Customer Reviews

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Theatrical and Extended Limited Edition)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Yes, the cinematic benchmark for the 21st century. Both versions on one disc, very good idea? Well, only if you don't have them already. If you don't, this is for you and you can stop reading.
Fans however, already own all the versions of these movies. The new documentary, no matter how excellent, raw and real it may be, will get one viewing; better for renting. The only reasons for buying this are if you plan to view the documentaries more than once or if you are an obsessive collector of all things related to these movies.
Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan; I preordered every DVD on the first day I could. I don't doubt that next year they will release an HD-DVD or Blu-Ray version (possibly both) that will be entirely worth having. Until then I will wait to give them more money, not now.

I live in Wellington, New Zealand and I have to do a little plug here because I've been lucky enough to have seen two of Costa's three documentaries after he finished editing them. New Line has done a HUGE disservice to fans by holding these documentaries back and now, having milked the LOTR cash cow for all it's worth, I fear that Costa's amazing work is not going to get the credit it deserves. I cannot speak highly enough of these documentaries.

Mind you, the versions I saw were uncensored. From what I know, New Line has decided that their audience isn't mature enough to cope with all of the cussing and have helpfully beeped everything. Which should make some of the footage interesting as in some cases all you'll be hearing out of the mouths of the actors is, "Beeeeeeeeeep".

Anyway, this isn't some cheap hype. I've held off buying any LOTR sets because I knew these documentaries would eventually get a release. They are a wonderful insight into the making of LOTR (and films in general). There's no cheap Hollywood schmoozing here. It's warts and all. There is no narrative, no music, no one telling anyone how great they are. It shows crew being people and actors being people. There's some lovely footage in one of the documentaries of Viggo fishing - I'm hoping that's still in there. Costa also shot the footage of Sean getting injured when he stepped on a large chunk of wood during a take. Anyway, I can't remember all of the great scenes, since it's been a couple of years, but there's some fantastic stuff. I'm hoping all the footage I remember is still included (although, who knows what horrors the documentaries have been subjected to while in the clutches of New Line).

So, yeah, I know, who wants to buy another DVD set. Right? Well, don't buy it for the movies. Buy it for these documentaries. New Line in their short sightedness have held back three pieces of work that I think any fan will love and even worse, they've done a terrible job of promoting them. In all seriousness, I don't think you're going to be dissapointed.

I had been looking for the extended edition of The Fellowship of the Ring with subtitles in spanish, and finally I've found it. So' if you're looking for that feature, this is the only version that includes it.

It is true, that these are the same versions that were previously released... but with one Great difference. None of the previous DVD releases for the Fellowship (Theatrical and Extended) had subtitles in Spanish. This is the main reason why I got this disk. If you're looking for the same, this is the only version of the Fellowship that has them and the one you need to get!

first half of the movie wont even play totally sucks and i didn't return it because I have chronic fatigue and just never get the time to wrap it up and return it like i should...very unhappy with this purchase will not buy from this seller again.

...I've been seeing a lot of negative reviews for the re-release of these three films on DVD. A lot of them are from people that don't even own them giving them a low rating simply because they are mad they already own the extended cuts, and want the documentaries on the new ones, but don't want to purchase them again. Now I don't blame them. I hate when a DVD is re-released many times over with little or no extras that than its predecessor. I however, disagree that they should be rated low simply because angry consumers that already own the previous versions are mad that they don't want to purchase them again. Now they have the right to be angry, but if you don't own them, you should not review them, let alone rate them the lowest score.
In short, you already know how great these movies are, if you do not already own them all, then they make a great buy. I purchased all three since I only owned the Theatrical Cut of "The Fellowship of the Ring." I was watching the extended cut last night and it got me all excited again. The box art is pretty freaking cool too, and the fact that they are not huge like the extended editions was a plus for me. They don't take a lot of room, which is good for me because I have soo many movies that the more space I can save the better. The only thing you should know is that although both theatrical and extended cuts are on one disc, you still have to switch the disc over in between the movie--which is really not a big deal. I highly recommend getting these to those that don't own them yet.

I just wanted to add a few thoughts to others' comments. First to the user who complained that you would have to turn the disc over and "hasn't technology come to the point where one whole theatrical film can be shown on one side of a disc, and the extended on another disc?" The answer is yes and no. No a regular DVD is not big enough to hold the extended editions on one side of one disc. A regular DVD even using dual layer is only about 9 GB. So you could either compress the heck out of the picture and sound which would make no one happy or have to switch discs/turn the disc over. Yes technology has evolved though that is why HD-DVD/Blu-Ray are coming out, they can hold much more information on a single disc which means less compression, unfortunately you have to buy a new player, as for me I'm waiting for the format war to end before I commit. Also I think you are confused about branching. Basically the way branching works is that you will choose from the outset which movie you'll watch either theatrical or extended. If you choose the extended edition you'll watch the theatrical version until the extended bits come along and then the disc will seamlessy insert those scenes.
Now as for Peter Jackson being another George Lucas I disagree. You have to remember PJ doesn't own the rights to these movies the way Lucas does Star Wars. This isn't PJ re-releasing these films, the blame for double-dipping lies squarely on New Line. I agree that there should be a way for fans to purchase the documentaries w/o buying the films, all they're setting themselves up for is piracy as the documentaries will make the rounds in the torrent world.

Let me accept the fact that LOTR is my most beloved film and I already own the extended editions of the films in one set! I'm really not surprised to see New Line coming up with another edition of the trilogy. With films like these they will squeeze the collectors as much as they can!! Still, inspite of this new set containing both the theatrical versions and the extended cuts of the films and also the much hyped Costa Botes documentaries, my advise to anyone buying LOTR for the first time is- DO NOT BUY THIS SET! Spend a little more and you get all the movies in full 6.1 DTS EX glory, alongwith hours of endless in-depth bonus features which probably you'll spend rest of your life watching!!

Please be aware, these new editions DO NOT contain DTS tracks, no commentary tracks by the director, Weta workshop or the cast. All you get is both versions crammed into one single disc and just one documentary as a bonus on the second disc...AND NOTHING ELSE. It would have been a better idea had New Line released the documentaries separately without forcing the consumer to buy the films again....And even this is not the end, once the HD format gains a little more acceptance, they'll have another excuse to come up with a new version of the trilogy!

Beware, Extended edition set is the ultimate LOTR experience, in terms of films or bonus features. Go get it...Its worth all the money spent!!

I love this movie series. The extended versions add quite some time to the already @3 hours of the theatrical versions. I would only recommend this for true lovers of the trilogy due to this. The extended scenes are just as beautiful and fully edited as the rest of the film. If you are buying The Fellowship of the Ring: Extended Version make sure you buy the other two as well...

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Four-Disc Special Extended Edition)

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition)

I was extremely pleased with the quality of this DVD. The packaging was in mint condition, with all the original inserts, and both DVDs were like new. I love that I got both the theatrical edition and the extended edition for such a great price. This set may not have all the extras that some of the other sets do, but honestly I usually never watch that stuff anyway.