In honor of the film series’ 25th anniversary, they (who exactly “they” are, I have no idea) are releasing the extended editions of the Lord of the Rings films back into theaters for very brief periods this summer. I’ve been very excited about this because the only one of the trilogy I got to see in theaters upon initial release was the final installment. For the first time, I can see all three of them on the big screen! And, even better, it’s the extended editions with all the scenes that enhance the already incredible theatrical presentation of the story. (Well, to be frank, I’m biased there, because I am only familiar with the extended editions anyway.)

Let’s rewind (figuratively of course, since we haven’t had to literally rewind anything in decades) to the time when these movies were first released. We’re talking 1999-2001 when the films were made, 2001-2003 when they were released. It was still in the height of DVD consumption, and just like in the 1980s and 1990s when you had a movie over two hours long and had to split it into two VHS cassette tapes (if you have a birth year that is, let’s say, 2002 or later, go look it up), there was a certain point with a movie’s length in the early 2000s where they too had to be split between two discs for a DVD. The theatrical editions of the Lord of the Rings films managed to fit on one disc; the extended editions were four-disc sets. The first two discs contained the film itself (with options to watch with commentary voiceover from the cast or the director and production team), while the other two discs were chock full of special features. (It occurs to me now in our full-on “streaming era” of media consumption that the concept of special features on DVDs might be a lost concept to many! But if I tried explaining it now, I’d lose what little control of this post I have left at this point.)

ANYWAY…

Getting to watch The Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring today in theaters was an altogether special experience for me. First and foremost, it is a testament to the greatness of the film and the hard work everyone did on it, that for a film I have literally watched over and over and over again to the point where I wore out the discs of my DVD copy, I was still ensconced so thoroughly in what was happening on screen. I felt anxiety and dread with the Fellowship as they battled through the Mines of Moria to escape from the Balrog; twenty five years later, I still worried they’d fall off all those tiny narrow staircases and bridges, even for a moment. I couldn’t believe I cried at Boromir’s death scene (helloooo self, you’ve seen this a million times, it’s no surprise to you!). These movies really were just so well done, it can’t be overstated.

(No spoiler alerts will be given about Lord of the Rings from me, the books were published in 1954 and the films are 25 years old, for fuck’s sake.)

My favorite part of seeing the movie in theaters today though, other than getting to revisit the Shire for awhile on such a great scale rather than on my much smaller televisions I’ve had over the last two and a half decades, was what happened when the credits rolled. I stayed for a bit because I like listening to the soundtrack (on which I actually wrote a high school music thesis, and that probably tells you all you need to know about high school me). There was a group of three friends next to me who also were lingering and discussing what they thought of the film. A brief glance told me they were definitely younger than me, but I was about to find out just how much younger.

“There was a part that I thought seemed like a natural break, almost like how the book is separated into parts one and two…” one of them was saying. (Bonus points for the reader, woohoo!)

“Yeah, that bit after the Fellowship became official, and then where they were talking about Aragorn’s mother…” chimed in another.

I couldn’t help but mention to them, since they were literally four feet away from me, that yes, that was actually the break in the extended edition where disc one of the DVD ended and you had to put in disc two, ya know, 25 years ago. Cue the nervous laughter and polite “oh, sure” comments from a trio of people at least ten years younger than myself who have clearly never watched the original extended editions of the movie. Is this my generation’s nerdy version of experiencing an “ok boomer” moment? It felt like one. I left shortly after that, before the awkwardness grew enough to warrant more attempts at “back in my day” shtick.

I just didn’t quite know how old I am, until today!

There are just some things that stand the test of time. These films, I would argue, fall into that category. So, too, does the experience of carbon-dating oneself by the methods in which you’ve consumed media over the course of your life. Well, as Gandalf says, all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.

As such, I think I’ve decided to try finding out if the DVD special features have made their way onto YouTube yet.