J.R.R. Tolkien - Master of the Rings - The Definitive Guide to the World of the Rings

Rating:
Summary: Great material, but you have to know what you are getting!
Review: This DVD provides a wealth of serious, academic oriented, introductory analysis of the Lord of the Rings and Tolkien. It is for the lover of the books interested in gaining some context and perspective. It will please primarily the Tolkien's fans and not the Peter Jackson's great rendition of Tolkien's fan. So be prepared for 80 minutes of a magisterial class on Tolkien, his times, and the Lord of the Rings as literature. The extras are nice. The picture gallery is a nice collection of one the most renowned Tolkien's illustrators, the Hildebrandt brothers, but you can find it in other places too. The others abound in a little extra depth in some of the material already covered in the main feature. The CD is a good collection for Rick Wakeman's fans and it will please new comers. Why 3 stars? I think the use of the menu is not as easy as it could have been and the video quality is not always top notch, but those are minor details. The main one would be that the presentation might have been a little more dynamic and the serious viewer might benefit from knowing the credentials of the speakers so their judgment can be rightly appreciated. I'm very pleased with this set, however I'm not quite sure of many times can you replay this one.

Rating:
Summary: A MUST HAVE FOR TOLKIEN FOLLOWERS...............
Review: THIS IS A WONDERFUL GUIDE TO THE WORLD THE RINGS. I WAS VERY MUCH IMPRESSED WITH THE INTERVIEWS WITH TOLKIEN AND THE GREAT 3-D GRAPHICS OF MIDDLE EARTH. ALSO IT GIVES A VERY GOOD OVERVIEW OF THE FOUR BOOKS. THIS IS REALLY A MUST HAVE FOR ANYONE WANTING TO UNDERSTAND THE WRITING OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS AND IT'S MEANINGS.

Rating:
Summary: A MUST HAVE FOR TOLKIEN FOLLOWERS...............
Review: THIS IS A WONDERFUL GUIDE TO THE WORLD THE RINGS. I WAS VERY MUCH IMPRESSED WITH THE INTERVIEWS WITH TOLKIEN AND THE GREAT 3-D GRAPHICS OF MIDDLE EARTH. ALSO IT GIVES A VERY GOOD OVERVIEW OF THE FOUR BOOKS. THIS IS REALLY A MUST HAVE FOR ANYONE WANTING TO UNDERSTAND THE WRITING OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS AND IT'S MEANINGS.

Rating:
Summary: <<<Do not bother purchasing this DVD>>>
Review: This is NOT worth purchasing at all. Get it from your local library instead. I picked it up on a whim, then watched it. Big mistake. If it was possible to give this a rating of 0 stars instead of 1 star, I would have. Just fluff, borrow it from a friend, or again, go to your library and borrow it from them. Sorry, but this isn't really worth your money IMO.

Rating:
Summary: <<<Do not bother purchasing this DVD>>>
Review: This is NOT worth purchasing at all. Get it from your local library instead. I picked it up on a whim, then watched it. Big mistake. If it was possible to give this a rating of 0 stars instead of 1 star, I would have. Just fluff, borrow it from a friend, or again, go to your library and borrow it from them. Sorry, but this isn't really worth your money IMO.

Rating:
Summary: As bad as it gets
Review: This is the saddest attempt to cash in on the movies I have seen. Not only does it have nothing to do with the movie, it is not even good Tolkien. It consists of an interview with one of the lesser illustrators, music by an unknown British singer, of dubious talents, a very poor tour of Oxford (the outsides of places where Tolkien lived), interviews with non-Tolkien experts (Oxford students and low level dons), and a lot of footage of people who like to role-play being warring elves and goblins. The only "professional" bit is an interview with one of Tolkien's biographers, and that is not much. If this thing had been better described, on the web page, I would have never wasted my time buying it. It is the only thing I have ever bought on Amazon that I was not satisfied with.

Rating:
Summary: Lame stuff
Review: Unless you're the sort of hopeless fan who swoons with delight at any mention of Middle-earth, this documentary is dreary stuff. The vaunted three-dimensional maps are rudimentary at best; the maps already in the books are far superior for conveying detail and flavor. As for the live-action interludes re-creating scenes from the books ... well, let's just say they're a little too middle school-ish for Middle-earth. The film clips of J.R.R. Tolkien speaking in his rapid-fire mumble leave one feeling sorry for the students who had to take notes during his lectures. The package is rounded out with kitsch-sodden calendar art from the Brothers H that makes one happy that Alan Lee's painting were the visual guidepost for Peter Jackson's films.