A modern--albeit lengthy--classic
As the third and final installment in Peter Jackson's directorial magnum opus, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King is a must-have title--if you already own the other two. Like its predecessors, it is a very long film that could easily be shortened by 45 minutes to an hour without losing anything from the plot. Yes, it's a visually stunning interpretation of a classic piece of 20th century literature, and it deserved the 11 Oscars it won, including best picture, but at almost THREE AND A HALF HOURS it's just too darned long. I mean, just how many monster battles does one need to sit through to get the point? If you're totally into that kind of thing, then this is your all-you-can-eat buffet. For me, the best thing about having it on DVD is the pause button, because you can periodically get up to relieve yourself, of fix a snack, or even have a life while watching it. Taking the thing in at a single sitting isn't just a pastime, it's a commitment.

Of course, we haven't even mentioned the second disc containing several hours of bonus features yet. They're great, by the way, and there's a lot of them. One thing that can definitely be said for this package is that if you like the content, you more than get your money's worth.

Amazingly, there is actually an extended version of this film available that has a running time of more than four hours!!! Now that's the epitome overkill, both literally and figuratively.

I LOVE THE MOVIE!!!
I LOVE THE MOVIE OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING. CHECK OUT THE TOTAL INFO...

DISC 1:
4 AUDIO COMMENTARIES
- Director/Writer/Producer Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh (Writer/Producer), Philippa Boyens (Writer)
- The Design Team
- The Production/Post-Production Team
- The Cast

SELECT A SCENE:
* New Scene! - ** Extended Scene

AUDIO SOUND:
- Dolby Digital EX 5.1 Surround Sound
- DTS ES 6.1 Surround Sound
- Stereo Surround Sound

LANGUAGE:
- English

SUBTITLES & CLOSED CAPTION:
- English
- Spanish

WIDESCREEN 2:35:1
- Movie Running Time (2Hrs, 7Mins)

THE STORY CONTINUES ON DISC TWO...

DISC 2:
4 AUDIO COMMENTARIES
- Director/Writer/Producer Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh (Writer/Producer), Philippa Boyens (Writer)
- The Design Team
- The Production/Post-Production Team
- The Cast

SELECT A SCENE:
* New Scene! - ** Extended Scene

AUDIO SOUND:
- Dolby Digital EX 5.1 Surround Sound
- DTS ES 6.1 Surround Sound
- Stereo Surround Sound

LANGUAGE:
- English

SUBTITLES & CLOSED CAPTION:
- English
- Spanish

WIDESCREEN 2:35:1
- Movie Running Time (1Hrs 54Mins)
- End Credits (21 Mins)

TOTAL RUNNING TIME (4Hrs 22Mins)

THE END...

DISC 3:
The Appendices Part 5 - The War of the Ring
TRT = Total Running Time

Introduction by Peter Jackson = (TRT - 1:33)

PLAY ALL - DOCUMENTARIES (UNINTERRUPTED 3 HRS. & 24 MINS. EXPERIENCE)
- J.R.R. Tolkien - The Legacy of Middle-earth = (TRT - 29:29)
- From Book to Script: Forging The Final Chapter = (TRT - 25:02)
- Designing and Building Middle-earth = (TRT - 39:57)
- Big-atures: = (TRT - 19:59)
- WETA Digital = (TRT - 47:23)
- Costume Design = (TRT - 12:03)
- Home of the Horse Lords = (TRT - 30:16)

CHAPTERS:
* J.R.R. TOLKIEN: THE LEGACY OF MIDDLE-EARTH
* FROM BOOK TO SCRIPT
* DESIGNING AND BUILDING MIDDLE-EARTH
* HOME OF THE HORSE LORDS
* MIDDLE-EARTH ATLAS
* NEW ZEALAND AS MIDDLE-EARTH

ADDITIONAL FEATURES:
- Abandoned Concept: Aragorn Battle Sauron = (TRT - 5:18)
- Middle-earth Atlas
- New Zealand: Locations of Middle-earth = (TRT - 16:07)

GALLERIES:
* Audio Commentary: Image with (Blue Stamp) Symbol
* Slideshow Features: By Activating Feature Image with Audio Commentary
- The Peoples of Middle-earth = (1443)
- The Realms of Middle-earth = (679)

SUBTITLES & CLOSED CAPTION:
- English
- Spanish

DISC 4:
The Appendices Part 6 - The Passing of the Age
TRT = Total Running Time

Introduction by Billy Boyd "Pippin" - Dominic Monaghan "Merry" - Elijah Wood "Frodo" = (TRT - 1:40)

PLAY ALL: DOCUMENTARIES (UNINTERRUPTED 3½ HRS. EXPERIENCE)
- Cameras in Middle-earth = (TRT - 1:13:08)
- WETA Digital = (TRT - 42:01)
- Editorial: Completing the Trilogy = (TRT - 22:14)
- Music for Middle-earth = (TRT - 22:02)
- The Soundscapes of Middle-earth = (TRT - 22:09)
- The End of All Things = (TRT - 21:29)
- The Passing of an age = (TRT - 25:11)

CHAPTERS:
* FILMING "THE RETURN OF THE KING"
* VISUAL EFFECTS
* POST-PRODUCTION: JOURNEY'S END
* THE PASSING OF AN AGE
* CAMERON DUNCAN: THE INSPIRATION FOR "INTO THE WEST"

INDEX:
ADDITIONAL FEATURES:
- Production Photo Gallery = (69) * Slideshow Auto Image
- Visual Effects Demonstration: "The Mumakil Battle"
- Cameron Duncan: The Inspiration for Into the West = (TRT - 32:21)
- DFK6498 = (TRT - 4:38)
- Strike Zone = (TRT - 11:16)

THE END...

COMING SOON!

Director Guillermo del Toro
The Hobbit (2011) (announced)
The Hobbit (2012) (announced)
Local Shire Hobbit Bilbo Baggins, relative of Frodo Baggins, is living a quiet, peaceful life until Gandalf the Grey walks into his home with a band of wandering dwarfs and drags poor Bilbo into a quest that entails defeating a dragon, a three way battle of men, dwarfs and monsters and, most importantly of all, lead Bilbo into contact with a peculiar ring that has had and will have a great impact on the future of their world. - More info at IMDb.com

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Redefines Catharsis
Ambitious in vision, epic in scope, and beautiful in execution, Peter Jackson's "Return of the King" is a fitting end to his adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy that is a magnum opus if there ever was one. Everything that you loved about the first two movies are here--if you didn't love or see the first two, don't bother with this, because it's literally the direct continuation--though things in this one take all of that to the next level. While the first two movies were entertaining and told great stories, they were largely build-up for the various climaxes that redefine the term "catharsis" of this movie.

Jackson does a stellar job in adapting these acclaimed books into what may be the best fantasy trilogy of all time, ending it as nicely as he begun it. The level of quality remains consistent throughout, and the level of attention given to each battle, each character moment, each bit of score (which, alone, was tragically beautiful), and each special effect is commendable. Not only did Jackson do a great job of translating the book to work as a film, he also showed a large amount of bravery while doing so. Many lovers of the book might have been disappointed with how Jackson tampered with the structure of the book (leaving out how Saruman took out The Shire in the book version, as well as restructuring Frodo, Sam, and Gollum's journey, moving the Shelob build-up and conflict to this movie instead of keeping it as a part of The Two Towers, but for me that just showed that he was willing to change a coupe of things to make this the best movie as it could possibly be--and his efforts paid off in large, large ways.

Though I'm giving this movie a 10/10 because it is indeed a classic and deserves full marks, it's not perfect. No movie is. I thought that the ending employed too many fade-to-whites and fade outs, which tricked the audience many times over, making them think it was about to end. If Jackson had just used cuts instead of fades, it would have been fine, but when he faded for the third time and the movie still didn't end, I find that most people who haven't seen it before actually laugh--and that certainly isn't what the end of the movie should do. The battle scenes are a bit drawn out, especially the scenes before Aragorn and the army of the dead arrive. Jackson could have achieved a more powerful effect if he trimmed two or three minutes off of the war scenes.

All it all, it's as perfect a fantasy film as there is out there, and highly deserves all the acclaim it's gotten. "The Return of the King" is a fitting end to one of the best stories ever told, and--despite it's length--it has high rewatchability.

10/10 Classic.

A fitting conclusion to one of the best trilogy's ever.
The Return of the King is the only one of the three I actually saw in the theater.
I hated the first two at first but came to love them with repeated watching.
After having a long time to digest the first two, I had no problem sitting in the theater for three hours to witness the grand finale.
In a word, brilliant!
Brilliant from start to finish.
Beautiful cinematography, excellent acting, great story, great conclusion, great fx.
GREAT!
GREAT!!
GREAT !!!
The battles are epic, everything about this movie is epic.
Now that I've had a chance to witness the extended version I can see why Christopher Lee was ticked about having his scenes cut.
The movie would have been better with his scenes included, same with the extended Witch King scenes.
I could go on forever with how much I love this movie, or how Hollywood finally got it right by giving this movie, best of the year award.
The only thing I didn't care for was, right when you though the film was going to end, it didn't.
I think the film has five or six "endings".
That was kind of maddening especially after three hours and I had to use the restroom!!!!!!!!
That minor complaint aside, The Return of the King is a fine and splendid conclusion to an extremely epic and enjoyable trilogy.
If you're new to the "Rings" movies, start with fellowship and work your way up to this masterpiece.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!!!!

One of the best movies ever made
This is the pinnacle of epic movie-making. It is what Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, and so many others strove for and missed time and again. Peter Jackson has raised the bar for every director of the future with The Return of the King, the breathtaking finale of The Lord of the Rings.

Fantasy, action, drama, romance, humor - nearly every genre can be found to some degree in this film. From the unexpected beginning, which details the chance finding of the Ring at the bottom of a lake, to the action-packed climax and satisfying ending, The Return of the King is a beautiful final chapter of Tolkien's saga. Fair warning, though: it is about two minutes shy of four hours long by the time the credits roll. People with short attention spans need not apply.