If you are a fan of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, this is of course, a must to have. I had originally ordered the full screen by mistake. Had to order "wide screen" for the full effect. At least once a year I watch all 3 of these movies plus the "Hobbit" series. It's become a "family tradition" so to speak. Even tho much is left out of the movies that is in the original book, the movies are great entertainment. Telling of great courage, friendship, bravery. In a way, I think it's simply the story of good versus evil with heroic deeds, terror, and all thrown in.

I've read plenty on this website about the thoroughness of the two extras DVD's, and I can't help but second that. I was fascinated by all the background behind the making of this movie, and it kept me up a few nights just wanting to watch the next feature, even as someone who didn't care for the book as anything special (don't hate!).

Yet I just had to comment on the technical marvels packed into this film.

The quality of video and sound on the two main feature discs blew my mind. Of all DVD's I've ever seen, this has had the most crisp and heart-pounding sound of anything I've ever watched. Mind, you, part of this is that I watched it on a PS3 and got the uncompressed Dolby Digital track, which was incredibly satisfying even with just 2 great stereo speakers and a bumping subwoofer. So really, if you have a PS3 or any other especially good sound system and a good TV you cannot get many better experiences than this DVD. The sound Oscars went to all 3 LOTR films for a reason - every sound is effect is appropriate and impactful.

The image is also particularly beautiful. The colors are warm and rich with color, making every frame a gorgeous picture. The battle scenes are appropriately dark and everything as they should be, but when all different colors are bright and distinct in other scenes, and in Fangorn Forest's verdant green vistas especially, the picture hypnotized me.

I guess I'm saying that we all know these are great movies. Get this release for the extras if that's your thing, but this release's best feature in my mind is the quality of the sound and picture - they're on a level I have never seen. And I'm not that picky with sound either, so it stood out even for me - you don't need to be a fan to appreciate this release, and the same goes for the other two Extended Edition releases. The Two Towers is just the one I happened to watch recently, so I have the freshest memory of it, but I own the other two releases as well and they are equally excellent all around. I don't think I can use enough superlatives to praise these 3 DVD releases, and I'll be watching the Return of the King tomorrow to finish off the trilogy. I know I sound like a fanboy, and so be it - a lot of other DVD's will sorely disappoint me after these Extended Editions, I have no doubt.

Having somehow misplaced my copy of the Two Towers sometime over the past couple of years, I finally felt that I should pick up a new one in anticipation of the release of the Hobbit. This being quite well-priced and delivery from amazon being so convenient, I ordered this, and found it to be as powerful a movie as ever. Among the three films in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I am tempted to say that this is my favorite; the first movie resorts to some queer film editing techniques towards the end (the combination of slow-motion capture and the lowered frame rate during several sequences accomplishes nothing and results in a strange feeling) and omits a large number of important scenes from the book, and the last film, while certainly one of the grandest of achievements, also omits some fairly important parts, notably the Scouring of the Shire. What this film accomplishes is a much more compelling tale and a powerful transcription of the second book. For all of those reasons I feel this is perhaps the best of an incredible trilogy.

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.

Frodo Lives!