World Famous Comics: The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (Theatrical and Extended Limited Edition)
The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (Theatrical and Extended Limited Edition)
Starring: Sean Astin, Sean Bean, John Rhys-Davies, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Binding: DVD Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Limited Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC Label: New Line Home Video Number of Items: 2 Region Code: 1 Release Date: August 29, 2006 Running Time: 386 minutes Theatrical Release Date: December 19, 2001
Amazon.com: Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films gave "double-dipping"--releasing a DVD then releasing an improved version shortly afterward--a good name by offering both a better film and stupendous extras in the Extended Editions. This "triple-dip" 2006 Limited Edition falls far short of that standard but is still of interest to devoted and casual fans.
What do you get? Both the theatrical and extended versions of The Fellowship of the Ring are on one double-sided disc. The versions use seamless branching, meaning that the scenes that are common to both versions are stored on the disc only once. If you choose to watch the extended version, the disc "branches" out to the added or extended scenes. What does this mean to the viewer? Not much. The viewing experience is the same because the branching is imperceptible. But because both versions of the film don't have to be stored on the disc in their entirety (which would be six and half hours total), both versions together fit on two sides of one disc. The downside is that whichever version you watch, you have to flip over the disc halfway through; the film breaks at the same spot it did on the Extended Edition, right after the council at Rivendell. Also lost are the meager features included on the theatrical edition, plus the four commentary tracks, two discs of bonus features, and DTS 6.1 ES sound from the four-disc Extended Edition.
What's new? The second disc has an 85-minute documentary directed by Costa Botes, who was personally selected by Peter Jackson. Rather than the formal documentary structure of other editions, it consists of off-the-cuff interviews with Peter Jackson, Alan Lee, and others, and random bits of behind-the-scenes action and special-effects work. Those who have worked their way through the many hours of bonus content on the other editions might recognize some of this footage, such as the Hobbit actors mocking whichever of them is not around, then greeting him warmly when he shows up. Other things--Liv Tyler riding a fake horse, a snowfall during shooting, interviewing the rank-and-file cast members, touring Peter Jackson's trailer--seem new. And some bits seem geared to those who've watched the other material--for example, some of the visual tricks explained there are only glimpsed without explanation here. It's entertaining, but because there's no structure (there are chapters, but no menu or chapter listing), it's not as convenient to watch, and go back to, as a documentary broken up into bite-size pieces. Oddly, the documentary is in widescreen, but not anamorphically enhanced for widescreen TVs. Note: New Line Home Entertainment couldn't release this material on its own a là the King Kong Production Diaries due to contractual restrictions.
Bottom line: Do you need this edition? This Limited Edition combination of theatrical and extended versions plus new documentary seems likely to appeal to two camps. One is the devoted fan, who already owns both editions but has to have everything LOTR. The other is the casual fan who liked the movie in theaters, heard good things about the Extended Edition, and doesn't need a ton of bonus material. This edition is attractively priced for that buyer, and the packaging is quite handsome. In between is the devoted fan who already owns both editions but doesn't feel the need to watch more bonus material. When watching the whole movie, that fan will always choose the Extended Edition, but keeps the theatrical edition for (1) watching with guests, (2) the music video, or (3) the convenience of skimming through favorite scenes without having to change discs. That fan can safely skip this edition, as can home-theater fans who love DTS. --David Horiuchi
Description: The Award-winning $1 billion dollar franchise is revisited with three new 2-disc limited editions. Each DVD features the theatrical and extended versions of the film and a new documentary. Filmmaker Costa Botes, who was personally selected by Peter Jackson, created three ground-breaking documentaries using rare behind-the-scenes footage.
DVD Features: Documentaries:Never-before-seen behind-the-scenes documentary by Costa Botes, the filmmaker director Peter Jackson personally hired (85 minutes) Other:Part I - 106 minutes (Extended); 93 minutes (Theatrical) Part II - 122 minutes (Extended); 86 minutes (Theatrical)
Once again, huh? What's the point in this? No new material? Just release a new box every now and then. That's basically what this "new" set seems like to me. I can't picture any serious collector not having the extended editions already on DVD, and/or waiting for the HD version.
Excellent movie! Great movie. The DVD video quality is great, the menus are nice, and is nicely compacted in 2 DVD's. You should have it.
Great Film, Excellent Option Don't listen to all the movie geeks complaining that they don't like this version because it's "a cash-in" or "lacks bonus features", because they're not exactly the normal buyer. This version of Lord of the Rings is an excellent choice for those of us who aren't "collecting" the movies in any way, and just want to be able to watch the Theatrical or Extended versions without paying for a lot of extra junk. What the hell do I care about the behind the scenes featurettes? I watch movies to be pulled into a fantasy, not to nitpick and peruse every technical detail in the filmmaking process.
Simply put, if you just want to watch the movies in both their forms, this is the best, least expensive choice. The quality is the same as previous versions with the exception of DTS audio being absent (Dolby surround is still present) and the packaging is nice. Yes, because of the extended cut, you'll need to flip the disc. Boo hoo. This is a lot of movie, and I'd rather have a nice quality version of it than a super-compressed one on a single side... And at least this is on one disc, rather than being on multiple discs that needed to be swapped in the Extended version DVD set.
The movie trilogy itself is stupendous. Yes, a Tolkien fan might tell you it's a "bastardization" of the story, but really-- do not listen to them!-- They're being nitpicky because narrative was expanded and certain scenes were dropped for film. It happens to ALL books when they become movies because there's just no way to fit everything or make the narrative as it plays out in a book match the visual format of film. The ultimate Tolkien geek would have had you sit through a seven-hour "Fellowship of the Ring" if he got his way.
If you're a hardcore film buff who needs to know every behind-the-scenes detail, skip this one. If you're a Tolkien geek who has a tendency to place Peter Jackson in the same category as George Lucas in terms of merchandising, then skip this one. If, however, you're a well-adjusted adult who hasn't got a standee of Gandalf in his living room and doesn't care which brand of soap flakes they used to simulate snow in scene 23 (or whatever), then this may be the best version you could own until the switch to HD comes along.
The Fellowship of the Ring Shows more of what was not released in the theatrical version.
Going Down Down Down in a Ring of Fire I spent the equivalent of a full day's waking-hours in front of my big screen TV this past winter break with just the 2 sets of the four Harry Potter movies and the three Lord of the Rings movies.
I am NOT a couch potato.
Well, at least it was time well spent. Finally...some movies that really make the grade. I've been hard-pressed to find a good 5-star movie that I haven't seen. And here I've had these two sets of films that have been out there all this time that that for whatever reason I've had an aversion to. Silly me.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy was movie making at its best. Especially considering that the movie had very high standards to live up to after more than 50 years of building such a loyal, cult following of the classic J.R.R. Tolkien book.
Hobbits, Elves, Men, Dwarves, Wizards, Orcs all co-surviving, albeit without much harmony, in Middle Earth. And all lust for the great Ring of Power made by the Dark Lord Sauron. But only little Frodo Baggins controls its Destiny. Thus is the 9-hour epic saga of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003).
There is a terrific list of A-list actors giving A-list performances. It's a long one: Therefore, most notably you have Elijah Wood as Frodo, Sean Astin as Sam, Ian McKellen as Gandalf, Andy Serkis as Gollum (what a performance!), Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn, Orlando Bloom as Legolas Greenleaf and John Rhys-Davies as Gimli. I know. I know....How could I not mention Christopher Lee, Liv Tyler and all the others??? Well, that's the point. The whole cast was awesome. Even the no-names that played Orcs.
Kudos to Director Peter Jackson for going beyond the Hollywood standard of 120 minutes to tell each chapter of the story. Jackson kept a lot of the character development that usually isn't transferred from novel to movie adaptation. And Jackson was a master not just at directing his cast, but at getting the special effects perfect. The Lord of the Rings movie adaptation will be as classic as the novel because of Jackson.
If you somehow missed these movies as I did until recently for whatever crazy reason, I hope that my little review has encouraged you to add them to your cart. As for Harry Potter...well that's another review entirely, of course.
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