Product Description

In the land of Middle Earth, young Hobbit Frodo Baggins is entrusted with the One Ring of the Dark Lord Sauron and with a fellowship of eight others, embarks on a quest to destroy it.
No Track Information Available
Media Type: DVD
Artist: WOOD/MCKELLEN/MORTENSEN/ASTIN/LEE/BEAN/HOLM
Title: LORD OF THE RINGS-FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
Street Release Date: 01/17/2006
Domestic
Genre: ACTION / ADVENTURE

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2426 in DVD
• Brand: WOOD/MCKELLEN/MORTENSEN/ASTIN/LE
• Released on: 2002-11-12
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 208 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
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 four-disc set or in the 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), the extended-edition DVD is the Fellowship DVD to rule them all. --David Horiuchi

Amazon.com
Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films gave "double-dipping"--releasing a DVD then releasing an improved version shortly afterward--a good name by offering both a better film and stupendous extras in the Extended Editions. This "triple-dip" 2006 Limited Edition falls far short of that standard but is still of interest to devoted and casual fans.

What do you get?
Both the theatrical and extended versions of The Fellowship of the Ring are on one double-sided disc. The versions use seamless branching, meaning that the scenes that are common to both versions are stored on the disc only once. If you choose to watch the extended version, the disc "branches" out to the added or extended scenes. What does this mean to the viewer? Not much. The viewing experience is the same because the branching is imperceptible. But because both versions of the film don't have to be stored on the disc in their entirety (which would be six and half hours total), both versions together fit on two sides of one disc. The downside is that whichever version you watch, you have to flip over the disc halfway through; the film breaks at the same spot it did on the Extended Edition, right after the council at Rivendell. Also lost are the meager features included on the theatrical edition, plus the four commentary tracks, two discs of bonus features, and DTS 6.1 ES sound from the four-disc Extended Edition.

What's new?
The second disc has an 85-minute documentary directed by Costa Botes, who was personally selected by Peter Jackson. Rather than the formal documentary structure of other editions, it consists of off-the-cuff interviews with Peter Jackson, Alan Lee, and others, and random bits of behind-the-scenes action and special-effects work. Those who have worked their way through the many hours of bonus content on the other editions might recognize some of this footage, such as the Hobbit actors mocking whichever of them is not around, then greeting him warmly when he shows up. Other things--Liv Tyler riding a fake horse, a snowfall during shooting, interviewing the rank-and-file cast members, touring Peter Jackson's trailer--seem new. And some bits seem geared to those who've watched the other material--for example, some of the visual tricks explained there are only glimpsed without explanation here. It's entertaining, but because there's no structure (there are chapters, but no menu or chapter listing), it's not as convenient to watch, and go back to, as a documentary broken up into bite-size pieces. Oddly, the documentary is in widescreen, but not anamorphically enhanced for widescreen TVs. Note: New Line Home Entertainment couldn't release this material on its own a là the King Kong Production Diaries due to contractual restrictions.

Bottom line: Do you need this edition?
This Limited Edition combination of theatrical and extended versions plus new documentary seems likely to appeal to two camps. One is the devoted fan, who already owns both editions but has to have everything LOTR. The other is the casual fan who liked the movie in theaters, heard good things about the Extended Edition, and doesn't need a ton of bonus material. This edition is attractively priced for that buyer, and the packaging is quite handsome. In between is the devoted fan who already owns both editions but doesn't feel the need to watch more bonus material. When watching the whole movie, that fan will always choose the Extended Edition, but keeps the theatrical edition for (1) watching with guests, (2) the music video, or (3) the convenience of skimming through favorite scenes without having to change discs. That fan can safely skip this edition, as can home-theater fans who love DTS. --David Horiuchi

From The New Yorker
It takes about forty-five minutes for the movie to emerge from Sir Ian McKellen's beard (he plays the garrulous wizard Gandalf), but once it does, this enormous hunk of quasi-medieval myth, based on the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, is consistently beautiful and exciting. The New Zealander director Peter Jackson, who wrote the screenplay with Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, works with enough dramatic tension and pictorial grandeur to sustain us through long periods of complicated exposition and heavy bouts of swordplay. Elijah Wood, of the troubled blue eyes, plays the hobbit Frodo. He is accompanied in this quest by Gandalf, two noble human warriors (Viggo Mortensen and Sean Bean), an intemperate, black-bearded dwarf (John Rhys-Davies), and various scampering halflings. The New Zealand landscapes-jagged mountains, thickety glens, limitless plains-add to the aura of enchantment. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Good Movie!
This is a really good movie.
I have been a 'Lord of the Rings' fan for a really long time.
I love the books, I love the soundtracks, and I love the movies.
I think this is an amazing opening for a series, it`s so witty, creative, and fun. Good movie...really worth watching.

Great DVD for Collections!
Very Excited! It is very long though. Prepare a day to watch it.

Highly Recommended!

I LOVE THE MOVIE!!!
I LOVE THE MOVIE!!! LORD OF THE RINGS THE FELLOWSHIP SEE THE TOTAL INFO

DISC 1:
4 AUDIO COMMENTARIES
- Director/Writer/Producer Peter Jackson and Writer/Co-Producer Philippa Boyens
- The Design Team
- The Production/Post-Production Team
- The Cast

SELECT A SCENE:
* New Scene! - ** Extended Scene

AUDIO SOUND:
- Dolby Digital EX 5.1 Surround Sound
- DTS ES 6.1 Surround Sound
- Stereo Surround Sound

LANGUAGE:
- English

SUBTITLES & CLOSED CAPTION:
- English

WIDESCREEN 2:35:1
- Movie Running Time (1Hrs 45Mins)

THE STORY CONTINUES ON DISC TWO...

DISC 2:
4 AUDIO COMMENTARY:
- Director/Writer/Producer Peter Jackson and Writer/Co-Producer Philippa Boyens
- The Design Team
- The Production/Post-Production Team
- The Cast

SELECT A SCENE:
* New Scene! - ** Extended Scene

AUDIO SOUND:
- Dolby Digital EX 5.1 Surround Sound
- DTS ES 6.1 Surround Sound
- Stereo Surround Sound

LANGUAGE:
- English

SUBTITLES & CLOSED CAPTION:
- English

WIDESCREEN 2:35:1
- Movie Running Time (1Hrs 35Mins)
- End Credits (27 Mins)

TOTAL RUNNING TIME (3Hrs 47Mins)

DISC 3:
The Appendices Part 1 - From Book to Vision
TRT = Total Running Time

Introduction by Peter Jackson = (TRT - 1:18)

PLAY ALL: DOCUMENTARIES (UNINTERRUPTED 2½ HRS. EXPERIENCE)
- J.R.R. Tolkien - Creator of Middle-earth = (TRT - 22:27)
- From Book to Script = (TRT - 20:03)
- Storyboards and Pre-Viz Making Words Into Images = (TRT- 44.02)
- Designing Middle-earth = (TRT- 41:10)
- WETA Workshop = (TRT- 43:00)
- Costume Design = (TRT- 11:33)

CHAPTERS:
* J.R.R. TOLKIEN: CREATOR OF MIDDLE-EARTH
* FROM BOOK TO SCRIPT
* VISUALIZING THE STORY
* DESIGNING AND BUILDING MIDDLE-EARTH
* MIDDLE-EARTH ATLAS
* NEW ZEALAND AS MIDDLE-EARTH

ADDITIONAL FEATURES:
- Early Storyboards: The Prologue = (TRT- 7:38)
- Abandoned Storyboard Sequence: Orc Pursuit Into Lorhlorien = (TRT- 1:33)
- Abandoned Storyboard Sequence: Sarn Gebir Rapids Chase = (TRT- 1:43)
- Pre-Viz Animatic: Gandalf Rides to Orthanc = (TRT- 1:08)
- Pre-Viz Animatic: The Stairs of Khazad-dum = (TRT- 2:19)
- Storyboard to Film Comparison: Storyboard - "Nazgul Attack at Bree"
- Pre-Viz - "The Bridge of Khazad-dum"
- Bag End Set Tes t= (TRT- 6:64)
- Middle-earth Atlas: Inter the Map! (Video Clips) = (TRT - 12:00)
- New Zealand: of Middle-earth = (TRT - 9:52)

DESIGN GALLERIES
* Slideshow Features: One Continuous Sequence
- The Peoples of Middle-earth = (1140 Photo's)
- Realms of Middle-earth = (705 Photo's)

SUBTITLES - NO!
CLOSED CAPTION - YES!

DISC 4:
The Appendices Part 2 - From Vision to the Reality
TRT = Total Running Time

Introduction by Elijah Wood: = (TRT - 0:28

PLAY ALL: DOCUMENTARIES (UNINTERRUPTED 3½ HRS. EXPERIENCE)
- The Fellowship of The Cast = (TRT - 34:37)
- A Day in the Life of a Hobbit = (TRT- 13:05)
- Cameras in Middle-earth = (TRT- 49:38)
- Scale = (TRT- 15:34)
- Big-atures = (TRT- 16:16)
- WETA Digital = (TRT- 24:47)
- Editorial: Assembling an Epic = (TRT- 12:45)
- Digital Grading = (TRT- 12:06)
- The Soundscapes Middle-earth = (TRT- 12:35)
- Music for Middle-earth = (TRT- 12:26)
- The Road Goes Ever on... = (TRT- 7:22)

CHAPTERS:
* FILMING "THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS"
* VISUAL EFFECTS
* POST PRODUCTION: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
* DIGITAL GRADING
* SOUND AND MUSIC
* THE ROAD GOES EVER ON...

ADDITIONAL FEATURES:
- Editorial Demonstration: The Council of Elrond = (TRT- 1:27 x 7)
* Slideshow Features: One Continuous Sequence
- Galleries = (249 Photo's)

SUBTITLES - NO!
CLOSED CAPTION - YES!

COMING SOON!

Director Guillermo del Toro
The Hobbit (2011) (announced)
The Hobbit (2012) (announced)
Local Shire Hobbit Bilbo Baggins, relative of Frodo Baggins, is living a quiet, peaceful life until Gandalf the Grey walks into his home with a band of wandering dwarfs and drags poor Bilbo into a quest that entails defeating a dragon, a three way battle of men, dwarfs and monsters and, most importantly of all, lead Bilbo into contact with a peculiar ring that has had and will have a great impact on the future of their world. - More info at IMDb.com

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!