Rating: 
Summary: Hours of entertainment
Review: The deleted scenes really help flesh out the movie, and help a great deal for those who did not read the book. I'll assume that you know what LOTR is about already, so I won't bore you with a recap of the movie itself.The additional bonus material is very entertaining. You get actor's perspective of the filming, location shots and the story behind the movie. The scenery of New Zealand is stunning, so much so you get the feeling that New Zealand's tourism bureau had a hand in making the bonus DVD. The DVD makes it easy to find additional scenes, or expanded scenes with the menu system. You can also select different Dolby settings for the music. The sound quality is terrific, and the movie begs for surround sound. If you don't already own a surround sound system, this movie certainly justifies such a purchase. All in all it is well worth the money, even if you already have the original DVD. The set includes discounts on tickets and rebate if you bought the original DVD, but there is a time limit for both. If you haven't bought the DVD set by the time the second movie hits the rental stores you'll be too late to take advantage of the discounts.
Rating:
Summary: I'm a Sucker for Extra Footage
Review: I'm not sure exactly what I expected from the extended edition of FoTR, but I'm
fairly sure whatever my expectations were, they were certainly exceeded. Even
in the introduction there were extra clips (of Isildur putting the ring on when
attacked by Orcs)...in fact, even the placement of the movie title was changed. The movie actually opens with Bilbo writing his book, and then loads of extra
footage from the Shire. It continues on to the part where Frodo meets Gandalf,
but the dialogue is slightly different! Bilbo is actually narrating a lot of it
(evidently from his book), and the changes are brilliant! I didn't even realize
how many loose ends and abrupt scene changes there were in the original FoTR
until I saw how they were improved. A sampling of a few additions include an extended tavern scene with the hobbits;
woodelves on the trip to Bree; hobbits and Strider (Aragorn) making their way
through Midge Swamp and a lot more. A lot of the additions were very minor and
hardly noticeable - but they improved the flow of the movie as a whole; things
like an extra second of video here, or a couple extra words there pull
everything together in a great way. The major additions would be in the land of Lothlorien. There was a lot of extra
footage from the point when the fellowship leaves Moria until they get on the
River. Not only do you get to see Galadriel giving the fellowship gifts
(although Sam's box of soil seems to have been skipped...), but you also get to
see Aragorn arguing with Haldir on a Flet, and you get to hear a lot more
dialogue (which closes a lot of loose-ends). After Lothlorien, you get to see Gollum swimming with his log on the river and
you get to see Aragorn and Borimir angrily discussing the ring and the path
they'll take (ultimately, if you had any doubts concerning Borimir's motives,
they'll be extinguished here). There were also a few more snippets of fighting
in the end with Borimir's death. The additions to the movie that Jackson made were great, this release will
probably make a few "Tolkien purists" reconsider the movie and possibly enjoy it
a little more. A few of the detractions I had about the theatrical version were
pretty much taken care of (In the original, the gifts from Galadriel and the
relationship between Gimli and the elves were sort of missing). The actor interviews, which actually weren't all that enlightening still made
the boxed set fun and interesting. All of the DVD extras are amazing - I now
know more about the movies than I ever thought possible...I can probably
describe in great detail how most of the special effects in the movie were
created. This boxed set is worth the few extra dollars...even without all the DVD extras,
the changes in the film itself make it a worthwhile purchase.
Rating:
Summary: What can I say except "WOW!"
Review: This movie is destined to become one of the classic epics. It is the Star Wars ... of this generation. It is the "Bridge on the River Kwai" or "The Great Escape" for fantasy fans.
This movie is wonderfully filmed, acted and produced. The special effects are often so good that they are unnoticeable.
One starts to believe that John Rhy Davies really is a dwarf or that Elijah Wood is really a diminutive, hairy-footed hobbit.
This DVD contains the theatrical release of the movie which, although significantly different from the book) is faithful in its characterizations and beautiful in its scope. The surround sound is extremely well done and the picture is wonderfully crisp.
The second disc contains extras that are interesting, but not particulary memorable.
It is an essential component of any DVD library.
Rating:
Summary: Why you should wait before you buy DVD's
Review: I'd like to say this edition, and the movie is excellent, but it's living proof to wait to buy DVD's. All my friends had bought the original edition first, and then i just got this one. Same thing goes with T2
Rating:
Summary: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Review: Critics are calling "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" a phenomenal movie! It is the winner of six Film Critics Guild Awards, five Bafta Awards, two MTV Movie Awards, and four Academy Awards. "This is the best, yet most magnificent, movie of the year", says the critics at Time Magazine. And "This is a wonderful, yet phenomenal, movie that anyone can enjoy", says the critics at Chicago Tribune. Only one movie this year has wowed audiences and critics across the globe; and that's "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring".
Rating:
Summary: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Review: "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" is a brilliant movie by director Peter Jackson! The special effects, cinematography, and music (score) were all fantastic! This movie is filled with action, adventure, drama, a little romance, fantasy, and fun. Even though this movie did not perfectly follow the author J.R.R. Tolkiens "The Lord of the Rings" book trilogy, which I have read, that does not mean that this is a bad movie. I, for one, can actually understand why Peter Jackson, and his crew, cut, added, and changed some parts to it.
The actors and actresses did a wonderful job on acting in this movie. They also did a wonderful job on acting like the characters from the author J.R.R. Tolkiens 'The Lord of the Rings' book trilogy. There are a lot of fantasy characters brought to life, from the book trilogy, onto this movie such as: the ring-wraiths, the watcher in the water, many orcs, a cave troll, the balrog demon, elves, dwarves, wizards, and hobbits. Peter Jackson chose to direct this movie in New Zealand, which was the perfect country to direct "The Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy. This movie is the winner of four Oscars (Academy Awards)! Congratulations to director Peter Jackson and his crew! I highly recommend you buy "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" movie on VHS or DVD because it is a perfect five star and two thumbs up movie! This movie is also filled with true amazement! 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers', which is the sequel to 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring', is another brilliant movie by director Peter Jackson which I highly recommend you buy for VHS or DVD when it is released in stores.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Astonishing!
Review: The Lord Of The Rings; the book series thought to be un-makeable in the film industry, now tried and done. And it came out perfect. This first installment, The Fellowship of the Ring, starts the series of with a BANG!
Frodo Baggins of the shire is left with his uncle Bilbo's magical Ring of Power, which has a terrible force beyond Frodo's wildest dreams. Gandalf the Grey informs Frodo of this, and tells him that Sauron, the Dark Lord is seeking out his old ring, and if he got hold of it, middle earth would be doomed.
Frodo embarks upon an amazing quest, fighting the immortal Nazgul, disgustingly evil orcs and goblins, powerful cave trolls, ferocious Uruk-Hai, and many more evils! He meets many friends, and looses some, and the cliffhanger at the end of the movie leaves you squirming for more. The next installment, The Two Towers, was also excellent, and this special DVD comes with a preview for it.
The DVD also come with over a half hour of bonus footage, some new scenes, some extended, which all should not have been left out on the first place. The new scenes help explain points of the movie, and all of the good battle scenes (such as Moria and Amon Hem) have been extended. The movie ends up being about three and a half hours long, and the whole thing is excellent. Since the movie is so long, it takes up two disks.
There are two more disks in the Platinum extended DVD, which have hours of behind the scenes footage, commentary, the making of the cast, scenes, and special effects, and hundreds of guideline pictures they used to help create this masterpiece.
Look out for the extended Two Towers DVD a while after the movie comes out; I'm sure it will be just as good. I can't wait for The Return of The King...
Rating:
Summary: One Film to Rule Them All
Review: JRR Tolkien created world all it's own filled with mythical creatures, landscapes, and, most importantly, grand stories. There was so much adventure, love, hate, and compassion in the realm of Middle Earth that one could not help but get swept up in it. Of all of his works, The Lord of the Rings is the best known and most fully realized piece, which nobody outside of animators have dared tried to fully visualize. That brings us to mainly obscure New Zealander Peter Jackson, best known for campy horror flicks, who a half decade ago had the audacity to proclaim he would bring the fantasy epic to the big screen. Well, Peter Jackson got it right, and how right indeed. In all my post-adolescent life I've never been so engrossed in a film as I have with Fellowship of the Ring. Everything I loved about the books is there and then some. The landscapes of middle earth are larger than life, the characters so brilliantly recreated, and the action and intrigue even bigger. It's as if you're wildest imagination jumped from your head and onto celluloid. As the story goes, on his great adventure the hobbit, a miniature person, Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) came across a magic ring that allowed him to make himself disappear. On his 'eleventy-first' birthday Bilbo sets out to live with the elves and write his book of tales and leaves his ring to his heir, nephew Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood). Longtime friend and keeper of Middle Earth, the wizard Gandalf's (Ian McKellen) worst suspicions have come true and the ring is none other than the One Ring, which was forged by the dark lord Sauron to control the free peoples of Middle Earth, but had gone lost and now is found. While Gandalf desperately searches for more answers to the ring's history he sends Frodo and 3 hobbit friends to seek refuge. On the chase to steal the ring from the hobbits are Sauron's ringwraiths, ghost riders in black, who nearly do if not for the help of the mysterious man called Strider aka Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen). Based on the wishes of Gandalf a fellowship of nine of all races of Middle Earth with the four hobbits, wizard Gandalf, men Aragorn and Boromir (Sean Bean), the elf Legolas (Orlando Bloom), and dwarf Gimli (John Rhys-Davies). Not only do they have miles of treacherous terrain to work against, but they also will have to face the wrath of hordes of orcs, cave trolls, balrogs, and most importantly the wizard Sauron, once a trusted ally of Gandalf, who wants the ring for himself and has an army of Uruk-Hai warriors to assist him. The fellowship must rely on their superior intellect and gets help through the mythical elf queen Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) who resides in Lothlorien and has the the power of foresight and whose advice is as powerful as any blade. One would probably have to go back to Star Wars to find a world so fully realized visually. The look and feel of the landscapes is just as I've always pictured it in my head and then some. From the idealistic rural world of Hobbiton, the fantasy woods of Rivendell and Lothlorien, and the deep and vast caves of Moria, it's all perfectly recreated through a mixture of sets, miniatures, and computer graphics. The action pieces are so well done and the digital effects are seamlessly integrated and always seem to have purpose, which is unfortunately too often not the case in blockbuster films. The cinematography is spectacular and we're constantly awed by the natural beauty and land of New Zealand, which seems to be the ideal ancient Britain that Tolkien created his myths for. Of course, the props and makeup departments of WETA workshop are as equally up to the task and every being from the world of Tolkien is fully achieved through prosthetics and hours of labor on makeup. The thing that clinches the film's endearing quality is it's characters, which is what Tolkien's concentration was on, which Jackson so brilliantly picked up on. The casting was spot on, just perfect. Sir Ian McKellen's portrayal of Gandalf, my favorite character from the books, had me simply mesmerized and he captured both the power, compassion, and humanity of the character like nobody I've seen before. You can go through the entire cast, especially the fellowship, and check off each one as a great performance. Casting Christopher Lee as the powerful, hypnotic wizard Saruman was genius, as was Cate Blanchett as the haunting Galadriel, who we grow to both love and fear. Elijah Wood stands side by side with the more seasoned actors as our central character, Frodo, and he seems the ideal hobbit in his innocent look and spirit. The liberties that Jackson and his writing team of Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens in adapting Tolkien's massive work were well done. The work is streamlined for film, but the emotional core remains and that is what was most important to recreate, Tolkien's spirit. I'm sure a few 'purists' will be angered, but they probably would complain had they recreated it word for word. If anything they should be proud of such an accomplished film that is sure to spur millions more around the globe to pick up the legendary books and experience them for themselves. The sure box office success this film is going to generate will hopefully push more studios to take a chance of a project like this, which New Line did with Peter Jackson. Jackson cannot be commended enough for the massive assignment to took on himself to do by filming 3 epic pictures (really just one really long one) all at once. It's now without question which films will be the most anticipated in the next 2 years as the story is unfolded before our eyes each of the next two Christmas seasons.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Films Ever Made
Review: Once upon a time, an evil sorcerer forged a magical Ring of great power. With it he could rule all of Middle-Earth, but it was taken from him and he was defeated. The Ring passed from owner to owner until, centuries later, a three-foot-tall, furry-footed, peace-loving hobbit found it. But the sorcerer, Sauron, had returned and was determined to reclaim his treasure. Unless Frodo Baggins can destroy the Ring in the volcanic Mount Doom, all of Middle-Earth will be plunged into darkness and oppression. The way is not easy. Much is at stake.
A superb masterpiece necessary for every Tolkien fan to own. If you are not a fan, chances are you will still love it. This film succeeds on every level and is virtually flawless in every respect. You are not a true video collector unless you own this film. A must.
Rating:
Summary: Im obssessed with the lord of the rings!
Review: I thought the lord of the rings was amazing! Especially on the DVD because the sound and screen quality was so precise and just amazing! The extras were very interesting to see and gave me an insight to how the film was made. As i absolutley love everything to do with the lord of the rings, the DVD was really helpful to get a better picture of the actors; directors; set; special effects and everybody involved in bringing the story to life.
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