Rating: 
Summary: For once, this truly IS the movie of the book.
Review: The first thing that strikes you about Peter Jackson's Fellowship of the Ring is that the production values are incredible and it looks oh-my-god gorgeous. If you didn't know better and hadn't seen some of the earlier abortive attempts, that could almost distract you from the fact that for once, this movie is almost TOTALLY faithful to the book. If you liked the books, but were disappointed by the Rankin-Bass animated Hobbit or the confused, mangled 1990 animation-over-film Lord of the Rings that ended halfway through what should have been The Two Towers, you should consider this movie -- and especially, this VERSION of this movie -- a must-see.
OK, granted, there are minor changes here and there for filmability, and to adapt to the fact that it's not really possible to fit all the dialog of the original book into a movie people will sit still to watch. But by the standards of any typical Hollywood "adaptation", this is verbatim chapter-and-verse. Dear old Professor Tolkien would be proud.The Shire is unmistakeably the Shire. The Hobbits and Gandalf are perfectly true to character, Strider "looks foul but feels fair", the Ringwraiths are perfectly malevolent, and Rivendell perfectly beautiful. (Not to mention Arwen Evenstar... be still, my beating heart. In the words of a good friend, "Must remember: Aloof, unavailable elf-princess. Aloof, unavailable elf-princess.") Caradhras is as threateningly impassable as ever, although in that scene you'll notice a significant divergence from the book. (If you've read the books, it'll jump out at you. If you haven't, you probably won't care.) And then there's Moria ... and oh, my, there's Khazad-Dum. You will dream yourself in Khazad-Dum. It's breathtaking. And then ... there's the Balrog. So, you've been playing AD&D for twenty years, and you think you know all about Balrogs, huh? Well, let me tell you, you don't know a Balrog from a hole in the ground, until you've seen Fellowship of the Ring's Balrog. "Who'll kill the Balrog, who'll kill the Balrog / You kill the Balrog, while I climb a tree..."
Buddy, there ain't no tree high enough. Not even in Middle-Earth. Fellowship of the Ring would almost be worth it for the Balrog alone. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that Peter Jackson's production of Fellowship of the Ring, particularly in its full-length extended edition, has redefined the state of the art and set the standard that the rest of the movie industry will be trying to catch up to for probably the next ten years. And without giving anything away, The Two Towers (which, at the time of writing this review, hit theaters two weeks ago) continues to set the standard ... it's at least as good, if not better. I can hardly wait to see what goes into the extended version of The Two Towers. And then we have another year to wait for Return of the King. ...Anyone got a time machine? I'm not sure my heart will stand the suspense.
Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Adventure
Review: An amazing good vs evil adventure. The hours flew by, I was totally immersed in every scene, the scenery was beautiful right down to Bilbos front door. I wish they would have included Tom Bombadil in the movie somehow though. You gotta read the book again before you see the movie. The transformation from book to screen was wonderfully done.
Rating:
Summary: The DVD you have to own!
Review: Wow, this Extended Version DVD is definitely an exceptional buy! I was disappointed with the regular release version when there were no director's commentary or other good extras and then heard about this DVD set. I had to get it! And was not at all disappointed. I first thought the extra footage was mainly for fans of the book, but I think anyone that is into the movies will find the extra footage worth watching. There's a whole extra introduction at the beginning on hobbits that is charming, and of course the extended gift-giving in Lothlorien. But even more there is more interaction of the characters and story development that explains a lot more. While it does change the pacing of the movie somewhat, this should not be an issue if you are watching at home on your own time. Then we have the commentaries. I haven't got through all of them, but they are well done and give you a lot of great information on the making of the movie, particularly how Jackson created the illusion of the hobbits being so small and even more, why they felt certain changes from the book were necessary. You have TWO whole more DVDs full of documentaries and extras, tons of images and of course, a look ahead to Two Towers. I was tickled to also get a free ticket to the Two Towers, but that expires 12/31/02 if you haven't bought it yet. It's too bad the whole movie couldn't fit on one DVD but that's a minor nit. There's so much here and of course, the movie itself is a masterpiece, that it's only natural that it would be one of the largest DVD sets released for a single movie. And just think, by the time the last movie comes out, we'll have TWELVE DVDs to deal with the whole series.
Rating: 
Summary: Why????
Review: No,no,no,no,no!! I was so psyched to get this dvd,
then I put it in and there it was...Shot in that stupid
wide screen format that to this very day I cannot understand!
You end up with about 10 inches(high)of picture in the middle
of the screen.Why?Why do they do this.I have a 27 inch t.v...darn..
it,I want the whole thing full,I don't want a strip of black nothingness at the top and bottom of the screen!! That sucks,thanks alot you jerk(film makers)for ruining a great
movie.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Film Companion to the Book
Review: Having read and loved all of Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" novels, I initially had pretty low expectations of Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring". I approached this film fearing that, through a combination of vital omissions and an excessive reliance on special affects, it would fail to compliment the experience of reading the book. Boy was I wrong! Yes, this film does omit some of the minor characters, but all of the principle players are included and portrayed superbly. Tolkien's beloved songs are completely excised, but with all due respect to the artist and his passion for inventing languages, those were the elements of the trilogy that I least enjoyed. Most importantly, I can't imagine a more perfect handling of special effects than Jackson's treatment of them in this film. Instead of relying heavily on special affects purely for the sake of realism (as in the Jurassic Park films, for example), Jackson sort of creates a middle ground in which the special affects and the characters are tailored to create the fabled atmosphere of Middle Earth. The special effects are real, but not too real. Both the costumes and the delivery of the actors are redolent of fantasy and fable, but never cease to be believable. After watching this film, I found that my recollections of it blended seamlessly with my recollections of the book, which was a sure indication that Jackson got it right.
Rating:
Summary: Cutting some of those scenes was a sin!
Review: I highly recommend this edition of Lord of the Rings to anyone who enjoys moviemaking at its best. Peter Jackson has created a masterpiece, which will be revered for generations to come much the same as Star Wars. Why the extended edition? Anyone who hasn't read The Hobbit or the Fellowship should get the extended edition. Woven into the movie are many deleted scenes which provide more background to the plot, helping the viewer to understand the movie to a greater degree. One of the many deleted scenes, "Concerning Hobbits," provides an especially important background of the main characters. This was cut for time limits by the studio -- a grave error. At least we can watch it in this edition. The "play-by-play" commentary is, well, cool. One can choose between actors, producers, special effects supervisors, and writers and listen to their takes on the movie and the filmmaking process. VERY INTERESTING. Also, the two extra discs of documentary are superb. Anyone interested in moviemaking, specifically special effects, will be in for a treat with more than four hours of footage and commentary on the two DVDs.
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest epic films of all time!
Review: I haven't read the books yet but do plan to after seeing this as well as the second installment 'The Two Towers' (which is also magnificent). Coupled with marvelous special effects and heart-pounding battle/action scenes, the Lord of the Rings film trilogy will make it as one of the most successful film trilogies of all time. The entire film trilogy is a must for any movie buff's library too. I am sure if J.R.R. Tolkein were alive, he would be very pleased with the film's outcome despite the fact (as some other reviewers point out) some elements of his novels were not present in these films. While the films themselves are amazing, please keep in mind that the main thrust of the movie is (to quote Lord Acton) 'Power corrupts and absolute power corupts absolutely.' The Lord of the Rings film and book trilogies aren't just about the battle between good and evil, but also freedom and slavery.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece of DvD entertainment...
Review: I love the Lord of the Rings. The story, the movie, and any and all related. I first discovered the story of the one ring by watching about an hour of its animated feature. I love animation, and all the realism of the animated characters in the 'fellowship of the ring' cartoon really enamoured me at the time . Also, I had never seen a cartoon deal with such a dark issue in so human a way before. This was when I was 10, and seeing the movie again, after seeing greater works of animation, reveals many weaknesses. The greatest of which I discovered after reading books - the cartoon molested the story. But I still owe that film much gratitude for first introducing me to the exhaustive story of Sauron and the One Ring. A friend [Sean Mullin - thank you man] really piqued my interest in the 'fellowship' as it neared it's premiere, when he began to summarise the backstory of the ring. I was immediately very interested, and horrified [yet attracted] to the story of the Nazgul. I remember persevering through Tolkien's [long] introduction to the book just so I could see how these small hobbits would survive such terrible creatures as these Ringwraiths. The sheer palpable sense of evil was frightening and entrancing. I wanted to know the ending to the story I had seen in cartoon form so long ago. So I read the books. The book trilogy of the 'Lord of the Rings' is easily one of the most involving, emotional journeys I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. I remember the sadness I felt at having to say goodbye to characters I had grown to love and hope for [Sam and Frodo especially - but especally Samwise the Brave]. By then, another creature had caught my interest - Gollum. Out of all the creatures in the story, his corrupted nature shocked and gripped me the most. The pictures some artists have created to capture his persona are the most disturbing and the most memorable. All these aspects truly cemented my love for Tolkien's world. I read these books WHILE Peter Jackson's movie was in theaters. I would read several chapters, see the movie, finish the next book, see the movie again, and so on. The fact that Peter's movie fit so perfectly in my perception of Tolkien's world, DESPITE the changes he made, really sold me out to the film. So many visuals stick in your head long after you watch the film! Especially the flying moth set against the horrific destruction of the trees around isengard, and gwaihir's triumphant soaring over the mountains of new zealand. Special mention to Howard Shore's endearing score - have you ever read the trilogy while listening to this score? It's like a blanket of imagination that keeps your visual imagery of middle-earth warm and sharply focused. His score does for the mind exactly what the film does. That word leitmotif is a great word, and Howard Shore's leitmotif's in this film keep me in awe of it's majestic splendour. My favorites are the boys choir themes of nature, rivendell's elven choir, and the chanting dwarfsmen of moria. Repeated viewing after reading the books DID make me feel dissapointed that great parts of the story were missing from the film, but the Special Extended Edition of the 'fellowship of the ring' more than made up for that. I can't even imagine Gandalf, Bilbo, or Samwise Gamgee as anyone other than Ian Mckellen, Ian Holm, and Rudy [I mean, Sean Astin] anymore! Seeing the film over and over, and seeing how much love Peter Jackson and the entire production crew of the films put into making the films, has helped me decide to trust their instincts, and welcome the films as a great illustration of a magnificent story. What the Peter Jackson crew want is to honor tolkien's world, and give us as much a joy of discovering and experiencing the story of that world, as modern technology, special effects, and excellent acting can give. The greatest strength of the films is it's crew. It's so obvious they love the story as much as we do. It feels like they are making the film to please the fans of the story, and have us in mind with every single decision. The writers of the script are as aware and in love with the story as any of us; their love affair with the stories of Tolkien probably has many more years growth than many of us. It's been a pleasure to experience the lord of the rings through J.R.R. Tolkien's novels, and especially through the incredible film, wonderful extra features and many deeply interesting and intimate appendices of this magnificently presented DvD.
Rating:
Summary: Best Extended DVD I've ever seen!
Review: It was like watching a whole new movie with the extra scenes blended seamlessly into the original theatrical release and All I can say is 'Wow!'. Peter Jackson is totally my hero for breathing such beautiful life into my most beloved and cherished books. As a fan of Tolkien, I was not disappointed in the slightest and PJ's adaptation, and I'm so truly appreciative of the hours and hours of extra stuff they have included on these DVDs. Behind-the-scenes stuff fascinates me and my expectations have been exceeded beyond my wildest imagination. Thank you thank you thank you Peter for the fabulous job!
Rating:
Summary: It was awesome!!
Review: I dont actually have the DVD itself, but I watched it at a friend's house. The improvements were subtle, but made for an all around better movie.
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