Rating: 
Summary: 13 Oscar nominations!!!
Review: This is simply one of the finest, most entertaining films since the glory days of "Star Wars." The last film to give me this kind of buzz was "The Matrix" in 1999. After seeing "The Fellowship of the Ring" I came out of the theater so enthralled and giddy that I went home, called up three of my closest friends, and went out the very same night and saw it a second time. I now own it on DVD and I look forward to so many things, from the special effects to the glorious score, each time I pop it in my player. This movie is a visual feast filled with excellent acting and filmmaking expertise. It won 4 Oscars, but eventually lost out to "A Beautiful Mind" for Best Picture. This should have won all 13 Academy Awards. This is a genuine masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: A dream came true
Review: As a teenager, I discovered The Lord of the Rings. At that time, my friends and I wondered if anyone could ever make a movie that would render the beauty, drama, magic of Tolkien's masterpiece. We believed it would be very difficult to transmit all the subtlety of the book, and we thought (it was 20 years ago) that the technology could not make it look real. When we heard about the project, we received the news with some skepticism. Wouldn't a film destroy the magic that was in a reader's mind ? It does not.
Peter Jackson had achieved what we thought impossible. The movies are remarquable, faithfull to the book and its spirit.
This edition includes additional scenes that will rejoice fans and recent discoverers. Mr Jackson, "chapeau" to you and your team !
Rating:
Summary: Stunning! A most faithful adaptation!
Review: This is the more faithful of Jackson's interpretations thus far of Tolkien's book(s) (since there was actually only ONE Lord of the Rings book, broken into 3 books for easier distribution, and more money for the publishers, I imagine). At least, it is the *extended* editions that are more faithful. I was SO glad to watch this version and have it stand in comparison to the theatrical release, which, while gripping and jaw-droppingly beautiful, left out some of my favorite scenes, as it invariably will, since everyone has their favorites. My favorite additional scenes are with Haldir and the elves in Lorien, especially the crucial gift-giving scenes, the extended end battle sequence with Boromir, Pippin and Merry, the Council of Elrond, and Aragorn singing on the road to Weathertop.
For those out there who haven't seen this version and explored the discs (I know a couple ppl!), there's a few easter eggs hidden on the discs. One being a somewhat gross, but damn funny MTV spoof on the Council of Elrond with Jack Black. All in all, the action follows the book, but Jackson has sped it up to keep interest and to keep the storyline from lagging (not always necessary when you've got text as gripping as Tolkien's as a source for your script!). There are enough quiet moments in the beginning to allow one to think, and then all hell breaks loose as the impending doom and serious nature of the ring of power is revealed. Jackson does a good job juxtaposing the quiet rural life of Hobbits and the peaceful balanced life of Elves with the nasty, trecherous, power-dominated world of Sauron's vision of Middle Earth.
*Downers:
This said, Frodo is much whinier and wimpy in the film than he ever was in the novels, if that was possible. What one might have felt for Frodo in the book (sorrow and frustration that the little guy just couldn't get a break from being hurt) turns into something of irritation with Frodo's constant whining and hopelessness. Yes, the journey was perilous, but while the Fellowship were all together, it made the impending doom seem a little more tolerable, and I don't think Hobbits ever truly despaired. Plus, Frodo was a tougher guy than Jackson's treatment allowed him. Sam's accent was something that irritated me throughout. He tried admirably well, but failed at the common-English-servant accent that should have permeated his speech (think not quite so Cockney).
Aside from little things such as these, this is one of the BEST movies around, full of great acting, directing and brilliant cinematography. Don't compare this to Harry Potter, since they're totally unrelated. Tolkien is more of an Epic-like Mediaeval Gothic Saga (anyone who's studied Germanic sagas and Mediaeval tales will tell you that Tolkien's LOTR novel reads just like one! not surprisingly, that was his inspiration!) and Harry Potter purely fantasy.
Bottom line: This is a fabulous, dignified treatment of the BEST book ever written!!!
Rating:
Summary: Best buy
Review: Despite the price (I have to pay delivery to Brazil: $30,00 DHL - and country taxes: $60,00), I think it's worth every cent. The extended scenes makes the movie more interesting and close to the book experience.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful set!
Review: I got this set last year. I wasn't sure what to expect at the time that I placed it into my DVD player, but I was a huge fan of the theatrical version and I knew it could only get better! It was better than I expected. The additional footage adds so much depth and so much more characterization that I can't understand why it wasn't apart of the original release. Simply amazing! Also the bonus material is nothing short of awesome! If you liked the movie in the theater BUY THIS NOW! If you are not sure, get this and THE TWO TOWERS: EXPANDED EDITION, and get ready for the third film, because they will get you hooked!
(GIFT SET INFO: This set comes with the movie, plus a set of bookends, and an addition disc with a documentary on the books. The set is beautiful, and the bookends are just wonderful. Spend the extra money and get the gift set!)
Rating:
Summary: Even better than theater release--Extended best choice!
Review: I forgave much of the necessary artiistic licence of the director because P.Jackson delivered magnificently in the major scenes and cleverly combined original elements that though "invented" maintained many essentials of the original narrative.
The extended DVD(though still not a literal translation of the book) contains many of the moments and subtleties that I so wanted to see in the theater. Though still a compromise relative to the book the additional detail of the extended version adds much more to the story than the extra 20 minutes of footage implies (some additions in places amount to 1/2 to 15 seconds of footage within a scene, yet they contribute much greater depth to the story).
The commentaries provided are fun, fascinating and quite welcome to the acting/filmaking enthusiast. The production-side documentaries and reports are a huge treat--sets, props, costumes, makeup and the insight into everyones dedication show clearly the huge commitment made by the crew and their concern in staying true to the source material as much as possible whilst also translating practically the tale from written word to film faithfully.
There's nothing really wrong with the theater release, but for home viewing even on a small screen the extended version is simply better and more engaging.
I couldn't help but buy the standard version of The Two Towers--tired of waiting--but I have just ordered the extended version of it as based on my experience with FOTR Extd. I know TTT Extended will also be superior to the theater release (and with TTT it ought to be--the editing was a bit choppy).
The extended version is a great value if you want all the extras it provides, and even if you don't, the additional footage is an improvement on the original release and thus worth it.
Rating:
Summary: I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!
Review: This is soooooooooooooooo much better than the regular version! It's got a bunch of funny parts in it! BUY IT...... NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Wow...
Review: This platinum series is excellent. There are four total discs full of lots of stuff. The first two discs contain the actual movie including an extra half hour of footage from the movie that was not seen in theaters. The last two discs contain a million special features. The first special feature disc is called "From Book to Vision" which basically talks about interpreting J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece into a movie. The second special feature disc is called "From Vision to Reality" which talks about how they made the film. I thought that how they made the hobbits smaller than the humans was interesting. This is a definite "must buy" item for Lord of the Rings fans
Rating:
Summary: My Top 10 Movies ever
Review: 1. The Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship of the Ring
2. The Lord of the Rings, the Two Towers
3. Braveheart
4. A Beautiful Mind
5. Gladiator
6. The Matrix
7. Raiders of the Lost Ark
8. Chariots of Fire
9. Rocky
10. Star Wars, Episode 1, the Phantom Menace
Rating:
Summary: An astonishing achievement made even better
Review: As wonderful as "The Fellowship of the Ring" theatrical version was, in many ways, the extended version is even better. The added amount of time doesn't seem terribly significant, but as it's spread out to include a 30 second bit here, and 15 seconds there, it adds up to changes to quite a bit of the movie. The changes aren't dramatic -- if you didn't like the original version, I hardly think Merry and Pippin tucking into lembas bread the moment they sail from Lorien is going to change your mind -- but they do deepen an understanding of the characters and add a few scenes not included for the sake of not making the theatrical version any longer. In some cases, this makes the pacing not work as well, but it's never terribly problematic. Beyond the additional footage, the DVD set adds more making-of specials and behind-the-scenes material than almost anyone could want. Strongly recommended for those who simply cannot get enough of this version of "The Fellowship of the Ring."
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