New Line prepares new Lord of the Rings DVD versions

Elijah Wood, plays Frodo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

LOS ANGELES - There hasn't been a new Lord of the Rings movie in nearly three years.

But that hasn't stopped New Line Home Entertainment from preparing new DVD versions of all three films in the franchise, which generated more than US$1 billion in US theaters and won 17 Academy Awards.

Three "The Lord of the Rings Limited Edition" sets, one for each movie, will roll out August 29. Each two-disc set will include the original theatrical and the extended versions of the film, along with Costa Botes' feature-length documentary on each film's creation.

Both versions of the three films - 2001's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, 2002's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and 2003's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - have previously been released on DVD.

"But this is the first time they are available together, which we feel will appeal to the first-time buyer," New Line executive vp marketing Matt Lasorsa said.

New to DVD are the documentaries, in which director Peter Jackson and his crew gave Botes full access to the set for hours of behind-the-scenes footage.

"It's something fans have been asking for," Lasorsa said. "Costa was hired a year before principal photography began, and his job was to capture all the production, relate his personal experiences and provide his perspective for Peter."

Except for the first documentary's screening at the New Zealand Film Festival, none of the three video production diaries have been seen anywhere, Lasorsa said.

"New Line has owned these documentaries and waited to make them available to the general public," Lasorsa said. "The style of these documentaries is quite different from the documentaries on the extended-edition DVDs. These are more organic, and had they come out sooner people might have been confused."

While first-time buyers might be intrigued by the two versions of the film, ardent Rings fans who already own the two previous DVD releases might be enticed to buy a third just for the documentaries.

"It gives us the chance to refresh the franchise," Lasorsa said.

- REUTERS/Hollywood Reporter