Rating: 
Summary: Great movie, they don't make stories like this anymore!
Review: This movie is wonderful. The attention to detail is incredible. I mean this is middle earth made real! The shire and Hobbiton are just as I imagined them.Now one thing I really enjoy about the story of the Lord of the Rings: Magic is relatively rare. The story involves magic and the supernatural, but it's not used excesively. Most of the story is about the journey and the interrelationships between the characters. The movie and the world created by Tolkien have this very real feeling to them. It's like the world actually exists. Different kingdoms and places have a rich history, language, and cultures of their own. Tolkien was a scholar and a lover of languages and history and it shows in the quality of his beautiful storytelling. All to often these days adventure movies rely too much on special effects or violence and leave little to the plot or the characters. The Lord of the Rings is great storytelling and one of the best stories to come out of the 20th century. It's a classic that has stood the test of time and heavily influenced later fantasy writers and artists. Now this movie does have terrific special affects and some very violent moments but thankfully it offers much more than that. Thank you very much J.R.R. Tolkien for this wonderful story. Now why did I only give this movie a 4 star when I thoroughly enjoyed it to the point of feeling it deserves 5 stars? Well it diverges from the novel on some points I felt it didn't have to. Yes I know you can't fit the whole story into 3 movies but still there are changes made to the storyline that didn't have to be done. Some changes wouldn't have made the story longer but seemed to be altered just because the movie script writers felt it would be better if done a different way. I mean Ralph Bakshi's animated version of the Lord of the Rings covered the first book and a half of the Lord of the Rings, wasn't as long as this Fellowship of the Ring movie, yet was truer to the dialogue and the major plots elements than this movie! The animated version made a few changes also but in this movie there were more of them! At least I thought the movie version of Samwise Gamgee was better and I really liked Gandalf the wizard also! Now I thought the animated version of Strider/Aragorn was a better representation of the book character. Somehow I felt he should have been older than he was in the movie version. After all he was supposed to be weathered and older looking from his journeys and fighting in the wild lands he roamed through. Now I hope at the end of the 3rd movie they just don't have Aragorn and Arwen live happily ever after because if you read the appendix at the end of the book of the Lord of the Rings, after Aragorn dies of old age he leaves Arwen to a very sad fate to die alone in Lorien after all the other elves had passed away from middle earth forever. I was very sad and cried when I read that. There she dies with only her memories and all that she loved had passed away forever. A bitter fate indeed. However since it's not in the story proper but only in the appendix it may not be in the 3rd movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing
Review: I first read the Ring triology over 30 years ago and have revisited it many times since. I was almost reluctant to see this film because of all the hype - I was afraid it would mar the mental images and visualizations of Tolkein's word I've cherished all this time. It was, therefore, truly amazing and delightful to me to see how beautifully and faithly made this movie is. It's as if Peter Jackson read my mind (and the minds of everyone else I know who has both read the books and seen the film). Everything is exactly as I'd pictured it. Not only that, but my husband (who has never read any Tolkein) became equally entranced by the movie and looks forward to the releaese of "The Two Towers" almost as eagerly as I do! Excellent, excellent movie.
Rating:
Summary: An altogether extraordinary film
Review: They said it couldn't be done--no one would ever be able to adequately capture Tolkien's majestic fantasy world on film. There was no way that a filmmaker could please both the fans of the books and the casual moviegoer. But somehow, someway, Peter Jackson has done it. This will remain one of the definitive fantasy films for generations to come, enduring as well as the books have. Every aspect of this film, from casting and acting to direction and technical details, is exquisitely and expertly realized. Jackson's literate script alters or omits parts of the book in ways that may upset some fans; the most noticable absences are the encounter with the Barrow-Wight and the meeting with Tom Bombadil. There's some foreshortening of events and time in order to keep the movie at a reasonable length, but the film's pace never suffers from it. The script also makes good use of Tolkien's dialogue from the novel, and I was very impressed with the seamless incorporation of some dialogue from the chapter "The Shadow of the Past" into Frodo and Gandalf's conversation in Moria. "The Fellowship of the Ring" manages to embrace the scale and scope of the greatest epics without losing touch with characterization or emotion. As a die-hard Tolkien fan, I had grown to love these characters over the years, and I was honestly worried that they would get lost in this massive production (usually the case with big-budget films these days). But Jackson and his incredible ensemble cast bring the familiar characters of Middle Earth to living, breathing life; for me, it was like rediscovering them all over again. The casting was perfect: Ian McKellan is wonderful as Gandalf, balancing wisdom and discipline with a welcome sense of humor; Elijah Wood shows the right mix of courage and vulnerability as Frodo; Ian Holm is delightful as Bilbo; Viggo Mortensen is a tower of strength as Aragorn; Sean Bean is dynamic as the all-too-human Boromir; Sean Astin, mixed accent and all, is perfect as the steadfastly loyal Sam. Jackson's script also does not compromise Tolkien's moral vision for fear that it would sound preachy or dated. Truth be told, we could use more of that these days. Jackson's direction is an exercise in the art of filmmaking. Not a shot is wasted, nor does there seem to be a false moment in this film. The special effects are outstanding, even more so when one considers that they came from the relatively unknown Weta company; if you haven't seen the Balrog yet--prepare to be blown away! Only the cave troll looked a little fake, but I doubt that ILM could have done better with such a challenging effect. The film's best effect, however, is the visual trickery involved in making Wood and company look like they really are a few feet tall--this is done with some clever use of foreshortening, camera tricks, and forced perspective, plus the use of little people and overlarge foreground objects. It's utterly convincing, and an impressive job. The production design and costumes are also wondrous; Middle Earth looks and feels like I've always imagined it. Like the great epics of old, this movie will endure as one of the most masterful examples of storytelling on film. For those who do not want the expanded DVD, this will serve more than adequately. Don't forget Disc 2--the quality of the extras in this DVD set rank second only to those in "Citizen Kane."
Rating:
Summary: Excellent movie - Lame DVD extras
Review: I've been a J.R.R. Tolkien fan since I was 10 years old, and I can't give this rendition of LoTR more praise. It's true to the story (though missing a few not-so-essential chapters) and lets us experience it in a way the books never could. The extras... well, hope you weren't planning on knowing "how they did it," because you won't get it here. Be prepared for disjointed previews of the movie you already own and continuous commercials for all of the other LoTR merchandise available. There's an awesome preview of "The Two Towers" that has me anxiously waiting for more, though, as well as a preview of the Extended Edition due out in November 2002.
Rating:
Summary: LOTR the best fantasy film of all time
Review: Lord of the rings DVD is the most awaited and best fantasy film of all time. I can't wait to see the two towers this December 2002.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, OK DVD
Review: This movie is a great. A modern classic. It's one of my top three movies, along with Memento and Chasing Amy. I'd definatly buy this movie for the movie, but if you're a DVD buff looking for a DVD jam-packed with special features, hold out until November to buy the Special Edition with four DVDs. The movie itself is great, but the DVD is a little twitchy. Right out of the box, some parts of it skipped for me. It seemed to load a little slowly on my new Sony DVD player, and even slower on my Playstation 2. I don't really like the menus, and the special features are kind of lacking. But the movie!
Rating:
Summary: 2 discs of pure joy
Review: We've all heard of it, and we've pretty much all seen it, but nobody can deny how absolutely astonishing this movie is! Peter Jackson and the rest of the crew have created a timeless cinematic masterpiece that I'm certain will only be enhanced by the presentation of the other two films in the trilogy. The DVD of The Fellowship of the Ring not only offers the extraordinary audio and visual quality that's become the standard for DVD, but a slew of bonus goodies that make it all the more worthwhile. Don't hesitate to pick this one up!
Rating:
Summary: This is the way it should be done.
Review: I am still stunned by how good this movie is. It is almost close to an epic. When we saw it in the theater, I fell under it's hypnotic power in a hard way. Movies like this are what dreams are made of for scifi/fantasy geeks like me. I felt totally immersed in this grand world of Middle Earth created by Tolkien. I know I dont have to tell you to buy this one. I should probably tell you to buy the special edition coming out later with the additional footage and added music soundtrack! There is an awesome preview for the platinum edition on the second dvd. It also includes Enya's video. Elves rock (no, not Elvis, but he did rock too). Come on December!
Rating: 
Summary: Should be titled 'Bored of the Rings'
Review: I have read a lot of the reviews written here and must believe that all the people who wrote favorable reviews have not read J.R.R. Tolkien's books. The movie was extremely boring. What else can you say? If you havent read the trilogy plus 'The Hobbit' I suggest you take your money and buy the books and forget about this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: SHOW ME THE ENYA!
Review: i liked this movie it was pretty good steven tylers (of AEROSMITH) daughter who was in armagettin weas good in the movie i just wish i didnt have to wait until the end to hear enya's theme song "by the way" ... she should of been in the movie more "nobody tosses an elf!" lol omg that was funny tho hehehe
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