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List Price: $29.98 | | Label: New Line Home Video
Salesrank: 28595
Released: November 12, 2002 |
| Our Price: $59.97 |
| Used Price: $27.00 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
In every aspect, the extended-edition DVD of Peter Jackson's epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring blows away the theatrical-version DVD. No one who cares at all about the film should ever need to watch the original version again. Well, maybe the impatient and the squeamish will still prefer the theatrical version, because the extended edition makes a long film 30 minutes longer and there's a bit more violence (though both versions are rated PG-13). But the changes--sometimes whole scenes, sometimes merely a few seconds--make for a richer film. There's more of the spirit of J.R.R. Tolkien, embodied in more songs and a longer opening focusing on Hobbiton. There's more character development, and more background into what is to come in the two subsequent films, such as Galadriel's gifts to the Fellowship and Aragorn's burden of lineage. And some additions make more sense to the plot, or are merely worth seeing, such as the wood elves leaving Middle-earth or the view of Caras Galadhon (but sorry, there's still no Tom Bombadil). Extremely useful are the chapter menus that indicate which scenes are new or extended.
Of the four commentary tracks, the ones with the greatest general appeal are the one by Jackson and cowriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, and the one by 10 cast members, but the more technically oriented commentaries by the creative and production staff are also worth hearing. The bonus features (encompassing two complete DVDs) are far superior to the largely promotional materials included on the theatrical release, delving into such matters as script development, casting, and visual effects. The only drawback is that the film is now spread over two discs, with a somewhat abrupt break following the council at Rivendell, due to the storage capacity required for the longer running time, the added DTS ES 6.1 audio, and the commentary tracks. But that's a minor inconvenience. Whether in this collector's gift set (which adds Argonath bookends and a DVD of National Geographic Beyond the Movie: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring) or the unadorned four-disc set, the extended-edition DVD is the Fellowship DVD to rule them all. --David Horiuchi
The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring (Platinum Series Special Extended Edition Collector's Gift Set) Reviews:
A great interpretation of Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring 
2009-12-10 - Any Tolkien or medieval adventure fan should own this movie. It's fairly useless without the second movie (The Two Towers) and the last one (The Return of the King). You gotta have all three!
Makes the movies even MORE than they already are! 
2009-11-27 - I got the theatrical version of Fellowship of the Ring when it came out. I didnt know the extended version would be released later. When the Two Towers and Return of the King came out I got the extended versions of them. I ended up trading in my theatrical version of Fellowship and buying the extended version. These are absolutely worth everything. Most movies that have extended or deleted scenes just throw them in a menu to watch all out of order. In this, the extended and deleted scenes are put INTO the movie, making each movie 30-50 minutes LONGER! After seeing the extended versions of these movies you will never want to think of the theatrical versions again. Plus, if you're someone like me and enjoy things looking badass on a shelf, these bulky book looking boxes are awesome collectibles that will spice up your DVD shelf.
Even without the two disks per film of bonus features, these are worth it just for the extended versions of the films. If you have the regular versions, I would recommend taking them somewhere that buys used DVDs and using the money towards buying these.
Just like a transaction should be..... 
2009-11-24 - Good price, great service, product delivered without any damage, and quickly! Would definetly buy from again.
Good Stuff 
2009-11-23 - 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.
Summed up in one word...PERFECT. 
2009-11-18 -
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.