Review of Lord Of The Rings, The: The Fellowship Of The Ring (Limited Edition 5 Disc Collector`s Box Set)

Introduction

J. R. R. Tolkien`s children`s novel "The Hobbit" his subsequent "Lord of the Rings" trilogy (which is actually three sections of one volume) comprising "The Fellowship of the Ring", "The Two Towers" and "The Return of the King" are four of the most popular books in literary history, read and loved by millions.

Many people considered that the "Lord of the Rings" was impossible to turn into a film for a number of reasons - the sheer depth of the story, the required locations and primarily because the books have been read by so many people who will have exceptionally high expectations.

New Line Cinema knew that if they got things right, the film would be guaranteed to be a success, such is Tolkien`s popularity, but if it was a disaster, would probably destroy anyone involved in the project. Many eyebrows were raised when New Line Cinema appointed New Zealand director Peter Jackson to direct the films (after all, Jackson`s previous work included the gross-out movie Bad Taste and the ultra gore fest Braindead). These eyebrows were raised even further when they decided to make all three parts of the trilogy at the same time. Expectations were high, could they deliver?

When the teaser trailers for "The Fellowship of the Ring" appeared on the internet and then on cinema screens, they fuelled huge interest in the film which opened in late December 2001 to rave reviews across the world. Any doubts were soon cast aside as the movie saw cinemas sold out, eventually taking some $860,000,000 worldwide at the box office, a total which will be added to substantially by this DVD release. The sequel, "The Two Towers" has amassed box office receipts of over $577,000,000 after just one month of release.

This five disc edition features an extended cut of the movie, which adds 30 minutes to the running time, a DTS-ES 6.1 soundtrack and a vast amount of extras, a National Geographic disc and limited edition Argonath bookends. To accommodate the extra length and soundtracks, the film is now split over two discs, with two discs of extras in addition to the aforementioned National Geographic disc.

Video

One of Peter Jackson`s biggest problems with Lord of the Rings was how to translate Tolkien`s expertly crafted literary vision of Middle Earth from paper onto the screen. Everyone who has read the books will have a mental picture of the locations and scale - clearly the visual aspect of the film is crucial.

When I saw the film at the cinema, the scale of the movie left me speechless, incredible cinematography recreates Tolkien`s vision, from tranquil beauty of The Shire and Rivendell to the black menace of Mordor and the mines of Moria, the film looks absolutely incredible. I would rank the sequence in Moria to the Bridge of Khazad-dum as the most spectacular sequences of film I have ever seen, the scale is incredible, and best of all the shots are seamless. Perhaps the only scene ever filmed that has more visual impact is the Helm`s Deep battle in "The Two Towers" - I can`t wait for that to arrive on DVD.

Aside from the wonderful locations, the attention to detail in the sets and costumes is remarkable; everything in this movie looks perfect. This helped by some exceptional camerawork, with some excellent panning shots and aerial photography.

And, as you might expect, all of this visual splendour is presented exceptionally well on this DVD. The picture quality on the 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen print is extremely good, very sharp and detailed, with no grain or dirt to be seen. I`m lucky enough to have a projector, and the scale of the locations translates well from the cinema to my (relatively) small 84" screen - I enjoyed Moria just as much at home. Colours are rich and vibrant when needed - in the Shire for example, and appropriately dark and menacing in Mordor or down in the mines.

The extra 30 minutes of footage included extended sequences at Moria and several other key moments, as well as adding numerous new scenes and shots to the existing movie.

Audio

We`ve already established that this film is a visual treat, and the good news is that sonically, the DTS-ES soundtrack surpasses the wonderful Dolby Digital 5.1 EX soundtrack on the original release. The sound is remarkable from start to finish, and if you have any trouble justifying you expensive home cinema sound system to anyone, once they`ve watched this film, they will moan no more.

All other so-called benchmark movies can be retired to the top shelf, the DTS-ES track present on this disc has raised the bar to a new level. Many benchmark films for sound are memorable for certain sequences - the opening battle in Saving Private Ryan, the Pod Race in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace for example. This is no longer the case - the sound in Fellowship of the Ring is of benchmark quality from start to finish - it really is that good.

I actually had to adjust the bass setting on my amplifier as my house felt like it was about to jump off it`s foundations, such is the power of the soundtrack at times - it is remarkable. But good sound is not just about powerful battle scenes, it`s about music, dialogue, effects and atmosphere, and this movie has them all - it`s a sonic delight.

The discrete sixth channel added by the DTS-ES track is well used, and adds an unexpected amount of depth to the sound, the Moria sequence was breathtaking in Dolby Digital EX, in DTS-ES it is gobsmacking, and worth watching over and over again as the sound fills the room.

Features

There were plenty of extras on the original release, but this extended edition presents the biggest range of extra material ever seen, and there is so much of it that you would need a week to go through it all.

First up are no less than four commentaries - "The Director and Writers", " The Design Team", "The Production/Post-Production Team" and " The Cast" if you`ve got the time to listen to all four, you`ll learn vast amounts of information about Jackson`s epic masterpiece.

Then there are the superb documentaries, which look at all aspects of making the book into a movie, storyboards, effects featurettes, an atlas of Middle Earth, galleries, interactive maps, characters, sound demonstrations, a preview of the Two Towers, animatics, comparisons, editing demonstrations and much much more.

This boxset contains the standalone four disc version, packaged in a large square box showing off the bookends, with the National Geographic "Beyond the Movie" disc (also excellent) and trading cards.

Conclusion

After having to put up with incredibly high expectations for the cinema release, New Line and Peter Jackson also have to satisfy the desire of millions of rabid fans to own the DVD version of the film. The original release was superb, the extended edition has given New Line the best DVD release yet seen, in terms of content, visuals and sound, perhaps the only movies that will surpass it are the two sequels, I can`t wait.

I have no hesitation in giving this disc top marks for content, video and sound, and top marks for extras, it is currently unmatched and an essential addition to any collection.