 |
Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
| Movie Rating: |
 | 10/10 |
|
| DVD Rating: |
| 6/10 |
|
| Overall Rating: |
| 7/10 |
|
|
Starring:
Ian Holm
Ian McKellen
Elijah Wood
Viggo Mortensen
Cate Blanchett
Christopher Lee
Sean Bean
Sean Astin
John Rhys-Davies
Orlando Bloom
Andy Serkis
Hugo Weaving
Dominic Monaghan
Billy Boyd
Special Features:
Theatrical Trailers
The Lord Of The Rings: Aragon's Quest Game Trailer
3 Spellbinding Documentaries
Featurette Gallery Spotlighting The Creation Of J.R.R. Tolkien's World
Enya May It Be Music Video
Preview Of The Two Towers Movie
Theatrical Trailers and TV Spots
Other Info:
Video: Widescreen 2.40:1 Color
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 6.1
Spanish: DD-EX 5.1
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Run Time: 178 min
Rating: PG-13
Synopsis from DVD Cover:
With the help of a courageous fellowship of friends and allies, Frodo embarks on a perilous mission to destroy the legendary One Ring. Hunting Frodo are servants of the Dark Lord, Sauron, the Ring's evil creator. If Sauron reclaims the Ring, Middle-earth is doomed. Winner of four Academy Awards, this epic tale of good versus evil, friendship and sacrifice will transport you to a world beyond imagination.
Quick Review:
The world had waited a long time for this movie. No one believed, really, that Lord of the Rings could ever be filmed in a way that did it justice, and when then-little-known director Peter Jackson undertook the task, we all collectively went "really?" But as news trickled out of how he was filming these films and the care he was taking, optimism grew. Our collective hopes were realized with this film, which is really a cinematic milestone. Many point to this film as their favorite of the trilogy; it certainly has the most accessible narrative, being a fairly straightforward quest film (the second and third films expand the scope and the cast of characters significantly). Young Frodo Baggins must get the One Ring to Mordor. A Fellowship is appointed to help him. And off they go, having adventures.
The film is quite faithful to the book, though it does jettison some of the more fanciful elements. Jackson and his co-writers have an uncanny knack for preserving what's necessary while turning Tolkien's sometimes meandering tales into a tight story more suited for cinema. But what really makes this film amazing is the attention to detail that was paid. The costumes, the sets, the miniatures, the music, everything about it was done to create a believable world, one that the audience can buy into and invest in, and it works. We are drawn into this convincing realm and its tribulations, and therefore the characters and the story are grounded in what feels like a reality. The casting was inspired and the performances realistic, which is necessary given the fantastical elements.
It is, not to put too fine a point on it, a masterpiece of fantasy and filmmaking, and cinema scholars will study it for generations as new viewers discover it.
All right, here's the thing. New Line already released the trilogy on Blu-Ray but only as a boxed set. These releases are the individual theatrical cuts. That's right, the theatrical cuts, not the Extended Editions which everybody mostly already has on DVD. Therefore the extras are the same extras that were on previous editions. There's a few featurettes and a making-of special that aired on the Sci Fi Channel, plus a preview of "The Two Towers" and some TV spots. It would be hard to justify buying this edition unless you absolutely had to have the theatrical cut, as one presumes that eventually the Extended Editions, with their expanded run times, commentaries and extensive extra features, will be available on Blu-Ray.
In Conclusion:
If you don't own this film, what's wrong with you, anyway? This release feels redundant since the theatrical trilogy is already out in Blu-Ray as a boxed set, and if it were me I'd wait for the Extended Editions.
|
