I am looking forward to see it tomorrow. I am one of those freaks who buys both versions of the DVDs. I agree with Voo. Too bad that we still have to wait for august for the first version.

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I can deal with most of the ommissions in the three movies. What I found more frustrating were the additions. In particular the second movie, where Faramir drags Frodo and Samwise off to Osgiliath rather than (as in the book) letting them go almost immediately, which demonstrates his nobility or "quality". It not only changed the dynamic of Faramir's character, it forced poor old Frodo and Sam to add a few miles to their journey, and added minutes to an already long movie which surely could have been better spent on filling in some of the ommissions from the book.

Slightly off-topic perhaps, but for me the most significant deviation in an otherwise superb adaptation of a great book.

brad maybe the extended DVD will have that hopefully.

It's my understanding that the scouring wasn't even filmed as PJ didn't even care for that. And yes, Saruman will be in the extended edition although his death is different than in the book, as well as Wormtongue's (unfortunately from my readings they've "hollywoodized" the death). I'm trying to find the article I read this in, believe some of it was from Newsweek on MSNBC, if I find it I'll post a link. Other stuff, the hollywood death, were from theonering.net iirc.

IMHO
There was a certain amount of poetic licence taken for sure, but as a whole Jackson managed to capture the books extremely well. I was left at the end of the third movie feeling the same as the novels left me.
The movies are an amazing accomplishment of translating a difficult literary work to the big screen. If the movie(s) don't capture some critical acclaim in the form of awards; there is no justice (box office recipets aside

agreed, I was quite moved at several points during the story, in the same way and for the same reasons that the book moves me

hope Jackson gets the necessary go-ahead to make The Hobbit...

gob-smacked

hmmmm....sounds like something I might like