Rating: 
Summary: Just one word: Excellent!
Review: Ok, I've been an avid Tolkien fan since 1991, when I read The Hobbit and the three sequels, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King. Back in the late 70's, an attempt was made to adapt these books into films. Or rather, The Hobbit and Return of the King were. Though good in themselves, these films were a great disappointment to avid fans of Tolkien. There were those that saw the movies and were ever afterward convinced that Tolkien's work could never be adapted to film in a satisfactory manner. Then along came Peter Jackson. I don't remember exactly when he began work on this project, but it was his goal to turn each of the three Lord of the Rings novels into a movie, and not to make just one movie for them all. This, in my opinion, was a good idea. Not only that, with technology being considerably more advanced now than it was at the time of the first LOTR movie, much more could be done with it. To say that this is a very good movie would be something of an understatement. Even though I can't see (and therefore can't appreciate the visuals), I was much more impressed with this adaptation. Partly it's because...
Jackson's choice of actors was right on. Though I never imagined Elijah Wood as a hobbit, he does an excellent job of capturing Frodo, while Ian McKellan is perfect in the shoes of Gandalf. Christopher Lee is also perfect for the role of Saruman.
The plot is right out of Tolkien's book. I've heard people say they hated this movie because it didn't include every little thing from the book, but those are fanatics. You couldn't include everything from one of Tolkien's books in a movie without adding unnecessarily to the playing time.
The music in this film is some of the best I've heard since the Star Wars films. Whoever was the composer must really have had Tolkien in mind. The only other recent movie whose soundtrack really caught my attention is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and that film's score was composed by the same guy who did the Star Wars music. The sound effects were also very excellent.
Though not a perfect adaptation of the novel (as I said you couldn't do that without totally ruining the movie), this is definitely well worth the money. To name some of the film's high points, the duel between Gandalf and Saruman at the top of the tower of Orthank. It wasn't included in the book, but it fit right in. In fact, the movie goes into a bit more detail than even the novel did. Jackson must have also read the Silmarillion.
I recommend that you rent this movie and watch it, then buy it if it meets with your standards. I admit I was a little dubious, but the excitement outweighed that by a considerable amount.
Rating:
Summary: Peter Jackson has reached divine status with LOTR!
Review: from 'bad taste' to 'the frighteners' to 'heavenly creatures' to 'lotr', peter jackson has becom a deity. there is no other director, not even spielberg, that can measure up today. lotr is a wonderful epic fantasy, that will stand up to time as well as the likes of 'star wars' and is actually a much better film! peter jackson should be allowed to do whatever the hell he wants in film, because to say he has proven himself would be a gross understatement! with the book ends, free pass for 'the two towers', national geographic documentary...this gift set should be the model for all future gift sets!
Rating:
Summary: If you're indecisive since you bought the theatrical release
Review: I'll keep this short and simple. If you like this movie, the additional 28 minutes of inserted footage makes the movie just that much more unbelievably good. Every single minute inserted, with perhaps the exception of Midgewater Marsh, improved this movie.
And all the documentaries are just icing on the cake. Very thorough, it just impresses you how much went into producing this movie.
Rating:
Summary: The Definitive Version to Own
Review: The original theatrical release of "Lords of the Rings" was a fantasic adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic trilogy. With the Extended Edition, it is apparent how much footage Peter Jackson had to let go. And what great additions they make. The first twenty minutes leads straight into Hobbiton from the prologue read by Cate Blanchett. However, the introduction and attention to Bilbo and Frodo's relationship is played out in a series of crucial scenes, not to mention a lengthy voiceover from Ian Holm. With the presence of the voiceover we are bridged from the events from "The Hobbit". There is a great cut scene with the stone trolls Bilbo tells terrified young Hobbits about earlier at his birthday. Amazingly, Aragorn and the quartet of Hobbits break out in songs...of Elvish love tales and drunken glee, respectively.Gandalf also has some momentous scenes that appear here, namely one which explains why he can slow time with his booming voice..."the tongue of Mordor, which I will not utter here." At Rivendell, Boromir approaches the ring with much more confusion to which Gandalf speaks in Mordor, and the same effect is used. To make a long story short, there is little self-indulgence on this DVD. I can't imagine watching the original after seeing this rightful edition. It would be like watching the digest. And with this Collector's Edition, you get two nice statue bookends to hold your DVD in place. Peter Jackson, a long underrated director, finally got his due with the "Lord of the Rings". About ten years ago, Jackson had a eclectic filmography that included gorefest, "Brain Dead" aka "Dead Alive" and the wacky adult puppet show called "Meet the Feebles". It was then that Jackson wrote and directed a masterpiece called "Heavenly Creatures" that introduced two terrific actresses, in Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet to the world. The irony is that Jackson could not afford to work with Winslet after "Titanic", and now he is sitting on top of the world. His unique visual style (lots of animation without pandering to the G-rated mainstream) combined with his courage to tackle difficult subject matter is what commands the kind of respect he deserves. I can't wait to see the Two Towers!
Rating:
Summary: The Best DVD Ever!!
Review: The movie Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a masterpiece. I saw the movie several times in theater, and bought the theatrical release on DVD. When I bought the DVD I already knew I wanted to get the extended DVD also. Getting them both was worth it. But if you are only getting one get the Extended DVD it is far better than the Theatrical DVD. The extended DVD comes with four discs. The first two discs contain the extended movie, and discs three and four contain supplementary material of how the film was made. The plot of the theatrical movie and the extend movie is the same. The story is about a young Halfling (a hobbit), named Frodo Baggins who inherits a gold ring from his uncle. The ring turns out to be the One Ring, which has the power to enslave the world. Frodo along with his companions must journey to Mordor and cast the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom, before Sauron (its maker) finds it and casts middle-earth into darkness. Some people, who loved the books, were disappointed upon seeing there was no Tom Bombadil. They hoped that he would be included on the extended DVD but they are going to be disappointed again. I feel that it was a wise choice not to include him. Though he is a fun character, he is a distraction from the main plot of the story and is better left out of a film. I loved every moment of the original release and wanted to see more. I got my wish. The Extended movie has thirty minutes of new footage. It is wonderful! The new scenes were added very smoothly, and unless you watch closely you might miss some of the subtle changes. The first scene that I noticed different was when Isildur is being attacked by an ambush of orcs in the prologue. It showed exactly how the Ring betrayed Isildur and how it was lost. Throughout the whole movie new scenes are added and for those who have no background of Lord of the Rings, they make it much more understandable. The final addition was in the chapter "The Departure of Borimir", with Aragorn saying his final farewell to Borimir. The extended movie explained the hobbits better. The opening scenes of Hobbiton are different from the theatrical release. The movie starts (after the prologue) with Bilbo Baggins trying to write his book. He reveals the different aspects of everyday Hobbit life. It shows the hobbits as little people who love a peaceful, happy life, with no adventures. I feel the additions made it clearer as to why Fordo and the other hobbits are willing to risk their lives to try and preserve their way of life. Some of the most beloved scenes that were cut in the original release were able to be reintegrated into the film, such as the scene with Galadriel and the gift giving. I feel that this sequence was especially important for the future films. It shows where Sam got his special Elven rope. Legolas receives a new bow in the same scenes; while Merry and Pippin are give special Elven daggers. The scene also shows Gimli falling in love with Galadriel, which was a great part in the books, and will now be a great part in the movie. There is more character development especially for Aragorn and Galadriel. Aragorn reveals that it is his love for Arwen the drives him and gives him much of his solemnness. He loves her but does not with her to die a mortal death. This is portrayed in a new scene that occurs on the way to Rivendell. In it he is singing about the fate of Beren (a mortal man) and Luthien ( an Elven princess), and looks quite melancholy. He does not wish to claim the throne of Gondor because he fears the weakness of men. Galadriel too has more depth. You get to see her more relaxed and happy while giving the gifts to the fellowship. You also get to see her joy at Gimli's devotion to her. There was a lot of humor added to the movie. For example there is now a scene at the Green Dagon (an inn) with Merry and Pippin singing on top of a table, and Frodo is dancing around. There is also some added humor over new jibes Legolas gives to Gimli, outside of Moria. The movie has a feel of reality, as if the story could have really taken place. Everything has such depth and detail which adds to the credibility of the story. The makers of Lord of the Rings blend the use of special effects and other technology seamlessly into the movie. This adds to the story and makes it more plausible. It doesn't take over the film or detract attention away from the main story. All of the actors/actresses do a terrific job. The actors/actresses seem to become the characters. I really liked the performance of Elijah Wood who played Frodo. He somehow manages to show the ring's power eating away at his soul. Cate Blanchett who played the Lady Galadriel, did a wonderful job at appearing both good and dangerous. She also looks quite terrifying when being tempted by the Ring. I could go on and on because all the actors/actresses gave Oscar winning performances. Some people have not been impressed that the movie has to be split onto two DVDs. I think it is a minor inconvenience, and the fact that there are four commentaries is more than enough to appease me. Over all I think this is an essential DVD for any DVD owner, if you don't have a DVD player you might want to consider getting one, just for this DVD. If you already own the theatrical DVD and you enjoy it, I think you will like the extended DVD ten times better, I did!
Rating:
Summary: More character development
Review: The major plus to the extended material is the addition mostly of 30 minutes of dialogue. You don't get more special effects (they're good enough already!), you get instead more character development, which really rounds out the film and definitely makes it superior to its predecessor. My one gripe, as a nitpicky fan whose read the series multiple times is why Galadriel doesn't give Sam the box with the blessed earth and mallorn seed. He only gets a rope, which in the book he simply admires and takes from the boat. Hopefully this does not portend a premature ending to the trilogy . . .
Rating:
Summary: Ditto what everyone else has said...
Review: When I found out that this special edition had more footage than the theater release, I thought, "Hooray! Now maybe Sean Bean will get more screen time!!!" (I admit it--I'm addicted to him!) Well--not only did I get more Boromir in the movie, I also got lots of "behind the scenes" material with Sean Bean in it! Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm......... Seriously, though...this is a fantastic edition of the movie, with some extended scenes, some new scenes, and some changed scenes. This is the version that should have been shown in theaters (darn short-attention span culture!). And the appendices are great, too--I especially enjoyed the "Fellowship of the Cast", "Cameras in Middle-Earth", and "Sound and Music" featurettes. And, may I say again, there is more Sean Bean in this version. (Drool!)
Rating:
Summary: A Different Feel
Review: For lovers of the book, the extra footage is essential. My problem with the movie was the rat a tat cutting pace. The extra footage breathes some air into the scenes and characters. And adds dimensions to many characters ... especially to Aragorn and Galadriel. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: AMAZING
Review: Actually, I do not contain the words to describe how amazing the Lord Of The Rings is! Most people have probably seen it and few can say that it is no good. If you haven't seen it, it's time you do! It creates life into the books of Tolkien. I never thought it to be THIS good! While standing in the que when it opened in December 2001 I was sure that the filmmakers would ruin the books with this film, on the contruary, they did an almost perfect job, just see for yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: Mac DVD watchers beware
Review: This is not a critique of the film, but of the discs themselves. Disc 2 of the feature does not and will not play on a Macintosh in DVD Player, so if that's how you were hoping to watch it, don't bother. It stops roughly halfway through disc 2 and nothing after that will play. I have tried on 2 copies now and the same happened to a friend whose discs were from a different source.
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