In a hyper-partisan, polarized world, it’s hard to remember any piece of entertainment that has almost universal acclaim across the board, and across all ideological persuasions.
Even contemporary hits suffer from all manner of critiques and complaints (here’s to you “X-Men ’97” and “Fallout“) these days, no matter how much general praise a show may or may not deserve.
Given that, it makes it all the more amazing that director Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy — an adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien‘s written works of the same name — still stand the test of time and approval all these years later.
The first film, “The Fellowship of the Ring” came out in 2001, “The Two Towers” in 2002, and “The Return of the King” in 2003.
That trilogy of fantasy blockbuster epics is largely regarded as an all-timer, with each film building on the strengths of its immediate predecessor.
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The original trilogy was given an update between 2002 and 2004 as extended director’s cuts of each film was released.
According to CBR, the director’s cuts added a collective two hours and five minutes to the already lengthy trilogy.
The extended cuts pushed each movie to mighty lengths:
Do you have any interest in seeing the original trilogy again?
- “The Fellowship of the Ring”: Three hours and 49 minutes
- “The Two Towers”: Three hours and 56 minutes
- “The Return of the King”: An eye-watering four hours and 24 minutes
Years later, in 2020, the movies got yet another facelift when a shiny new “4k Ultra HD” version dropped, that layered an even nicer coat of paint on top of the already gorgeous movies.
That 4k Ultra HD version of the film has been available for home viewing, but never got a proper theatrical run… until now.
As noted by the Motion Picture Association, the extended, 4k Ultra HD versions of each movie will be hitting major theater chains in June 2024.
Tickets are already on sale through Fathom Events for the June 8-10 event.
June 8th will feature the fancy version of “The Fellowship of the Ring,” June 9th will feature “The Two Towers,” and June 10 will bring about “The Return of the King.”
(Those days fall on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.)
All this brouhaha is only possible because of the timeless classics penned by Tolkien.
The legendary author, who passed away in 1973, wrote epic tales about good versus evil that will always hold up regardless of date and time.
Seeing the voracious demand for these movies, especially the original Peter Jackson trilogy, it only makes sense that “Lord of the Rings” content — across all mediums — will continue to be produced.
And given the evergreen tales of morality that Tolkien has crafted, moviegoers will be better off reliving those epic tales than, say, some of the dreck being put out by modern Hollywood these days.
