Rating: 
Summary: But Where's Tom Bombadil?
Review: Quite frankly, one of the best movies I've seen in a long time, and possibly the only movie I've gone to see 6 times in the theaters (especially to see the new Two Towers trailer...'drool'...). It thoroughly enchants. Can't wait for the Ultimate Edition DVD later this year with the extra scenes betwixt Galadriel and the fellowship...but alas, 'sob', still no Tom Bombadil to be found anywhere. A horrible tragedy, cutting out one of the most intriguing and enigmatic characters of the story...oh, well...
Rating:
Summary: Best DVD Ever?
Review: Quite possibly! This new four disc set of Fellowship Of The Ring is absolutely fantastic.
I thought the original theatrical cut was great(saw it four times at the theater!),but this new 208 minute director's cut is much better,immersing one even deeper into the world of Middle Earth.This is what a director's cut should be.
Picture quality is outstanding and the sound(I listened to the DTS track)is amazing.There are four commentary tracks,and loads & loads of bonus materials on the third and fourth discs. As a previous reviewer stated,if you haven't purchased the two disc theatrical set,don't even bother.This is the way to go!
(I know I'm glad I held out!) By the way,there's also a coupon for a free ticket to LOTR:The Two Towers.I can't wait to see it!!
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth viewing if you fully know Middle-Earth
Review: Quite simply it lacked the grandiose Tolkien-esque feel that even Christopher Tolkien's writing often has. The action seemed infinitely slower than the books, even slower than Robert Jordan's works. Difference is, that Jordan and Tolkien actually seem to have a point, this seemed pointless and like everyone stopped caring about 2/3 of the way through the movie. This wouldn't be so bad normally, but the fact that only the actors portraying the hobbits, Gandalf, Aragorn and Boromir appeared to care in the first place really turns the 'masterpiece' into drivel. Now admittedly, 7/9 of the fellowship doesn't seem to be that bad, but that doesn't include people they meet, most of which are portrayed either INCREDIBLY inaccurately (read Arwen with a sword) or with such a lack of emotion or even talent in acting that it's like they picked a guy up off the street, such as Saruman. The movie was made to a politically correct, semi-accurate, fantasy, popular thing. But that doesn't fly very well for two reasons. 1, it's LoTR, a CLASSIC and 2, because of people like me who love the fantasy genre more than we love almost anything else, who won't allow little things like Arwen having a sword, when she shouldn't because she isn't pure enough to grow the silver plant that the elves make into swords. But other than that there is the fact that it's a long film and FEELS like a long film. This actually would be an excellent film if it weren't supposed to be LoTR, but suffice to say that it is and shouldn't be. The last good fantasy film about a good fantasy book is and probably will be for a while yet Willow, because while Harry Potter was a good movie, it was an unreadable stupid childrens book, whereas this is an unwatchable politically correct stupid movie
Rating:
Summary: A great film, made even better!
Review: Quite simply, buy this movie! The extended edition add so much more depth to the film it is hard to imagine it without the extra footage now that I have seen it. The Collectors Gift set is nice. The two book ends and the extra DVD are very nice collectibles. I cannot say enough about this set.
Rating:
Summary: an excellent adaptation
Review: Quite simply, this is an excellent adaptation of what seemed an impossible task: bringing a great and beloved novel to the screen. I wasn't hopeful, but after viewing this masterpiece I was more than pleased. If you love the books, you'll be glad to see that justice has at last been done to it on the big screen.
Rating:
Summary: A wealth of information for the real LOTR fan
Review: Rarely do you run into a DVD version of a movie of this level. Peter Jackson set out to provide fans of LOTR with a treasure to keep for life, with an extended version of the movie (provided in two of the four discs) that thoroughly complements the story we saw in the theaters. But it was no mere putting the deleted scenes back in. The added material was the result of uncovering a whole additional layer of footage that was left out for time reasons, but with the same quality of the rest of the movie, just having been edited out because it was not critical for the purposes of telling the story, yet I'd argue that it complements it in such a way that I can't conceive the movie without these moments now. As for the features, then again, the movie lent itself to a very broad array of things to share. Unlike a Star Wars Episode, where most of the action took place in the digital world, LOTR had a bit of everything that it made use of: shots in the open (leveraging the beauty of New Zealand), live action in full-size sets, detail shots of miniatures, CG-characters thrown into real sets, virtual sets with real actors, virtual characters in virtual sets, and even a virtual camera in a virtual set, where real actors would be superimposed (the fight of the Fellowship against the cave troll in Moria). There's a wealthy and health mix of technology and art in the movie in a way that maintains a balance that can satisfy all tastes. Plus there's all the culture of each of the races of Middle Earth poured into all the components that make up the story (garments, armor, weapons, makeup, architecture, etc.) to materialize this infinitely rich tapestry that Tolkien wove with his words some five decades ago. All of this is shared with the viewer in generous detail to satisfy even the most demanding LOTR fan. I am now on to "The Two Towers - Platinum Series Special Extended Edition" and you?
Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate edition of the Fellowship of the Ring
Review: Rather than review the film, which has been done by many more eloquent than myself, I thought I'd offer my opinion on why the 4-disk extended edition is the only edition of this wonderful movie worth owning. The extra 30 minutes of footage added to the body of the movie proves that if it weren't for 21st-century attention spans being so short, this could have been an even greater movie in the theatres at its full length. The additions have been edited in seemlessly and add to the richness and depth of the world Jackson portrays on screen. I particularly like the greater time spent in Hobbiton, which is a truely magical location. As for the extras... WOW. I sometimes sit through some of the extras on a DVD and get the impression that they have just cobbled together some of the extra footage from filiming, along with some interviews with now-bored stars who have moved on to other projects. Compared to these DVDs and the original releases promotional material, this extended edition has the most engaging and fascinating extras I have ever seen. The passion of the cast for the project is clear to see, and the quality of the extras is remarkable. Everything from the selection of locations to the relationship of the main cast with hilarious actors who were their small-scale doubles. (The best moments for me are the stories of Sean Astin's little Indian double ordering Viggo Mortesnen around like an angry housewife). The insights into the making of the film and the care and attention to detail lavished on it by cast and crew only enrich the experience of the film itself. A must for anyone who liked the film, and worth it even if you have the first DVD release, I mean 6 1/2 hours of extra features is worth every penny!
Rating:
Summary: Lord of all good movies to be released in a lond time.
Review: Reading through the reviews of people who rated this movie 1 star their points of reason are that:
It was to long
It was to boring
There was nothing but eye candy.
It was not a true adaptation of the book. The actors, director, and staff spend two years of their life putting this trilogy to the screen. They scouted out the most breath taking scene locations captured on film in a LONG time. If that is not dedication to bringing a movie to screen I don't know what is. The eye candy (as certain reviewers phrase it) is the only way to recreate the vast and complex world of lord of the rings and that is why noone has attempted to create a movie on lord of the rings for over 50 years, because it was technically impossible until recently. The movie is telling a story of a vast array of characters which it does well. The people who found it boring most likely enjoy the no brainer flicks like Blade 2 and Resident Evil for non stop action. The majority of fans who have reviewed this movie know good movies when they see it and this is a GOOD movie.
Rating:
Summary: Where's the Director's Commentary on the DVD?
Review: Really tired of Hollywood pulling this marketing stunt. They did it with Shakespeare in Love, Almost Famous, Traffic, and countless others. I'm boycotting this DVD until the real one comes out in Nov. so I don't have to buy it twice.
Rating:
Summary: Overwhelmingly fabulous, start to finish.
Review: Really, that title sums it up. Simply gorgeous, a compelling storyline, and if hardcore Tolkein fans are at all correct, it's very true to the book. I barely remember much of anything at all from the original text, so the movie was "new" to me in many places. All of the cast members excelled in their roles, most notably Sir Ian McKellan, Viggo Mortensen, and Hugo Weaving. The special effects were outstanding - the Ringwraiths were terrifyingly spooky, and the computer-generated landscapes breath-taking. I have only two complaints about the film (which, given its considerable length, isn't much:) 1.) The Hobbits' feet. While the Fx team did an amazing job hacking the human actors' legs off at the knees (pretty much,) the large, rubbery, obviously-fake bare feet were just appallingly awful. With everything else done so well, it seems they could have done a better job here.
2.) The Cave Troll's animation - it seemed clunky and out-of-date to me. With the incredible CGI work elsewhere, this scene stuck out horribly. That's it! For a 178-minute film, two nitpicky criticisms seems pretty darned good to me. The original story the writers were working with was rich and full, and they've done it justice here. I could go on and on about how indescribably beautiful it all was, veritably frothing at the mouth and drooling as I try to convey the depths of my enthusiasm, but really, you should just go and see it for yourself, if you are among the 14 or so people who have yet to fight the lines for a seat. It was well worth standing in line for an hour in 20-degree weather. Beyond "highly-recommended;" absolutely required.
| 
