Rating: 
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: 
Summary: Perfect (almost)
Review: While I am tempted to add the crowning fifth star to the rating, I would not feel justified in doing it, 4.5 would be about right. I will be the first to admit that my first viewing of the movie was met with the expected jaw-dropping "woooow!!" and about a week of post-LOTR raving. Subsequent viewings have tempered that first impression with just a touch of criticism.
Yes, the plot is gripping and as faithful to the book as is possible given the constraints of cinema. Yes, the characters are brilliantly, sometimes dazzlingly well acted. The action, once it begins, is intense and relentless and is backed up by some masterful effects. The shining forces of good and the dark hordes of evil are perfectly portrayed and the one ring is as grim and threatening as it should be. BUT! amidst all this, it is not without flaw. The early scenes while visually very attractive are overly long and I found myself wishing that it would just get on with it. I also got the impression that there was quite alot of footage removed from said early scenes as they sometimes seemed slightly disjointed. Small things I know in what is overall a triumph in fantasy film but they do make a difference. Perhaps the DVD version with the much talked about deleted scenes will remedy these minor complaints. With that said, roll on Part 2, I can't wait.
Rating:
Summary: The Epic Film of Our Time!!!
Review: While I enjoyed and admired last year's theatrical release of The Fellowship of the Ring (partly out of the sheer joy of watching Middle-Earth come to life), I did not think that the film was truly worth all of the critical hosannas heaped upon it - despite its length and visual grandeur, the original release of the film felt wrong: although it was over 3 hours long and hit all the right points, in the rush just to tell the basic story onscreen, it seemed like too much had been left out. I thought Jackson's handling of the action sequences was brilliant, but as far as the slower, quieter sections of the story were concerned, the original cut failed completely for me. The film seemed too short and badly paced, despite its length. However, something unprecedented in film history has happened with the release of the new extended edition of FELLOWSHIP: A good film has been raised to the level of a true masterwork with the addition of @30 mins. worth of new footage. What you see now is practically a different film - a far more significant work of art and a deeper and richer emotional experience. The additions are not just a few scenes here and there - every sequence in the film seems to have been slightly reedited, and - miracle of miracles - the final result is destined to go down in history as one of the great epics ever made. The new material is brilliantly chosen and incorporated: the sequences in the Shire and Lothlorien are double their original length, the very important scene of the Council in Rivendell has been recut so that it actually makes sense, the Moria scene now has the right level of slow build-up and a great deal of previously absent character development and necessary exposition has been added. What was released in the theatres can now be seen as merely the superficial version of the tale: all of the performances have been given a depth and meaning that they did not have before (particularly Boromir, Strider, Gimli and Galadriel) - instead of being sketches, all the characters and their desires are fully fleshed-out. Even more importantly, the new version is far better paced: the film now alternates between slow passages and action sequences, and the action scenes have a far greater impact than they did before because of this. Furthermore, this version of the film makes the viewer feel totally immersed in a rich, complex society at a turning point in its history - the film just seems more real, less cartoonlike, than before. The range of Jackson's vision and attention to detail is astonishing (I particularly love the new scene which features Strider arguing with Haldir in Sindarin Elvish) and gives the whole fantastic story a realism and emotional depth which captures the spirit of the novel. This is now the film that Tolkien's admirers wanted it to be. It has everything - love, war, humour, sorrow, beauty, moral and philosophical depth - that an epic film and a great drama should have. Now that this version has enabled us to see the true brilliance of the film, I have to say that - when completed - the entire tale of The Lord of the Rings as envisioned by Jackson and his cast and crew is going to go down in history as one of the great films of all time! Run, do not walk, to the nearest video store and immerse yourself in this film, because if this is any indication of what we can expect from the 2 remaining movies, you owe it to yourself to see this - a work of art like this film does not come along very often. FELLOWSHIP is only going to get more popular with time - 50 years from now, I think people are going to describe THE LORD OF THE RINGS as the great cinematic epic of this age of the world. Aren't we lucky to be the first generation to see it!
Rating:
Summary: best movie this year
Review: While I have read other negative reviews, I can't help wonder if these people just don't have any joy in their lives. This movie could have gone on for another three hours. I absolutely loved it and cannot wait to see the next one. Everything in the movie for me was top notch, especially the bond that occurs between the fellowship. I thought this was done well.
The fighting was awesome, as with the scenery. The movie was just ran at a fast pace and was able to keep the viewer informed and interested. I do admit that are some flaws, but it did nothing to distract me from the movie. Definitely check this movie out, again and again, until part two comes out.
Rating:
Summary: New Mellenium Classic
Review: While I was in training with the Green Berets at Ft. Bragg N.C. I was loaned the book The hobbit and then the trilogy The Lord of the Rings. I never heard of the book, but would have read anything to pass the down time from intensive training. Since I was at a Top Secret location and unable to leave books were a valuable commodity. I could not put the book down, this was in 1975. I kept reading right through the Trilogy and when finished, started over again from the beginning and read it over again. I read it again while a student At Penn State University.
It is unmistakeable that Tolkiens books were a template for every fantasy book or movie that followed through the decades.
I was tentative going to the theatre since several attempts have been made over the years to make a movie worthy of the book. There were several dismal failures. While living in Hollywood I would talk about Tolkien's Trilogy everytime I talked to writers, actors, directors, and producers I met over the years.
I was extremely pleased to watch the movie as it met my strict perfectionist standards and intimate knowledge of every detail of the books. I was more than pleased, I was blown away! It is extremely difficult to translate a book into a movie. Jackson has done it with superb and brilliant direction. This movie and the following ones will be the new Wizard of Oz for the next several generations of children. This trilogy of movies will be classics and collectors items for the next century. The Lord of The Rings is THE ORIGINAL, anything else is a cheap imitation.
If you liked The Fellowship of The Ring...you will be blown away by The Two Towers, the best of all four books. I believe the movie will be as good or better than the book. I cannot wait to see this movie on the Big Screen and collect the original releases on DVD. The collectors editions will be worth twice their price in only a few years and may be priceless to your grandchildren. Not to mention a movie to entertain you over the years which will NEVER bore or tire.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent piece of work.
Review: While Jackson is neither a true artist nor a madman (except for the fact he did undergo the tedious process of creating three epics in two years), he managed to successfully juggle all that is the recreation of a classic fantasy novel. While lacking that certain 'closure' of a stand-alone feature, and at times being a tad too tedious and slow, it successfully crams a great deal of Tolkien's work of the first part of the Lord of the Rings novel, the Fellowship of the Ring. For some reason, this movie just feels right. The cast, the props, the effects, etc.. they all feel appropriate and very well done. On this dvd set you get to see a number of featurettes which include interviews and numerous shots at the amount of armor and weaponry created for this film. The detail and work put into all of it is absolutely mind-boggling. Jackson definitely managed to go through a very long and hefty 'to do' list. The sets are also all great. Every room, every cave, every hillside, every pillar, every stream.. it's all great.
As Jackson mentioned in one of his interviews, he was afraid someone without the expertise in special effects would take a project like this. Sure, having started his film career with his home-brewn 'Bad Taste', having worked on all of it's effects and all of it's directing for four years on occassional weekends and days off... he sure has the patience and experience to tackle a project of this caliber and deliver marvelous effects without ever over-doing anything (except for Galadriel's power-hungry dark side scene, which was awful). Kudos to Jackson for a great movie, and kudos for the excellent dvd package which is all but lacking in features.
Rating:
Summary: Best adaptation of a book I've ever seen
Review: While purists undoubtedly have a list of greivances with FOTR, the fact remains that it is an amazingly faithful and well-made adaptation of the novel. I found myself alternating between knowing nods at how certain scenes were done "just right" and smiles at little surprises I wasn't expecting. The movie contains enough oblique references to pay homage to the true fans while being very accessible to people who have never read the books before. The movie is very well-paces, feeling neither rushed nor like it drags on. Compare to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which felt very rushed even at 150 minutes (admittedly, I still couldn't think of anything that could have been cut from that film to make it flow better...)
Rating:
Summary: Not 30 minutes of extra footage!!
Review: While the extended edition is great, don't expect a total of 30 minutes of new footage. What the idiots don't tell you is that 20 minutes of that is nothing more than a listing of the fan club members in the credits. Like who in the heck cares! I was expecting a LOT more footage. The extra footage was great, but nowhere near what I expected. I hope these liars do better on the next extended edition!!
Rating:
Summary: Loved it!
Review: While the task of turning any classic into a full feature film is daunting and fraught with the possibilty of "ruining" the original integrity, I would have to say that Peter Jackson and company did an A-1 job of bringing LOTR to life! I really couldn't come up with a way to make the movie better. It did take me awhile to get use to Frodo and friends, as I had always pictured hobbits looking a bit fatter and less "polished" than they appeared in the film, on the otherhand I don't know that I would want to watch my version of Frodo for 3 hours and Jacksons choice grew on me as I watched. Everyone else (including the glimpse of Gollum) pretty much fit into my vision of how it should be. The movie remained true to the book for the most part and where it strayed it retained the spirit of the original story. I think anyone who knows the story will enjoy the film (you could watch it for the beautiful scenery alone)and it is certainly worth seeing even if you don't like it as much as I did!
Rating: 
Summary: The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (Platinum
Review: While the visual effects were very good, the screenplay left something to be desired. I enjoyed the movie greatly, however I regret having read the book before I saw the movie. I do realize you could never cover the book in its entirety in a three hour movie. However, the director took some sharp turns from the book, I suppose to make the movie watchable by people who havent read the book. There are several parts of the book that are left out, which in my opinion are pivotal to the overall theme of the story. Also, there are situations added in that were never in the book. The worst part is the way some of the characters were written. Gandalf is written (in the movie) as a doddering old man with underlying power. Gandalf in the book was never goofy like this. If you plan on watching this movie, be sure to read the books AFTER you have seen it. You will enjoy the movie much more.
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