The last confrontation with Saruman. The Houses of Healing. The Mouth of Sauron. These are three of the things that fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings were disappointed to find missing in the film version of The Return of the King. That didn't stop Peter Jackson's finale from winning eleven Oscars—including Best Picture — and the movie was praised by many as the best of the trilogy.

Now "the best" (I place that in quotes because I prefer The Fellowship of the Ring) is about to get even better. This week, the official Web site for the film trilogy announced the specifics for the long-awaited The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King—Extended Edition DVDs, releasing on December 14, just in time for Christmas.

According to the Yahoo! News story, viewers will be treated to "50 additional minutes of new footage, a new musical score and a cameo appearance of Jackson being felled by an errant arrow." Moreover, we'll see the two wizards, Gandalf and Saruman, exchange their last words. We'll find out why Faramir and Eowyn are smiling so happily at each other at the King's coronation. And we'll understand better why Aragorn has tears in his eyes before that final charge at the gates of Mordor.

In total, the new version will fill 250 minutes of couch time, and that's not counting any of the behind-the-scenes extras or the bonus disc of Howard Shore's Lord of the Rings symphony (included only in the Gift Set). I was fortunate enough to attend a performance of the symphony in Seattle's Benaroya concert hall; it was a wonderful opportunity to concentrate on Shore's elaborate achievement, which works surprisingly well on its own. Thus, this bonus disc may be well worth the extra cost.

Narnia Coming to Life
Meanwhile, in the land of Narnia, director Andrew Adamson is hard at work bringing The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to life (NarniaWeb). Apparently the demands of the film have forced him to withdraw as the director of Shrek 3 (Adamson directed the first two Shreks.) He's consulting Peter Jackson, who is now working on a new version of King Kong, for advice. "I've talked to Peter many times. He's got his hands full as well at the moment. I think we probably have completely different processes. I don't really want to be shooting for 3½ years."

The same site also reported revelations from some of the Narnia crew, including Weta Workshop's Richard Taylor, regarding ways in which the film's story will differ somewhat from the novel.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is due around Christmas 2005.

Atheistic Fantasy Trilogy?
Meanwhile, director Chris Weitz (About a Boy) is hard at work developing yet another fantasy trilogy—the adaptation of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials, a series of novels in which the heroes end up joining fallen angels in a war to overthrow God. Pullman, who has called C. S. Lewis's Narnia books "racist and sexist," has not made any attempt to conceal his contempt for Christianity. And when the interviewer asks Weitz how the films will handle such volatile elements in the book, the director admits that the anti-church sentiments will be altered to some extent.

"There may be some modification of terms," said Weitz. "I have no desire to change the nature or intentions of the villains of the piece, but they may appear in more subtle guises."

He adds, "I think His Dark Materials is, in fact, not an atheistic work but a highly spiritual and reverent piece of writing. Those who attack it as an assault upon religion are mistaken."

Most Christians who have read the books and written about them have arrived at very different conclusions. At Looking Closer, I've compiled a page with my own response to the novels and with links to others like Amy Wellborn who have read them as well.

Gene Edward Veith (World) cautions us about this new fantasy series. He writes, "Mr. Pullman's real objection to Lewis's children's books is that they are 'propaganda in the cause of the religion he believed in.' That is, that they are Christian. It is true that Lewis intended his stories to teach children Christianity, although they surely are more than mere 'propaganda.' The irony is that Mr. Pullman's children's stories really are propaganda for his religion, namely, a militant and slightly mystical atheism."

Pullman's views are made even clearer in this Third Way interview.

In other movie news:

Will Star Wars, Episode Three: Revenge of the Sith be PG-13? (Yahoo! News)
Anakin's descent into the dark side might push it beyond the usual PG.

Mel Gibson's new sitcoms (Denver Post)
The Passion's director sends three family-oriented sitcoms your way.

The Passion finally plays on a screen in Israel (Mercury News)
But only certain people are allowed in to see it.

The future for Jim Caviezel (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
The Passion's Jesus will star next in I Am David. No, not that David!

Chuck Norris's faith is in the spotlight. (SBC Baptist Press)
You didn't know the star of Walker, Texas Ranger was a Christian? Click here.

Oliver Stone's Alexander film postponed in order to cut gay love scenes? (MSNBC)
Alexander the Great might've been bisexual, but moviegoers may not see much evidence.

Health care corporations, look out! (Chicago Tribune)
You're the subject of the next Michael Moore "documentary."

Camcorders may soon be illegal in movie theatres. (Yahoo! News)
So, if your cell phone has a camera, does that mean they'll be illegal too? Fantastic!

Movies soon will whisper in your ears (IMDB)
Soon, that guy snoring in the row behind you might just be part of the movie!

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