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And on the 7th day, god created the DVD... - 12:01am

Alrighty, all you hobbits and elves out there, here it is. What is likely the most highly-anticipated DVD of the year, if ever, was announced Last night in a big gala event held by New Line in Burbank, California. So, let's get to the details...

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring will be released in no less than four Versions this year. On 8/6, separate widescreen and pan & scan Versions will be released, each a two-disc set with identical extra features. Disc one includes the film presented in English Dolby Digital Surround EX and Dolby 2.0 surround (sorry, no DTS). Disc two is where all the goodies are at, and retail will be $29.95 for either the pan & scan or widescreen editions. The extras to be found on disc 2 include:

3 in-depth documentaries that reveal the secrets behind the production of this epic adventure, including "Welcome to Middle-earth" in-store special as shown by Houghton Mifflin, "The Quest for the Ring" as debuted on the FBC Network, and "A Passage to Middle-earth" as premiered on the Sci-Fi Channel

15 featurettes originally created for lordoftherings.net, which explore the locales and cultures of Middle-earth and include interviews with cast members Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Liv Tyler and others.
Exclusive 10-minute behind-the-scenes preview of the next The Lord of the Rings theatrical release, "The Two Towers"

Enya "May It Be" music video

An inside look at the special extended DVD edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Preview of Electronic Arts' video game "The Two Towers"

Original theatrical trailers and TV spots

Exclusive Online content only available to DVD-ROM Users via a special website set to go live on street date
Then, on 11/12, New Line will release a mega four-disc set, with a new extended cut of the film created by Peter Jackson himself, and featuring over 30 minutes of additional footage. This cut of the film will be Rated R due to some extended violence, and no retail price has yet been set for this release. The now nearly four-hour film will be spread over the first two discs and presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen (alas, no sound format information is yet available.) Unfortunately, all the supplements for the 4-disc set are still in production, so final details were not revealed. However, the disc is planned to include 3 audio commentaries and another four hours of bonus material. It is also not yet known if all the features on the "standard" two-disc set edition will also be included here.

Last but not least, New Line is also planning on release a special limited edition gift set of the 4-disc set, with two bookend statuettes by sculptor Sideshow Weta, the National Geographic "Beyond The Movie" DVD, and several collectible Decipher game cards. There were also rumors floating around that after all three films are done and released, a fifth mega-box set of all three with possible additional material may be released, which would be sometime in 2004. Stay tuned for more on final specs for the 4-disc set, and in the meantime, check out four menu screens for the 2-disc sets released by New Line, and a blowup of the box art. Enjoy!