Rating: 
Summary: Longer isn't better. Buy the theatrical release.
Review: Borrow the Extended Edition from a friend; but for repeat viewings, own the version that was released in theaters. Having been a repeat viewer of the 3-hour Fellowship, and a fan of the books, I was given the Extended Edition as a gift. Viewing the added scenes was interesting - once, to satisfy my curiosity. I was then invited to watch the Extended Edition with a roomful of people who had not seen the theatrical release, and I was able predict the points during which their interest would lag. In my opinion, Extended Edition suffers in comparison to the theatrical release in two ways: pacing (there are some stretch-and-yawn moments among the added scenes, in addition to a few wonderful ones); and an unfortunate early "spoiler" regarding Boromir's overwhelming need to take the Ring from Frodo. Yes, this scene is true to the book, but it works less well on film. By confirming Boromir's intentions almost from the moment he's introduced - and exposing Gandalf's open and somewhat hostile distrust of Boromir - the film loses not only some of its suspense, but a significant amount of its poignancy. It's tough to have empathy with Boromir when instead of seeing him slowly seduced by the Ring, you find yourself viewing him as an obvious villain and wondering why such smart elves and wizards would allow this guy to join their sensitive mission. In summary, viewing both versions has strengthened my respect for Fellowship's original editors, who demonstrated enormous wisdom in choosing what to leave out. (I only wish similar restraint had been used to reduce Treebeard's painfully long speeches in Return of the King. Again, it was charming in the book but on film, it should be subtitled, "Go get popcorn now." So shoot me.
Rating: 
Summary: ONE OF THE BEST DVD's EVER!
Review: What can I say? This is an EXCELLENT package for the 1st Lord Of The Rings Movie. Features 4 discs which include a uncut version of the movie (almost 4 hours long) and hours of behind-the scenes & making-of footage. The movie is featured in DTS surround sound and must be one of the BEST sounding DVD's of ALL time! If you enjoy this movie and have a surround sound setup with DTS, you MUST check this out. This is a great disc to show off your entertainment system. The package is very cool too!
Rating: 
Summary: Looks good - but lacking
Review: Very, very long. Watch it over two nights. :)
Rating:
Summary: ONE DVD TO RULE THEM ALL
Review: Well, what can I say? There are just so many good things to say about this DVD that it's hard to know where to begin. Naturally, the 6.1 channel saround sound is nothing short of excelent. But first, I should say that the spirit of Tolkien's writing is brought forth much more vividly in this extended version than in the thatericle version. Not, of course to imply that the theaterical version was flawed, it isn't; however, even Peter Jackson conceeds this point in his excelent commentary. Speaking of comintaries, there are not one, not two, not three but four of them; all of them excelent and very well worth listening too. This DVD is well worth what you'll pay for it; an excelent way to spend your evening.
Rating: 
Summary: new technology, new disappointments
Review: Is more less? It is with DVD. I bought LOTR Extended Edition expecting that I would be able to watch a full screen version from the wide-screen file on disc. I also thought I could watch the original cut from the extended cut by making a simple choice on a menu. But no. Although the two items I want are subsets of the data on disc, they are not available to me. So I have to watch the 2.35:1 movie in letterbox format, which leaves about 30-40% of my TV screen black. I also can't enjoy the original, more prudent cut. The theatrical version is a more impactful cinematic experience than the meandering extended version. The extended version is a curiosity, not something that will entertain repeatedly. Be aware of these limitations when buying the LOTR EE DVD, and also any DVD product today. It's easy for the hype surrounding DVD to hide basic shortcomings that will only be discovered after you have spent money.
Rating:
Summary: Could it get any better??
Review: I thought the original version of The Fellowship of the Ring was awesome, but this version is even better! There's a lot of things cut out of the original that would prevent people that didn't read the book from fulling understanding certain things, but a lot is cleared up in this edition.
Rating: 
Summary: an awful movie
Review: LOTR was one of the worst movies I have ever seen! Don't waste your time or your money on it. Too long, too boring- I almost fell asleep. What a waste of a perfectly good 3 hours!! Usually, I really like movies that I see in the theater, but I hated this. I don't even want to see the other two. I feel bad for the hundreds of millions of dollars people have wasted on this movie.
Rating:
Summary: simply the best dvd set ever!
Review: If you loved the movie on the big screen, you will love the dvd
set even more. It was amazing to see how much was put into the movie and made me even more impressed with the LOTR and especially Peter Jackson the director.
This DVD is excellence par none. It definitely tops my list of fav DVD. I didn't think any Dvd would be better than matrix but this is a must buy
Rating:
Summary: Mind-boggling creativity! Tolkien AND Jackson
Review: Having heard about Tolkien's works only vaguely, and having missed this film in theaters when it came out, I am hardly a "fan" either of the genre, or of Tolkien. But, oh my goodness, my nephew pestered me to accompany him to watch the Two Towers, and when the movie was over, I sat dumbfounded in my seat for a while - for I was angry that the magic was over. :)) And I watched the extended edition of the FOTR, and now I've become a hard-core Tolkien geek, explaining (unasked) to people, as to how Aragorn and Elrond have maia,elf and human blood in their veins, much to the annoyance of my nephew and my friends.
But much more importantly, in this 21st century culture, bereft of either subtlety or refinement, the loftier realms in which tolkien's moral universe has been anchored, need to be brought to life, if only for how it could influence today's younger generation - the virtues of friendship, honor, the will to renounce power, steadfastness, valor and so on and so forth. The whole is MUCH grander than the sum of its parts - its a matter of the story,casting,technology,location and direction coming together to arrive at such a LANDMARK. Truly.
This is probably the DVD(set) that justifies the development of DVD technology, for content and quality.
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.
|
