Note: This viewing was of the Special Extended Edition.

Alright, this was an awesome movie, but I gotta wonder now: Are they going for the guiness world record on credit length on this version? Where did all these names come from? Could it be that they just took out a New Zealand phonebook, and copied the name of every resident in the nation for inclusion in the Special Thanks section? I gave up on waiting. The credits continue to roll as I write this. The music sure is nice though.

Mmmmm.... Extended Edition. Can anybody guess the first thing Bitscape did after receiving his first paycheck from the newfound grocery store job? Heehee.

Wow. What an amazing masterpiece. As much as I loved the theatrical version, I have to say that this extended release was even better by a large margin. A total recut of the movie, allowing for the inclusion of a whole bunch of scenes not present in the theatrical run. What a difference a half hour can make!

The whole thing was just so beautiful. (Of course, the same could also be said of the original.) Though the essential plot structure in the extended version was the same, I liked the pacing of this one a lot better. In my initial comments after my first viewing, I talked about the "squeezed" feeling. Even though it was 3 hours long, the original felt like one scene was piled right after another, with little breathing room in between. This version did not give me that feeling.

Even little things, like cues to indicate the passage of time, distance, and portrayals conversations around the campfire helped my little brain grok the scope of the narrative better, as well as adding depth to the characters and story background. Additional lines of dialog add humor and fun, and occassianally might even bring a tear to your eye.

The color, scenery, and cinematography was also absolutely astounding. (I find that I am grudgingly becoming a fan of watching DVDs on my PC monitor. Though my tv screen is bigger, I can't use it right now due to living space constraints. Even though Argo has a smaller display, the sharpness of the images does hold an uncanny appeal. I might be getting addicted to it.)

As far as continuity goes, I think the extended edition also works better. There were just lots of little scenes (like in the battle) where the unfolding of events really fit together more seamlessly. So yeah, the extended edition gets the double plus good.

One ring to rule them all...

Awesome. Simply awesome.