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"It will be as long as it needs to be," says director Peter Jackson, who is busy editing the film right now. "The third is my favorite one in the trilogy. It's almost biblical and makes me cry. It's about incredible courage and the last part of it is just mind-boggling."

I'm now inclined to take Jackson's word on things like that. Watching LOTR for the fifth time (three in the theater, once for each DVD version), I'm still compelled by the scope and intensity of his work, and the first movie is just the "warm-up". I've got to use my free ticket before it expires on 12/31.

At least on the fifth viewing, I could also watch for the little things without getting swamped by the big story. For instance, I noticed that Aragorn carries a switchblade, which is apparent if you single-step the frames where he starts to cut the altheas just before Arwen "catches" him.

Those repro swords from LOTR are neat, but I want more info on that switchblade!

I liked the quotes from both Wood and Jackson about the ending at Grey Havens...

PJ: "To me, it's a culmination of the entire story; it represents what it is to give and what it is to lose," he says. "That scene is probably the most powerful part of the entire film."

and about the third film in general....

Wood: ""The third movie has always been my favorite. I've seen moments from it and they just break my heart," he says. "You've grown to care about these characters and they lose quite a lot in the process of the third movie..."