Rating: 
Summary: A Darker Movie, but still wonderful
Review: This review, being number 309, will probably just be another overlooked opinion. What can I say that others haven't? I've read part of the books and listened to the radio dramatization and watched the three cartoon movies. The one thing I haven't seen anyone else mention is that the movie is a little darker than the book. The book has alot of pick-me-up scenes and great songs that lift the mood between the serious parts. I thought some of the characters (the dwarf for example) were played a little darker. I also thought the "Prancing Pony" scene was MUCH to short and to gloomy. I mean, this is the inn renowned for its excellent service to travelers. Another point is that the orcs are a little too gruesome, the book doesn't describe them exactly that way. On the up side, Gandalf is ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL and so is Boromir (the last scene were he.....well, don't want to spoil it, HE'S JUST GREAT!). Any fan will love the action scenes and just watch in sweet bliss at what you never thought you'd ever get to see come to life.Anyway, that part was for the true fans out there who for some reason still haven't seen the movie. For anyone else, you will be swept away by this story and the characters and the action scenes are simply amazing. It will leave you hungry to see more. I myself could have sat there and watched all three movies one right after the other without leaving my seat once. A MUST SEE! EVEN IF YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF THE BOOKS! THEN AFTER THE MOVIE, YOU NEED TO READ THEM! The next movie promises to be even better because if the actions scenese were this great in this movie, just wait until the full scale war breaks out in the next one! Less than a year to go!
Rating:
Summary: nasty movie
Review: this set is insane! the extra footage is awsome and the movie is great to begin with. The movies nasty!!
Rating:
Summary: Legolas Rocks!
Review: This set is just all around excellent!
You get the deleted scenes put back into the original movie, and I think everything ties together quite nicely!
You also get to watch the interviews with the cast & crew about location, how props and costumes were made, and what made the movie really work.
And finally you get a National Geographic DVD that explains a lot about the backstory of Lord of the Rings.
A good example would be the various languages & dialects; and how they were created.
Oh, I almost forgot!
The statues are splendid!
The detail and weight of them both is truly outrageous!
Rating:
Summary: Ultimate Dvd!
Review: This should be done for Hundreds of dvds.... this set is So extensive and makes you wonder if they will do this for the next two installments? Lets hope so! The Documentaries included here are GREAT and the glimpses of the next two films is highly welcomed also! If you loved this film and can't get enough, get this....plus it comes with the bookends which make a great addition to your dvd or book shelf!
Rating:
Summary: The Years Best
Review: This should win Best Picture at the Oscars, but something in the back of my mind says it'll be A Beautiful Mind...and it does deserve it, it was a great movie, but this is the best movie of the year. A lot of the negative views people have been giving it wouldn't like the books because they focus on things that were in the book...duh! This isn't true to the books, but it is true to the spirit. I was scared because I thought it'd fall victim to the Harry Potter curse and not live up to the hyp. I couldn't have been more wrong. Ian McKellan is the best actor of the bunch, and every one of them was absolutely amazing. I wouldn't be surprised if he walks away with the Oscar for best Supporting Actor, though I'd like to see Alan Rickman take that... Elijah Wood and Sean Astin did seem like strange choices, given the fact they're both oung actors who haven't been in exactly the biggest blockbusters, or even all around good movies, but they both play their characters flawlessy. The same can be said of Viggo Mortesen...whatever his name is, Sean Bean, John Rhys-Davies (Whom, thanks to the perfect makeup and hairstylists, I couldn't tell it was him), Orlando Bloom, Liv Tyler, Cate Blanchett, Billy Boyd, and the rest. The Special Effects were great, probably the best I've seen since Pearl Harbor. At least their trolls didn't look like blue cousins of Shrek (See Harry Potter). Best Movie of the year. Go get 'em at the oscars!
Rating:
Summary: The film does the book justice.
Review: This speacial extended addition to the fellowship of the ring really is worth the hype, it fills in on what was missing from the thetrical release on areas of the book which deserved there place in Peter Jacksons Lord of the rings epic, when i first heard that they where releasing lord of the rings on DVD i thought that it would genrally be an impossible task and would produce a poor movie that did'nt do justice to Tolkiens books however this version really does do justice to the book and only changes slight areas subtly such as Arwens roll is more played upon, whilst this may irratate some fans of the book at first it really does adapt with the story and fits in alot better than it would if it remaind strictly true to the book. This speacial extended addition includes so many extras on one of the most pre-eminent films of all time that it makes you wonder how they keep it so well organized and fit in all the information that it gives you. With this addition you got four discs one and two are the extended version of the movie and three and four are all the extras such as how the idea came about, how they chose the characters and the settings and genrally all the details about the movie right from the hobbit feet. The artwork that you get with this DVD is very well crafted and you get all the original illustrations and storyboards from the film and the discs and cd trays contain some amazing artwork. The balrog is the most interesting character adapted from the original storyboard to the final epic which you see in the cinema and on th DVD. Fortunatley this DVD is not overly pretentious aswell as it does not push the boundries as to what you would like the final output of the film to be like. On this extra DVD you will find the appendices which you will probably recollect from Tolkiens books these contain the two discs from vision to reality and from book to vision these contain hours of extra featurettes and information. It's amazing how much work actually went into these films and how strenuous and great it must have been to work on the lord of the rings but it has paid off to become one of the greatest films ever to have been released. I would recommened this film to anybody especially those who can actually tolerate long films and not get wrestless as it's a rewarding film to get into, So if you feel like getting an ambient, deep film with it's own world, stuctures etc and amazing story line then this is one of the quintessential films along with the two towers and the yet to be released Return of the King. The speacial features do the film justice and the film does the book justice.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Extra Footage for a Fantastic Film!
Review: This special edition goes beyond the call of duty and adds many layers to an already complex and beautiful film. Many of the additions are small, but help you to realize the characters more fully. The special features are also quite rockin'. The only downside is that the film itself is on two discs, requiring you to pause halfway through and change discs. Not that big of a deal, but still annoying. This is a must buy for an LotR fans!
Rating: 
Summary: Buy it for the commentaries and extra features.
Review: This sprawling four disc set is a DVD package of "reference" quality by which all "Special Editions" should be judged. The picture quality and sound of the expanded film are superb. The extra 30 minutes of footage are seamlessly blended into the theatrical cut. The four feature length commentary tracks on discs 1 and 2 are both informative and entertaining. An innovative "subtitling" feature--which flashes each commentator's name on the screen as he or she is speaking--makes it easy to follow a half dozen or more different voices on single track. Meanwhile, discs 3 and 4 are stuffed with several excellent documentaries, photo galleries and demonstration features examining every aspect of this epic production from the conceptual stages to the finished film. No detail is spared. So, why do I give this "extended" version only 4 out of 5 stars? To be honest, all of the special features in the world cannot hide the flaws of the additional scenes; the extra footage is a mixed bag. Too often, the added scenes trade narrative pacing for unnecessary exposition in a film already heavy with expository scenes. In many cases, the new footage both diminishes the impact of important events which occur later in the film and encumbers the narrative with unimportant details. This problem is most evident in the first 45 minutes of the expanded feature. The "new" scenes with Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) do not enhance our understanding of the story and make later, more important events almost redundant. On the flip side, the extra character building scenes featuring Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) deepen the narrative and enhance our understanding of one of the trilogy's most important characters without slackening the pace. Likewise, the new footage of Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) adds details which are important in the next two films. My reservations aside, I recommend this set over the earlier DVD release of the theatrical version. By themselves, the commentary tracks and the behind-the-scenes features make this set indispensable for fans of Peter Jackson's magnificent epic.
Rating:
Summary: Awe-Inspiring
Review: This stretches what we thought was possible in film. It's beautiful and engaging, it's impressive how Jackson was able to film 3 films at once at this quality and save money doing it. Great actors like C.Lee, I.McKellen, E.Wood as Frodo is a good choice, and so on. I usually like endings without a big climax, but here it just seemed a little too abrupt, the last 45 minutes were the lowest quality. I'm ecstatic about 'THE TWO TOWERS' and a little disappointed about Treebeard's highly realistic look, but that's another issue! I don't think this film could possibly be much better, buy the soundtrack!
Rating:
Summary: Blow the original out of the water!!
Review: This took a great fantasy film and made it a masterpiece that will truly be ageless and timeless. Probably the BEST addition to the film is the new intro wich starts much like the book. A simple introduction to the hobbits. The best part is that this version is not so rushed. The story takes time to question, talk, and truly care about it's characters. You learn more about certain motivations and you get to sit back and enjoy the movie on a whole nother level beyond the talk/action/run sort of thing the theatrical release seemed to be stuck in. Over all it's much more enjoyable and truly a cinematic masterpiece. i LOVE being able to absorb the richness of the Shire for 45 minutes before leaving it for the long arduous journey to destroy the ring. Almost all the locations are extended allowing the viewer to enjoy the richness of Tolkiens world and how Peter brings it to life so vividly. If for some reason you don't like widescreen. You really should do your research. Every DVD has an option (Anamorphic widescreen) that will stretch out the picture without losing the sides. Full Screen does alot of things with the picture to fit it unaturally into the TV Square size. You really miss alot when it's Full Screen. The black bars on your screen are only their because TV was never made to show Cinematic films. Thanks to Widescreen TV's that will no longer be a problem. But please, before you bash it, find out what your missing and how DVD (using Anamorphic Widescreen) has given every movie the ability to fill up the whole screen, even square tv's, but importanly WITHOUT losing picture. I hope that The Two Towers is as enhanced with the extra footage in the Expanded Edition as this one was. It's a shame that the best versions of each film will rarely if ever see the light of a true theatre experience.
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