5/5 Good Stuff
  by Alice B. Talking
I orderd this as a replacement for one that my friend "borrowed" and never returned to me before I moved. I am happy with the transaction, the only difference that I noticed between my previous copy and the one that I ordered was with the exterior case/box. The design is slightly different, it makes the case look like a well loved/read leather bound book a little tattered, but this had no effect on the DVD's playback.

5/5 Summed up in one word...PERFECT.
  by Underground Reborn (ny)


Lord of the Rings, the `Gone with the Wind' of the sci-fi fantasy film. The name of these 3 legendary novels has weaved itself deeply into our modern day culture. Whether you read `The Hobbit' in grade school or have read the Tolkien lore time and time again there is no doubt that this original saga is a treasure of that last century.

Turning this epic novel saga into a full length feature film was something that probably every major name in directing wanted to do. Yet, Lord of the Rings may be the most difficult film saga to be created. The story is abundant with characters of all kinds. The plot is rich with detail and the pages of the book themselves describe everything from the way a person walks to a town or landscape down to the last grain of soil. So it was Peter Jackson who decided to rise up and take the task of creating this film. In a time where film making technology has reached a golden age it was time not just to make one film but make a trilogy. It was decided not to film each piece at a time but rather film all three simultaneously and it was something that Mr. Jackson could not accomplish alone. There is a long list of writers, artists, actors editors, and yes millions of fans that lead to the completion of this project. The Lord of the Rings can be summed up in one word. That word is PERFECT.

I have seen a great many films in my life and my favorites would have to be the saga pieces. This saga is a mind blowing masterpiece and getting Oscar for best picture in 2003 sealed its page in the book of fantastic films. I will not review each film individually because they are not meant to be seen individually. The cast is brilliant and the fact that not a single actor was singled out for an individual performance only made it better. The creation of these films was a team effort. Yes there are a few major plot points removed from these films and there are some things that were changed around. I feel as a person who has read the novels and seen the films, feel that these changes were for the best. The books themselves have some dead spots that could be done without and there are characters that really have no place in the story as a whole, but it was very admirable of Jackson to pay homage to the fan favorite Tom Bombadil in the extended edition of `The Two Towers'. The extended editions of these films only make them better as they do make them lengthier. Jackson and the crew really wanted to make these films special so once they did their job in the theaters they called the cast and crew back to add new scenes and extend old ones to make the films truer to the story and enhance the development of the characters. The score done beautifully by Howard Shore is also extended and you can even purchase extended edition soundtracks. The special effects played a major role in this film and they worked the creatures looked extremely lifelike especially Gollum. By using a brand new kind of CGI technology called motion capture, Andy Sirkis was transformed into the somber, mysterious creature that LOTR fans love. The battle sequences in breathtaking and so intense there were moments that kept me on the edge of my seat. The ability to make actors like Elijah Wood and John Rys-Davis look like they were pint size compared to a towering Orlando Bloom or Ian McKellen was done flawlessly. The make-up on all the cast members be it Orc or Elf really brought the Tolkien world off the pages and into reality. Still, I feel that what truly made this film beautiful was the location. New Zealand is a lost world most of the country still untouched by industry. The land still looks like something out of a fairy tale. Through computers and sets, The Shire, Minas Tirith, Rivendell and all the other major cities were brought to life exactly as they are described in the novels.

Even if you are not a fan, I would still suggest seeing these three films. It has nothing to do with the fact that they are fantasy or anything to that extent. It's just because this cinematic marvel goes up there with films such as Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, and Lawrence of Arabia to the more modern day greats like Dances With Wolves and Braveheart. There probably will come a day where a film graces the big screen with this degree of grandeur, but I am quite sure it will be a long time until then.


5/5 Great movies.
  by N. Eppler
Nnot completely accurate to the books, but let's face it, each movie would be as long as the combined trilogy if they were. Good movies.

5/5 Lord Of the ring - Extended Edition
  by Sunny Singh (Houston, TX)
I got the product before I expected it. I ordered the DVD and received within two days. The quality of the dvd is flawless; without any scratches or dents :-)

5/5 Is it worth the $70?
  by Leon Peschel
This set is amazing.
From the movie stand point, the extended scenes provide so much insight into the characters. Also, the special features are fascinating (I don't want to spoil so I wont go into them).

The main question is not is the movie is good enough, but rather, is this set worth 70 dollars.
Yes. If you think about it, for a family 5 to go to the movies for a night it costs around 70 bucks (or at least thats how much it costs my family). With this set you get almost 12 hours of movie to watch, plus endless special features. Basically you can spend an entire weekend just watching this set.

If, however, you just simply want to see the movie, no extras, no extensions, just the normal movie, then get the normal movie. If you want the best Lord of the Rings experience get this.