Rating: 
Summary: Best Movie EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: In my eyes, this movie is brillant. Wonderfully edited, with an amazing soundtrack(acutally Im listening to the soundtrack right now. Track #2 is pure bliss.). It is a movie I would recommend to all those wanting to get and meaningful movie, but im warning you all out comedy fans, It might be a miss in your opinion. There are several points of comedy but not enough to balance the whole movie. I took a comedy fan to see it and she hated it. Brillant acting by Elijah Wood, who plays Frodo Baggins, and he is not only cute, but has wonderful acting skills. I almost cried when he tried to save a certain member of the Fellowship (I wont name names for those who havent seen it.). He was overlooked by the Academy, but hey, there are two more movies. Oh and for all you people living under a rock, This is a trilogy, so dont get upset by the ending. I loved this action/adventure movie and im sure you will too.
Rating:
Summary: The most fantasic story, made into the MOST FANTASTIC FILM!
Review: In my opinion, a rather biased one, being both a fan of Tolkien's work and of Elijah Wood, 'The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring' is one of the classics. It certainly deserves every bit of praise it gets. To tell the truth, I was a bit worried; films never live up to the books, do they? Peter J. proved me wrong along with all the cast. I was really impressed, each of the five or six times I've seen it...Anyone who hasn't seen this film is really missing something. Like I said, it's a classic, with all the care and love put into the scripting, directing, acting and filming that Tolkien put into writing it in the first place, along with a whole lot of skill and talent all round, it's a cinematic masterpiece and probably the height of Peter J's career, as sadly he has said he wouldn't attempt such a big project again. Make the most of it...
Rating:
Summary: Extended Edition -- WOW!!!
Review: In my opinion, this extended edition of _Fellowship of the Ring_ is the one that should have been released in the theatres. From the beginning, it is just so much better than the tbeatrical release -- and with a theatrical release that was as good as this one, that's saying a lot.As good as _Fellowship_ was, I had a number of problems with it, many of which became more heightened rather than less over time, as the sheer astonishment of seeing Tolkein's world successfully brought to life and filmed wore off a bit. Overall, I just found the production rushed, particularly in the first half of the movie. There was a good deal less character development than I would have liked -- which made things not as clear for people who hadn't read the books -- and a great deal more pure action than I had envisioned. By the time the Fellowship leaves Rivendell, this evens out, but I still consider it a flaw. HOWEVER, the special edition remedies all that. Those extra 30-odd minutes of footage really make the story shine. Just a few extra lines and short scenes per character turn them from gestures of a few brushstrokes to fully fleshed people. I was especially pleased to see the attention given to Boromir (Sean Bean), which really shines a new light on his relationship to Aragorn and his eventual fall, and to Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) which transforms him from an underused and almost laughable character into a soulful poet. Aragorn (the fabulous Viggo Mortensen) also gets some extra time, showing more strongly his fears and doubts, and making his ultimate promise to Boromir all the more powerful. All the extended scenes have the effect of slowing the pacing, which I found all to the good. It gives the film more of a feel of being a real journey over time as well as space, which I think the original release lacked. And it softened some of the things that I did not appreciate so much the first time around, such as the encounter and strife between Gandalf and Saruman. I was not as struck by Christopher Lee's performance so much in the original, but here it really stood out and was as chilling as I wanted. Of course, you get a lot of special bells and whistles, commentaries, closer looks, and all the things a DVD has to offer, and these are fun, too. But the extended edition of the movie alone is worth the price. If theatres showed more of this kind of thing instead of superficial 80-minute dreck, I'd go more often. I watched this less than 12 hours ago and I'd watch it again right now.
Rating:
Summary: THE CULMINATING ACHIEVEMENT OF THE WHOLE FANTASY INDUSTRY
Review: In my younger, pre-Christian days, I was one of those early-1970's LOTR fetishists (and there were enough of us around to outnumber all the fell hordes of Mordor) who who regarded Tolkien's meisterwerk as something of a spiritual map. I've outgrown quite such an un-nuanced belief in Tolkien's grasp on Eternal Truth. In fact the last time I read the book, I was a little (dare I so much as whisper it, even in the well-lit halls of Rivendell?) cringed by the political incorrectness, the imperialistic assumptions, the sheer darn chauvinism of the narrative. Literary fashions move on, and Tolkien is an increasingly dated form of cool. But then the same could be said of Shakespeare. LOTR still ranks as my favourite novel of all time, and it shows every sign of being the most enduring piece of classical literature to come out of the English-speaking world in the 20th century. In a generation that is steeped in sword and sorcery imagery, it is so easy to forget that (allowing for his largely unacknowledged debt to Wagner), Tolkien invented that whole industry single-handedly. In the light of all this pseudo-spiritual baggage, I was highly sceptical that anyone could ever translate the essence of the tale into another format. Previous attempts in the animation and RPG media had not helped to inspire confidence. After all, it was reading Tolkien that taught so many people what used to be quite a rare feat of visualising fantastical landscapes and creatures for themselves; Middle Earth was almost designed as a solipsistic bolt-hole from reality. How could anyone put visual clothing on it for others? Of course the secret of Jackson's success is that the world of Fantasy Landscape & Creatures has become a mature global industry. There is now a little-noticed but very real consensus among the book-reading, film-going and game-playing public as to what lonely mountains, evil fortresses and all manner of hobgoblins should look like. This consensus has been nurtured and built up by illustrators, film set designers, graphic artists, computer programmers and the like over the last thirty years or so, through a broad conformity that (like radioactive half-life) has transcended their individuality. It has even (in a manner well understood by literary historians) re-shaped the way the book will be visualised in the imagination of people who first read the book far earlier. Most of these die-hard fans of the original book will be unaware of how much flesh has been put onto their original, private visualisation of the story by these external inputs, but it is axiomatic that we visualise the unfamiliar strictly in terms of what we know. It follows that the original, individualistic, numinous, Wholly-Other (and possibly Acid-tinged?) landscape that existed in the minds of many older readers has been gradually and subtly been supplanted by the more mundane and concrete imagery from a generation of picture books, calendar and poster artwork, films and computer games. All that Middle Earth has been waiting for, then, is for someone to come along with the technology, the budget and the elephantine ambition to sum up thirty years of this cross-media artistic consensus and flow it round a simplified story-line lifted from Tolkien's books. Thus the original inspiration for the genre and its entire progeny are joined together. We have come full circle. As far as the Fantasy industry is concerned, the creative cycle is complete. This may just be long-winded wibble, but it may help to explain why so many filmgoers (including people who like myself have been reading the books over and over again for decades) came out of the theatre wondering how Jackson could have read their minds so accurately. In one sense of course, it is all a psychological trick. In a nutshell, the creative media have been telling us for so many years what a magic world looks like, we have all forgotten what it looked like when we were left to picture it for ourselves. But then again, all artistic appreciation is guided by social convention. Much of Jackson's phenomenal achievement lies in how he has tapped into that collective consciousness, how in other words he has held a mirror up to our cultural soul. In consequence, as a theatrical release, this film is just about the most roundly satisfactory watching experience I can remember. The three hours go like a flash, and I am looking forward to all-night "Lord of the Rings - Complete" sessions once all three episodes are on release. I am less convinced that the film's vast visual and sonic impact can ever be conveyed in home-video format (particularly on pre-wide screen kit). However, in the balance I am optimistic: This isn't just a visual spectacle. It is a finely scripted theatrical work (using an abnormally large amount of the original author's own dialogue). The stripped-down story-line of the movie works well in its own right, both as a self-contained epic and as feeder to the larger trilogy to come. The casting is a major achievement all by itself. The acting performances are all (with the exception of one or two senior elves) exemplary. Ian Holm (Bilbo) and Sean Bean (Boromir) are particularly intense and moving as the characters with the most internal torment to convey. That much at least will come across in any format. If you ever liked Tolkien, or fantasy art generally, this will be one to buy and keep.
Rating:
Summary: A movie even a mother could love!
Review: In our family of 4, only 2 of us wanted to see this movie. I wasn't one of them figuring I could wait for the video, but the 4 of us went to see it anyway. Boy, was I wrong! I was completely enthralled with this movie and loved every minute of it. I never read the books and enjoyed this movie so much that I'm unable to wait for the next installment coming later this year and ordered the books! So if you're a mother wondering whether you should go with the family to see this movie, definitely do so. You'll be amazed by all of it and will be glad you went. Sometimes we just need to be entertained and this movie does it from start to finish.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost as boring as the book
Review: In the beginning, the dark lord forges a ring of immense power, which he intends to use for conquering all of Middle Earth. The Good and Evil go to battle. The good guys are winning, until the dark lord shows up with the ring. The leader of the race of men is killed; his son injured. The dark lord goes in to finish him off. The son picks up the broken sword and cuts the dark lord's ring finger off. The dark lord is destroyed, and the world is saved. The new leader gets power-hungry - instead of destroying the ring, he wants to keep it for himself. He is ambushed and shot in the back. The ring is lost again. A half-human creature finds the ring and tries to hide it from others. He is captured and tortured by the bad guys. So much for the power of the ring... The rest of the movie relates how the ring, being so "powerful", tends to corrupt its owners. One of the Hobbits eventually finds the ring, and his Elf friend Gandalf advises him to give it up. As the spirit of the dark lord tries to re-unite with the ring, the good guys must find someone to take it to the mountain where it was forged, and that is where it can be destroyed. And that duty falls upon the shoulders of Frodo, our Hobbit hero. Question: Why not just let the dark lord have his ring back, and cut off his finger again in battle? Elijah Wood as Frodo has a total of 4 expressions: wide-eyed joyousness, wide-eyed sadness, wide-eyed fear, wide-eyed bewilderment. The rest of the cast try hard. Unfortunately, the real stars of the movie are the computerized effects and elaborate sets. The problem is these visuals are so grandiosely artificial and instantly forgetable. Sci-fi fans should stay with Star Trek and Star Wars - they are much more fun and less heavy-handed.
Rating:
Summary: How you can see the power and time put into this movie
Review: In the book The Fellowship of the Ring I found it to be confousing at times and considerably long and time taking. The movie is realistic and powerful It let some partsof the book go, but made up for them with witty and enchantingly frightning scenes. This movie did not add anything that did not desirve to be in it. The scenery was gorgeous and moving...
Rating:
Summary: This Epic is almost as cool as the Ring itself
Review: In the devided land of middle earth, a new force breath's life. A ring of pure power is uncovered. A journey of epic grandeur is begun. You all know and love Lord of the Rings. And how exciting to know in your lifetime we get them brought to life. Filmed within the gorgeous land of New Zealand, no less. Fellowship of the Rings kick's off the trilogy, and sets a new standard for all fantasy films that come in the future. (Sharing that position with Mr. Potter, in my little book of course.) Peter Jackson is at this very moment, while you read, creating the next installment's. How can a Tolkien Fan complain? Ah, technology. There are battles that are some of the best ever created. Frenzied and crazy, sword slashing, arrow wisping fun will keep you on the edge. The dvd is gorgeous. The picture is vivid, and the sound is exceptional. I read one review, claiming that he had some trouble. I wish I knew the answer to his problem, because for me, with a dolby digital/DTS decoder, it sounds fantastic. Imagine what the Special extended dvd will sound like in November with DTS! Wow! As you can tell, seeing Lord of the Rings is an exciting experience. And, until November, this dvd will do very nicely! ~s.a.o.s~
Rating:
Summary: Extended Version Definitely Worth Seeing
Review: In the interests of keeping the movie to a certain length, the director was forced to cut scenes that fill out the story and make it a far richer experience. To put it simply, this extended version has material that makes the story work. When I saw the movie in the theater I was disappointed that the rhythm of Tolkien's story seemed lost - but clearly the director had it all in mind as he was making the film. This is the movie everyone should have seen. Superb.
Rating:
Summary: I was Swept Away
Review: in this adventure. Never having read these books I found myself begrudgingly sitting in the theatre with my children about to be bored to tears for 3 hours. This was NOT the case! I was swept away into middle earth. The courage, the honor, the journey all had me mesmorized the entire time. So much so that I had to go back again. I laughed, I cried, I screamed. This is the stuff of great movie making. BRAVO!
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