Rating: 
Summary: A truly 'precious' DVD set
Review: I really did enjoy the theatrical release of 'Fellowship' and thought that, along with many others, that New Line was doing 2 different DVD releases of the film to 'cash in' on the fans.
I still decided to pick up the extended version, and I feel like it was a good use of my hard-earned money.
First of all, the 30 extra minutes are well used, really expanding on the characters and the world of Middle Earth. I don't really mind the fact that it's on two discs. It's like the intermission that the epic films like 'Lawrence of Arabia' and 'Cleopatra' had. It's a chance to stretch one's legs a bit. It probably would have been impossible to fit the 4 commentaries, the Dolby 5.1 audio track, and a DTS audio track, along with the 3 1/2 hour film without the quality suffering. The picture and audio quality are great because the film is spread out a bit.
The actors that were cast in this film are fantastic. Ian McKellen, Christopher Lee, and Viggo Mortensen are particularly convincing in their roles.
The commentaries are a treasure for the film buff or aspiring film maker. It is facinating to hear 4 different angles on the film.
The two discs of documentaries are superb. I can't recall any DVD release covering the film making process in such detail. Watching the documentaries makes me admire Peter Jackson even more than before. He is a man who genuinely admires Tolkien's work. He is not doing this to 'cash in'. If he truly wanted to cash in, he could have just gone to Australia or England, found a sound stage and done the entire trilogy using sound stages and CGI. He didn't though. He filmed the majority of the films on locations in his homeland, New Zealand, and many crews took many months recreating Middle Earth. Peter Jackson has devoted several years to these films now and deserves the financial rewards that are coming to him.
A truly enjoyable adventure and one that I look forward to reliving many times. This set is one that really exhibits the capablities of the DVD format.
Rating: 
Summary: strong adaptation
Review: I really did enjoy this film, but, like other reviewers before me, there were some aspects that didn't work for me. My overall assessment is that it is an excellent film. I thought I would point out what I liked the most and the least in this adaptation.
I particularly liked:1) Most of the cast performed excellently, and those who played Gandalf, Frodo, Bilbo, and Strider, deserve particular mention and praise. They accurately captured the characters from the novels and were charasmatic presences on the screen. 2) The scenic cinematography was just gorgeous and wonderfully diverse, capturing a variety of climates and moods. The Shire was appropriately picturesque, while Moria was amazingly large and daunting. 3) Unlike some previous reviewers I beleieve that Jackson did need to edit incidents, and although all the scenes that were cut would certainly have added to the story (Tom Bombadil, the Barrow Downs etc.) it would have been impossible to include them all. Many of the excisions were well chosen, although missed. 4) A think a fine balance was struck between the great and mighty and the personal. By this I mean both great battles, mighty duels, and the awesome landscape were effectively counterbalanced by Frodo's incredibly expressive face, Gandalf's obvious concern for the hobbits, and other smaller, more personal instances in the film. Gandlf's research in the Library of the White City was a lovely personal moment in the film. I wanted to like the following but I couldn't: 1) While most of the special effects were, well ... extremely effective, there were a few that just didn't work for me. Galadriel's "all will love me and despair" speech looked awful to me, with its photographic negative appearance. I wanted to hear her conflict in her voice, and see it in her bearing, not see a special effect so lacking in subtlety. 2) While the cuts that Jackson made were fine, I didn't feel the same way about the additions. I too feel that Arwen's recue of Frodo and her sole claim to keeping the Nazgul at bay was unecessary, and gave a false idea of the relative strength of the elves and Mordor. I also found the scene where Boromir examines the sword in Strider's presence a strange addition, when the same information could be given to the audience using scenes from the book. 3) Sam. I really wanted to like this performance but I found it so hard. Yes, he captured Sam's innocence, love of Frodo, and inferior intelligence adequetly, but there was an essential "Samness" missing I felt. Sam, in the novel, is headstrong, forthright, and stubborn, and endearing because of these qualities. I felt that the screen Sam was a lot weaker than Tolkein's. (I also found his accent a bit unconvicing.) Hopefully as his role develops in the next two films his character will reveal more of the textual Sam. All things condidered, there is so much to like about this film that the flaws don't strongly effect the pleasure of watching it. It is a strong and beautifully filmed adaptation.
Rating:
Summary: LOVE IT A MUST SEEEEEEEE Seriously
Review: I really did not want to see this movie, I was like no it's stupid and I would never want to watch it ever. But my sister finally got me to watch it, and IT WAS AMAZING. I wanted to watch it again and again. I then saw the second one and Loved it even more. I now own both of them and I have watched it at least 100 times. I can't wait for the Return Of The King to come out on dvd. May 25th. I AM HUGE FAN. I wanna have a second breakfast too:)
Rating:
Summary: Extended Greatness
Review: I really don't see how they could have cut *any* of the footage from this masterpiece. The extended edition contained extended battle scenes, developed the characters and particularly Boromir more, and sounded all the better with the additional music composed exclusively for the extended edition. I'm not sure I'll ever watch the original release again.
Rating:
Summary: A work of art
Review: I really don't think LOTR could be called the greatest movie of all time, but certainly the greatest fantasy movie. Is it better than Star Wars? I don't know, it's hard to compare a space opera to a pure fantasy. I do know that Lucas was "heavily influenced" by LOTR. I won't say he stole from it, but just look at the similarities.. I am a fan of the trilogy. I read it first in the 8th grade, then in my twenties, then again last year because I knew Peter Jackson was making it into a series of films. I had forgotten a lot, (I'm 40 now) and reading it this last time was the most enjoyable of all. LOTR is truly an epic, grand tale. I know a lot of people find the books boring in parts. Yes, Tolkien could spend ten pages just describing a forest, but it really makes you feel like you are there. People must have the attention span of gnats nowadays. LOTR-THE FILM is definitely not boring. It is an action film. If you want the full backstory and character development, read the book, it has plenty. I actually like the slow parts in the book, they break up the chase\battle scenes. I've heard people complain that the movie is just chase\battle\pause, over and over. This is a story about a perilous quest, what do you expect? And it is a LONG quest, Frodo has a lot further to go at the end of this film. If you haven't read the books, believe me, it just gets better! The film has quite a few scary images, but LOTR is not a children's book, it's a serious story about the corruption of power, filled with horror, war and despair but with an ultimately uplifting ending. I loved everything about the movie, with the exception of the giant crumbling staircase sequence in Moria. That wasn't in the book and just seemed like something out of an Indiana Jones flick. Other than that, Jackson's vision of Middle Earth was pretty much exactly like what I pictured in my mind. And I didn't miss Tom Bombadil a bit. I've seen it twice now and enjoyed it just as much on the repeat viewing. Acting, special effects, costume design, cinematography, and especially sound are all top notch. Jackson and crew truly did Tolkien's work justice, and accomplished what many thought to be an impossible task. I'll be buying the DVD for sure. I can't wait for "The Two Towers". It'll be interesting to see how they bring the Ents to life.
Rating:
Summary: Extended enjoyment! A New Movie!
Review: I really enjoyed the extended edition of LoTR:FoTR. The expanded scenes that come with the movie (even 30 seconds worth), completely change the feel of the film. As an example, the prelude of the film (the fall of Sauron and Isildur's death) are expanded to show Isildur slipping on the ring to escape the orcs and the ring pulling itself away to cause his death - in all, perhaps 30 seconds added that really brings a depth and sort of personality to the ring itself. The extended edition did what very few "new cuts" due - it actually created a different film. Sure it has all kinds of extra features (and the bookends are REAL nice...they're propping up my six-book Tolkein collection as I type; the National Geo special is interesting, and the commentary is awesome), but what really makes the edition WORTH it is the new movie. In my opinion, the LoTR: FoTR movie (theatrical release) was a story about Frodo - his travels and his struggles. With the extended release, we see a very different story - a story about the One Ring: the trouble it causes and the struggle against it by the Fellowship and it's bearer...Frodo becomes a main player in the story, instead of the story itself. And in this regard, the extended edition did what I thought was impossible - it brought the story even closer to the spirit of the book...and gives the Ring a bit of the creepy backdrop that was missing in the theatrical release - it really makes you believe It wants to be found.
Rating:
Summary: Nice one, but then...
Review: I really enjoyed this DVD. I won't go into any details about the movie, since there appears to be at least one new review every day, and many of them have done a better job than I will. The sound is good, the picture sharp, the documentaries are very nice, a collection of all the tv shows and web documentaries that were made. HOWEVER - there is a commercial for the 4 Disc DVD coming out in November. This is aggravating beyond belief. "Congratulations, you have bought this two-dvd set, now prepare to shell out big bucks for the four-disc set! Chump!!" I don't like surprises like this. I don't like wanting to buy the same thing twice. Oh well - the rest of the sheep and I will probably buy it anyways. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: I really enjoyed this film. I have not read the books so I can't speak to whether it is a worthy adaptation or not. Not being a fan of fantasy type stories, I still found this a highly engrossing film. The performances are well done and the effects are not overshadowing. I am looking forward to the next installment.
Rating:
Summary: What Ani Thinks!
Review: I really love this movie! The second one is way less boring,though. Wait until the second one is on DVD and buy them together. I bet they'll put them in a box set by the time all three are out. YOU JUST WAIT AND SEE! *ani reccomends this movie for 11+ cuz she knows two kids who fell asleep watching it. *don't pass up buying this cuz ya hated Harry Potter. I dont like harry potter but I LOVED this movie. bye-bye if you found this helpful see my reviews on the sims unleashed and zoo tycoon
Rating:
Summary: Four-and-half if I could.
Review: I really think that the only people who have the right to be disappointed in this movie are the family members of the Late Professor, possibly including some of his students in that grouping.
To those who have read the books, the script was editted for integrity of the story, and, for the most part, that editting goal was achieved. What was different:
The departures of Frodo seemed to happen in the same year as that of Bilbo, instead of seventeen years after; The journey from Hobbiton was much editted, seemingly reaching Rivendell within a handful of days instead of over a month; Instead of Glorfindel coming to rescue them, it is Arwen, daughter of Elrond; The Council of Elrond; Frodo is the one who unriddles the door of Moria; The scene in the mountains right before that has no wolves, and the storm that sends them to Moria was sttributed to Saruman, instead of being Sauron's or natural.
The weak points: The scene at Weathertop does not adequately state why the RingWraiths backed off; the rage of the Ford of Rivendell, being attributed to Arwen, and not quite powerful enough; the scene of the flight to the ford; the entire Rivendell section, particularly the Council of Elrond, and the overplayed bigotry between the races. Overall, the elves were very unTolkienesque-until the seen at the well of Galadriel. That was perfect.
The Moria sequence was excellent despite, and perhaps a little because of embellishment, and the final scenes were great, despite lacking the Fell Rider, and with a little overlap with the next Book, the Two Towers, which had to happen given the nature of how the Fellowship of the Ring ends. Overall, the dialogue does not start off quite as true as the cartoon version did, but it stays at that same level, whereas the cartoon plummetted in integrity toward the end. A little more accuracy of the overall history of Middle Earth would have been nice, but it was still very true. Watch it.
To the non-reader(including those who have read this series but have not idolized it): This movie was made to bring Middle-Earth to you. Watch it. Definitely watch it.
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