Viggo Mortensen Movie:

		List Price: $99.98		Label: New Line Salesrank: 741 Released: April 6, 2010
		Our Price: $68.99
		MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: Based on J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is an epic adventure of good against evil, the power of friendship and individual courage. The saga centers around an unassuming Hobbit named Frodo Baggins who inherits a Ring that would give a dark and powerful lord the power to enslave the world. With a loyal fellowship of elves, dwarves, men and a wizard, Frodo embarks on a heroic quest to destroy the One Ring and pave the way for the emergence of mankind.

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers: Frodo Baggins and the Fellowship continue their quest to destroy the One Ring and stand against the evil of the dark lord Sauron. The Fellowship has divided and now find themselves taking different paths to defeating Sauron and his allies. Their destinies now lie at two towers - Orthanc Tower in Isengard, where the corrupted wizard Saruman waits and Sauron's fortress at Baraddur, deep within the dark lands of Mordor.

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: The final battle for Middle-earth begins. Frodo and Sam, led by Gollum, continue their dangerous mission toward the fires of Mount Doom in order to destroy the One Ring. Aragorn struggles to fulfill his legacy as he leads his outnumbered followers against the growing power of the Dark Lord Sauron, so that the Ring-bearer may complete his quest.

Description of The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Theatrical Editions) [Blu-ray]:

The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Theatrical Editions) [Blu-ray] Reviews:
Slap in the face
2009-12-31 - As a dedicated fan of this series (and the books before), finding out that the studio intends to only provide the shorter theatrical versions of the movies on day 1 of its HD launch feels like a real slap in the face. Having attended all three movies multiple times in the theater along with buying both versions of the DVD set, I'm already well invested and, like millions of other fans, have consistently contributed to the financial success of what has become a multi-billion dollar franchise.

I can see why the DVD releases were separated by a few months as there was some additional post production work to do in order to complete the full length versions, but that isn't the case here and there's no reason that both couldn't have been released at the same time (even in the same package). What we have here is nothing more than an unabashed and cynical strategy to double up on sales by taking advantage of fans' deep desire to finally see these movies in HD. No doubt some people will inevitably buy this shortened version of the story only to realize later that they'll have to wait and shell out more money when the full versions come out.

I'm sure Tolkien would have been as awed and delighted as the rest of us at Jackson's beautiful realization of his epic story in movie form, but I'm equally sure he'd be rolling in his grave at the thought of the crass greed being exhibited by the studio fat-cats as they try to milk his work for every penny they can squeeze out of the fans.

This one star isn't a review of the movie trilogy (which even in the shorter form is still one of the best of all time), it's a protest vote amongst a growing number of others against the greed of the studio - insignificant on its own, but maybe someone who can do something about it will notice the oddity of such a revered work taking a pounding on Amazon and make an effort to deliver some respect to the fans - a respect we've surely earned by now.

Do we look stupid, where's the extended versions
2009-12-31 - Don't give the rip off artists your money, the only way we can put an end to this is to stop buying. Time and time again we fall for this. NO MORE!!!!!

Wow
2009-12-31 - I didn't even realize how big of a deal this was to everyone, but count me in. I was about to pre-order, but I have now chosen not to in protest.

wait for the blue ray extended edition
2009-12-31 - If you buy this edition you are going to be disapoint it to know that this version is not the extended edition save your money and wait for the extended edition. I hope it come up this year.

Get a grip
2009-12-31 - I agree with most everyone else here that releasing the theatrical versions first represents a greed-driven effort to get people to buy the movies twice. (Or four times since many of us bought both versions in DVD.)

A number of reviewers have suggested that the reviews here will "send a message" to the studio that we will not be screwed. Some think that the studio will have to rethink their decision based on our complaining.

That seems unlikely to me.

The studio will do what they are going to do, and it will pay off handsomely. A lot of people will decide they simply cannot wait, and will pick this version up, then will pick up the extended version when it comes out. Some might even get this because they prefer the theatrical versions. (Don't know why. Different strokes I guess.)

Some people will buy this version not realizing that they are not getting the extended version. Those are the folks who are getting ripped off, and I think they are the reason, the ONLY reason, it is worth leaving all these crappy reviews. I like to hope that some of them will notice the low rating, will read some of these reviews, and will realize this isn't what they were after. Keeping those folks' money in their pockets, and out of the studios pockets is a worthwhile goal.

Sending a message, and forcing the studio to change their strategy? Not bad aspirations, but not going to happen.