Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: This really isn't the best National Geographic feature out there. The special is basically just an hour of Tolkiens Inspirations for writing the books, there really wasn't any real focus on the movie.
The problem with this dvd is that it really has no substance. By that I mean that the feature really doesn't have much to go on. For example, Tolkiens inspiration for the Elvish language in the film comes from a dying language from a foriegn 3rd world country (i forget the name), but the feature spends about a good 15 minutes on a segment about this one really old man who lives alone in the middle of nowhere and sings songs in this language. I was like "who cares, what does this realy have to do with the movie?" I would understand them mentioning it for a few minutes, but to dwell 20-25 on just the language (which is about the only thing NG did it's homework on) is a clear sign they were trying to kill time.
The segment on WW1 and tolkiens inspirations for the book was intresting at first but didn't go beyond mindless babble spending a significant amount of time saying the same thing. They really didn't dig up any good stuff on Tolkien for this thing.
The dvd then just goes on showing short clips of the movie and talking pretty much about locations and such, but nothingn that we haven't heard before or even really care about. Even the "special features" section was just more segment on tolkiens inspriations, that were decent,and that should have been put in the regular feature in place of most of the useless stuff.
It's obvious that National Geographic really wanted to put out some kind of LOTR feature but really didn't dig up enough useful information for it, so they hacked some hour long segment together real quick just to make a few bucks. The $21.50 price is a tad cheaper then most dvds but that is way too high a price to charge for such a mediocre feature. I gave this 2 stars instead of 1 just because it starts pretty well, but drops after the first 15 minutes. Also, a couple of the special feature segments were a bit interesting. Save your money unless you're some die-hard LOTR fan, but even then I'm sure you'll be dissappointed by its lack of effort for such an amazing film as LOTR.
Rating: 
Summary: DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY
Review: I can't believe I spent $$$ some bucks on this ... . They talk about Tolkien as if he's some anti-industrial, radical environmentalist. And on top of that, they inject political correctness into the system by leaving out any references to his deep Catholic-Christian beliefs and his references to LOTR as being a fundamentally religious work. This DVD is an insult to Tolkien and everything he believed in. Although there are some interesting things in it about the Kalevala and Anglo-Saxon stuff, this DVD as a whole, lacks any kind of focus or single subject and has numerous blatent inaccuracies about Tolkien. Supposedly, this is about the Lord of the Rings movie, but they barely talk to the cast/crew of the movie at all. And as just about every reviewer has said, what in the sam hill does some guy hiking across Africa have ANYTHING to do with LOTR or Tolkien?! This DVD doesn't even deserve one star. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY.
Rating:
Summary: How could they completely miss the point?
Review: As many other commentors have mentioned, this DVD is very biased. It importantly ignores how deeply religious the trilogy is. What makes it even worse, though, is how NG tries to tie ideals to Tolkien that he never espoused. For example, NG argues he was anti-industrialist. While he certainly appreciated nature, in LOTR (from what I understand) he was trying to get across the idea that evil projects itself upon the landscape, not some eco-friendly ideal. Nor was Tolkien against war. The most egregious error, however, is that NG completely ignores the THESIS of the trilogy, which is that the desire for power and control, especially if it is well-intentioned, is destructive. This would include NG's political aims to supposedly "help the environment" through over-bearing governments. (PS: Tolkien roughly considered himself an anarchist or minarchist.)
Rating: 
Summary: Certainly flawed, but interesting nonetheless
Review: Yes, this special does advance National Geographic's own agenda, in such a way that it doesn't feel like a DEFINITIVE Tolkien and LOTR documentary, despite some interesting details.
But I think this is an opportunity to point out how some of the more harsh critiques here reflect more on the writers themselves than the subject of their criticism. For instance, some of the previous reviewers have justifiably pointed out that the special gives short shrift to Tolkien's Catholicism, and how his faith influenced the thematic elements of the epic. But then they go on to absolutely dismiss Tolkien's very real concern for the destruction of nature, despite the fact that this theme is clearly manifested in portions of LOTR. So what we have is some individuals expressing a hostile, condescending and arrogant contempt for environmental concerns, displaying just as much of a
bias as they claim this documentary reflects. Such an extreme
mindset is not conducive to valid, thoughtful criticism, although it is fascinating to witness at such times as it rises to the surface.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, if flawed...
Review: Yes, this special does advance National Geographic's own agenda, in such a way that it doesn't feel like a DEFINITIVE Tolkien and LOTR documentary, despite some interesting details.
But I think this is an opportunity to point out how some of the more harsh critiques here reflect more on the writers themselves than the subject of their criticism. For instance, some of the previous reviewers have justifiably pointed out that the special gives short shrift to Tolkien's Catholicism, and how his faith influenced the thematic elements of the epic. But then they go on to absolutely dismiss Tolkien's very real concern for the destruction of nature, despite the fact that this theme is clearly manifested in portions of LOTR. So what we have is some individuals expressing a hostile, condescending and arrogant contempt for environmental concerns, displaying just as much of a bias as they claim this documentary reflects. Such an extremist mindset is not conducive to valid, thoughtful criticism, although it is fascinating to witness at such times as it rises to the surface.
Rating:
Summary: Nice piece of fiction
Review: One of the most (least?) amusing aspects of this documentary/biography on 'The Lord of the Rings' is the fact that they gave the impression that Tolkien was a greenie, which is not true; in true PC (politically correct) fashion they negelected to mention entirely even the fact that he was Catholic, nor did they ever breach the contriversial subject of "religious overtones" in his work. Never once was his Christian faith cited, nor his own thoughts on LotR as a "fundamentally religious and Catholic work." Instead, it's played out as a "save the earth" message with the silly tacked-on trek through Africa ending (like this guy's quest is anything like Frodo's? come on!), forces us to believe that the story is a parallel of WWII, and never even mentioned his friendship with CS Lewis or the Inklings. I enjoyed the clips from LotR, but that was about it. I taped it off TV and certainly wouldn't waste my money on this disk -- save it for the Special Edition Fellowship of the Ring in November.
Rating:
Summary: Their Own Agenda
Review: National Geographic uses the pretense of discussing Tolkien to toot their own views and agenda. Tolkien's anti-industrial views and how they were illustrated in the LOTR is well presented. The similarities were shown between Tolkien's own home town and that of the Shire. The rest of the documentary is a stretch at best.Too much emphasis was placed on WWI and WWII. They certainly had an impact on Tolkien's life; however, anyone who has read Tolkien knows the two world wars have little impact on the content or history of Middle Earth. Morgoth and/or Sauron are not Hitler. Much time was spent discussing the Finish traditions and their language. The documentary explained that Tolkien was influenced by Finish when developing Quenya. What about the other languages of Middle Earth? This was a great opportunity to discuss the various languages of Middle Earth, their real world counterparts, and Tolkien's genious with languages. Instead we spend much of the time at an old man's home discussing the oral traditions of a remote part of Finland. Interesting, but a little off the point. A subject totally off the wall was trying to draw similarities between Tolkien and the saving of the rainforest in Africa. I'm sorry, although truly an important issue, it has no relevance whatsoever to Tolkien's work. It was nothing but National Geographic propaganda. The documentary missed the major themes of Tolkien's work. His works focus more on the peoples of Middle Earth than the languages and more on the moral values of life than just traditions. Although language is important, the Elves are much more than just Quenya, Hobbits are more than just peace loving, simple creatures, and men certainly can be more than technology loving, destructive beings. According to the documentary, Tolkien created the Elves as pure, idealistic beings. Wrong! They certainly are different from men. There is a more majestic sense to their being, they have strength of mind and will, and they are more in tune with Middle Eath than are men. However, they are far from perfect. They are subject to many of the same weaknesses as men - pride and arrogance for example (Feanor ring a bell). From what traditions of England's past did Tolkien base the Elves? Certainly a topic worthy of discussion in the documentary. By the way, Tolkien considered himself a Hobbit, not an elf nor a wizard as proposed by the documentary. And, although war is horrid, Tolkien did beleive in fighting (and going to war) for what is right. The Shire was a peaceful place not only because the Hobbits are a peaceful people, but because they were protected by men. These men were descended from kings and yet they were content to protect and die for the Shire even though the Hobbits were too simple to know it. Another great lesson from Tolkien - sacrifice and courage - and a message that men can be both noble and humble, strong and meek. Yeah, but the gorillas in Africa make for better film footage. Save your money for the DVD release of LOTR. Although it isn't perfect (don't get me started....), it represents Tolkien and Middle Earth much better.
Rating:
Summary: Their Own Agenda
Review: National Geographic uses the pretense of discussing Tolkien to toot their own views and agenda. The few ideals of Tolkien's they agree with - anti-indultrialism, ruralism, and folklore - are harped upon. They also make a big deal about WWI and WWII having a large impact on LOTR. Anyone who knows Tolkien knows he abhored war, however, the two World Wars had little to no impact on what he wrote concerning Middle Earth. What was with the guy traveling across Africa at the end of the story? Nice pictures of gorillas. Family values, fighting and dying for worthwhile causes, friendship, brotherhood - major themes of the LOTR are never mentioned or brushed over. Why does the Shire continue to exist? Because of the sacrifices made by men - noble men of great heritage - who protect the Shire from evil. To see the Shire and all the silly Hobbits free and content is worth dying for. Another point I found interesting. National Geographic mentioned the pure, idealic beings created by Tolkien - the Elves. Yes they were majestic and strong, but also proud and prone to arrogance. Anyone hear of Feanor or his sons? It took Galadriel some 15,000 years to learn what Hobbits take for granted. Those who know Tolkien will be disappointed with this documentary. It is a far cry from what Tolkien is trying to convey in the LOTR.
Rating:
Summary: politically correct nonsense
Review: this dvd has finally made me give up on national geographic. over the last few years, they have taken to preaching, rather than showing adventure and educating about geography. they could have done a 4 hour program just about tolkien and his creations and their relation to geography real and imagined. but, no, they have to pontificate about ecology and other current concerns of their own.
Rating:
Summary: Boo
Review: 2 Stars is all this CD will get. If you are a serious Tolkien fan, you will know that the content has a lot of twist and stretch. For one thing, it says Tolkien began writing LOTR after 1939, but Tolkien was already writing it in 1937!! And the CD also draws lots false connections between the book and Tolkien's life: Gandalf's visit to Minas Tirith to discover Isildur's scroll is like how Tolkien had discovered Finnish?? But most of all, this CD (and even Peter Jackson!) keeps linking World Wars to LOTR. How insulting!! The only reason that this CD does not deserve trashed is because it also has some rare photos of Tolkien. And what has that rain-forest guy got to do with LOTR? Just because he also read the book and started a journey to save the trees?? Give me a break!!
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