The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Four-Disc Special Extended Edition)

This movie stands out as one of my all-time favorites in the fantasy genre. It encompasses all the aspects I cherish, delivering a thrilling experience that captivates my imagination. While I realize that the golden age of epic fantasy films may have passed, I'm grateful for the opportunity to return to this beloved classic and reconnect with the characters I adore.

I've watched the original trilogy for years now. With the recent loss of my extended editions however, I decided to watch this most recent time on Prime. I hate to say they don't measure up at all to the extended editions; it feels as if over half of the movie is missing, altered from what it is meant to be. I did see one of the most recent other reviews giving only 2 stars because they claimed the movie only used 22% of the book, but you must realize that the amount of time it takes to make a movie, and even just to watch one for the general movie-viewing public, it just wouldn't be practical to make a movie with the entire book the size of the original. Even the absolute most hard-core fanboys (if they have any idea of the time and cost that goes into making this scale of movie) would admit that. Considering the scale of these movies and the fact that they got funded all together before even one was released, and at the immense budget that was at the time unheard of for cinematography, it actually very impressive how well they did. The praise these movies get are not just for pretty visuals and big actors, but by the effort the movie creators went to in order to stay as true to the books as possible with out changing major factors which I'm sure most anyone can agree with after seeing the vast majority of movies-based-on-books in the years that followed.Would fans have appreciated a movie that mirrored the book in it's entirety? Sure, who wouldn't? Except for all the people who were not originally major fans before something like these movies came along for those of us that perhaps a bit more visual based or less inclined to reading. I myself read books before seeing the related movies, but I understand that these movies had an incredible impact on people who had never even read the books, or even heard of the LotR beforehand. And to someone who isn't already invested, a single 11 hour movie is an easy thing to say no to. It may be commonplace now, but a 3 hour movie was a mighty stretch at the time of this release. It wasn't truly until after these movies showed some of the underlying potential that filmmakers even realized that a general audience would sit through something this long.For all the faults this movie and it's trilogy predecessors have, one would have to be truly ignorant to not see the feats that were accomplished with this series. Realistically feats that would be impossible to duplicate ever again. The Fellowship of the Ring - the Return of the King are 100% my number 1 recommendation to any fan of the genera, or just anyone in general.

Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Fellowship of the Ring is a good representation of Tolkien's original work, but it is also a very well-made movie. Just like Tolkien's book, The Lord of the Rings, has long been the standard to which most fantasy books are compared, I believe fantasy movies will be held against the movie trilogy for many years to come. (Be aware that this review may contain some SPOILERS).One of the biggest criticisms I see about the movie is some of the changes made from the book. Yes, there is much more in Tolkien's book than is in the movie, but can it really be helped? For the most part the movie stays very faithful to the book. Yes, parts were left out (like the character of Tom Bombadil), but most of this was done so the immense work could fit into a movie. And even with the abridgement, the movie is still over three hours long. I caution audiences to keep an open mind and not think everything has to exactly match the book. It's okay to like them both.Here are all the good things about the movie:The cinematography is completely AMAZING. The locations were totally believable. I was awestruck by the beauty of Middle-Earth when I saw it on screen for the first time.The special effects were incredible. Jackson and his crew went back to many of the techniques we have come to know as "movie magic". In most movies nowadays, computer-animated graphics seem so overused, but in Fellowship of the Ring it appeared to only be used as a last resort. (It was done very well, too. In watching some of the special features, I saw a couple effects that I would never have known were computer animated without it being pointed out to me).The music in the movie is a richly colored tapestry interwoven into the movie. Howard Shore was able to create and convey many different moods and emotions with the score.The sets, costumes, weapons, and props are all masterfully designed. They are believable, graceful, and beautiful.The writing and acting are both fantastic. While the filming of the movie is great, they did not sacrifice writing for special effects. The dialogue in Fellowship of the Ring is very poetic and intelligent (yes, there is a movie out there with intelligent writing). And believe it or not, I didn't hear a single profane word spoken in the entire 3-hour-long movie.The DVD has several hours of special features that are as entertaining as they are informative. I think audiences will be fascinated in seeing some of the processes involved in making The Fellowship of the Ring.If you want to discover an immense and beautiful world you have never seen before, I recommend this movie to you.

Great product!