Rating: 
Summary: Astonishingly breathtaking
Review: ...I went to Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring expecting a remake of the animated Hobbit, but not so. It was so beautiful and moving. I have been captivated by Middle-Earth for years, but it has never felt so -real- before. I was in the Shire. I met Galadriel. I was 5 feet from the battle between Gandalf and the Balrog.
One of my favorite aspects is that the characters weren't played by huge Hollywood stars. Elijah Wood was perfect for the role of Frodo, and I am looking forward to seeing how he progresses the character throughout the next 2 installments.
There were few discrepancies between the prose and film, but where they were, it did not harm the story. Rather, it expanded on themes that made the movie even more intriguing. (The relationship between Aragorn and Arwen is a perfect example; the book does not tell much of their story) The Fellowship of the Ring is incredible and exquisite. Peter Jackson has found his niche.
Rating:
Summary: AMAZING...
Review: ...is the word that describes every aspect of the film!
A must for everyone!
Rating:
Summary: Better Than I Expected
Review: ...P>From start to finish, this film held my attention. Rare in and of itself, the portrayals of Gandalf by McKellan and Frodo by Wood are thier best performances to date. Peter Jackson did an excellent job on this film. Everything looks as it should, as I imagined. The Shire, the Faire city, Mount Doom, all of it.Pacing was good, color was great. Music was just right.
Am I gushing? Yes. So what? I want people to know that this film, while intense in places, is no more violent than 2-3 Saturday morning cartoons and much better written. The 2 death scenes were done tastefully, with a minimum of blood and you felt thier loss...as it should be. I recently picked up a screening disc of this film and will probably watch it again a few times before the retail one is available. Why? Because I really liked it.
Rating:
Summary: The richest fantasy film ever made!
Review: ...P>I'm a filmmaker, so I know what it's like to try and condense a book into a medium like film, because what our brain reads of the written word is different than what our minds comprehend of a succession of images. What some people don't understand is that Tolkien's writing is very detailed and poetic, and looking at The Fellowship Of The Ring, I think Peter Jackson has nailed it! On the subject of why Tom Bambaldi was eliminated, he simply does not comply to the story as significantly as the other characters on screen, meaning that on film his character would only drag viewers AWAY from the main plot. Some people might find this as a rude comment, but it's true. When crafting a film, you have to realize what is essential, and what is expendable. You're making a piece of moving images, and you have to be able to work the story through what the audience will accept and care for. Because of the level of the action and task that has been brought upon Frodo and the others in the fellowship, the audience has to care for them before they believe what they will eventually embark on. Given the performances which are top notch, and the direction which is amazingly self-assured, I have to hand it to the group of thousands that came together for this film trilogy. Not only do I think personally that this film is the best fantasy of all time, I think it's the best film to come out of Hollywood this year!
Rating:
Summary: Enchanting
Review: ...Peter Jackson captured the essence of the book perfectly: from the lively town of Hobbiton to the desolate kingdom of Mordor. But, being a musician (not professionally) myself, it was the score that touched me most. Howard Shore was an ideal composer for the soundtrack, and even Enya mustered up enough talent to perform relatively well. Every piece was beautiful. Some, like Concerning Hobbits, begged for laughter. Others, like A Knife in the Dark, was at once terrifying, enthralling, and magnificent. It added depth and emotion to the film - qualities which were already abundant. The actors were superb. Except for a few tiny slips, they were flawless. The main characters were not valiant or heroic (except, maybe, for Aragorn), as is portrayed in most films of today. They were merely human. They felt fear, joy, regret, anger. They were not 2-dimensional characters, more to grace the set than to present a story. Most important was Jackson's judgement. The book was carefully transferred into film. Some aspects were changed or removed, of course, but the best were retained. After all, they only had 3 hours to work with; we cannot ask for more. It was fascinating to see the characters - which I could only imagine before - come to life on the screen. Tolkien would be proud.
Rating:
Summary: What more can be said...
Review: ...that the movie doesn't? The vocabulary of praise has been exhausted; and I see no need to wax platitudinous. It is simply impossible to capture the feeling this amazing 16 hour movie generates in the heart and the soul. I'm not even going to try.
One cannot imagine but that the late Professor Tolkein and his late (?) son and archivist, Christopher, would have cheered this work of not one but MANY lifetimes.
Tolkein produced a richly textured mythopoeic millieu that should be real; that is, in fact, more detailed than the history of many nations' national mythologies. Who does not long for a world where evil CAN be driven from the Earth? Jackson, et al, so nailed the entire book (and it's as one movie as it is one book) that he achieved a miracle our dim praise can add nothing to other than competitive effusiveness.
The wonder speaks for itself. We all have that sinking feeling in our guts that the self-proclaimed Academy is going to "Annie Hall" LotR as it did to "Star Wars" all those years ago. At least we can thank the stars Woody Allen doesn't have a movie in contention! Back to the sinking feeling: we all know the "Academy" is going to administer the proverbial boot to Messers/Mesdames Jackson, Walsh, Mortensen, Astin, Woods, Rhys-Davies, Ian McKellen, et al. The failure to nominate Astin as Best Supporting Actor was obscene enough. I dearly, dearly hope I'm wrong. If a marginal, ephemeral movie like "Titanic" can sweep, then the greatest movie of the generation, by any measure of justice, can and must do the same. Should things go the way they look to, long after this year's Oscar Lights have faded away, and even amazing films like "Lost in Translation" and "Master and Commander" are forgotten in the bargain bins at Wal-Mart, long after our children have left this Earth to our grandchildren, one ineluctable truth will remain: These movies have few equals and no superiors. Rather like Prof. Tolkein himself. Bravissimo! Furthermore: The "extended" scenes--as a twenty plus year devotee to the man and book which made my wretched, early adolescence bearable--really complete the story magnificently in "Fellowship." I'm amazed that non-readers of the books can follow them with having the background of the books. The references come so thick and fast... But Boyens, Walsh and Jackson managed it beautifully. My lovely wife whose never read the books (tho' she's started) found it easy to follow the story (of course she had the advantage of my near-encyclopedic knowledge of Tolkeiana--I know, that was ugly, but neologisms are rarely pretty). Yet more evidence of this "team's" multifarious genius and creation of a standard that we children of the Seventies see equal the Godfather and Star Wars movies: it raises the bar to the invisible and won't be topped for a very, very long time. If the "Matrix" asks important questions, "LotR" answers them.
Rating:
Summary: If you have the attention span of a billy goat...
Review: ...then don't see this movie, and certainly don't read Tolkein's series. You will never get it, and your cluelessness about myth and the eternal struggle will disown you like wholesome language off a Dead Kennedy's album. On the other hand, if you like to read, and want to witness a very good enactment of a the best mytho-poetic epic of the 20th century, one that actually does Tolkein justice ( unlike that cartoon abomination in the late 70s), then Pete Jackson's rendition of Tolkien is an absolute must. It is just a shame some people who did see this movie and reviewed it had to leave the grazing comfort of their hillside herd to throw one of their "tin cans" at a movie of such wonderful magnatude. Myth, imagination, magic, fire, homeric wars, demons, alien worlds and beings, incredible special effects, a dreamscape of incredible forces both conscious and unconscious duking it out for the salvation of the world, all the stuff our intuitive selves feed on for daily bread are here, FINALLY brought alive by someone with the skill to do it. Yes, there are minor flaws...no Bombadil, Glorfindel replaced by Arwen, the changed bar room scences at the Pony...but overall, a true lineal descendant worthy of the epic itself. I could go on scene by scene, but others have done this already, and did a good job of it as well. But if you are a myth-lover with even a smattering of poetic sensibility, you will love both this movie and the series. Don't miss either, or you will miss one long fantastic vacation without ever having to leave your seat.
Rating:
Summary: If you don't own this....
Review: ...then you must not have a DVD player. A release of a movie already released on DVD, this is a new movie entirely from what the theatrical version offered. Over 30 minutes of extended footage incorporated in the film, this is the version you should watch if you want to experience what JRR Tolkien would want you too, outside of the books, that is. This DVD is almost too golden for words. The menu's. The hours upon hours of extras, are just glorious. There's almost TOO much supplemental content. It's mindboggling. "Day in the Life of the hobbit" and the specials on the music for the film were my favorites, but all are interesting. I've been a fan of LOTR for several years and I'm truly prould of Peter Jackson and his vision of this epic. I'd pay hundreds of dollars for this, and you would too. In short: Just buy this movie. You wont ever want to watch the theatrical version again. Also the best DVD ever made, and has one several awards. I'd buy this even if I didn't have a DVD player. So, there are no excuses if you are a Tolkienite or just plain ol' movie lover. "MELLON!"
Rating:
Summary: A real epic...one of the best DVD's ever
Review: ...this is one of (if not THE) finest DVDs ever produced. The added footage fleshes out the story spectacularily, giving the film an amazing amount of added depth. But the features...There is enough documentart material to set one well on their way to Tolkien scholarship! The boxed collectors set with the figurines comes with an added National Geographic disc that alone is worth the price of the entire set. One of the few dvd's ever to be a "must-have"
Rating:
Summary: Going to be a Hit
Review: ...this movies is the best that i have seen in a long time. back then in the sixtys they had horable monsters and bad graphics, but in this movie it made me Laught, tear up, and even use my imagination...
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