Rating: 
Summary: The New Gold Standard
Review: The merits of Peter Jacksons' glorious adaption of the Lord of the Rings is addressed eloquently by many reviewers below. This review is aimed at those contemplating the purchase of the Special Edition DVD. You will rarely spend your money better.The Fellowship of the Ring Special Edition is the new gold standard of DVD's. It is, quite simply, the most outstanding DVD produced and I can only hope its lead will be followed by other studios. It has everything you could ever want from a DVD collection. First, the movie: Yes, it is spread out over two disks. However, the space has not been wasted. The transfer is amazing. The movie looks sharper, crisper and more beautiful than any other DVD I've seen. The sound is excellent -- even on a simple stereo TV! I looked at this side by side with the much-ballyhood Star Wars II digital transfer and there is simply no comparison. Set against this disk, Star Wars looks blurry and murky. LOTR is dazzling. The new scenes are wonderful, adding depth to the story and characters. The Lothlorien squence is completely revised and vastly improved. My favorite new scene is after the Council of Elrond, when Aragorn visits his mother's grave. And the music is recomposed, not simply looped. This is THE definitive edition of FOTR. You must have it. What makes this the new standard are the two appendix disks. The first has 2.5 hours of video and tons of stills on the development of the book to film. The second has 3.5 hours and a few stills on the making of the movie. All of this material is entertaining and informative. By the end, you will feel like you've known the film-makers for years -- recognizing familiar faces when the pop up to explain some fascinating aspect of the movie. Even better, however, is the organization. Don't want to hunt around on the menus? Hit "Play All" and it will cycle through the documentaries. Wonder where some obscure still photograph is? A printed map of the DVD is included. I have never seen a studio or a film-maker be more giving and attentive to the needs of the audience. New Line and Peter Jackson have truly earned the mountain of money they are going to make off this by providing quite simply the best DVD collection you will find. I can only hope that the fantastic sales figures will open some eyes in Hollywood and teach them not only how to make great movies -- but how to make great home entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: Attention studio execs: this is the way to sell DVDs
Review: I only wish more of my favorite films could be released in the manner that this film was. First we had the theatrical version: wonderful, a great film we loved it. But even though the studio heads KNEW that they could sell a lot more DVDs if they chose to trick us THEY DIDN'T! They told us that an extended edition was on its way right from the start. PLEASE DO THIS MORE OFTEN. DVD collectors are sick of getting the shaft by greedy execs without a shred of decency that have been bilking fans with the bait and switch over and over. NOT SO with this set of DVDs. THANKS and DO THAT MORE!
Rating:
Summary: They took a great movie and made it even greater
Review: You now doubt have seen the original theatrical version of the Fellowship of the Ring (if not, what the hell are you waiting for? Go now!), and chances are you were pretty amazed by it. This extended edition adds more detail, explains more, and just has some nice little additional scenes that add to the experience. The movie alone is worth the extra money for this version, and that's not even including the extras, which give incredible insight into the creation of this wonderous film. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoyed the LOTR and loves DVD jam-packed with goodies. If there were a score higher than 5 stars, this DVD would get it.
Rating:
Summary: 30 min makes all the difference
Review: This is not deleted scenes tacked on. This is not promotional cheese that will waste your time. This is 30 minutes of fully edited, visually mastered, enhanced and orchestrally scored footage seemlessly integrated into the film. Many of the added scenes are vital to understand the story, while others allow each location, race or character to breath and develop. I agree with the critic, there's simply no need to ever see the theatrical version again.
Rating:
Summary: It stands by itself
Review: Even if you aren't a huge Tolkein fan, you may enjoy this movie yet. It is very true to the book though, a rarity amongst blockbusters. The cinematography and scenery is breathtaking. It was well-shot, well-directed and well-casted. It gets a bit overwhelming at times because there are a lot of characters and places to keep track of. It's a bit lenghty, but you really couldn't tell the story any other way. Overall a very good film.
Rating:
Summary: Deluxe edition dvd delivers on the promise!
Review: First, a confession: I've only spent two or three hours with the documentary section of the dvd, and it appears I have not even scratched the surface of all the commentary tracks, documentary footage, and behind the scenes stuff. That will take me several weeks it looks like, so I'll confine my comments more to the film itself. As to the 30 minutes of replaced footage: (and I say this as a diehard denizen of Middle Earth) Hallelujah! To look at this from a wide perspective, for those who are not fans of anything but the movie, it does not make for a better movie. In fact quite the opposite is true; from a purely cinematic standpoint this newer version is a bit clunkier and slower and some of the dialogue is a bit stiff. The added action sequences in particular, even if it's just the inclusion of a slightly wider shot in a battle, lack the crispness of the original. Mr. Jackson and company did their job well the first time. As to the technical aspects of the dvd format, suffice it to say that this should be the disc you take down to your local home-theater warehouse to demo equipment. It gets no better. The widescreen ratios and grains are seamless and the dialogue/soundtrack/fx balance is perfection. The surround is constant and skillful without being gimmicky.
For those who despaired of the lack of set up, especially of the interpersonal relationships that were evident in the book however, your prayers have been answered! Here is the bedrock of the Frodo/Sam bond that they play so heavily upon in the last ten minutes, now much better set up. Here is Aragorn and Boromir's dichotomy fleshed out. The gift scene with Galadriel is restored, and Gimli is finally more than a clown as his friendship with Legolas and his devotion to the White Lady of the Wood find a fuller flower. Interestingly, Merry and Pippin undergo a change from large to small screen, as they are much more violent and get a lot more licks in on the Uruk-hai orcs in the dvd, whereas in the cinematic release they were more often the victims. The largest footage difference is the first ten minutes of the movie, now narrated by Bilbo, and is an almost off-the-page recitation of "concerning hobbits" from the novel. (You can almost hear a New Line exec sitting in the screening room about five minutes into this going "can we get to some dragon-stabbing-arrow-orc-blood-sword thing sometime soon?") In the final judgement, for those fans of the books like myself who still loved the movie, but missed developments of their favorite scene or character, this is a great payoff. For those who jumped on the wagon for the first time at the Cinerama, they'll wonder what all the fuss is about.
Rating:
Summary: "Thirty Extra Minutes Really Does Improve on Perfection!"
Review: Having reviewed this film earlier on Amazon, I wondered if an extra thirty minutes could actually improve on what is already one of the most spectacular films ever made. To my surprise, it really does! First, understand that some scenes are added, and some are merely extended. As far as the additional scenes go, the inclusion of Bilbo writing his story at the beginning of the epic lends a more 'comfortable' setting to the film, as do numerous, more intimate scenes of life in the Shire. My favorite supplemental scene is the brief, but touching 'Passing of the Elves' where a long, slow parade of the immortal ones pass forever into the Grey Havens in the West. Accompanied by a revised and more haunting musical score, this moment becomes unforgettable. Less memorable might the Marshes of Midgewater sequence, which adds little to the storyline. In general, the new footage seems to weave a more smooth transitional thread through the storyline, and makes us wonder why (other than time) such scenes were omitted in the first place. Such memorable moments as Gimili's request for a strand of Galadriel's hair, the equipping of the Fellowship by Galadriel, and Arwen's crestfallen countenance at the departure of Aragorn, develop characterizations more fully and wonderfully!! Finally, the fear the Elves displayed in allowing the Fellowship enter the City of Lorien is portrayed as it should’ve been in this extended version! Hooray for this edition! My only complaint is that unlike the earlier DVD release, this version of the movie could not be fit onto one DVD, and if you have to change disks manually, it might become a small nuisance. Nevertheless, the extended version is top-notch, right down to the wonderful 'middle-earthy' boxed arrangement, and the additional disks containing background material, interviews, and much much more make this a must-have set! In summary, the film is become much improved. This version should in no way be thought of as a mere gimmick. The supplementary material is appropriate, blended smoothly, and as stated, adds a depth to both character and plot development. In short, it really works!
Rating:
Summary: A great film, made even better!
Review: Quite simply, buy this movie! The extended edition add so much more depth to the film it is hard to imagine it without the extra footage now that I have seen it. The Collectors Gift set is nice. The two book ends and the extra DVD are very nice collectibles. I cannot say enough about this set.
Rating: 
Summary: I don't like these types of movies even if they're good
Review: I love sci-fi or intellectual movies, whatever that means. However, I don't like three hour boring movies. I never read the books, which I'd probably enjoy, but this movie was bad. I saw it a long time ago, during it's cinemtic release, not on DVD, so I have forgotten, thankfully, what the lord of the ring is about. I think if you where it you're invisible for three boring hours and than everybody sees you, gets angry that they looked for three hours when they had not a chance of finding you in the first place and than you escape your impending death by putting credits up so you get a a one year head start on a bunch of guys with swords and shields.
Rating:
Summary: Considerably Superior to The Theatrical Release
Review: If the original film were a 7 out of 10 in terms of realizing the story's full potential, the extended edition is an 8.5 or 9 - a significant improvement over the original, highly recommended.
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