Rating: 
Summary: Good DVD set, decent movie
Review: Besides the movie, this DVD set packs in lots of goodies that Tolkein fans are going to love. The interviews with the director and actors along with historians and literary scholars shed lots of light on the story and the mind of the author behind the story. The goodies are incredibly rich and they make owning this DVD set worthwhile.The movie itself is standard teenage fantasy fare, though. Judging the movie as someone who has not read the books, I can't say that I thought the movie was particularly special. The special effects and beautiful scenery indeed make up for the thin story, but the story's weaknesses show through the splendid cinematography. First on the list of gripes is the soundtrack. A little subtlety goes a long way, but apparently really loud symphonic movements make scenes easier to understand. The music shoved every emotion and every atmosphere right down the viewers throat. If the scene was happy, we get loud happy music. If it's sad, we get loud sad music. And if it's a fight scene, well, the music is just unbearably overwhelming. Yes, it's supposed to be an epic story, but the director just needs to tell the story not jerk the viewer around with the music. My second gripe is the story of Golem. Rather, the lack thereof. We are introduced to this character early on in the movie and then get little glimpses of him here and there. We get to see the main characters fret over the fact that Golem is following them, and we know that Golem is interested in getting the ring back. And...? Where is the director going with this story? If there is a story here, why isn't it explained? If there is no story, why is it in the movie? The Golem storyline gets a big 0 stars for being completely superfluous to the main storyline and not having its own resolution. One other big problem I had with the movie was with the bad guys. These guys are worse than Star Wars Storm Troopers when it comes to battle. The director spends far too much time dwelling on these repetitive battle scenes where the heroes don't get a scratch but entire armies of baddies are wiped out in a matter of minutes. Even in the final battle scene where (SPOILER) Boromir gets three arrows to the chest, he manages to take out an entire legion of super-orcs before finally succumbing to his wounds. It's just unbelievable that the heroes would continue getting into these fights without getting hurt. When Boromir dies and the elf archer appears with a big scrape on his forehead, it was laughable that the director who just spent 10 minutes showing how invincible these heroes are is now trying to convince the audience that they in fact do get hurt too. The last big gripe I had was the lack of character development. The characters that we are introduced to in the beginning of the story are the same characters that we see as the story ends. No one learns anything, no one grows spiritually. The only change we see is in Frodo who goes from being happy and carefree to fretful, but this change happens about 2 minutes after he becomes the ring bearer and does not get any deeper as the movie goes on. Every time the chance to develop the characters came close, the movie decided that instead of doing that it would be better to introduce new characters. So the audience is left with a thousand and one characters (996 of which are completely peripheral to the main story line) and a very shallow understanding of the main characters. Is it a terrible movie? No, but it is mostly saved by the cinematography which is simply magical. Tolkein created a masterpiece in his creation of Middle Earth, but the Lord of the Rings story is one dimensional and is hardly lives up to the huge potential that the Middle Earth world provides.
Rating: 
Summary: Excelent
Review: Best fantasy movie ever made. Rivals the Star War Pictures.
Rating:
Summary: Only DVD I own that I could not complain about
Review: Best movie of the decade. If you haven't seen this movie you need to. If you have, you know it is great, and I'll simply say that most movies I own on DVD are severely or at least minorly lacking in some area. There is absolutely nothing I could do to improve on this release. What more could you ask for! This one is a no-brainer. BUY IT!
Rating:
Summary: Mind Blowing
Review: Better than Titanic, better than Harry Potter, better than Star Wars- this is one epic masterpiece. The effects are flawless, the casting is perfect, the scenery is breathtaking, the story spellbinding, the music wonderful, it leaves you speechless. Ok, so this sounds a little over the top, but hey, i LOVE THIS FILM. Its a work of art, and one of those movies that you cant not see. Like Titanic, theres no one who hasnt seen it. You are stupid to not see it, whether its your kinda thing or not. Give it a try. It will go down in history as the best fantasy/action/everything film ever. It was robbed at the oscars. If you think its going to be too old fashioned, or stiff, or boring (like many fantasy films), you are wrong. For god sake see it! And if your worried about the 3 hours, it passes like a breeze- it keeps you so engaged that you wonder where the time went. Oh, and dont forget its a trilogy- its going to HAVE to end abruptly, coz thers two more films till the conclusion!!! Even still, the end is perfect and poignant. Its just disappointing that its actually finished- i wanted to see the next 2 straight away! Elijah Wood is oh so cute as Frodo, Orlando Bloom (Legolas)is gorgeous full stop, and Ian McKellen is totally lovable as Gandalf. The worlds going to be an empty place when the last film in the trilogy passes...
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant & Breathtaking! A Masterpiece!
Review: Books into movies... An age-old controversy. Everyone has their opinion(s): "The director won't do the book justice."; "Details will be overlooked, and/or changed."; "The spirit of the author will be overshadowed by the glamour of Hollywood.", etc., etc. All are sound arguments, and all, unfortunately, have been proven true throughout the past 100 years. I've seen some of my favorite books tortured on the big screen, and others brought to life in a way I never expected and was left spellbound. I have been disappointed by the former and pleased by the latter, and sometimes vice-versa. I am, however, one of those who have not read the trilogy and was thus "untainted" by Tolkien's tale of Hobbits when I first viewed the movie. I was thus able to go without expectations and let Peter Jackson weave his (Tolkien's) tale before me. And even if I had read the books, from what those around me (who did read the books) tell me, the movie was almost 100% faithful to the book, down to the most minute details. Captivated from the very beginning, I became quite enchanted with the Shire, the Hobbits, and of course, Frodo. I instantly liked Bilbo and Gandalf, and immediately despised Sauron. The 9 Wraiths, the Orcs, and the Golems were just what I would've pictured these gruesome creatures to look like. And they are even more vile when given the chance to freeze-frame the picture to see just how Jackson brought across the costuming to convey such evil. Once the fellowship was formed, the rest of the "party" soon became a concern of mine. There were bits of comedy where needed, and several moments of heart-pounding excitement where necessary. "Unseen" Sauron scared me to death; never wanting to ever wear a ring. And you could actually feel the characters' struggles against the ring's "calling". Character is vital to any picture, and Jackson did a marvelous job here. Although often the Hobbits seemed to be overshadowed by their taller counterparts (no pun intended), Frodo's choices, Bilbo's regrets and desires, and even Sam's stalwart friendship were strongly felt. Regretfully, the only human character I felt compassion for was Gandalf. His end(?) brought much sniffling. Perhaps my feelings for the other "humans" will change in the 2nd and 3rd installments. Perhaps because I was not "encumbered" by having read the book and not knowing how the events would unfold and what would happen to the characters, I was able to take in the story and its players and not look for the liberties Jackson may have taken. That is not to say that the movie was without my own reservations. The movie was, in my opinion, a tad long. At one point I wanted to scream "Die already!" regarding one of the death scenes. Would it never end? And did the river journey, and Gandalf's escape, have to be so elaborate? But again, not having read the book(s), maybe I can't fault Jackson. After all, this was his interpretation of Tolkien's work, not mine. Some of the character and locale names were difficult to understand and thus keep straight. Keeping-up was a challenge. (I am overwhelming pleased for the closed-captioning on the DVD.) With exceptions to Frodo and Gandalf, I found myself equating the character on the screen with the actor's name and not their character's name. These are, in the end, minor trivialities, at least for me. I didn't grow up with these books, and they are not a part of a world countless many have cherished so dearly. I may not be able to quote the book or state, "That happened at night in the book, not during the day!", or "That person didn't do that!", but I can say that whenever a book adaptation is undertaken some liberties will be taken. And even if there were (and I'm sure there were), this final result was indeed a finely crafted work any Tolkien "lover" should be proud of. And if you disagree, just think: The end result could've been a heck of a lot worse... Jackson has a tremendous vision for imagery, character, and direction. The actors, from Sir Ian McKellan, to Elijah Wood, to Cate Blanchett, and right on down the line, couldn't have been more hand-picked, and the most optimal of choices for their respective roles. Everything about this movie says first-rate, devotion, detailed, and endearing. It's a shame Jackson was overlooked for Best Director. He can easily be compared to Spielberg, Lucas, Hitchcock, and others for their inate ability to tell a story and draw us in like nobody else and make us care(!) about the story and it's characters. I look forward to multiple viewings of part 1, and wait with great anticipation for parts 2 & 3. In the meantime, I will most definitely niche out time to become better acquainted with Tolkien's printed world. I doubt I'll be disappointed. And neither will you.
Rating: 
Summary: Liked the elves, hated the rest. Stupid.
Review: Bored. Bored by the books, too, but the movie got such great reviews I thought the visuals would be worth it. I like fantasy and adventure epics generally so I can only speculate as to why I'm in the severe minority on this one. Briefly, it may be a guy thing. The redundant battle scenes particularly. How many times am I expected to see Frodo almost killed and Our Heroes fight off a zillion attackers in one movie? Particularly, the death scene at the end was like watching some kind of bad soldier porn. As a female I appreciate Hollywood's attempt to put some attractive males in here. At least my attention is not expected to be held by ugly, short, kind of slow, nasty hobbits like in the novels in which they seem to do nothing but eat elf crackers at regular intervals for 1500 pgs. Classic. Masterpiece. With so many long positive review there has to be a point. All I can say is : Whatever.
Rating: 
Summary: Horrible horrible movie!!
Review: BORING is the way to describe this movie! It was already established in the prologue how dangerous the ring was. Did the characters really have to ramble on and on and on and on about it for 3 frickin hours? The battle scenes were impressive, but that did not make up for the very boring and worn out storyline. This movie was almost as bad as harry potter.
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: Forget the literary elitists...this is a wonderful movie
Review: Bottom line... this is a wonderful movie that contains all of the elements of the great story laid down by Tolkien. Notwithstanding the pretentions of the literary snobs who take issue with "this or that" as compared to the book, if you sit back and take in this movie as it comes you will not be disappointed. It is simply a wonderful experience. The cinematography, acting and pace are first rate. This movie is truly a masterpiece and can be enjoyed by all in the family.
Rating:
Summary: True Art, True Masterpiece, Very Fine Acting
Review: Bravo to the great master Tolkien and to all those who have followed, and have so carefully and lovingly transformed his literary masterpiece into a cinematic masterpiece. Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Phillipa Boyens, Howard Shore, WETA, the entire heretofore unsung but spectacular cast, the artists, EVERYBODY who did this incredible work!! I love you all. God bless you for what you've given us!
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