“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King–Special Extended Edition”
New Line, $39.99
WHO’S IN IT: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Viggo Mortensen
RECAP: The finale of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, bolstered with an extra 50 minutes of footage.
BEST EXTRA: At last, fans get to see the gruesome demise of Christopher Lee’s villainous wizard Sarumon.
SECRETS REVEALED: Director Peter Jackson was still filming with an eye toward this special edition after “The Return of the King” had cleaned up at the Oscars.
FEATURE TO SKIP: Are you kidding? Anyone who buys this four-disc set will want to digest everything.
TRIVIA: Eagle-eye fans will notice Aragorn always carried his sword. That’s because it was so large, it dragged on the ground when worn at his side.
IF YOU LIKED THIS, TRY: Looking at any other special-edition DVD without disappointment.
More Top Picks Best Snow Roof Rakes
RATING: 4 REMOTE
“Collateral”
DreamWorks, $29.99
WHO’S IN IT: Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett-Smith
RECAP: One night of existential banter and murder with mismatched adversaries Foxx and Cruise.
BEST EXTRA: The short “Visual FX: MTA Train” reveals dozens of details director Michael Mann added to one scene that viewers might otherwise miss.
SECRETS REVEALED: Mann shot 90 percent of the movie using high-definition cameras to better capture the ghostly atmosphere of Los Angeles at night.
FEATURE TO SKIP: The much touted footage of Cruise preparing for his role by pretending to be a FedEx man runs barely a minute.
TRIVIA: Mann made his actors learn every aspect of their characters’ lives, from Foxx meeting with real cabdrivers to Cruise studying photos of Gary, where his character grew up.
IF YOU LIKED THIS, TRY: “Heat,” maybe Mann’s masterpiece, with a special-edition DVD out next year.
RATING: 3 REMOTES
COMIN SOON
In stores next week:
– “Manchurian Candidate” (widescreen)
– “De-Lovely”
– “Shaun of the Dead”
———-
Edited by Cara DiPasquale ([email protected]) and Kris Karnopp ([email protected])