Video Reviews: 'Return Of The King' Extended Edition, More

"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" Extended Edition (PG-13): Master thespian Christopher Lee finally gets his due with an appearance as Saruman the White, the Sauron's evil commander in the extended version of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," the first of many scenes that didn't make the cut of writer-director Peter Jackson's Oscar-sweeping theatrical version released just over a year ago.

The spectacular scene (warning -- get ready to wince) is among the 50 minutes added to the Oscar-sweeping theatrical version, which now results in a whopping 4-hour 10-minute finale to arguably one of the best film trilogies ever made -- and every minute added to the film is, well, precious. Some of the footage, like the scene detailing Saruman's fate, is new all together, while others, like the fight for the One Ring by a pre-Gollum Smeagol to start the film, are expanded.

The last, glorious chapter finds Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), Samwise Gamgee (Sean Astin) and the more twisted-than-ever creature with an agenda Gollum (Serkis - who provides the movements for the digital character and makes an appearance in human form as Gollum's alter-ego, Smeagol) making the final, exhaustive steps to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring of Power -- while the likes of Gandalf (Ian McKellen), Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd) encounter their greatest battles yet to save Middle Earth.

The expansive four-disc DVD set includes commentaries from nearly every major cast and crewmember, multiple production documentaries, short films, photo galleries and more. (New Line Home Entertainment)

New This Week

"King Arthur" (PG-13): Set in the Dark Ages and loosely based on the legend of King Arthur, this version of "King Arthur" may be a bit too intense for younger fans of the films of Keira Knightley and her "Pirates of the Caribbean" producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

Clive Owen stars as Arthur, a man fighting through a religious struggle and his own conflicts of personal identity. Not only is he a Christian with loyalty to his pagan knights, he's half Roman and half Briton. And because of his sense of loyalty to the Britons, Arthur, with Lancelot (Ioan Gruffudd) and his other knights by his side, vows to lead the people he once called the enemy to take on the invading Saxons. Making peace with the Britons, Arthur also finds an unexpected ally in Guinevere (Knightley), who proves crucial to the fight.

Directed by Antoine Fuqua, "King Arthur" is a dark film filled with intense battle sequences, a requisite love scene and very little -- but much needed -- humor. That's not to say "King Arthur" is a bad movie, by any means. Even though it's a well-crafted film from a technical standpoint, the screenplay just comes off as average. DVD features include commentary by Fuqua and production featurettes, and an alternate unrated "Director's Cut" of the film adds 15 minutes of footage. (Touchstone Home Entertainment)

Other films out on video and DVD this week include another hilarious season of "The Simpsons." This time around, it's the "Season Five" set (Unrated - 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment); the independent film hit "Napoleon Dynamite" (PG --20th Century Fox Home Entertainment), a comedy about a high school outcast; the Cole Porter biopic "De-Lovely," starring Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd (PG-13 -- MGM Home Entertainment) and "Anaconda: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid" (PG-13 - Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment), the horror flick follow-up to "Anaconda"

Also New:

"Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" (PG-13) Just the mere fact that the sports movie boasts an original idea (a story about dodgeball? Who'd have thunk it?), scores big points for "Dodgeball" right off the top. But how the film plays out makes it an even bigger slam-dunk.

Featuring the comedic talents of Ben Stiller (who splendidly plays another self-centered jerk), Vince Vaughn and Christine Taylor (Stiller's real-life wife and co-star of "Zoolander"), the film follows the plight of Peter LaFluer, a gym owner (Vaughn), who must come up with $50,000 to save his facility from foreclosure. The solution? Win the cash in a dodgeball tournament where his squad faces the likes of White Goodman, an uber-manical fitness guru.

Not surprisingly, "Dodgeball" is a laugh-riot, which is punctuated by another trademark saucy turn by the rough and grumpy Rip Torn - who helps Peter whip his squad of misfits into shape. He's a real hoot. DVD features include commentary by Stiller, Vaughn and writer-director Randall Marshall Thurber, deleted scenes, a throwaway alternative ending, bloopers, a gag reel and more. (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment)

"Mary Poppins" 40th Anniversary Edition (G): A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down better than ever in this supercalifragilisticexpialidocious special edition release of the timeless Disney classic that earned Julie Andrews a Best Actress Oscar as a magical nanny who spices up the lives of Bert Dawes (Dick Van Dyke) and his family.

DVD features includes new interview with Andrews and Van Dyke, a song not heard in the original film and more. Andrews also stars in the DVD release of "The Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement," the sequel the 2001 hit movie co-starring Anne Hathaway. (Walt Disney Home Entertainment)

"I, Robot" (PG-13): Will Smith returns to science fiction territory in the year 2035 as a cop with a mission in an ultra-intense highly-entertaining special effects extravaganza about robot servants who turn against man. Based on the short stories of the late Isaac Asimov, the film co-stars Bridgette Moynahan, Shia LaBeouf ("Even Stevens," "Holes"), Bruce Greenwood, James Cromwell and Chi McBride. (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment)