. In addition, the Special Extended editions offer more bridge material between the films, further confirming that the trilogy is really one long film presented in three pieces (which is why it's the greatest trilogy ever--there's no weak link). The scene of Galadriel's gifts to the Fellowship added to the first film proves significant over the course of the story, while the new Faramir scene at the end of the second film helps set up the third and the new Saruman scene at the beginning of the third film helps conclude the plot of the second. To top it all off, the extended editions offer four discs per film: two for the longer movie, plus four commentary tracks and stupendous DTS 6.1 ES sound; and two additional discs of bonus material, which covers just about everything from script creation to special effects.