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The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (Widescreen Edition)

The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (Widescreen Edition)

List Price: $29.95
Your Price: $22.46
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Why has society been brainwashed??
Review: Why in the world this film is SOOOOO revered is well beyond my capacity. Too Long. Too much bad CG. Too much running from annoying non-plot driving "threats". Villians that ain't scary and a slow motion death scene the like of which havent been seen since B rated schlock. You people can have have your sad devotion to a trilogy of films that have more flaws than 10 Star Wars prequels. It is a sad day for cinema...I am only staying anonymous to avoid a hundred thousand virgins emailing hate towards me.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best Trilogy and now Elijah Wood will be Saint Gabriel.
Review: After this LOTR Trilogy, by corridor voices in the USA and italian cinematographic and ecclesiastical "palaces", it seems that the famous actor Elijah Wood ( Frodo, in the Kiwi Peter Jackson "Lord of the Rings" Trilogy) could be favourable to make the roll of Saint Gabriel "dell'Addolorata" (so this great young Saint has known in whole world), in a new great USA-Italy movie production for the big screen. By Zeffirelli, Scorzese or Mel Gibson direction? It's a secret now.
Saint Gabriel was the young Passionist monk (never done priest because he died, on alone 24 years old in holiness smell, in the Convent of Passionist Fathers at Isola del Gran Sasso, in province of Teramo, Abruzzo Region, Italy, on XIX Century, on 27 february 1862), which true saint life (not agiographic but real, based on a great "red book" of a italian historial of Montorio Al Vomano, a village in the Abruzzo Region, province of Teramo) is whole unknown, by faithmen and not, in the world today.
Young Italian passionist monk life, infact, was much braided to risorgimental stories of our italian national history of Indipendence in XIX Century. By the reasons about Elijah Wood has decide to enter in this new special international production (in the cast maybe with "his" beauty Liv Tyler/Arwen?), many critics suppose the LOTR world social impact in Roman Church too.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Part One of the Best Trilogy Ever!
Review: When I went to see this movie with my son I thought I was in for a long snooze. How wrong I was. This movie grabbed me from the start. With amazing cinematography, special effects, acting, and a storyline that is compelling beyond imagining! All this and a group of characters who are kind of like The Justice League of the comics. Don't let the three hours daunt you as it is the easiest three hours you will ever spend!

The hardest thing about seeing this movie was that I had to wait almost a year for part 2. Viewers that are seeing this for the first time are lucky because part 2 is already out on DVD. More good news is that all three films were shot together so the actors don't age between films keeping the continuity.

That said let's talk about the story. Balbo Baggins, a Hobbitt has a ring that tries to draw in men to the dark force (kind of like the dark force in Star Wars). Balbo, nearing the end of his life passes the ring to Frodo. Frodo now the keeper of the ring, has to battle the urge to put the ring on. He wears it around his neck. He is visited by a wizard who tells him that the only way to defeat the dark forces is to travel with the ring to their land, Mordor, and cast the ring into the fiery depths inside Mordor.

Frodo sets off from the shire with the wizard and three of his Hobbitt companions. Along the way their band is joined by some of the most memorable characters in film history that includes a Troll, an Elf Archer, and a man. The band battles zombie like demons, dragons, and magic on the way. All the while the dark forces continue to tempt Frodo and anyone who comes near the ring, to put the ring on. At one point, and I am not sure if it is in this film or in the second film, the wizard says that if Frodo were to put the ring on, mankind would be lost.

As good as this film is the second film is even better!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: :-|
Review: Ok so how do I rate a product 5 stars but not like it? Tell you how...

If you are new to Middle Earth lore and Tolkien, then the extended edition is for you!

If you are a serious movie collector especially of Tolkienian lore and must have all the details on laser copy... then the extended edition is for you!

If you know all about Middle Earth, were a dice shooting pencil wielding junkie on a 24 hour role-playing jag, felt the joy of slaying a ring wraith, and felt really clever when Frodo hid under his cloak thinking "KEWL... thats an elfin cloak!" and dont want lore secrets spoon fed to you... Then the extended edition is NOT for you!

At the risk of sounding arrogant, thats me. Had Lembas, been there done that. And funny... I must give Kudo's to the Editor for the theatrical edition, as the editing was supurb. The additional fleshing out of the sub plots was nice but additional explaination footage is not nescessary if you just like to figure things out and leave the spoon for the kids. The only realy negative thing I have to say is that the ceremonials left me feeling alienated ala DUNE (80s version), hozanahs to the editor again. The grand entries and presentations just did not make me feel closer to the characters, the dramatic scene of our hero's cresting the hill after leaving Rivendale was quite enough... rather replace that with the exit ceremony from Rivendale as Frodo gets a line in that makes him... um... more hobbit.

One other thing... After having heard the fell thunder of Saurans dark spirit uttering vile things, I would have been utterly terrified to even discuss using that ring... So editing out that part made Boromir seem a lot smarter and sympathetic character.

So if you're a collector or new to Tolkien, go ahead spend the money and enjoy! If you know all about middle earth then depending on your viewing tastes you may want to consider if the extra footage is worth the extra cash.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Classic in Every Sense...
Review: I too agree that it is completely unrealistic to expect the movies to "mirror" the books. The simple fact is, any and every classic work of literature that is made into a movie, will surpass the movie in various respects. No one's version on screen will ever match your own imagination, so stop expecting it to do so.

As for the parts left out, lest Peter Jackson make cinema versions (not extended DVDs) that last FIVE HOURS or more, there is no way Tom B (or some of the "full dialogs" and activities) could have possibly made it into the film. As a Director and Producer, Mr. Jackson had to make some content-related sacrifices in order to keep the movies short enough (in the theatre) to keep everyone's interest. Remember: here in the US, the average attention span is not well-adapted to taking in even 3 hour movies.

All that aside, I think the movie is absolutley captivating. And the box office and DVD sales of the SECOND movie are evidence enough of that to be sure. I think Mr. Jackson could have added a bit more detail in certain scenes, for instance the events that happened just prior to arrival in Bree (and the day of departure). How Sam came to care for Bill the Pony for example...

But all in all I feel the Extended Edition is still an improvement on an already great film. There is much added context and some nice scenes that weren't in the movie as well. If you like fantasy films / stories of knights and the like, I cannot recommend it enough.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Why LOTR is dull, dull, dull
Review: LOTR is undeniably a spectacle; it's beautifully shot by an accomplished director, and it's clear that no expense was spared, and everyone involved cared deeply about the project.

So why was this film so dull? And why did it seem endless from the get go?

Because there's nothing, and I do mean NOTHING, going on beneath the surface. LOTR is an idealess wasteland, and the high language and creative geography don't hide the depthlessness of the story for very long. Leaving The Shire for Mordor isn't any more gripping than driving from Cleveland to Cincy unless those locales or the journey are charged with some meaning. Nothing's at stake in LOTR, and as a result, it's a breathtakingly tedious parade of costumes and landscapes.

Sure, movies can be escapist fare, and that goes double for any form of fantasy fiction. On that level, LOTR might qualify as mindless weekend fun, except this movie (and its fans) insists that it's filled with deeper meaning.

Sorry, but it isn't. For that to be true, LOTR would need stuff like, oh, maybe subtexts, symbols, and metaphors buttressing its story lines. And a point of view wouldn't hurt--LOTR can't jump beyond nerdfest status without saying something about the REAL world, even if speaks though fantasy figures in imaginary settings.

But there's none of that in this flick--it's just good guys versus bad guys in the end, ones that aren't particularly interesting in their virtues or vices. I wanted to like this film, and looked for more; my date was smarter, and fell asleep.

For an ironic comparison film, look at Peter Jackson's own Heavenly Creatures. It's a terrifically creepy flick, based on a true story about two girls who committed a grisly murder in the 1950's. It's a fantasy film, filled with spectacular costumes and imaginary characters. But it's also about sexuality, sublimation and psychological disorders. And it's got interesting things to say about the use and abuse of fantasy, and about the blissful/terrifying links between infatuation and detachment from reality.

LOTR, on the other hand, is all flash and no substance, which is why the most impassioned reviews listed here are about differences in details between the book and the movie, rather than the IDEAS behind Peter Jackson's version versus Tolkien's.

So if you like debates about the battle readiness of elves versus hobbits, get the DVD. If you like stories that hit you on multiple levels, skip it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: FINALLY, a good Lord of the Rings movie!
Review: Personally, I didnt like it regular, it was omnly good exteneted. Personally, I don't even think J.R.R Tolkein is a good writer. I know many people would disagree with me, and I might be the only 1. But I actually like this movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Look no further...
Review: Whether you've seen the theatrical version of FOTR or not, the extended version is a MUST. Not only the additional scenes, but the extended scenes make this version much richer than the already incredible theatrical release. A few days after watching the extended edition I caught the end of the movie on TV, as it was playing Boromir's death scene. Just as he dies, Aragorn stands, tears running down his face. As I waited to hear "They will look for his coming at the white tower, but he will not return..." it cut to the next scene. It was almost painful to watch. I know that in the book the line isn't spoken for another chapter or two, but it made the scene far more powerful and emotional. What is too bad is that New Line didn't feel that LOTR fans would tolerate another 20 or 30 minutes in the theatre. I would love to see all three movies in their extended versions on the big screen.

Regardless, buy this movie and The Two Towers in the extended versions. And let's hope it's not too long before we see Return of the King in the same format.

By the way, be sure to watch as many of the special features as possible. Especially the cast commentary. It's a riot!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best movies ever made
Review: The extended cut of The Fellowship validates the DVD format. You can't put together this kind of package on VHS (especially when you consider all the special audio tracks). The filmmakers have made the most of the digital format, using just about every option on a standard DVD player.

The film itself is fantastic. The extended version is superior to the theatrical release. And the documentaries are overwhelming --- in a good way. If you want to know how to make a blockbuster movie, watch closely. There's so much to watch and learn, it takes days to absorb it all. Special effects that appear on screen for 10 seconds are given 10 minutes of explanation (like the big rigs). They even spend half an hour on just the *sound* of the movie.

It's worthwhile to remember how risky the Lord of the Rings project was. After filming all three movies at once (more or less), the first film had to be a blockbuster or the whole project would've been turned into a salvage operation. The DVDs would have been quick-and-dirty attempts to recoup lost millions. But thanks to the success of the first film, the filmmakers could justify this lavish 4-disc set.

My favorite moments: The extended Council of Elrond, the early design drawings, the canoe stories, the construction of the Shire, and the biographical documentary about JRR Tolkien. The only things I didn't like: The color grading is over-done in Lothlorien (why is the forest so blue?), when the elves and the Fellowship stand on a ridge looking at Lothlorien in the distance they are looking at a painting, and I never understood the difference between orcs and uruk-hai. (Do they ever fight orcs, or are they always fighting uruks?)

But these minor problems don't hold the DVD back from a five-star rating. If this extended cut of The Fellowship of the Ring doesn't rate five stars, nothing does. Buy it and see for yourself.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best of the Trilogy
Review: First of all great movie I mean it had the best actors in the buisness, is based on the best book ever written, and has the best special effects I have seen since Clash of the Titans. The story is that Frodo leaves with his friend Samwise and is on a quest to Rivendell to give the ring of power to the elves when they get to Rivendell they have been joined by a man named Aragorn and two hobbits named Pippin and Merry who are also from the Shire. While at the meeting nine of the beings there decide to go on a quest to Mordor where they can destroy the ring of power but can they get to Mordor without the ring corupting them like it has so many others before themselves. I would recommend this film to the young and old the short and tall everyone should see this movie it is perfect in every single way. However it is also three hours long so people with short attention spans may not understand this movie as much as others. I hope that this review has helped you in making a decision about the movie Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.


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