Rating: Summary: All I can say is WOW, that was really boring. Review: After seeing Harry Potter, I thought that Lord Of The Rings would rivel it in all of the aspects. But alas, it (...). First of all, it was so boring. All they seemed to do was walk around and fight things the whole movie. Gandolf, that atheletic wizard that seems to give Carl Lewis a run for his money even though he is like 80, is way too intense. Frodo, that funny little midget, is also very intense. Plus, alot of odd characters just popped up. The hot elf Arwen came and went in about 5 minutes. A brute of a hero Strider somehow had the words Frodo and Ring in every sentence that he said. That other hot elf seemed to have an intutition of somebody who has read the script. Plus, I could not distinguish the names of all those magical people. But one good thing came out of that. The midgets running. I just got a crack up out of that. I thought that they should have stood on their hands and juggled with their feet. What are with those feet anyway? Why didn't they just wear shoes in the first place? So, if you are into character development, a comprible plot, and good acting, DO NOT SEE THIS MOVIE!!! If you are a mindless drone of the Hobbit series, by all means, waste ($$$).
Rating: Summary: Prophet JRR Tolkien would be pleased, and so will you Review: After seeing the film today I will share this with you all, from the view point of someone personally involved: While a few special emotional moments were missed in favor of pacing, (especially a scene between Sam and Frodo when Frodo finds out Sam has told Merry and Pippin about Frodo's quest, and Aragorn's sword not being broken) over all this was a delightful experience and I totally enjoyed how much of the original story did survive. True, if Universal or MGM had had the vision to make the movie, there are undoubtably little "movie things" that would have been better, (ie: Disney's Pearl Harbor was made by guys would never heard a gun really fired)but they did not, and all of us who love these stories must take our hats off to Mr. Jackson & Company, (Thorin & Company, if you will) and in my case, that's quite a hat. I would gladly recommend this film to anyone.....and I expect to buy all the DVD's, if the good Lord allows me to live that long.
Rating: Summary: Flawed but still excellent Review: After seeing this film in the theatre, I was ambivilent. I liked the set design and cinematography, but I thought there were a few too many walking from here-to-there scenes and it needed a few less battles and more character interaction. I thought Jackson's direction was uneven and the battle scenes were muddled and confusing. After watching it for the second time (this time on DVD), I still feel some of those criticisms are valid, but somehow I enjoyed it much more this time. In the theatre I found it too long, but now I think it's not too long at all (and I can't wait to see the deleted scenes in the extended version). The detailed imagery, sets, and costumes in every scene are beautiful and epic. I believe in my heart that this cave troll would kick the arse of the one in Harry Potter too. The acting is very good all-around, but I thought Sean Bean was a standout as Boromir, and Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Sam, and Bilbo were very convincing. A lot of people were upset about the expanded role of Arwen (and about Liv Tyler playing her), but I think it was a great choice. She looks and sounds appropriately beautiful and elven, and I thought having a little romance didn't hurt the story at all (it's a 3-hour movie and she's only in it for 10 minutes). Cate Blanchett as Gladriel actually bothered me more. I like her as an actress, and she looks the part, but I thought her tone was off. She just didn't seem true to what was in the book. The over-the-top "dark queen", Exorcist-demon-voice hallucination really took me out of the story. I blame Jackson for this, though, as I think she could have played it right, but he allowed and/or encouraged her to do it this way and he okayed the unnecessary special effects used for the scene. Technically, this is a very good DVD overall, but it's not great. The transfer is excellent -- saturated, contrasty, and sharp. The audio is ok, but for some reason the dialogue seems to go weak in some scenes when listened to on a two-speaker system (this is the case with both the 5.1 and Dolby Stereo tracks). Listen to the scene with Elrond and Bilbo and you'll see what I mean. The extras are not bad, though a lot of the material is overlapping, and a full-length director and actor commentary is sadly missing. Personally, I'm waiting for the extended version to purchase, and I recommend you do too if you are a fan. Just rent this one for now. Maybe this is one of those movies that gets better with repeated viewings. It seems so to me. I've read the books mnay times, and after letting this movie sink in a while, I'm not only not disappointed, but very happy with the outcome. It's not perfect, but it's an excellent start and I can't wait now to see what's in store for us in the next two films. It was no small task to pull this off, with all the expectations and previous failed attempts. I thank Mr. Jackson and the studio for first even attempting it, and second, producing a result that for the first time is worthy of its literary heritage.
Rating: Summary: Too Much To Say Review: After seeing this movie for the first time on opening day, (i've seen it 5 times and couting..) i was breathless. This movie was absolutly amazing. Before it came out, i was scared that it was going to be horrible, but it was completely the opposite. Just the way they made Middle Earth, it was pretty much perfect, at rivendell and lothlorien, i wanted to be there. The acting was also superb, especially Ian McKellen's performance of Gandalf, he WAS Gandalf. And while they did cut out and change a few things (like Tom Bombadil) this movie was still amazing, i think it's one of the best ever made. I'm really excited for the next installments, i see it that i likde the second book better then the first, so i'm hoping the second movie is amazing also, but for right now, just take in the awe that is Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. *By the way, invest in the soundtrack, it is astounding!!
Rating: Summary: Should be the ONLY version Review: After seeing this version of the movie I cannot believe the scenes that where added where cut from the theatre release! If you liked the movie, this is the DVD to buy! It contains extra scenes added INTO the movie. These where simply cut for the theatre and Jackson added them back. They do not appear at the end or on another DVD like most other movies' extra scenes. The extra scenes actaully INCREASE people's understanding of the movie. For example, the scene after the tale of the Rings intro is called "Concerning Hobbits" and goes into detail about Hobbits and the shire with Bilbo narrating. If you loved the theatre realease and plan to buy the movie, get this one. You will not be disappointed.
Rating: Summary: The Lord Of The Rings Review: After seing the movie I can tell that the book is better and the movie has changed alot of things which are in the book. It is one of the best movies I saw all my life you can see that by the graphic effects and the good actors in the movie. I recommand this movie but more the book.
Rating: Summary: SURELEY THE ULTIMATE FANTASY EPIC? Review: After the misfortune of missing this at the flicks I was eager to rent the dvd when it was released.I was not dissappointed at all.the stunning New zealand landscapes mingle with the amazing but not completeley over the top CGI effects (Attack of the clones take note) to create a very real fantasy world of middle earth.The attention to detail,and faithfulness to books as far as I can remember as well is outstanding.The characters allthough I admit did we really need that many? all play the parts well,not to over top or hamming it up at all,even old hands christopher lee and sir Ian Mckellen manage to play it fairly straight.The excellent score rounds off the stunning adventure,niceley prsented in crsystal clear anamorphic widescreen.the only reason not to enter the world of orcs,goblins,hobbits,beautiful elves(especially liv tyler and cate blanchett!)and many other creatures is if you cannot stand fantasy adventures at all.The only problem is the extra features are a bit sparse compared to the special edition coming out in November,allthough the glimpses of the next movie are certainley worth a look.I'T s that old (poor) trick to make you buy it twice,but the choice is yours,wait or buy this is a warm up for more to come.
Rating: Summary: One Movie To Rule Them All Review: After the Phantom Menace fiasco, I attempted to keep my excitement to a minimum. This movie, however, did not dissapoint. The Fellowship of the Ring succeeds on every level and I refuse to attempt to find fault in this movie. I recently read the book, and do not hold the view that the movie should have included every line, word for word. The only question I found asking myself was pertaining to the gifts that all the hobbits were to receive. I actually welcomed the faster pacing and elimination of the songs. If anything was to be eliminated for time constraints, the easy choice was Tom Bambadil. If your a purist, the book is always there. This is definately one of the greatest movies ever made, if not the greatest. Due to the fact that all three movies were filmed at the same time, I feel that fans can expect the same, outstanding quality in all three. This is unlike most trilogies where there is a drop off in quality after the first. And, there is less than a year wait until the next movie. My thanks to Peter Jackson for giving me the fantasy movie I have always wanted to see.
Rating: 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: Summary: Original theatrical DVD edition proves disappointing Review: After viewing the extended version of the Fellowship of the Ring, I'm convinced this orginal version must now take a fall from its pedestal. My initial minor frustrations at the omissions of key scenes such as the gift-giving have now been magnified many times over by the fact that these key omissions are brilliantly included in the extended version. One can only ask: if these omissions were due to 'time constraints' and 'pacing issues' then why were the scenes that DID make the cut included? How can the gift-giving scene and the reconciliation of Galadriel's character (through Gimli) have been LESS important than the inclusion of cute little kids in Hobbiton? Or surely Jackson could have managed a five minute prologue(instead of 7 1/2) in order to allow for the scene? Was showing the lengthy cave troll fight more important than showing the true character of Galadriel? Obviously my opinion is NO. Don't get me wrong, I loved the cave troll scene and the cute kids. It's just that if Jackson was THAT tight on time and space, I think an iconic scene such as the gift-giving in Lothlorien deserved to be left in. Of course, many other cut scenes are vital as well - Aragorn's background and the bolstering of his relationship with Arwen is but one example. Yes, I understand that this version could not be 3 1/2 hours... but when you take the approach that Jackson says he took (pace considerations, importance to the story, etc.) for cutting material it's baffling why many of the extended scenes were cut and why some of the ones actually in the movie were not cut! This is still an entertaining movie. But it has many story gaps and character misrepresentations that, as is now so painfully obvious, make this version less than stellar.
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