Rating: 
Summary: How do I love thee...let me count the ways
Review: I am not what I would consider to be a movie person. All of my friends and family know that if they want to talk about the latest movies, I am not the person to bring into that conversation. I did not get to go to the movie theatre to see this movie. I did, however, do the dutiful thing that all mothers do, I bought the movie for my son (He is 17) to make sure that he would have something to watch on a long trip down to see family. From the opening music which carries the movie beautifully to the wonderfully conceived costumes, this movie was eye candy and ear candy. I had read the J.R.R. Tolkien books when I was a pre-adolescent, and I was determined to find every flaw that I could between the book and the movie. The transfer between written word and filmed interpretation was impeccable. As you make your journey through this movie, you began to lose yourself and become part of the movie experience. The movie lingers with you. Long after you have seen it, you will think about it, bits and pieces coming to you in snippets and snatches. You will want to watch it again to see certain scenes. You will want to hear certain speeches and dialogues again. I heartily do tell all of you to rent it first if you are skeptical, but then, by all means, by this movie!
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Summary: You'll see it anyway
Review: nothing i can say will change whether or not you will see this movie...
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Summary: One of my Favorite Movies!!!
Review: When I first saw this movie, I almost fell asleep because it was just way too long. Not only that though, I didn't understand it (I never read the books). After a friend explained some of it to me I watched it a second time and I loved it!!! I'm a great fan of fantasy type movies that have a lot of action in them. My favorite parts are the battle at Amon-Hen (spelling?) and when the fellowship were fighting off the orcs and the troll in Moria. This movie has good solid acting (Elijah Wood still annoys me though). It's one of my favorite movies and I highly reccommend it! :o)
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Summary: As close to perfect as movies get
Review: Of course, the theatrical cut was great entertainment, and this extension makes it more so. If one has the theatrical cut on DVD, this also belongs in your collection. After all, it literally is a new movie. The new and extended scenes are terrific, for instance, we can clearly see into the heart of Boromir at the Council of Elrond when he goes for the ring, and how Gandalf shoots him down. Or when Elrond tells Aragorn that the skill of the elves can reforge the sword, if he would accept it as his destiny. And this is just the movie! Of the four discs that make up this edition, two are the movie and the other two are behind the scenes stuff. There is literally too much to explain to get under 1,000 words. A great piece of work.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Close to Perfect
Review: OK! I admit it. I have loved the LOTR trilogy for decades! AND, I was disgusted by previous attempts to make this masterpiece into a movie, and had dispaired of anyone ever getting it 'right.' Guess what? They did it right! Perfectly cast, with attention to detail which boggles the mind, The Lord of the Rings/ Fellowship of the Ring extended edition is about to close to perfect as is humanly possible. Starting with Bilbo's explanation of Hobbits (added in the extended edition) and their character, the film captures the character of JRR Tolkein's epic adventure. The Hobbits are extremely well cast and contrast well with the murkier world outside their protected little world of peace and bucolic quiet The 111 th birthday of Bilbo and the party for him draw the first distiction between this quite normal and (to us) understandable world and a much more dangerous one just beyond the edges of the Shire. Gandolph (Ian Mclean) is perhaps the best cast of all the characters in the film. Seemingly a simple player of magic fureworks and parlor tricks he rapidly emerges as one of the Powers of Middle Earth. The Nazgul Black Riders are suitably Evil and are the first hint that the easy world of the Hobbits is not the place to form an impression of the world. Strider the Ranger is not quite the larger than life tall dark heir to the Sea Kings in exile that he is in the book but he is engaging and develops as the leader as the story progresses. The interlude at Weathertop in the ruins of Amun Sul is well done and leads to the first diversion from the book (which is excusable.) The flight to the Ford and the defeat of the Nazgul by the power of the River protecting Rivendale was an extraordinary powerful scene. The movie next perfectly captures the feeling of fading grandure of the elves of middle earth. Earily beautiful, but ages old and not renewable, the Elves retain their majesty and magic but clearly to the viewer their time is near for their departure. The cast is augmented here with the introduction of the rest of the fellowship: Boromir from the last bastion of the humans, The city-state of Gondor, Gimli the Dwarf from the lonly mountain kingdom, Legalos from the forest elves in Mirkwood. Together each of these representatives of the free peoples of Middle earth set forth to destroy the One Ring in the cracks of doom. The world of middle earth expands for the hobbits as the journey becomes increasingly dangerous. We journey through the mines of Moria and find that the Kingdom of the Dwarves has been destroyed and occupied by trolls and Orcs. The special effects in these scenes are the best in the movie. The battle with the Cave Troll seems stunning as a visual and home theater sound delight, but the next scene tops even this. The Balrog, a Demon from the second age, is beyond even the elven power of legolas to defeat. Gandolph suddenly is revealed in his power and stands between the fellowship and possibly the most horriffic creature ever portayed on film. Gandolf defeats the monster but is lost to the fellowship. Lorien and Galadrial are visited next. In the extended edition, Galadrial is revealed as one of the Ring Bearers (one of the "elven" rings of power). Much expanded in the extended edition, the gifting scene is a moving movie experience. Leaving Lorien the fellowship travels down the great river Anduin and passes the great statues of the "Kings of Old" revealed as Aragorn's ancesters. This leads to the great closeing battle and the breaking of the fellowship. Sam and Frodo strike off ontheir own, Boromir is slain defending the hobbits, Pippin and Merry captured by Orcs and Gimli, Legalos and Aragorn leave hot on their trail. We end the movie as each group heads into their own part of the story. The best movie of its genre ever and one of the finest movies ever made. 5 stars
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Summary: nasty movie
Review: this set is insane! the extra footage is awsome and the movie is great to begin with. The movies nasty!!
Rating: 
Summary: nice set
Review: this is the better version to have.the extra scenes make the movie flow a little better and enhance the story. the extras are ok, but i really didnt care all that much about the progression from book to film, but for those who did, they'll like it. i never read the boks. with this as successful as it was im sure they'll bedoing this for the next 2 movies too.which means Im gonna have 12 discs for just 3 movies when all is said and done. Yikes
Rating:
Summary: A very nice DVD
Review: I bought this for my husband who loved my sister's DVD. I had a difficult time following the movie but I have 3 kids & had trouble sitting for 3 1/2 hours @ one time, but it prompted me to read the book which is very good as well. Now that I know what is going on I really like the movie also & my husband was more happy with this DVD than anything I've gotten him in 11 years of marriage. My kids, age 9 1/2, 3 1/2, & 1 1/2 like it also, but it would scare a lot of kids.They did real justice to the book though.
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Summary: One of the most amazing films ever made in cinema history!
Review: For once the hype was right. Peter Jackson's first part of the collossal LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy is nothing short of a brilliant masterpiece, with incredible SFX, great characters, and staying true to J.R.R Tolkien's story while altering some of the book's elements to make it more suitable for film.
Deeply rooted in the fantasy genre, Fellowship of the Rings sees a young Hobbit Frodo Baggins inherit a powerful mystical ring from his cousin Bilbo Baggins. The ring, worn by the Dark Lord Sauron, has been passed down through many people until it reaches Bilbo. The mighty wizard Gandalf and a troop of dwarfes, elves and hobbits set out on a journey to destroy the dangerous ring by casting it back into the lava of Mt. Doom. But of course, there are bad guys, in the form of Saruman the White, played with relish by the brilliant Christopher Lee and his army of Orcs and Ringwaiths.
Director Peter Jackson (The Frighteners) has taken Tolkein's story and molded it into the perfect fantasy adventure. Some characters that were ciphers in the novel have been elevated to main characters, and while some purists may be upset over the loss of some characters, Jackson does do service to the story's originality. And the result? In a Hollywood summer of dissapointments, Fellowship was the standout, one of those rare films that come along like THE MATRIX that remind us of why we like movies in the first place. In comparison to that other cinema-changing trilogy known as STAR WARS, this is possibly the biggest competition George has ever come against. This, more than the recent SW prequels, wins out for it's action and acting. The fantastic casting of Christopher Lee, Ian McKellen and Elijah Wood are inspired. It's a sign that the actors have done their job when you stop saying Ian McKellen and start calling him Gandalf. As to wether the next chapter, THE TWO TOWERS will be even better is debatable, but since the whole trilogy was filmed as one big movie, the stunning film-making should continue and for once, an event rare these days, the sequel looks better than this one. In a film as ambitious as this, all the key elements are in place, the masterful storytelling, Jackson's brilliant visionary direction, superb acting (especially Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Elijah Wood as Frodo), incredible visual effects and the wealth of imagination from Tolkien's extraordinary tome. The supporting cast is great too, with John Rhys- Davies as Gimli the dwarf, Sean Bean as Boromir and Orlando Bloom as Legolas. The best facet about the whole thing is that it's so real that you really think that all this happened long ago. And that, more than anything else is a bonifide sign that this is not only one of the greatest cinema acheivements ever, but it's now entered into the cultural zeitgeist. The film takes us where we've never been before, Tolkein's world of Wizards, elves, ringwaiths, orcs and all the other imaginative creatures on display are a thrill to watch. For such a huge scale, the use of CG is of course neccesary, and like STAR WARS, every incredible vista is truly breath-taking and the visuals are incredible, utilising state-of-the-art technology to create entire landscapes, creatures and battles. The most outstanding scene, where our intrepid fellowship travels into the mines of Mordor is a fantastic tour-de-force of incredible movie magic. The seamless blend of FX and amazing cinematography is absolutly breath-taking. Howard Shore's brooding score adds another layer of excellence to the myraid of adventurous escapism. There are problems; the film may not sit well with purists and the ending feels somewhat of an anti- climax after the climactic Mordor, but we all know that the real battles are yet to come. This is a film that takes you far beyond your imagination. What lies ahead for THE TWO TOWERS will no doubt be even more amazing and draw the millions of eager fans out once again to witness the second part to one of the most amazing films ever made. For people who managed to hold off the temptation to but the first DVD release, this platinum series "extended" edition is worth the wait. Discs 1 and 2 have a unique version of LOTR with over 30 minutes of cut footage incorporated into the film and new music scored by Howard Shore. The extended scenes range from breath-taking ( More views of Lothlorien) to perfuctonary (Bilbo's introduction). But for the most part, the added half hour is fascinating stuff for affeciandos, and while the re-instated scenes slow the pace sometimes, it fills in the gaps and makes for an even more fascinating experience. Also included are four feature-length audio commentaries by director and writers, the design team, the production team, and the cast featuring more than 30 participants. Discs 3 and 4 contain some of the most comprehensive extra material ever on DVD. Disc 3 has the doco "From Book to Vision": Adapting the book into a screenplay & planning the film, Designing and building Middle-earth, storyboards to pre-visualization, Weta Workshop visit including creatures and miniatures from the film, an awesome interactive map of Middle-earth tracing the journey of the Fellowship, an interactive map of New Zealand (yay!) highlighting the location scouting process, galleries of art and slideshows with commentaries by the artists, guided tour of the wardrobe department footage from early meetings, moving storyboards and pre-visualization reels.
DISC 4 has the doco "From Vision to Reality": Bringing the characters to life, "A day in the life of a hobbit", principal photography: Stories from the set, scale: Creating the illusion of size, galleries of behind-the-scenes photographs and personal cast photos, editorial and visual effects multi-angle progressions and sound design demonstration. One could point out that perhaps there are one too many different releases of LOTR on DVD, but fans love the extra-extra stuff. One of the best, if not THE best DVD releases ever! One wonders what's in store for THE TWO TOWERS DVD...
Rating:
Summary: WAY better then Star Wars
Review: To quote "Chasing Amy" Star Wars is the "Holy Trilogy" but Lord of the Rings may outseat Star Wars. The acting, the costumes, the music, the casting, the development from book to movie--all pretty much perfect. I can even stand Liv Tyler in the movie--and that says a lot. Lord of the Rings is fantastic, and I anxiously await the release of the next movie.
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