Rating: 
Summary: THE BEST DVD I OWN!
Review: The second greatest film ever made (behind "The Two Towers") gets the royal treatment: a four-disc set that cronicles the entire creation of the film. The new 208 Minute Extended Edition blows the 178 Minute Theatrical Version away. Tons of awesome special features. You're sure to enjoy. Prepare to be amazed in November 2003 by "The Two Towers" Extended Edition! Movie/DVD Grade: A+
Rating:
Summary: Extra footage exquisitely done - well worth the money
Review: The Fellowship of the Ring was already a five-star film, but this extended version makes it even better. Usually when watching the "deleted scenes" on various DVDs I say to myself, "well I can see why they deleted that scene." Scenes are usually deleted for a good reason-either they cause the movie to drag on, or do nothing to develop the plot. This is not the case with the new scenes on the extended version of the LOTR. These scenes not only help add more clarity to the plot, but they go a long way in further developing the characters-the lack of which was a common criticism of the theatrical release of the LOTR. The only character that did not receive anymore character development is Legolas. Add to this how well done these extra and lengthened scenes have been done. Each scene has been edited smoothly into the movie for a seamless experience. Sounds, special effects, and even additional scoring have been added to ensure the same quality throughout. These extra scenes are not essential, but surely add quite a bit to the film, enough so that on future viewings of the LOTR, I will always watch the extended version. The packaging is very well done and with two discs of bonus material, you definitely get your dollar's worth. My only two criticisms are: 1.) I wish they could have fit the whole film on one disc, but perhaps this was not possible to do and still have all the audio commentaries, and 2.) Since they had four-discs-worth of room to fill, why not include the theatrical version and its bonus features as well, so as to make the four-disc set fully comprehensive? Hidden bonus: On disc one go to Select a Scene, then go to last page of chapters, push down until you highlight the words "* extra scene" and push enter. It will play the MTV spoof on the Council of Elron.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Version
Review: I don't usually review movies but I have to pay tribute to Peter Jackson's impressive film version of LOTR. Jackson and his team have exercised unusual talent and intelligence in bringing LOTR to the screen. Jackson and his co-writers made a number of changes in the plot, mainly deleting some subplots and minor characters. These choices were made very well, not sacrificing any of the dramatic integrity of the story, and are really necessary for keeping a movie, even a 3 part film with long individual components, within reasonable commerical bounds. Jackson's team is remarkably faithful to Tolkien's vision; their realization of many of the most important setpieces within the books is remarkable. Most important of all, Jackson and his team have really been faithful to Tolkien's moral vision. LOTR is a story about the virtues of courage and decency, and the need to and costs of resisting evil. The LOTR films, with excellent performances from the entire cast, capture this very well. Jackson has done a particularly good job of making the Ring of Power itself a protagonist in the film. This insidious source of evil and corruption is the real villain of the piece. Tolkien's opposition of the pull of the Ring against Frodo's quiet moral courage is tremendous moral drama which Jackson has brought to the fore of his movies.
Rating: 
Summary: Lord of the Rings *ka-ching*
Review: Short review -
The film is a terrific adaptation of the books, but my review loses 1 star for squeezing 2 DVD versions out in less than a year, just to make a buck. Shame on you Mr. Jackson.
Rating:
Summary: WHAT A FILM.! Great entertainment and very engrossing!!!
Review: I know I wrote about this before, but I have to again with the release of this special edition of it. I don't know what to say except to paraphrase my review's headlinge. This is a great film, there has not been a fantasy film in history as grand and ambitious as this one, and so brilliantly executed. I only read the book The Lord Of The Rings once so far but I may do it again someday. Yes, there are things missing from the novel. That doesn't matter here though. The film manages to retain the grand epic spirit of Tolkien's work and conveys it greatly to the viewer. Thanks to beautiful photography and top knotch special effects that are among the best ever seen in film, if not THE absolute best ever on film, New Zealand is literally and beautifully transformed into Middle Earth, and every inhabitant of it is convincingly presented by an excellent cast of actors and actresses. And what a bunch we have. Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Dominic Monagahn and Billy Boyd play Frodo, Samwise Gamgee, Merrry and Pippin, four Hobbitts with a love for life thrust into an amazing and perilous adventure. Aiding them with power and wisdom are Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn/Strider) and Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellan) both excellent in their roles. Bringing a feminine and regal touch are Liv Tyler (Surprisingly good as Arwen) and Cate Blanchett (an absolutely regal and elegant Galadriel) On the other side we have the incomparable Christopher Lee (Saruman The White) as the perfectly dignified, powerful and utterly ruthless personification of evil. These and the other actors and actresses make you feel as though you are not just watching a film but watching part of the history of an ancient world. The RingWraiths are utterly chilling in particular. THe adventure and action, when it is present, is intense and thrilling to watch. The emotion is genuine and heart-tugging throghout the film. The world of Middle Earth on film here is breathtaking, aided n tugging at the heart strings by an EXCELLENT musical score by Howard Shore. He has rightfully earned a place beside John Williams, James Horner and Jerry Goldsmith as one of the best movie composers of our time. The use of choirs in the score is utterly POWERFUL whether they do an ominous chilling chant or a heartbreaking lamentation. The score moves effortlessly from intimate and happy to adventurous and heroic to heartbreakingly sad and beautiful and back again. All in all I feel quite sure that this film and the entire trilogy based on The Lord Of The Rings, will do and HAS done for fantasy films what the Star Wars movies have done for science fiction and adventure movies. Like the book that it is based on, this film and this trilogy of films is and will be an instant classic. The extra footage in this new extended special DVD edition gives more background and character development, adding things back in that were cut out of the original film release and making scenes that were already great even better than they were before. If you get a chance to see this, go ahead and pick it up and take the wonderful trip back to Middle Earth. You may wish that you never had to leave. If The Two Towers an Return Of The King are as good as The Fellowship Of The Ring, (They should be) then this will go down in history as the greatest and most ambitious film trilogy ever made.
Rating:
Summary: Hmmm
Review: All i have too say is , if you didn't like this movie ..check for a pulse ...the review below me says it all and explains already ....get this now !! also go and see part 2...
Rating:
Summary: Loved it!
Review: What a wonderful movie. The extra scenes blend in well and make a fantastic movie even better!
Rating: 
Summary: A well made pointless waste of time.
Review: To me it is just wrong to change an already perfect peice of art to pander to a more general audience. Yeah, a lot of things in the movie were kept the same as in the book. So what? LOTR is JRR Tolkien's story, not Peter Jackon or whoever wrote the screenplay. He doesn't have the moral right to change any of it. "But if they kept everything in the book then the movie would be 8 hours long!" So what? If you can't make a completely direct adaption of a book to a movie, don't do it. Why is it that film is the only art medium that can be hailed as great when all the artist did was butcher another work of art? To me, adapting the Fellowship of the Ring is like repainting the Mona Lisa so it will appeal to a general audience. Yeah, it make look neat but you still butchering an already made work of art. It is people like Jackson who are ruining film to be an actual art medium. The money used to make this movie could have funded 500 other ORIGINAL movies that could help reshape what we think of as film. Where are my Donnie Darkos, the Momentos, and my Happinesses? If you want to waste your money on a DVD, do it on any of those three.
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Summary: Lord of the Rings Movie in Comparison to the Book
Review: Cristy Cepeda
1st Period
English 1
December 1, 2002 Final Essay: The Fellowship of the Ring ~~~There are several scenes in The Fellowship of the Ring that are left out in the production of the movie. While many of us understand that the movie could not possibly include every scene of the book for it resulting in being very, very long, there are still people who would have liked a few more scenes included in the movie. I am one of those people. While I was reading The Fellowship of the Ring, whether it being because I was just getting started or because it was the longest section, I felt the whole journey between the Shire and the Prancing Pony was very long, in the movie the hobbits seem to breeze through it. One of the reasons this happens is the obvious absence of Tom Bombadil and Goldberry. The director may have assumed that since Tom never reappears in the series he is not an important character, yet I feel this was a big part of the start of the adventure. Another scene missing is when Galadriel gives each member of the fellowship a gift. These gifts become important later and I feel the scene should have been included. Other scenes not included are the encounter with Farmer Maggot, the Barrow Wights and getting of the swords.
~~~A controversial topic regarding the transformation of the book into a movie include whether the director kept the feeling of the original book. I have input on both sides of the topic but am not glued exactly to one spot or point. On one side he did not because of the fast pace of the movie, it seems like you are never watching the same scene for more than twenty seconds, excluding Bilbo's party. The book gives a very full and complete description of everything, which was a bit left out in the movie. The special effects with music and lighting make the book a bit "high tech" while the books, having existed for more than 50 years, I'm sure were not written with huge effects in mind, but of a long rough adventure with determined characters. On the other hand, the movie is being made now, in the 21st century, and thus giving the books the privlige of being made with good graphics, locations and lighting as opposed to it being produced thirty years ago. Movies now are also more appealing to the audience of those demonstaring the effects as are used in The Fellowhip of the Ring..
~~~Prior to writing this essay I have read many artices written about the movie The Fellowship of the Ring and it appears that the audience has mixed feeling about the production of The Fellowship of the Ring, though most of the ones that I read proved to positively critique the film. I chose two of the articles that pretty much agreed with me to use as references. One quote at http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00003CWT6/ref=ase_ringzonenet/104-5923720-1372713 written by Miles D. Moore from Alexandria, VA USA quotes, "Everything about this film feels exactly right, from the casting to the screenplay to the special effects. The last are amazing, putting to shame anything George Lucas has come up with, and yet they always serve to advance the story" showing that the transformation from book to movie was successful, similarly agreeing to the view of BBC News's Jackie Finlay quote of "Would it [the story] be tacky if "made flesh, brought into the realms of the every day - or worse, of Hollywood? But director Peter Jackson avoids almost all of the traps to deliver a powerful, intense and beautifully realized movie that interprets the novel - well, almost to perfection." at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/reviews/1702177.stm . In conclusion, the transformation of the book into a movie is brilliantly done and deserves the congrats of all viewers, whether Lord of the Rings fan or not. Well, Ms.B, I got this posted on the internet, now did I really deserve a 70% for incorrectly put citations? I think content is what's important.
Rating:
Summary: An edge-of-your seat thrill ride
Review: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, chapter one of J.R.R Tolkien's trilogy about the battle of good vs evil set in the land of Middle Earth, can be described in only two words: Flawless masterpiece. Filled with heart wrenching suspense and spectacular visual effects, The Fellowship of the Ring is one of the only movies that gets close to or over the three hour time limit and manages to keep the watcher entertained and gripped to your seat for all one-hundred eighty minutes. Surrounded by a good cast and great script, Fellowship dares to explore the evil-filled land of Middle Earth, where such terrible creatures as Orcs lurk in the shadows and work to destroy all good and rule the word with their terrible ways. For all kinds of movie fans, whether it's action, drama, suspense, romance, or fantasy that you like, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring will not disappoint. Your jaw will sink to the ground from the first scene and stay there for a whole three hours. Fellowship does leave some things out of the movie that were included in the book though all the events in the movie are completely identical to the book. There are no surprising changes or twists though I suggest you read the book prior to the movie so you know the important facts. The book and movie's plot are as follows: Elijah Wood (North)portrays Frodo, a Hobbit living in the quiet and peaceful land of the Shire. Now don't be surprised by Frodo's size. All Hobbits are small. Frodo is cousin to Bilbo Baggins, the brave Hobbit who first got the ring of power (in the other J.R.R Tolkien novel "The Hobbit"), which has the ability to make you invisible. The ring first belonged to Sauron, a powerful creature who's want for the ring led to his demise. When, on his 111th birthday, Bilbo feels that he's gotten too old to hold the ring (especially now that Sauron's power is slowly rising) he hands it over to Frodo. After Sauron unites with the good-turned-evil wizard Saruman (played by Christopher Lee, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones) to get the ring, Frodo is left with no choice but to destroy the ring before Sauron kills him with his powerful Orcs and Black Riders. Teaming up with his best friend Sam (played by Sean Astin, The Goonies), the friendly but no-nonsense wizard Gandalf (Sir Ian McKellen, X-Men), the brave warriors Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen, A Perfect Murder), Legolas (Orlando Bloom), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade), and Boromir (Sean Bean, Goldeneye and Don't Say a Word), Frodo sets out for Mount Doom, where he must destroy the ring. But can the fellowship overcome Sauron and Saruman? That is for you to find out. Well-crafted and beautifully assembled, Fellowship of the Ring features star-making performances from Liv Tyler (Armageddon), Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth), and Hugo Weaving (The Matrix). The descriptions of the characters in the book are similar to those in the movie. Elijah Wood and Sean Astin portray the Hobbits well while Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, and John Rhys-Davies steal the movie away with their dynamite performances and action scenes. It's good when you see a character and you immediately think: Oh, there is going to be a fight scene. What disappoints me is that every creature is made by computers. Though several scenes and monsters look completely real, whenever you get a shot of a creature's face, you know immediately that it is computer-made. Gollum. The Orcs. Black Riders. Everything seems to be made from computers. Though people claim that Gollum's performance in the Two Towers were spectacular, I completely disagree. Peter Jackson does a fantastic job as director and the script is taut and interesting. The fight scenes are simply amazing, considering that over 2000 weapons and over 400 extras were needed. Also, since it was filmed in New Zealand, we get a tour of several beautiful locations that are sure to capture the viewer's eye. Though running a bit long, Fellowship is practically screaming for you to get it. Very brilliant film! Movie: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Actors/Actresses: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortinsen, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchet
Director: Peter Jackson
Running Time: 178 minutes
Rated PG-13 for epic battle sequences and some scary images
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