Rating: 
Summary: Master-ly Middle-Earth mess up
Review: "Definitive guide"? NOT.Don't misunderstand. There is some very interesting material in here, some good insights by Napoli, and the Sandhurst instructor, and the real reason for which I bought it, Tolkien himself. However, there was way too much time wasted in amateurishly produced re-enactments of the story, which were redundant in the extreme for a person who is moving outwards from LotR (books or films) and into Middle-Earth as a whole.
The makers did not seem to know what they wanted to do. Their production vacillated from being a showcase of the art of the Brothers Hildebrandt - as if they were the ONLY artists ever to paint ME - through being the promised "guide" - the CG maps were neat, and the discussions of the sources of JRRT's inspiration were good, if somewhat meager - to being (as mentioned above) a synopsis of LotR. Not a lot of guiding done, I'm afraid. There is more information for the curious mind in the Appendices at the end of Return of the King. Simply put, do not expect too much from this production, and you will not be too disappointed. Cuio mae, Celefinn Curunisse
Rating:
Summary: Master-ly Middle-Earth mess up
Review: "Definitive guide"? NOT. Don't misunderstand. There is some very interesting material in here, some good insights by Napoli, and the Sandhurst instructor, and the real reason for which I bought it, Tolkien himself. However, there was way too much time wasted in amateurishly produced re-enactments of the story, which were redundant in the extreme for a person who is moving outwards from LotR (books or films) and into Middle-Earth as a whole.
The makers did not seem to know what they wanted to do. Their production vacillated from being a showcase of the art of the Brothers Hildebrandt - as if they were the ONLY artists ever to paint ME - through being the promised "guide" - the CG maps were neat, and the discussions of the sources of JRRT's inspiration were good, if somewhat meager - to being (as mentioned above) a synopsis of LotR. Not a lot of guiding done, I'm afraid. There is more information for the curious mind in the Appendices at the end of Return of the King. Simply put, do not expect too much from this production, and you will not be too disappointed. Cuio mae, Celefinn Curunisse
Rating:
Summary: NOT good!
Review: ... To be sure, the computer-generated map of Middle-Earth IS very cool...it helped me understand some general aspects of the terrain that I hadn't previously. And the snippets of Tolkien interviews are nice to watch (even if his accent is so thick that I had trouble understanding what he was saying). But these two elements account for MAYBE 6 minutes of an 80 minute piece of junk. Get this...they do a no-budget "re-enactment" of the entire Rings story (which has got to take up 50% of this documentary) with the hobbits portrayed by midgets!!!!! You'll laugh with disgust as you realize this "retelling" is just gonna go on and on and on....self-conscious Trekkies with plastic swords and renaissance fair costumes, loping around in somebody's cow pasture...with midgets. The "experts" will make you cringe. Incredibly pompous, pretentious, and nerdy (the types that make you embarrassed that you love Tolkien so much), they account for virtually all of the remaining minutes of this travesty. There are a couple who are less horrifying than the others, to be fair. But they won't tell you anything you don't already know. And even though they've got one or two genuinely interesting guests, such as Roger Dean (the guy who did the Yes album covers), we hear virtually nothing from him, and are shown precious few of his Tolkien-inspired pictures. Instead we are subjected to some horrible "Tolkien-rock" band called "Mostly Autumn," who turn up the intensity knob on an already raging Wasted-My-Money-On-This machine. I gave it two stars: one for the map, and one for the unintelligible but endearing Tolkien snippets. Do yourself a favor and just wait for Peter Jackson's DVDs to come out.
Rating:
Summary: Bought it for $5 at Walmart
Review: And that's about all it's worth. At first, the documentary disk is interesting, with film of Tolkien himself. However there is no new information here that you haven't seen in the nth docus done on Tolkien since the trilogy hit the silver screen. After you get past the biography info, you're subjected to talking heads droning on and on... none of which I could recall even under torture. The worst part of the docu is a "synopsis" of the entire trilogy. One of the talking heads goes on and on, while the viewer is subjected to hazy video of dwarf actors in bad costumes "acting out" the story. It's utterly ridiculous! This is the point that I bailed out and I haven't touched the DVD since. One of the reasons I bought this (besides it was cheap!) was the bonus CD of Rick Wakeman's music. Now, I've been a big fan of Yes in the past, and even of Wakeman's solo music. Some of the music is quite pleasant, but some is also quite ordinary. WARNING: all the music on the disc is retitled cuts from previous Wakeman discs. NOTHING on the CD is new music. So if you're a Tolkien completist, look in the cut-out bins for this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining and insightful...a must for Tolkien fans!
Review: As a long time fan of J.R.R. Tolkien's works, I was disappointed to find very few decent film biographies of my favorite author....that is, until now. This DVD provides an excellent biographical insight to Professor Tolkien and his most famous work, The Lord of the Rings. It contains a 3-D map which leads novices and long time fans through the various areas of Middle Earth; interviews with various Tolkien scholars (an illustrator, a professor, a member of the Tolkien society, a literary critic and even 2 of Prof. Tolkien's children); a re-enactment of The Lord of the Rings (so to those who haven't read the books - spoilers abound!), and wonderful interview clips of the "master" himself! It also contains art work and drawings from the Hildebrandt brothers as well as other Tolkien illustrators. Do not confuse this with the other (unauthorized) "Master of the Rings" DVD (as one critic below apparently did - hence the 1-star rating). This is an excellent resource for novices and long-time Tolkien fans alike! I must admit I've viewed this DVD several times and enjoyed it each time. The highlights for me were watching Professor Tolkien read passages from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings as well as the LOTR re-enactment (amateurish perhaps but entertaining nonetheless - this is no Peter Jackson production!). I highly recommend this DVD to Tolkien and Lord of the Rings fans everywhere. It certainly is more scholarly in its approach - there are no references to the current films by Peter Jackson - but is a must have for any Tolkien library. If you want more information on the current films, I would also suggest you check out the National Geographic Lord of the Rings DVD/video which contains considerable references and clips of the films. But if you also want to learn more about Professor Tolkien and his works, then this DVD is for you.
Rating: 
Summary: [Totally Bad]
Review: Being a life long fan of Lord of the Rings I purchased this to expand my knowledge of the man who wrote this masterpiece. Unfortunatly most of this documentary is spent in presenting an extremely abriged, and many times inaccurate, version of the books. If I wanted a watered down version of the books I would buy the Animated versions instead as they were at least entertaining. This on the other hand is boring to the extreme as a nasal voiced narator, bad computer graphics, and the horribly poor artwork of the brothers Hildebrant gang up to mutalate a great story. Don't purchase this DVD, instead I suggest you pick up the National Geographics documentary which has amazing production value and much more information on Tolkien.
Rating:
Summary: Informative, Exciting Narrative & 3D Maps of Middle Earth !
Review: Finally a very informative collection of film, 3D maps, a chronological detail narrative about the "Lord of the Rings", comments from Tolkien scholars, JRR Tolkiens son & daughter. Plus some film and the voice of the Master Of the Rings himself, JRR Tolkien. This is a very exciting Full Screen DVD. Summary: We get many features with this great "Tolkien Definitve Guide" to Middle Earth. 1.) An 80 minute film with the telling and explanation of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Narrated, and comments provided by scholars, musicians, Tolkien family members, friends and JRR himself!!! Within this film you have extensive information and superb detailed 3D graphic maps used to move you through the telling of the trilogy. Also the narrator provides very simplified & detailed chronological explanation of this complex tale of JRR Tolkiens, Middle Earth. 2.) A very delightful Illustrations Gallery by the artists "Brothers Hilderbrandt (probably the most famous of the Tolkien Calender Artists). 3.) Musicians Music Videos from Middle Earth - very nice addition. 4.) Comments from various English Scholars and Famous English Musicians (ie Rick Wakeman). The crowning jewel of this DVD is seeing and hearing the Master himself, JRR Tolkien on film. Making his comments and explanations about his lifes work of "Middle Earth". Plus he does a couple of brief readings from the "Hobbit". This is worth the price of admission alone!!!! A great value and an invaluable addition to the Tolkien DVD Library. So don't wait get this DVD!!!!! This is a golden opportunity to enter and possess the masters tool of an unforgetable journey into the world of JRR Tolkiens "Lord of the Rings". Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Informative, Exciting Narrative & 3D Maps of Middle Earth !
Review: Finally a very informative collection of film, 3D maps, a chronological detail narrative about the "Lord of the Rings", comments from Tolkien scholars, JRR Tolkiens son & daughter. Plus some film and the voice of the Master Of the Rings himself, JRR Tolkien. This is a very exciting Full Screen DVD. Summary: We get many features with this great "Tolkien Definitve Guide" to Middle Earth. 1.) An 80 minute film with the telling and explanation of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Narrated, and comments provided by scholars, musicians, Tolkien family members, friends and JRR himself!!! Within this film you have extensive information and superb detailed 3D graphic maps used to move you through the telling of the trilogy. Also the narrator provides very simplified & detailed chronological explanation of this complex tale of JRR Tolkiens, Middle Earth. 2.) A very delightful Illustrations Gallery by the artists "Brothers Hilderbrandt (probably the most famous of the Tolkien Calender Artists). 3.) Musicians Music Videos from Middle Earth - very nice addition. 4.) Comments from various English Scholars and Famous English Musicians (ie Rick Wakeman). The crowning jewel of this DVD is seeing and hearing the Master himself, JRR Tolkien on film. Making his comments and explanations about his lifes work of "Middle Earth". Plus he does a couple of brief readings from the "Hobbit". This is worth the price of admission alone!!!! A great value and an invaluable addition to the Tolkien DVD Library. So don't wait get this DVD!!!!! This is a golden opportunity to enter and possess the masters tool of an unforgetable journey into the world of JRR Tolkiens "Lord of the Rings". Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Not Really Worth Anything
Review: For those who have given this five stars have most likely not read the books, or else read the books when they were children and remember almost nothing of the facts. The only two interesting things about this DVD is the footage of Tolkien (which isn't really that much) and the 3D map, but even that is wrong, as any real Tolkien enthusiast can tell you. The artwork is interesting, but I've seen a lot better (check out artist Alan Lee, who actually also worked on the film and is world renown). It also has some reenactments of the book, but these are a little lame (they could've done a lot better). But the biggest thing that gets to me about this DVD is that though it tells the story in a condensed version, it presents a lot of misinformation, such as saying that it was Merry who destroyed the Witch-king (everyone knows it was Eowyn). It also states that the ethnic difficulties present in Middle-earth that were set aside for the Fellowship is comparable to the same that happened during World War II with the Allies and the Axis powers. This goes against the very things Tolkien (and his son Christopher) have said, that the Lord of the Rings is in no way allegorical.
So, in all, this may be of some interest to those who love the movies, but have never/not yet read the books, but for fans of the books, I recommend that you stay away from this and save your money! (Luckily I only spent $6 on this!)
Rating:
Summary: Very disappointing
Review: I bought this DVD based on laudatory reviews I read here and was VERY disappointed in what I got. I was expecting background information on the author and his work, but this DVD contains very little of that. I don't understand HOW in the world it can bill itself as "the definitive guide to the world of the rings." What a joke. My biggest single gripe is that a large part of the DVD consists of a synopsis of the Lord of the Rings, complete with bad renactments of some of the scenes. Not ONE of the "actors" looked remotely suitable for the part he was supposed to be playing, and they were wearing some of the most ludicrous costumes I've ever seen in my life. (Hobbits in plumed hats? Give me a break!) The whole thing was pointless and stupid. It was way too spoiler-ridden for anyone who hasn't read the books, and for those who had, it was stupendously BORING, due to being so poorly done. All in all, a complete waste of time. Another large percentage of the screen time is given over to pretentious prattle from so-called "experts" who don't do a thing except spout their own precious opinions (as opposed to providing actual information that might help the viewer better understand the world created by Tolkien). And then there were the bits about artists and musicians influenced by Tolkien...can we say TEDIOUS, boys and girls? I can't understand why filmmakers think people are even interested in that stuff. I got this video because I wanted to to know more about Middle-Earth, not some no-name musician who wrote a few songs based on Tolkien's books. The DVD also contains an attempt at rendering a 3D landscape of Middle-Earth. That was kind of interesting to watch, but unfortunately, it was not completely accurate. I think the Atlas of Middle-Earth would be a better way to get a handle of on the geography of Tolkien's world. In short, I didn't learn a blasted thing from this DVD that I didn't know already. The only thing that was genuinely new to me was the clips of Tolkien speaking. I'll admit those were sort of amusing, but not, I think, for the reason intended. (Another reviewer here mentioned JRRT's "unintelligble speech" being captured on film. Unintelligible is definitely the word for it...the man may be a great writer, but he talked like he had a mouth full of pipeweed!) Those were worth seeing, but not worth the price of the DVD. If anyone ever makes a GOOD video presentation on the life and work of Tolkien. I'd be happy to buy it. Unfortunately, this is not it.
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