


Middle-earth Comes Home
The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring
Arrives On DVD And VHS August 6th

“Special Extended Edition” To Follow November 12 


Los Angeles, CA (March 26, 2002)  New Line Home Entertainment today announced the forthcoming release of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring on DVD and VHS at a gala event at the historic Warner Bros. studio lot.  The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring will be available in two distinctly different versions on both DVD and VHS formats, on August 6th, and November 12, 2002.

On August 6, New Line Home Entertainment will unveil the award-winning theatrical version of the film on DVD and VHS.  The DVD will contain one of the greatest sneak previews in movie history, featuring a ten-minute behind the scenes preview of The Two Towers, the second installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.   This glance, more than four months before the theatrical release of The Two Towers on December 18th, 2002, will offer a never-before-seen look at the central panel of director Peter Jackson’s (The Frighteners, Heavenly Creatures) masterful cinematic triptych.  This double-DVD set includes the PG-13 theatrical version of the film, and a second disc with over two hours of special features and extra content. 

A “Special Extended Edition” of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring will arrive in stores November 12.  This extended edition of the film contains more than 30 minutes of never- before-seen footage created for the home video release.  This version of the film, available on DVD and VHS, will likely have an R rating.  The “Special Extended DVD Edition” will be contained in a four-disc set with two discs containing the film, and two discs with more than six hours of added content, produced specifically for the DVD.  These extras will plunge the viewer into the complex landscape of Middle-earth, and reveal how Peter Jackson and his team of skilled artists and technicians created a painstakingly beautiful, and faithful re-creation of Tolkien’s world.  

A collector’s DVD gift set will also be released on November 12 in time for the holiday season.  This gift set will include the “Special Extended Edition” with box art packaging conceived and designed by famed Tolkien illustrator Alan Lee.   Included with the DVD are custom bookends designed and sculpted by Sideshow Weta, the artists that crafted the astonishing theatrical visual effects for The Lord of the Rings.  The gift set will also include the National Geographic “Beyond the Movie” DVD, containing two previously unreleased featurettes and a photo gallery.  These extras are topped off with a set of exclusive, collectible Decipher game cards.

“We couldn’t wait to put the Ring in consumers’ hands,” says New Line Home Entertainment President and Chief Operating Officer, Stephen Einhorn, explaining the decision to issue two staggered releases.  “While Peter Jackson completes post-production work on The Two Towers and The Return of the King, we felt it necessary to bring Middle-earth to home theaters as soon as possible.  The August 6th release will include footage from The Two Towers  --- along with other fantastic features that fans of the DVD format have come to expect.  The special four-disc set arriving in November is being completed at the same time as Jackson works on The Two Towers, and includes Jackson’s director’s commentary, additional scenes, and other extras that are sure to delight even the most avid Ring fans.”   

“One Ring To Rule Them All”
New Line Cinema’s highest grossing box office hit ever, the critically acclaimed, award-winning The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring has become nothing short of a worldwide phenomenon.  Co-written and directed by Peter Jackson, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is based on the first volume of J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy of Middle-earth, itself long revered as a literary and linguistic masterpiece.  (Tolkien, a celebrated philologist, invented “Elvish,” a language with its own laws, roots, and inflections, while still a student at Oxford.)

One of the biggest box office smashes of 2001, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring appeared on over 150 national year-end critics’ top ten lists and led the movie award nominations season.  In February, 2002, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring received thirteen Academy AwardÒ nominations --- the most of any film released in 2001 --- making it one of the most honored films in Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences history.  Only two films, Titanic (1997) and All About Eve (1950), have ever received more nominations, with fourteen each.  

Of its thirteen Academy AwardÒ nominations --- including nods for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Ian McKellen), and Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published --- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring received four Oscars, tying for the most honored film of the evening: Achievement In Music In Connection With Motion Pictures (Howard Shore), Achievement In Cinematography (Andrew Lesnie), Achievement In Visual Effects (Jim Rygiel, Randall William Cook, Richard Taylor, and Mark Stetson), and Achievement In Makeup (Peter Owen and Richard Taylor).

Honored with the American Film Institute’s Movie of the Year Award for 2001, and recipient of the National Board of Review’s Special Achievement in Filmmaking Award, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring garnered four Golden Globe nominations including Best Dramatic Motion Picture.  Of the twelve British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) award nominations, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring won five: Best Film, David Lean Award For Achievement in Direction, Special Visual Effects, Makeup and Hair, and the Orange Film of the Year (voted by the public).



The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Film Synopsis
An epic vision of good versus evil, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring recounts the heroic quest of Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), a peaceful Hobbit entrusted with a terrible responsibility.  Placed in possession of the omnipotent One Ring --- lost for centuries and containing the Dark Lord Sauron’s “cruelty, his malice, and his will to dominate all life” --- Frodo must travel through Middle-earth to the land of Mordor in order to destroy the ring in the fires of Mount Doom where it was forged.  

Frodo is accompanied on his journey by a nine-member assemblage, the Fellowship of the Ring.  They are: Gandalf The Grey (Ian McKellen), a good wizard and mentor to Frodo; Aragorn, aka Strider (Viggo Mortensen), a noble warrior and future king of Gondor; Boromir (Sean Bean), a fierce soldier of Gondor; Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) an ax-wielding dwarf; Legolas (Orlando Bloom), an expert elf archer; and hobbits Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin), Peregrin “Pippin” Took (Billy Boyd), and Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck (Dominic Monaghan).  

The Fellowship is aided in their quest by Elf Princess Arwen (Liv Tyler), Elf Queen Galadriel (Cate Blanchett), and Lord Elrond (Hugo Weaving), whose knowledge of the 
One Ring brings to light the true danger and importance of the Fellowship’s collective journey.  Relentlessly pursued by Lord Sauron’s dark riders, marauding Orcs, cave trolls, and goblins summoned by evil wizard Saruman the White (Christopher Lee), the Fellowship must resist the ring’s limitless powers of corruption.  Shot entirely on location in majestic New Zealand, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ends as the Fellowship is disbanded.  

The second film of the trilogy, The Two Towers, traces the journey of Frodo and Sam as they venture deeper into the land of the enemy --- with the mysterious Gollum serving as their guide --- while their companions in the Fellowship struggle to rescue the captured Hobbits Merry and Pippin.


ABOUT NEW LINE HOME ENTERTAINMENT
New Line Home Entertainment distributes all of New Line Cinema and Fine Line Features theatrical films on VHS and DVD, including the new premium DVD brand infinifilm.  The company also distributes feature films and non-theatrical programs acquired or produced by New Line Home Entertainment and New Line Television.  New Line Cinema is the leading independent producer and distributor of theatrical films.  New Line also licenses its films to ancillary markets including cable and broadcast television as well as in all international markets.


