Rating: 
Summary: Sets New Standards for Platinum DVD's
Review: This package meets and exceeds all expectations for even the most hard-bitten Tolkien fans. This meets the "Delight" standard for customer satisfaction.The packaging is sumptuous, useful, and perfect for gift-giving. Everything is tied down and packed tight (no breaking and rattling). It is beautiful (you won't want to throw it out). The first question you might have is: Are the bookends and other stuff worth the price? The answer is a definite yes. The bookends are well-crafted and very detailed. I was expecting teen bedroom good, and received living room curio quality! My nephews and neices were delighted to get the game cards. The minature fan magazine is informative. The NATGEOSOC video is very nice. The only "padding" on this package is the stuff preventing breakage! The DVD itself is overwhelming in scale and detail. The new extended cut puts back most of the wonderful character development and background detail which made the book great. This is a greater movie for the extra time. It catches the book's vision with near perfect veracity. (Note to New Line Cinema: Remember those 1950's movie roadshows? Study them, learn. Put the intermission in!) The appendices are almost like the production team had read our minds. Everything you'd want to know and more is included. It is thoughtfully organized. The beautiful "decision trees" are, I imagine, an innovation. They should be imitated by Spielberg, Lucas, et al. I am very, very pleased I decided to go "first class." Save your pennies, nickels and dimes for the purchase price. It is worth the price.
Rating:
Summary: Wow...
Review: This platinum series is excellent. There are four total discs full of lots of stuff. The first two discs contain the actual movie including an extra half hour of footage from the movie that was not seen in theaters. The last two discs contain a million special features. The first special feature disc is called "From Book to Vision" which basically talks about interpreting J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece into a movie. The second special feature disc is called "From Vision to Reality" which talks about how they made the film. I thought that how they made the hobbits smaller than the humans was interesting. This is a definite "must buy" item for Lord of the Rings fans
Rating:
Summary: My small contribution .
Review: This points-review is my small contribution to the unprecedented joint effort of Amazon reviewers (in such a relatively short time) to express and describe their impressions , thoughts and feelings about this extraordinary experience . 1. You don't have to read the book to enjoy the film . 2. This is the real thing : as a fellow who hasn't read both books - "Harry Potter"(HP) and "Lord Of The Rings" (LOTR) - but has seen both movies - LOTR overshadows HP completely . The originality of this film shines through the inevitable comparison of the two . I'm sorry I wasted my time on seeing HP - don't waste yours . 3. Visually stunning : you shall witness never seen before visual effects that will leave you breathless - the movie is , beyond everything else , a visual experience - after all , the leading stars of LOTR are the special effects , that could be accomplished only in recent years thanks to advanced computer technologies . 4. Audibly striking : in addition to the visual dimension , the music , noises and voices bring the film to heights of performance few movies share . 5. It is NOT suitable for kids under the age of 11-12 : the movie is chilling , creepy , terrifying , and contains some images that are not easily digested . There were several scenes in which I was so tensed , frightened and edgy , I actually jumped in my seat , and throughout the whole experience my body was stiffed . As a rule , there are a lot of horror-movie motives in LOTR , and I wouldn't recommend any weak-hearted or pregnant women to experience them . Beware ! 6. Of course , beautiful landscape shots , that make you wish you've been to New Zealand - the sooner the better - this country looks like heaven . 7. In contradiction to other reviewers , I am not sorry I will have to wait a year for the next movie . I think the producers have made a wise decision in holding the crowds anticipating for the next to come ; waiting is sometimes a good thing , especially when one knows how good it is going to be .
Rating:
Summary: Looking at the double dip
Review: This review is addressed to those of you concerned about buying this DVD, when the super-special edition is due out in November. I bought this DVD. And I will buy the special edition. I don't like double dips any more than you do. but this is one of the few that is worth it. First of all, I doubt this is a "cheap marketing ploy". Peter Jackson and company are a little bit busy with the Two Towers right now. So we could have waited for November or gotten this now. Second, if you buy both versions, you'll get a $5-10 rebate, depending on the version. That substantially reduces the cost of the double dip. As for the DVD itself, I agree that the extras are nothing to write home about. Three TV specials, but they are heavily based on the lordoftherings.net featurettes. You'll find the same interviews repeated over and over again. The preview of the extended DVD and the Two Towers was nice. The transfer is excellent -- a little bit of pixilization here and there (especially in the credits), but no halos around foreground objects, no murky colors. The movie looks and sounds great. As for the movie (hey, isn't that what reviews are about?), it is of course, excellent -- the best movie of 2001. Grand, exciting and touching -- almost operatic. OK, yes, it does not have the magnicent sprawl and contemplation of the books -- but I don't see how it could without being 10 hours long. I suggest doing both -- read the books and watch the movie -- in either order. I am reminded of the Arthur legend. Malloray's Le Morte D'Arthur is excellent. Excalibur is a great movie but is far smaller in scope (thankfully) than the book. In essence, Peter Jackson is taking Tolkein's story and re-telling it in film, as though re-telling an ancient legend passed down for generations, with as many nods to the book as he can squeeze in.
Rating: 
Summary: Wheeeeeeew
Review: This review is for the Extended Edition Collector's Edition. The DVD's themselves are -- what can I say -- great!! The problem is that - I don't know how to say this, but the bookends stink. Literally. I can't hardly stand the smell of them. Seriously! Also, they were so tightly bound into the packaging that I chipped off two large chunks of them just trying to free them. I am sadly disappointed by that!!!
Rating:
Summary: An excellent movie, made even better
Review: This review is for the Platinum Series Extended Edition DVD. Put simply, it is outstanding. Although only 25 minutes longer than the theater version, those 25 minutes add tremendous depth and breadth to the characters and backstory because the extra footage is largely spread out through the course of the film and each snipet of footage adds a little extra to the movie as a whole. There's the addition of Bilbo readying for his journey out of Bag End, some Hobbiton scenes that show the character of the hobbits in greater detail, an extensive addition to the Lothlorien chapter, more screen time for the Balrog, increased interaction among the characters (Legolas-Gimli, Galadriel and the Fellowship, Boromir-Aragorn, Gandalf-Frodo) that is excellent, and improvements to the fight scenes (including a more courageous Frodo). The added scenes are seamlessly integrated into the film such that the editing is smooth and the acting is just as good in the scenes that Peter Jackson cut from the theater version as it was in the theater version itself, and sometimes better (Galadriel is more nuanced, Sam is more stalwart, Boromir's motivations are more fully shown). Indeed, Jackson and Ian McKellen continue to demonstrate with their work that they were completely robbed at Oscar time. The full run time is more than 3 hours, 20 minutes but the movie is logically split between the first 2 DVDs of the 4-DVD set so that it is easy to view in two sittings (although that is blasphemous in some quarters). If you are going to get the Lord of the Rings set, then get the Platinum Series -- unquestionably worth the time and value.
Rating: 
Summary: Rent this, buy LOTR extended edition
Review: This review is more of the dvd vs the movie. After seeing some of the behind the scene snippets, one gains a deeper appreciation for the amount of detail the director puts into the movie which is obviously true as you the movie. The second time around, the movie seemed to by alot faster. With that said, this is what i did not like and again this is more about the dvd vs the movie. The 2 documentaries that i saw were the same except one had more footage cut into it. Enya's video is ok.. i guess, if you are into Enya. There is one part where the director says something like "I am not into directors cut versions of dvd but more into extended versions" that statement compounded by the preview of the LOTR extended version reminds one that they just bought the ... version and must now go out and buy the LOTR extended version. For me, after seeing all this I am more inclined to give this dvd away and get the extended version. I feel more like a victim of the studios wanting the $$. IMHO, only the extended versions encapsule the entire scope of such an epic movie and the amount of effort the director puts into the movie. Anything less does not deserve a place in anyones dvd library and doesn't do justice to the movie. Rent this versions and buy the extended version.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible Extended DVD
Review: This review is of ASIN: B000067DNF (THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING - EXTENDED VERSION) LOTR: FOTR has just been released as a 4-disc, extended version -- a 3 hour film on 2 discs, plus 2 extra behind-the-scenes discs. I am happy to report that this extravanganza has been executed very well, with as much care as the theatrical film received, and it is well worth the extra money. I've been watching the film, the bonus materials, and listening to the audio comments for over a week now! There is a lot here. The discs are so comprehensive and incredible. My favorite behind-the-scenes documentaries are "Scale", which deals with the movie magic employed to make hobbits hobbit-sized. Fascinating! I also enjoyed the documentary on "Digital Grading", which is the "photoshop" process that the entire film went through -- it is amazing how the images can be manipulated. "Book to Screen", and the Alan Lee and John Howe docuementary are just as good. The film itself has been extended by 1/2 hour. The new footage (which is marked on the chapter menus) is seamlessly integrated. There is a completely new beginning (following the Second Age prologue)! "Concerning Hobbits" immediately roots the film in Tolkien's writings. There's more surprised: we get to *see* the Sacksville-Baggins!! There is a charming scene with Frodo and Sam at the beginning of their journey - they talk about never getting used to sleeping on the ground, which is quite poignant when you think of the journey ahead of them. I could go on ... the extended film is really incredible! My favorite thing about the set is that is it handsomely produced. From the packaging to the menus, this is a first class keepsake! The menus are charming and feature a book motif - the book "opens up" to the chapters, which reflect Tolkien's chapter names, etc. Very cool! I can't tell you how remarkable this is. One wishes all films released to DVD could be this thoroughly prepared. Peter Jackson is omnipresent on the DVD. One can feel the overwhelming love for this project -- from the big screen to the small screen, Jackson's care is palatable.
Rating: 
Summary: Yawn-fest
Review: This review is really a warning to anyone who isn't specifically interested in that fairies, wizards and magic kind of fiction. If you don't like that sort of stuff, DO NOT attempt to watch this. I tried twice and I just could not get through it. There were just too many little things that bothered me and that I had to roll my eyes at. The worst part of this ordeal is that the movie moves SO slowly and it's SO long!
Rating:
Summary: PROBLEM WITH DVD's
Review: This review pertains to the "The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (Platinum Series Extended Edition) (2001)" ONLY. I have the two DVD version and thought it was so great (5 star rating) that I ordered the extended edition. This edition will not play on my laptop, which is where I watch DVD movies. When I instert the DVD's (and I tried all four) it spits them back out. I had no trouble with the other version.
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