Rating: 
Summary: See this version before "The Two Towers"
Review: It's like this-
This movie is a visual masterpiece of epic porportions. It has an amazing cast, who do amazing jobs as actors. The crew who did the pre- and post-production work should have been payed a great deal more for the work they put in. Peter Jackson was okay, even though the books direct themselves. To put it kindly though, he surpasses George Lucas and Steven Spielberg any day with his limited use of CGI special effects.
This version of the film is a must see if you wish to see "The Two Towers." If you've read the books, you're okay. This version helps to explain the Lembas bread, amongst other things.
Also, it adds more of a story to what we saw in the theatres of "The Fellowship of the Ring." It gives amazing insight to the characters, and helps to fill in certain timeline gaps.
The documentaries are amazing, and are a must see for book/movie fans alike.
Finally, if you buy this, check out the Easter Eggs. There is an MTV spoof of the Council of Elrond, as well as a full trailer for "The Two Towers."
Purchase this movie, and enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: one disc to rule them all
Review: oh-my-gosh. There's not much to say...but I'll try. This is what DVD is all about, giving the public what it wants until it's satisfied and this 4 disc monster will fill anybody's stomach. I have no complaints, none, nada, zip. Flawless victory and then some. What I most enjoyed was the cast interviews and commentary especially from Christopher Lee who is a great Tolkien fan. To hear him speak about the project was so cool. I was also blown away by the Weta Workshop features and the sheer enormity of their tasks. From creating chain mail to designing the Balrog it was amazing to see how they made the things come to life. And of course the enhanced film is just astounding and brillant. Worth every penny.
Rating:
Summary: History In The Making
Review: "One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them,
One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them"
Extract from "The Fellowship of the Ring". Stories may come and go but it takes an extraordinary tale to excite the world and bring moments of sheer magic to generations, decade after decade. Tolkiens classic story has finally hit the screens with the first part in the trilogy "The Fellowship of the Ring". The other two parts to follow, one later on this year in December and the final part following in 2003. Peter Jackson the films director, himself an avid Tolkien fan, took on a huge task in bringing this literary masterpiece to the big screen. Surprising, as it may seem, others were not keen to invest in this moment in history and Jackson ended up funding virtually the whole project from his own personal funds. Fortunately the movie is proving a huge success and Jackson will receive a nice financial return for all his hard work, but that was never the reason behind his motivation. Only a true believer could do this epic tale justice. Has he succeeded? So far, yes! Will he continue to do so in the following parts? Only time will tell but I believe this trilogy will prove to be just as popular if not more so, than the books from whence it came. It is difficult to review one third of a story, I will however, do my best! In the land of Middle earth a race of creatures known as hobbits merrily go about their business. Most of which consists of entertaining each other, eating, smoking and enjoying a quiet and comfortable life. Leaving adventuring to the hardier races in the land. This is of course, until one hobbit Bilbo Baggins, goes on an adventure by accident and through this journey discovers a ring. This ring contains immense power far beyond its more obvious ability to make the wearer invisible. Should this ring fall in to the wrong hands it would cause chaos and disaster throughout the land. One evil and vile creature seeks the ring more than all others, Sauron the Dark Lord. Should he obtain the ring then all the land will suffer. Only one thing can be done to make sure this never happens. The ring must be destroyed in the fires of the Mount Doom. Responsibility for the destruction of the ring falls heavily upon the shoulders of Frodo Baggins, Bilbo's favourite nephew. This is where the story begins in "The Fellowship of the Ring". Frodo must travel across the land with a loyal band of friends and protectors. Facing all manner of evil creatures and life threatening situations. Constantly being chased by Saurons elite soldiers, the "Ring wraiths" Frodo frequently proves that strength and courage can often come from the unlikeliest of heroes. Part one of the trilogy focuses on the group sent to protect Frodo, how they meet and bond with eachother through adversity on the first part of the journey. In parts two and three the story moves on to more epic proportions! The cast is a mixture of new young talented actors mixed with older more experienced thespians. The lead role of Frodo is filled by Elijah Wood, a relative newcomer to acting. His character is guided on his journey by Gandalf an elderly wizard, played by Ian McKellen. McKellens experience as an actor shines through and it is obvious that his influence evokes outstanding performances from the rest of the cast. Jackson deliberately avoided using big box office names such as Bruce Willis, Sean Connery, etc as leading actors, enabling the viewer to focus on the characters. Considered commercial suicide by many, Jackson is proved correct in his choices. I was able to see the characters as Tolkien described without thinking about previous characters portrayed by the cast in other films. Established actors do crop up in more minor roles, Ian Holm as Bilbo, Hugo Weaving as Elrond, etc but McKellen is the only real star to feature in the film. Jackson took a chance and it paid off!
Rating:
Summary: A new standard for film AND DVD.
Review: The Platinum Series Extended Edition DVD of the Fellowship of the Rings sets a new standard for fantasy filmmakers, novel-to-script adaptations, and DVD content. Enough ink (magnetic and otherwise) has been spilled over what a great adaptation Peter Jackson and crew have created that I don't need to praise the movie any more. Jackson goes the extra mile with this DVD by providing over 30 minutes of scenes, both new ones and extensions of others that address more of the book's story and flesh out character depth. Boromir in particular is given more screentime, and his actions and motivations are both ominous and noble. The extension of the Council of Elrond and the Gifting scene also add a great deal more meaning to each scene. I don't know about you, but I would gladly watch the extended version in the theatre. Maybe they'll re-release it, that would rule. Where this DVD really shines is in the two discs full of behind-the-scenes info. In extremely thorough fashion, these discs address the books and their author, going into his motivations and influences and his personality, all of which shaped the Lord of the Rings into the story that so many people love. Next, they address the long journey of a live-action LotR movie from concept to reality, as well as the difficulty of adapting the books to film and the near-constant script updates that occurred during the filming. The most stunning aspect of the special features is the massive effort this movie required and got out of the special effects and art direction teams, from renowned Tolkien Artists John Howe and Alan Lee to the young and talented designers at Weta in New Zealand. The scope of their vision is of course reflected in the beauty of the film itself, but being able to see how it came to be and the sheer volume of work these people (many of them young kids working to make a name for themselves) undertook successfully makes one appreciate the film all that much more. The actors are all quite articulate and fun to watch as well, and many of their anecdotes are laugh-out-loud funny (such as Sean "Sam Gamgee" Astin playing Air Traffic Control on a windy NZ peak). We get to see a little bit of everything that it took to make the movies, and we get to see that the actors had as great a time doing it as we did watching it. In all, if you liked the movie, I cannot recommend this DVD version highly enough. The extra footage alone is worth the price of admission, but the special features almost feel like stealing with the amount of content they provide to you. Thanks, Peter, we're already waiting for the Two Towers DVD.
Rating:
Summary: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Review: Excellent, excellent, excellent! This is what everyone has been waiting for since the release of the animated version, which was also quite good. Elijah Wood couldn't have been replaced by another to play Frodo. One of the most astonishing films of my time and generation! Peter Jackson has done it!
Rating:
Summary: Slightly used "theartrical" version for sale
Review: On second thought, I'll keep that one for the bonus material, which is totally different from the 3 extra disks (including the Nat Geo special) in this set. About the bonus material in the extended edition: I spent an extended weekend swimming through the ocean of material, but just the other day, I was surprised to find "new" stuff that I had missed before. I'm wondering how they are going to match this effort when they release "the two towers" DVD. The extended/new scenes alone are worth getting this set, if you are a LOTR fan. They chopped a lot of important stuff to get the theatrical release under 3 hours. I have no reason to view the chopped version ever again. Alright, alright, I'll admit it. All I really wanted was the really cool book ends. They're too small and light for books (and not flat-sided, like a functional bookend) but it looks cool on my entertainment center holding this dvd set, the NatGeo special, the theatrical version, and the 3 animated LOTR/Hobbit dvds. OK, so Peter Jackson re-wrote a lot of the story to make it into a movie (what's all this Arwen business?) but I'm rating this DVD set as 5* on it's merits. I'm not rating the movie (4*)
Rating:
Summary: PLATINUM EDITION WORTH THE MONEY!
Review: Like all the rest of you, I bought this DVD when it first came out. The original release was just as the movie.
Now, Peter Jackson has released the Platinum Edition with much added footage. Especially, The Shire part of the film has much added to it; and we really get to know those characters better. I bought it even though I had the original in both wide and full screen, and am not sorry in the least. You also get 2 discs full of extras on just about everything in the film, plus a National Geographic DVD on LOTR's New Zeeland. I just have to add that you get a beautiful collectors' box; but even better, you get actual stone statue bookends of the human kings of old from the ismus the group paddled through on their quest.
You wont go wrong buying this.
Rating:
Summary: Movie Magic!
Review: I can't say enough good things about this movie. Firstly, if you are considering which version of this movie to purchase, I would recommend that you get the extended version. I know that Peter Jackson has to keep the theatrical release under 3 hours for the sake of the box office, but the additional material here is fantastic. It is seemlessly added to the film and upon watching it, you will feel like it was a more complete story than the original version.
That being said, I don't think that I've seen a more impressive use of the cinematic form in many years. This is a story that utilizes everthing that makes the movies magical. From the sheer size of the story, to the makeup, to the special effects, to the cinematography, it practically single handedly restored my faith in the ability of Hollywood to produce a quality product that is not only entertaining but visionary.
I think that it was great disservice to Peter Jackson that he was not given the best director Oscar last year. I'm sure that he will be denied that honor again this year, but I can truthfully say that I believe that his achievment with these first two movies is on par with what Coppola achieved with the first two Godfather movies. Obviously they are very different movies, but the mastery of the cinematic form is very obvious in both. The storytelling is magnificent and I am sure that when the trilogy is done, it will be remembered as one of the greatest achievements in film history.
If you have ever read the books, then you know what a thankless task this was. There seemed to be no human way to convey what was on the written page. Peter Jackson has not only given us Toklkien's vision, but has turned it into pure magic on film.
I hope that he eventually wins the Academy Award for the third film in this triology because it would be a shame for this kind of achievement to go unrewarded.
Go out and buy it. You won't be dissapointed. If you have a widescreen TV and a good surround sound system, you will be treated to one of the best presentations that you have ever seen or heard. It's a real demo disc to show off any system.
This really is as good as movie making gets.
Rating:
Summary: Lord of the Rings Collectors Edition is Excellent
Review: This is an excellent gift set for the die-hard fan of the movie trilogy's first episode, The Fellowship of the Ring (or for yourself). The set is a good deal because you get the special 4 DVD extended version, an extra National Geographic documentary on J.R.R. Tolkien, and a beautiful set of the Argonath sculpures good for book ends. The package is also beautiful. The special extended version of Fellowship of the Ring is wonderful. The extra scenes are totally finished and edited to production release quality and emersed completely with the film. You cannot tell from the images and sound that the extra scenes were not in the original theatrical release. There is an extra hour of new footage. The extra footage helps develop the story of the Fellowship and each of the characters. I highly recommend this set, even if you bought the 2DVD version first released by New Line Cinema because the special extended 4 DVD set includes all these wonderful extras.
Rating:
Summary: If you thought the movie was just good, not great
Review: If you thought the movie was good but not great (as I did) then you are in for a treat when you watch the extended version on DVD. The original movie was visually stunning but surprisingly chopped up, often shallow, and surprisingly slow at times (surprising since it was chopped down to meet studio requirements regarding length). It is quite amazing what a difference a few minutes can make. In this extended version the story flows, the pace quickens, and the characters emerge as personalities. It was a real pleasure to watch this movie again.
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