Rating: 
Summary: An awesome movie.
Review: The Fellowsip of the Ring was an action-packed movie. The action scenes are some of the best I've seen in a movie. I've never read the books, so I can't compare, but Fellowship is a must see. Great acting, great storyline, and great character developement. These are something the sequal lacked, unfortunately. I hope the Return of the King will be more like this movie than the Two Towers. I liked this movie so much that I bought it right after it's release, which was a big mistake. Weeks later, advertisements came out for this "platinum extended version." and I felt like I was [cheated.] If New Line wanted to release a platinum-edition Fellowship, they should have released it that way. I want all these features, but I refuse to BUY another Fellowship just for extra features. Oh well.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantasy in epic proportions
Review: The film "The Lord of the Rings" takes the viewer on a trip through time and to another world. The backdrops and locations are stunning and breath-taking and the actors were superbly cast. Director Peter Jackson knew that he was taking a beloved story to the big screen and that there were only 2 possible outcomes - fans of the Tolkien trilogy would either cringe in horror and ridicule him for destroying, defiling and making a mockery of the story, or he would be hailed as a movie-making genius. Jackson strove for the latter and succeeded. The movie is LONG - 178 minutes long, to be exact, but you'd never know it. You get so absorbed into the story, the length is just right. If it were any shorter, the viewer would feel cheated. The characters are rich - wizards, halflings, giant ogres, elves, you name it... but the characters are not there just for visual entertainment - they are there as integral parts of the story. A struggle of good against evil is the epitome of the story. The good are few - not perfect, but good and tender hearted. Those that are evil are truly that - evil. The story's hero, Frodo (played perfectly by Elijah Wood), is an innocent bystander who happens to be in the right place at the wrong time, but he bravely and happily volunteers to destroy the ring - the ring of power that will enable evil forces to conquer the world of Middle Earth. Along his journey, Frodo meets friends and enemies, and all struggle against the ring's alluring power. The DVD does honor to the film by presenting it in 2 discs, jam-packed with features such as a 10-minute behind-the-scenes feature of "The Twin Towers," the 2nd part of the Trilogy to be released in just 4 months.
Cast interviews, multiple featurettes covering integral storylines, in depth documentaries and more. Take a lesson, Hollywood - this is how you package a DVD. I highly recommend this film - and having it on DVD is a life-long investment for your entertainment collection.
Rating: 
Summary: Wha Happened To Tha Picture????
Review: The film & content = 5+ stars. No further comment. The 30 extra minutes = 5 stars. No further comment. The extra fluff stuff = 3 stars. There should have been more on the author and the tale itself...maybe a visual Tolkien Companion for the purists; an explanation of the different ages and why the things were the way they were in the 3rd Age, some discussion of the origens of Sauron, eleves, hobbits, dwarves, etc., even more on Tolkein himself and the incredible cadre of writers that surrounded him at Oxford...not a bunch of actors droning on incessently about the demands of the movie.... The shrinking of the movie surface on the DVD from the original complete format = 0 stars. What numbskull decided to take this sumptous beautiful masterpiece and shrink the area to widescreen? Makes me only want to watch the complete format version sans the extra 30 minutes. Take a hint next time, special edition folk...keep the complete format and throw the widescreen edition into Mount Doom with the ring.
Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: The film is profoundly true to the spirit of the book, and the book is a work of genius.
Rating:
Summary: Great set!
Review: The film speaks for itself, so I won't comment on it. I will comment on the DVD features and extras that come with the film on this, the extended version ("director's cut"). First, the extra scenes really add much to the story line. The best of them (the following is a spoiler, so if you don't like spoilers, stop reading now!) in my opinion, is the extended scenes from Lothlorien, which follow the book more closely. The gift scene I thought inestimable and am surprised it was thrown out of the theatrical version (also, where's Sam's box of dirt?). We see a more ethereal Galadriel, but there's also times where she appears more "down to earth" than before (ie, when she laughs). I also thought the scene between Boromir and Aragorn on the side of the river at night VERY important to the story simply because it makes Boromir's death-bed confessions to Aragorn more pertinent and meaningful ("our people... my king"). I'm also surprised that scene was tossed. For those that do not know every scene by heart of the theatrical version, you may not notice but the extended version is slightly more violent (the head uruk-hai actually licks his own blood from the knife that Aragorn stuck into his thigh before he throws it back at Aragorn). There are extra shots of Legolas dumping off arrows (at great speed - was that CGI?) at the uruk-hai, and the final battle of Boromir and Merry/Pippin is somewhat longer and more violent. The extra disks are great; they far outshadow the extra CD on the theatrical version (which I feel was just a teaser for the extended cut). All of the methods of making the hobbits appear smaller are explained (CGI, forced perspective, miniture doubles, etc.). I especially thought the interviews with the sound crew especially insightful (the cave troll's inhales were taken from a tiger, the chuffing exhales recorded from a lynx, and the moaning from a walrus; The Watcher's vocal was also recorded from a walrus; the Balrog's vocal was recorded by dragging cinder blocks across the pavement and then slowing the sound down). VERY GOOD EXTRAS ON THE BONUS DVDs. The only complaint I have is that the film is on two disks. This problem arose because of the extensive audio tracks and commentaries. Frankly, I think the audio commentaries are overkill because one can learn from the bonus DVDs everything that is said in the running commentaries. They probably could have just kept the film on one DVD with only one or two commentary tracks and allowed the viewer to learn from the extra DVDs. (This is especially perturbing if you watch this film in a DVD player that only holds 1 disk). All in all, I recommend picking this set up and throwing your old theatrical version up for auction.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: The film was extraordinary. It completely filled my expectationes. The story: Frodo recieves a mysterious ring from his uncle Bilbo. Soon Frodo discovers the true nature of the ring, it was made by the Dark Lord Sauron, and now Suaron is seeking it to renew his power and enslave the world. Frodo goes on in a journey with nine MOSTLY faithful companions set from Rivendell to destroy the ring. The acting was terrific, and so were the special effects. Jackson pays both attention to the acting and the special effects, and succeeds without doubt. Viggo Mortensen is also terrific as Aragorn, Sean Bean also great as Boromir. Wood I think also did an awesome job of potraying Frodo. Ian M. probably was the best choice for Gandalf. The action scenes are terrific and fast, Legolas is probably the one who outstands in the battle scenes with his fast bow. Many parts of the book were left out. I really didn't care that Tom Bombadil wasn't in the movie, it was kind of a smart move since Tom really didn't fit in the story. Sections from Lothorien were also left out. But I mean, the movie was still 3 hours long, if you include every detail you would get a 5 hour movie.
Those who haven't read the books will also find if awesome, since at the beginning of the movie a prologue explains everything you need to know to understand the movie. The most excited anticipation I have for the next two movies, are to see the vile creature Gollum for the first time, since he is shown very seldom and we really coudn't have a clear glimpse of him here in FOTR. I hope he is as scary and pittyful as he is in the book. Well, I've told you all you need to know. You must see the movie definitely by all means.
IT IS A MUST SEE!!
Rating:
Summary: An Improvement on the Book
Review: The film was magnificent. I appreciated the areas in which Mr. Jackson slightly deviated from the book, in particular with regard to Arwen. I don't recall a "Supreme Being" in Middle Earth, but in the flight to Rivendell, it was as if Arwen "prayed" to Something for herself, and for Frodo's life. She imparted to Frodo whatever power and "grace" she possessed. She demonstrated courage and showed compassion for the wounded Hobbit. Mr. Wood perfectly conveyed the humility with which he carried the hope of all free peoples in Middle Earth. Arwen's "prayers" were heard and answered. The amplification of Arwen's character was was a great idea, and Liv Tyler's interpretation was moving. This will come in handy in Part Three, "The Return of the King." The stage has now been set for a possible marriage between Aragorn and Arwen. By then, we'll love and admire Aragorn for his heroism and nobility. We'll want his bride to be worthy of his love. Thanks to Ms. Tyler's brave and compassionate Arwen, we'll want any groom to be worthy of HER love as well. Finally, it was great to see and hear from Sauron in the movie. In my first reading of the trilogy, I kept hoping Sauron would make an appearance in one form or another. In my view, his "no show" was one of the few disappointments in the book. I wanted to hear from this Bad Guy who was wreaking so much havoc in Middle Earth. Maybe Professor Tolkien wanted to leave him to the imagination of the reader, but it would have been fun to read some dialogue from such a pivotal character. I'm hoping Mr. Jackson and crew will give us more of Sauron. I have a hunch they'd do a superb job. Yep, this is a movie I'll see over and over again, and it will be difficult to wait for the next two installments.
Rating:
Summary: I smiled the entire length of the film
Review: The film was wonderful. I loved every minute. It was incredible seeing the book which means so much to me come to life before my eyes. I feel Peter Jackson did a wonderful job at capturing the spirit of the greatest epic ever written. Although I missed some of Tolkien's unmatched dialouge, the film honored the integrity of the book. Aside from everything, the unbelievable beauty of the film was incredible. Simply outstanding.
Rating:
Summary: The best movie of 2001, and the best movie I've ever seen!
Review: THE FILM: I would give The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 10 stars if possible! This movie is absloute perfection, and I think that it is just plain better than A Beautiful Mind. Every single cast member does an outstanding job, and I really do think that J.R.R. Tolkien's book was adapted as best as possible. The colors on this DVD jump out at you, the film translates beautifully to the small screen. While this movie runs three hours long, I found myself wanting so much more of the story- although I guess I'll have to wait until December 18th when The Two Towers is released.
SPECIAL FEATURES: I found the special features on the FOTR DVD of better quality than most people did- obviously the preview of The Two Towers is the best and most anticipated. I really enjoyed watching the trailers, featurettes, and the music video in a good quality, they are very nice to have. I would have liked even a bare bones commentary, but that's what the extended version is for, I guess. Overall, good quality specs.
MY GRADE: A+
Rating: 
Summary: Very poor quality
Review: The first DVD in the set is totally unviewable, as the DVD is so scratched that all images and text on the screen is broke up. Packaging of the DVDs was very poor, totally unprofessional business transaction.
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