Rating: 
Summary: This movie was the bomb!
Review: I don't care what other people think, Lord of the Rings should have won best picture. Not A beautiful Mind. Beautiful what?
The Lord of the Rings was an excellent movie in all aspects.
It didn't fail in music,scenary, acting,script or plot. The movie was long and that made it better. I don't understand why directors think they can make a good action film in an hour and a half. It just won't work. I love adventure movies and movies that take place back in time. Before I saw this movie I haven't seen a really good adventure movie in a long time. So this was really enjoyable. I recommend it. It's a masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: Lord of the Films!
Review: Lord of the Rings is truely "Lord of the Films". I give it five stars, because they story behind Lord of the Rings is so meaningful. The movie is full of action and adventure. You don't just WATCH the movie happen, you FEEL like the movie is happening to YOU! The talented actors who contributed to the making of this movie were FABULOUS, no doubt about that. Peter Jackson (director of the movie) is amazing. He did such a wonderful job on this tale of Middle-Earth based on J.R.R. Tolkien's books, that I couldn't have asked for anything better. The movie is 100% true to the books. WELL WORTH YOUR TIME! YOU'LL BE WAITING FOR THE REST OF THE TRILOGY TO COME OUT IN THEATRES AS WELL!
Rating:
Summary: Wizard of Oz....Star Wars......Lord of the Rings!!!!
Review: One of the first fantasy films that changed was The Wizard of Oz. A few decades later came Star Wars. And now for the new generation it will be Lord of The Rings. There is not a dull moment in this movie. Its totally action packed. And just as in Star Wars and The Wizard of Oz, this film managed to become a huge success without using foul language! The PG rating is for some of the fighting scenes but you see more violence than that just fliping on the television. Im not one of these people who try to over analysis movies and find something wrong with them, Im just a regular guy who watches a movie to just to be entertained and relax. If you're anything like me, I give you my word, you are sure to love this movie! If your the other type person who is going to compare this film to the book and try to pick out every difference, you need to get a life!
Rating:
Summary: Star Wars was a B-Movie.
Review: Unfortunately I have not read the LOTR books. I have read the Hobbit, however, so had some vague idea about all this before the film. And then I went to see it.
Words, also unfortunately, simply fail me when it comes to describing it. The film is faultless. The cast are perfect, headed by Elijah Wood as worried Hobbit Frodo and Ian McKellen as wise wizard Gandalf. The story's praises don't need to be sung thanks to the legendary books that based it. The music is rousing and passionate. The ending is on just the right note to enfuriate you at having to leave, and ensure that you'll return for more. And even at almost three hours, I still wanted to sit and be told more.
Peter Jackson's direction is enchanting, in one of the most picturesque epics of all time. And it is an epic - the finished trilogy will make the badly cast Star Wars prequels look like B-Movies. Yet it has so much more than visuals to offer. Everything comes together. It pulses with atmosphere, particular in the tunnel scenes when the Orcs attack... it's nail biting stuff. There isn't a moment of the movie that seems wasted.
It feels like so much more than a simple movie, so much so that you simply don't want to stop watching when it's over. No doubt Two Towers will have just as well timed an ending. The question remains, will this dauntingly perfect masterpiece topple the matrix? I'm not doubting it. Because although that's brilliant, it's basing most on looks... and LOTR could survive on cast and script alone.
It's pointless even trying to descibe the film. Just please, watch it. It is the finest movie I've ever seen. It is beyond perfect. It is beyond critisism. See it and be astounded.
Rating:
Summary: Great transfer on to DVD
Review: I have just recieved my DVD from amazon and I have to say that the transfer on to DVD is great. Everything about the DVD is great, I cannot think of a single fault.I'm looking forward to the extended edition out this November.
Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking Depiction plus all of the goodies!
Review: From the begining, I was already excited to get this DVD, not to mention that a Special Extended Edition would still be released this November 12. This DVD is a far cry from the nonetheless disappointing Sorcerer's Stone DVD Release. Don't get me wrong, I'm a Harry Potter fan. I love the movie but the special features didn't do it for me. As for the Fellowship of the Rings Special Features, I was expecting a lot and my oh my, I got much more than what I expected. The various features on LOTR including the one produced by Houghton Mifflin, were a delight to watch. Immediately when I got my copy, I popped in the second disc in my player. There was more to that, the Featurettes were just entertaining. Lastly, the preview to The Two Towers was enough to make anyone crave for the upcoming installment this December in your local theater. I've read the books! I loved the books! I'm not saying that the book or the movie is better than the other! I'm just saying that, being both a fan of Tolkien and being a collector of DVDs, you can never go wrong with this purchase!
Rating:
Summary: Buy BOTH editions!!!
Review: For people losing sleep over which version of "The Fellowship of the Rings" they should buy on DVD, (The regular 2-disc set or the Platinum Series 4-disc set) my answer is to get BOTH for these reasons: 1) Each version has different special feaures. The special features of the Platinum Series 4-disc edition DO NOT indlude those on the regular 2-disc edition. So if you buy both editions, you will have 3 DISCS of special features. (There will also be 2 discs worth of commentaries.) 2) If you bought both versions, you would also have 2 different versions of the film. If you wanted to watch the 183 minute theatrical PG-13 rated version, you can put in the discs from the regular set and enjoy. But if you wanted to watch the 208 minute R-rated version with over 30 minutes of additional footage, you could do that as well. This way, you can own both versions of the film. 3) It would add up to a pretty low price... Think about it. [A low price] for a 6 DISCS WORTH OF MATERIAL!!! I have seen other 6 disc sets for over 100 dollars! This is a great bargain. Of course, if you're not nuts about the film, (like I am) buy one of them instead of both. But for Lord of the Rings fans it would be a great collection. Now we just have to wait for "The Two Towers," which hits theatres December 18th, 2002.
Rating: 
Summary: "They have a cave troll..."
Review: It's about time a film like this be made. The book is the greatest piece of fantasy ever written. It has influenced every modern work of the genre to come after it. It deserves to be made into a film. But besides that, I don't think people realize how much we sorely need a truly good, original fantasy film these days. There have been so many attempts at it, and all have failed. Ron Howard failed with Willow. Rob Reiner failed with The Princess Bride. Steven Spielberg failed with Hook. Ridley Scott failed with Legend. Chris Colombus failed with Harry Potter. Now, finally, where all these filmmakers have failed, director Peter Jackson has succeeded. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is about a group of men, dwarves, elves, and hobbits who try to destroy the One Ring, a magical artifact forged by the dark lord Sauron as a way to channel his power and control Middle-Earth. It is from this simple premise that the film takes off, and what ensues is a very enjoyable, very epic tale. There is something to be said for "using your imagination" to conjure up images while reading a book, but nothing compares to the grand, unbelievably striking images and visuals that fill this adaptation. The direction is nothing short of amazing: the art direction and visual aspect of the film is some of the best I've ever seen. The settings and scenery are vast and you never see the same type of land twice. Valleys, mountains, snowy peaks, caves, forests, riverbeds, it's almost too much to keep track of. The sets are huge and varied, and the massive amount of detail in them reminds me of films like Gladiator. They have a great quality of consistency, as well: the architecture and style of buildings changes as you travel throughout Middle-Earth and enter places inhabited by different cultures. Seeing how each culture has its own style in everything from architecture to weaponry is a sight to behold; it makes this fantasy world real. The story has a soul, and what a soul it is, full of character development and themes of friendship, courage, sacrifice, and unlikely heroes. At its core, it is a study on one thing: power, as represented by the One Ring. Through all the characters and situations we encounter, a new facet of the responsibility of power is shown. Virtually every character in the story has to, at one point, make a decision regarding what they would do with the ring - no one is left unscathed, so to speak. It creates a blanketing, all-encompassing theme, one that isn't merely discussed here and there, but is rather brought up all the time as the story unfolds. The excitement is in watching each character's reaction to the notion of power in the form of that tiny little ring. Elijah Wood stands out as Frodo; his unnaturally large eyes project the innocence of Frodo's character. But the most impressive actors are Ian McKellan and Sean Bean, because of the different dimensions they bring to their roles. McKellan inhabits his role as Gandalf, and it's a wonder that, at one point, Sean Connery was once considered for this part. McKellan is a great actor, and here he not only projects majesty but also makes Gandalf a very human character at the same time, capable of great compassion and temptation as well. Sean Bean rivals this with his portrayal of Boromir, and it is such a crucial role too; he convinces the audience he is a good man, just one with a tragic flaw. It's probably the best performance of the film, and one of the best of the year. Action-wise, the first part of the film is made up of the Black Riders looking for the ring and chasing the hobbits, and it simply does not work. The Riders always, always appear where the hobbits are going. They're an omnipresence, and it ruins any suspense we may feel because we realize there's no point to the film having the hobbits try to hide from them -- they'll pop up anyway. There are also examples of very poor choices made during some of the chases, such as using extensive slow motion during a supposed fast-paced pursuit scene. Why the filmmakers decided on this, I don't know. However, the rest of the film contains much more entertaining and ambitious kinds of action. The prologue contains glimpses of the kind of colossal-scale battles we'll be treated to in the sequels, camera flying over the vast armies to give us a full sense of scale. The other major action sequences are much smaller-scale versions of this, but they work very effectively. The Mines of Moria action sequence is intense and claustrophobic and is the first time we get to see the members of the fellowship fight in battle. The finale is an extended sequence that contains violent, intense action (this is one of the most graphic PG-13 films I've ever seen) and very satisfying emotional thrills, as well, as certain characters reach the heights of their development. Despite some weak action as well as rushed editing and pacing problems in the first half, this is a great movie, a three hour long movie that I honestly felt was two hours long. It is, without a doubt, one of the most gorgeous films ever made. They have created Middle-Earth. Each frame of the movie is like a painting in itself, everything is set up so perfectly yet so naturally in the environments. Even the most mundane shots of a forest or a glade seem so perfect. FOTR is probably the best straight-out fantasy film I've ever had the privilege to see. Like Star Wars, it takes you away to a different world. To see FOTR is to see the heights to which cinematic visual artistry can reach. To see it is to become a living part of Middle-Earth. And we still have two more to go.
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Epic Film of all Time?
Review: Answer to the question? Probably not. But one of the greatest and certainly one of the most entertaining? Definitely. This film and its upcoming sequels knock the faltering "Star Wars" from its twenty-five year old perch as greatest good-old adventure films. Filmed as J.R.R. Tolkien's books were written - in one continuous experience, "The Lord Of The Rings" sets the standard for how modern filmmakers should treat their audiences, and how to make a throroughly satisfying and mentally engrossing modern epic. "Phantom Menace" take note. The story is long and twisted, but at its core is a ring - a ring of power, forged by the evil lord Sauron in an attempt to subjucate Middle-Earth, the mysterious land in which the film is set. The ring was cut from his finger in a tremendous battle, but rather than being destroyed as it should have been, it was taken by Isildur, the proud human king of the great land of Gondor at the time. He, however, was killed and the ring was lost for centuries until found by an evil creature called Gollum, who lost it in turn to a short furry-footed hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, who passed it to his adopted son Frodo. The ring corrupts all who possess it to do evil, while seeming to be a ring of invisiblity. And when a group of mysterious riders begin searching Frodo's peaceful village of The Shire for it, Frodo must flee with his frend Sam Gamgee, searching for his friend and mentor Gandalf the Grey, a wizard, who has mysteriously not arrived as promised to help them... The film remains surprisingly constant to Tolkien's books, keeping an epic and sweeping style in the same manner as the books and the epic poems and old Anglo-Nordic legends they were based on. The acting is almost consistantly top-notch. Elijiah Wood as Frodo does a great job with a difficult character, although I expect to see more hardship in the next movies and less shots of wide-eyed fear. The real standout of the movie is the phenominal Sir Ian McKellen, who brilliantly plays the wise wizard and mentor Gandalf as if he were himself an inhabitant of Middle-Earth. The supporting cast that make up the 'Fellowship' that is sent to destroy the Dark Lord's evil Ring of Power does a wonderful job as well - notable is Viggo Mortensten as the exiled young king of Gondor, Aragorn; Orlando Bloom as the determined and refined Legolas; and Sean Bean as the prideful but honorable Boromir. The only member of the cast who seems to do poorly is Cate Blanchett as Galadriel, the elf-queen whom the Fellowship meets late in the film, though the script at this point certainly does her no favors, Peter Jackson confesses to having difficulty with it. Christopher Lee is majestically imposing as the traitor wizard Saruman, who seeks to hinder the Fellowship and claim the ring himself, though the film does not make this quite as clear as it was in the books. The dialogue follows Tolkien for the most part, names of chapters are slipped into conversations as a treat for the faithful, and the locations are exactly as they were in the books and Tolkien's sketches. The scenes where Tolkien's dialogue flows through and time seems to stop are the most eloquent and riveting - Gandalf and Frodo talking in the Mines of Moria - and the heartbreaking climax of the Moria sequence, which brought me to tears even though I knew full well what was coming. Some complain of the film ending suddenly, which is exactly how the book ended (actually even more abruptly than the film) - the film ends this way because it is not really a seperate film with a set beginning and end, it is one film divided into three parts, as the book was one epic released in three sections. The other major complaint most have is with the expanded role of Arwen (Liv Tyler), Aragorn's elven lover. Nothing new is added to her part - she merely absorbs the actions of character of her brother, and it detracts nothing from the overall film. In conclusion, this was one of the best movies of 2001, and one of the greatest adventures of all time. And while George Lucas may have one more Star Wars to go, he will be hard-pressed to recall the glorious fun and excitement of "The Empire Strkes Back" or "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" as this movie does. The only recommendation I have - read the damn books first! Don't complain or say anything about that kid named Harry if you haven't read them - they're astounding, the cornerstone of all fantasy. Then see this, an instant classic of a film, with the promise of more to come.
Rating:
Summary: Finally...!!!!!
Review: Here it is, "The Fellowship of the Ring" that has been anticipated by millions around the world! The First reason one should notice when considering buy this DVD is that . . . Its A DVD!! Those of you with the excellent surround sound systems at home will literally been blown into your chairs once you pop this into your DVD player. Now an even bigger reason. . . . Unlike many of the movies based on the actual thing/book, this one is extremely accurate with the novel with two main differences. 1) Remember Tom Bombadil in the forest just outside the Shire? Unfortunately, he makes no appearance. 2) Perhaps my memory of the book has faded somewhat, but I don't ever recall there being a love story between Aragorn/Strider and the girl who (in the movie) saves the band at the river leading to Rivendale. But the presence of this love story is no surprise and really takes nothing away from the story. Those of you who haven't read the books, take a look at this one anyway. Aside from the dazzling scenes of Tolkien's Middle-earth, there are plenty of amazing fighting scenes that have literally set a new standard for future movies movies. Those of you who have read will not be disappointed by what you will see. Watching this, you'll simply love going through the scenes as you point out all the familiar settings and characters that you loved in the books. Characters, by the way, are another element of this movie that have sent it straight to the top. At first, I myself was skeptical of actors such as Elijah Wood taking on the role of Frodo. But just within a few moments, it was clear that he was perfect for the role, as well as were the other actors who played Sam, Pippin, Gandalf, etc. . . . Those of you who like the villains will be even more amazed by how well the movie portrays Tolkien's vision. Gullum, the orcs, the Wraiths, Barlog and even the Dark Lord, Sauron, himself are revealed and will sends chills down your spine. There really are too many reasons why you should not linger and just go ahead and get this. The story's practically 100% solid. The characters are extremely well portrayed, the action's incredible, the music fits in perfectly with whatever mood is being emphasized and the overall feeling is intense, jovial, sad, exciting, serene and simply absorbing. You won't regret purchasing this, especially with the many features that come along with it. Like the next two that will follow, this will be one for the all time favorites. Veteran readers and beginning viewers alike will NOT be disappointed.
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