Not as big of a fan of the LOTR movies as most here, but would definitely pick these up on HD. Theatrical is fine with me as I have the EEs and have yet to watch them all the way through and the theatricals were a bit too long for me. But I can understand why the big fans would want as much as possible, and on HD these should be reference quality.

Just give me the EE versions in HD with TrueHD audio and I'm all set. I have yet to watch a single extra on any of them. I have row after row of DVDs that I haven't watched any of the extras on. It's just not my thing and what I want is the best version of the film with the best video and audio quality possible.

Well I for one would be really bummed if they didnt offer both the Extended and Theatrical versions at some point in time. While I loved the extended editions of TTT and TROTK, I felt the original theatrical version of The Fellowship was much stronger in some areas, especially the entire scene of Borimir's death. It was much better in the standard edition, both the cutting and even the score was better. There were some other parts of the fellowship that I prefered as well but I wont get into a big Fellowship thread.

Ill just say that at least in my book, there is a place for both the theatrical and extended editions. At least give me the Fellowship theatrical and ill be at least somewhat happy!

PS..

I just disagree completly with this take on Peter Jackson. Sure the guy wants to make a good living and I am sure loves money but to say he has done everything he has done for money, well I find that complete and utter crap. Ihave read extensivly on PJ and he has an artistic integrity seen by very few people in hollywood or in movies period. This guys big motive is not in making money and if you say it is then you obviously know very little about the man. I am not going to make a huge reply out of this arguing this fact. Everything PJ has done in his career has been the absolute opposite thing yu would do if you were only out for money. Bottom line is people need to read up on this guy and what he has done and why he did it before questioning his motives.

With that being said, He announced that there would be a 4 disc extended version available soon when the original 2 Disc set was released. Is that what a director does when he is only caring about money? The fact that people consider the Extended editions as double dips is absolutly mind boggling and puts us at such odds that I dont think I could ever even understand the logic used to come to such a conclusion.

The original theatrical releases and then the follow up 4 disc extended editions are without a doubt the most non double dipping releases ever produced on DVD. I really dont know what more you could ask for in a true special edition of a film then what PJ did for these movies. Another 40+ minutes of actual movie footage, new score, new special effects, new extras, 4 discs, beautiful packaging. What more does one need to do to be able to make a follow up DVD release of a movie worthwhile enough for it not to be considered a BS attempt at trying to make more money?

Bottom line is PJ always inteded for there to be an extended version to these films. He knew that the day he started shooting. He was open and honest and told the public that an extended edition was coming even before the 2 disc set was finalized and in stores. Sure doesnt sound like someone who only cares about more money to me. PJ has as much artistic integrity as anyone else in the business right now period. All you need to do is read up on the guy and the choices he has made all throughout his career to see that. To say this guy's bottom line is money is an insult to everything he has done so far and everything he in fact stands for as an artist. Regardless of what some people think, there are people working in the field of motion pictures whose ultimate goal is to make awsome films. Sure the money is nice but it has so little to do with why they do what they do that it is an insult to say otherwise. PJ is one of those people.

Sure the 3rd release can be considered double dipping, absolutly! PJ had very little to do with these releases and you can blame New Line much more than PJ for this latest set of releases.

PS..