While it wasn't hard to give the middle instalment of The Lord Of The Rings a glowing review, a common complaint was that the film was a string of action sequences without enough compelling narrative. With this four disc extended edition release, 42 additional minutes of footage have been added, giving characters the extra heart and depth needed to bolster the plot.

While the previous two-disc release was disappointing in terms of extra features, this four disc set impresses. More importantly, it sheds light on what Jackson feels was the most difficult of the three movies to direct and edit.

Three-And-A-Half Hours: Yes Please!

Forty-two minutes of killer additional footage better establishes the motivations of Faramir, including a scene where he is verbally crushed. King Theoden gets far more screen time in his pre-mouldy form, and there are some hilarious moments that lighten the mood - relaxing the viewer before the next battle begins.

A lot of Ents footage had been cut and its restoration is welcome for some cracking interaction between Merry, Pippin and Treebeard. There is also the small matter of an added song, but thankfully it's not too painful.

An Unfinished Film?

The four audio commentaries take on much the same format as on the first four disc set, but for immediate satisfaction the extra features on discs three and four get you into the heart of what was clearly a difficult production. In From A Book To Script and Refining The Story, fans of the novels get a chance to understand the narrative choices Jackson made. From appearing wildly enthusiastic on the extra features for the first movie, Jackson is more thoughtful here. He reflects on issues like cutting down Faramir's character, missing out Shelob, and what changes he thinks might have upset Tolkien.

Jackson's openness makes his arguments persuasive, and when he muses over the 'dark period' - when he questioned whether he'd ever be able to edit the second film into something acceptable - you'll likely believe him. The icing on the cake is Jackson talking about some of the plans Miramax had for the trilogy, and even some suggestions from New Line that could have changed matters for the worse. It's worth pointing out that there's some test footage from the Miramax project that will fascinate fans when they see it.

Creating The Magic

As you'd expect there's a raft of material on the special effects. Despite similarities to the first movie, there are some interesting new additions - like an enjoyable behind-the-scenes look at Gollum. It's also a chance for Andy Serkis to win over more fans as we see just how much energy he put into his performance, and how well he convinced other actors, despite the grubby skin-tight romper suit he wore for most scenes. Added to that, while it seems obvious when you see it, the separate storylines meant filming in many different locations. It's amazing to see how Jackson handled such a complex logistical nightmare through multi-directing different scenes at the same time.

Look Forward To...

As always, reviews like this can only scratch the surface of such a massive enterprise. What you should be looking forward to is the depth of characterisation and motivation that the extra scenes add to the movie.

Combine that with a rich and thunderous new DTS sound mix, and you should be in seventh heaven. It's also more than likely that, thanks to the special features, you'll understand the agonies faced by Peter Jackson on this second instalment. And it won't surprise you when he claims that the third movie will be the true pinnacle of entertainment...

DISC ONE AND TWO SPECIAL FEATURES

DISC THREE SPECIAL FEATURES

DISC FOUR SPECIAL FEATURES

COLLECTOR'S DVD GIFT SET

The following details apply only if you buy the collector's gift set release:

This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-N5 DVD player.