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Summary: Warning to Mac users!
Review: This movie will NOT work on a Macintosh DVD-ROM drive.
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Summary: Ignore the "Rings" cult: this movie is a timeless classic
Review: This movie will still be astounding viewers decades from now. Since I had the great advantage of never being patient enough to finish reading the books, my appreciation of this amazing movie was not ruined by any pre-conceived notions. "The Lord of the Rings", (the book), was a fantasy classic long before there were any computers or computer geeks. so of course there is no way any mere mortal's movie will ever measure up to the "official cult interpretation" dictated by the superior imaginations of these "Ring Nerds". Well I say, just ignore the detractors and judge this movie on it's own merits. You will find it hard not to list it as one of your favorite movies of all time.
And if anyone wants to carp about the DVD version, wait until November and get the 4-disk version.
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Summary: Extraordinary!
Review: This movie will undoubtedly last the test of time! Forever being remembered as a classic- movie-making at its best! Gosh, you know, I guess good movies are possible these days! Best character portrayals I've ever seen- Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Ian Holmes, Sean Astin, Christopher Lee, Liv Tyler, Billy Boyd, Viggo Mortensen and all the rest are just as amazing in their depictions as they could be! Peter Jackson knew what he was doing when he picked out this cast. I can't believe how real they felt! Not only did they look the part they brought the characters to life! I haven't read The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but I have read The Hobbit and was an immediate fan of Tolkien's stylistic writing and character development (and there's always Christmas lists, so I'm planning on reading the trilogy in the near, very near future :o)!). Peter Jackson did an outstanding job of making the scenery as it should be (or so as I had imagined it in reading The Hobbit) and bringing Tolkien's great writing to life, he was robbed of awards I tell ya! If you haven't read The Hobbit, it, too, depicts the same places as in the LOTR, though it has some others. I completely imagined Bilbo and Gandalf, and even Gollum (when I read The Hobbit) as Peter Jackson's characters. Extremely well done special effects, the kind that make your jaw drop. Beautiful shots of New Zealand- absolutely perfect for the movie. Great flow, never choppy. Great sets, such as the tavern and inn- really giving the movie an atmosphere and stream from scene to scene. It all comes together to leave you asking for more and anticipating the next of the three films. It was brave to depict such a classic as Tolkien's and is a masterpiece all its own, separate from being a great representation of the Tolkien's style of writing. I can't wait for the next one and, though they have a lot to live up to, I believe The Two Towers will be just as wonderful. The extras in the DVD are wonderful and spending a little more for the Platinum Edition may be worth it, at least I believe so. Perhaps they may even come out with a special "collectors' edition" or something when all the films have been released. I don't know, but I might wait to see. I'm sure the special FOTR will always be available if they don't, and all the others, too. I say, if you can't wait, get this Platinum Series (it'll be well worth it, I'm sure)!
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Summary: DESTINED TO BE A CLASSIC
Review: This movie [pulls] you in within the first lines and never lets go! I fell so in love with it, that I went to the theatre 5 times to see it(at last count)and am now reading the book, which is great! This movie is quite true to the book, and manages to bring to life the fabulous world of Middle Earth and it's characters in quite a fantastic, striking and memorable way. I think Tolkien would be very pleased. (There is sooo much more in the books, though, but to put EVERYTHING in would take forever!!) Peter Jackson did a fine job deciding what to include and what to leave out and the movie moves along just beautifully, despite it's 3hr+ running time. You don't even have to be the LEAST BIT familiar with the books AT ALL to completely fall in love with this story. Wonderful characters, breathtaking scenery, good vs. evil...this movie has it all and more. You will be left just dying to see the next one, but watching this over and over will keep you sated till "The Two Towers"! Also, for parents, this is rated PG-13, and that is for violence. Ya know, good guys vs. bad guys stuff...nothing too gory; although some of the bad creatures are pretty hideously UGLY and so might scare the really little ones. But there's no vulgarity or sex scenes or anything like that, so no worries there. Just a good, old-fashioned fantasy tale of good vs. evil, friendship, love, courage, and how someone who seems so insignificant can change the course of the world. My 10 and 12 year-olds loved it and are reading the books with fervor now. I also just totally fell in love with the movie, the characters, and the books after viewing this and it is sure to become my favorite movie of all time. You WILL NOT REGRET buying this one! SEE IT!!!!!!! BUY IT!!!!!! LOVE IT!!!!!!!
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Summary: Eh. The most palatable way of downing this epic...
Review: This movie's okay. I've never understood the appeal of Tolkein. He wrote a great story (The Hobbit) and then thought it would be better if he magnified it's length and eliminated it's humor. I prefer the film to the book (uncommon for me) I can't believe they're going to stretch this DVD out into another release and make it even longer! I've got a suggestion, how about cutting it down to an hour and a half for those of us who didn't like it in the first place? Is there a Mr. Magoo version of this? That would be even better! But would Magoo play Frodo or Gandalf?
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Summary: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Review: This movie, in my opinion, has set a new standard for all movies and future trilogies. This movie being only the first of three to show, I was shocked at the attention to detail all through out the movie. Myself, being a fan of the Hobbit book series, could find no fault at this plot or recreation of a book. I was speechless after the first 10 minutes of this movie and that stayed with me until I saw the credits at the end of this magnificant masterpiece. My hats are off to all that had a hand in this brilliant movie. If only all movies could be this great, we would have nothing to loose and wouldn't mind spending an extra $10 dollars on popcorn and a drink. <note the sarcasm>
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Summary: People like this movie!!?!?
Review: This movie, was the most boring piece of [trash] I've ever seen! The entire story was "good guys walk for a while, they stop, the bad guys find them, the hero is stabbed, good guys walk for a while, they stop, the bad guys find them, the hero is stabbed, the good guys run away, good guys walk for a while, they stop, the bad guys find them, the hero is stabbed, the good guys run away......" that seems to be the ENTIRE storyline of the movie. The effects are good, but good effects don't make a good movie. If you feel you have to waste money on this, by all means, go ahead, but I'll never watch this stinker again.
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Summary: If there was a Nobel Prize for film.....
Review: This movie, while a great film by itself, is doubly wonderful if you loved the book long before the movie showed up. If one reads articles on the production, you find that nearly the entire cast and crew both loved the book and were determined to remain loyal to it. They succeeded. Watching the film is almost eerie at times...it's an astounding thing for Tolkien to write a world so vivid that we could picture it perfectly...and then have it perfectly pictured for us on a screen. I have now seen it eleven times (as opposed to a maximum two times in the theater for any other movie) and each time I find more complexity in it. Peter Jackson's directing is a marvel, not only for the good choices he made to streamline the story, but most of all for the unified vision of what he's trying to say which is the hallmark of any good (great? incomparable? yes that's it) film. The acting is superb. All of the actors live into their characters; I was most impressed with Ian McKellen, who had apparently never read the book until he got the part and yet was able to become Gandalf in every nuance and expression. Also especially impressive were Sean Bean as Boromir and Elijah Wood as Frodo; it will be interesting to watch Frodo's transformation completed in the other two films from fear to despairing strength. The special effects don't even need to be discussed. Nothing like this film has ever been seen before; and I expected it to be spectacular, but the one detail that blew me away nevertheless was the pits of Isengard. I was dumbfounded. On an equal par with the effects, the score is an amazing piece of work...movie scores are fairly banal by and large, but every once in a while you get one without which the film would not be complete. Howard Shore created something amazing and got a well-deserved Oscar for it. I could go on for days...the film is astounding, but it takes a true lover of the book to realize just how astounding it is, and what a monumental cinematic achievement is was to bring such a book to vivid life. I will be happily standing on a sidewalk shivering in December with a friend and a sleeping bag for as many days as it takes. Thank you Peter Jackson and crew; you deserved every Oscar and it's just too damn bad the establishment isn't ready to recognize this sort of greatness yet (probably because it's never been seen before). But Lord...if they gave it to Titanic, they'll give the stupid statue to anyone. Fellowship raises the bar for all film in the future; I expect such a bar only to be exceeded in the next two Decembers, if ever.
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Summary: Brilliant movie, astonishing detail
Review: This one is a masterpiece. I've read the trilogy multiple times and was hopeful but not expectant that the movie would convey the story in an effective way. Well... I was blown away. Years of hard work by talented, dedicated people paid off in a majestic, beautiful production. As the extra features of the DVD make clear, the passion of the director, actors, and engineers for Tolkien's creation exceeded anything I could have hoped for from what is ultimately a business whose primary purpose is to make a profit. Bravo!...
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Summary: Lord of the Rings;The Fellowship of the Ring
Review: This ONE movie had me going on for the fantasy type movies. Elijah Wood does a great job in portraying a scared but courageous individual in a terrifying situation. During the movie, my fingers were swollen from clutching my arm rests so hard. I had thought the book was confusing and, I have to admit, boring when I first read it. But this movie brought out the true greatness of J.R.R. Tolkien's work. The characters were perfectly portrayed by the right actors. But they could do without Liv Tyler. Ian McKellen makes a great wizard. He's got that oldness to him that makes him seem feeble, but once he gets worked up, powerful.Viggo Mortensen is very good-looking. All the more want to watch him. He does a good job acting like a mysterious loner. Now, Orlando Bloom, you got to love him, i really thought he was an elf. Even in his documentary, he knows exactly how to act like an elf. "Legolas is like a cat; always silent. Its just the way he kind of sneaks up on you." That is a perfect way to describe him and thats what Orlando did. And also, 9 out of 10 girls who've seen him have fallen in love with him. The hobbits are really funny and I think they bring out the comedy of this movie. This whole thing is mystifying and is the perfect example of a fantasy movie. You can forget what everyone says about the ending. Even though it just stops in a bad place....its called a cliffhanger. Peter Jackson is a genius, he knows what hes doing. The ending was like that to build up to the second movie of the trilogy. I for one really really loved this movie and plan to buy it as soon as it comes out.
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