@Mikeymike
Yeah, to truly judge the series you have to see the extended versions. The theatrical releases were just there for the masses, the extended versions are for the die-hard fans.
You mean you have to pay the film company twice to three times the normal amount you'd pay to go see a film.
*cough* RIPOFF *cough*
Or you could go hire it out from your local video/dvd rental store, borrow them from a friend who's more of a diehard fan, or buy them second hand. I got my Extended Edition of Fellowship of the Ring second hand, and I hired out the Extended Edition of The Two Towers. The grand total for those two "purchases" was NZ$30, which is NZ$4 more than I paid to go see the first two movies at the cinemas.
Also, I should add that it's not just the movies that are extended. You also have 4 commentaries for the films: Jackson, Boyens and Walsh (the director and writers); The Design team, the production/post-production team; a dozen or so of the main actors. I recommend both the writers one and the actors one.
For each EE released so far there are also 2 more discs called "The Appendicies" that are full of documentaries about the making of the movies, the history of the books and Tolkien himself, the history of the movie, the locations in NZ where they filmed, a
lot of artwork that was produced for the films by Alan Lee, John Howe and the rest of the design team, the creation of Gollum... well, you get the idea. Definitely good value for money compared to a 3 hour sitting once only of a cut down version of the movie. As far as I'm concerned we get ripped off more at the cinemas than with these EE dvds.
I would definitely recommend everyone watch the appendicies, it'll illustrate nicely why Return of the King won so many awards.