TotalTelly.co.uk

Devoted to Popular, Cult and Retro TV

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Two Disc Theatrical Edition) [2001]


RRP: £14.99
Our Price: £1.90 (subject to change)

Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

A marvellously sympathetic yet spectacularly cinematic treatment of the first part of Tolkien’s trilogy, Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is the film that finally showed how extraordinary digital effects could be used to support story and characters, not simply overwhelm them. Both long-time fantasy fans and newcomers alike were simultaneously amazed, astonished and left agog for parts two and three.

Jackson’s abiding love for the source material comes across in the wealth of incidental detail (the stone trolls from The Hobbit, Bilbo’s hand-drawn maps); and even when he deviates from the book he does so for sound dramatic reasons (the interminable Tom Bombadil interlude is deleted; Arwen not Glorfindel rescues Frodo at the ford). New Zealand stands in wonderfully for Middle-Earth and his cast are almost ideal, headed by Elijah Wood as a suitably naïve Frodo, though one with plenty of iron resolve, and Ian McKellen as an avuncular-yet-grimly determined Gandalf. The set-piece battle sequences have both an epic grandeur and a visceral, bloody immediacy: the Orcs, and Saruman’s Uruk-Hai in particular, are no mere cannon-fodder, but tough and terrifying adversaries. Tolkien’s legacy could hardly have been better served.

On the DVD: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring two-disc set presents the original theatrical release (approx 171 minutes) on the first disc with a vivid Dolby 5.1 soundtrack and a simply splendid anamorphic print that allows even the darkest recesses of Moria to be glimpsed. The second disc contains 15 short behind-the-scenes pieces originally seen on the official Web site plus three substantial featurettes. The Houghton Mifflin "Welcome to Middle-Earth" is a 16-minute first look at the transition from page to screen, most interesting for its treasurable interview with Tolkien’s original publisher Rayner Unwin. "Quest for the Ring" is a pretty standard 20-minute Fox TV special with lots of cast and crew interviews. Better is the Sci-Fi Channel’s "A Passage to Middle-Earth", a 40-minute special that goes into a lot more detail about many aspects of the production and how the creative team conceived the film’s look.

Most mouth-watering for fans who just can’t wait is a 10-minute Two Towers preview, in which Peter Jackson personally tantalises us with behind-the-scenes glimpses of Gollum and Helm’s Deep, plus a tasty three-minute teaser for the four-disc Fellowship special edition. Rounding out a good package are trailers, Enya’s "May It Be" video and a Two Towers video game preview.--Mark Walker


Beyond breath-taking!
Review date: 2008-10-30 Rating: 10 out of 10

A magnificently beautiful film. Remaining loyal to the book, Peter Jackson has made a huge leap from his earlier (and FANTASTIC) blood-soaked gore-fests (BAD TASTE, MEET THE FEEBLES and BRAINDEAD) - keep your eye out for a cameo from Lionel's mother from BRAINDEAD as a hobbit in the extended version of this. The action is brilliant, the shots are stunning, the special effects are breath-taking, the acting is superb, and the music is beyond phonemenol. Definetly one of the greatest film (if not the greatest trilogy) since 2000. A MUST SEE!"

Accessories

Similar Products

Reviews


A Masterpiece
Review date: 2008-10-09 Rating: 10 out of 10

If I could, I would give this movie 100 stars. There's nothing I can really say that hasn't already been said - so I'll sum up the trilogy in a few words.

Epic. Beautiful. Masterpiece.

A true diamond of modern cinema.

A feast of the senses...a strength and inspiration
Review date: 2008-06-17 Rating: 10 out of 10

"The world has changed, I feel it in the water, I feel it in the earth, I smell it in the air...Much that once was, is lost
For none now live who remember it."
So begins the majestic prologue to the movie, The Fellowship of the Ring.
As the earth and all that is beautiful and good is threatened by a malignant evil, as `One by one,
the free lands

of Middle-Earth fell
to the power of the ring." Like the book, the movie is spellbinding and compelling in the true sense of the word, as we get to view Tolkien's Middle Earth come to life on the screen.
It is actually quite remarkable how the mythic world of middle Earth has been made so lifelike, and how intriguing it is on the big screen.
The script is brilliantly written and the cast is excellent. We get to see all the wonders of Middle Earth before our eyes- The Shire, Rivendell, Moria, Lotholorien...
What makes the Lord of the Rings so inspiring is the hope of good always triumphing over evil, at a time when, at the beginning of the 21st century,
by the breakdown of a morality of right and wrong acts in favor of a therapeutic ethic which "feels the pain" of the perpetrators of violence. Taken in combination, these are powerful forces, to which the countervailing influences of reason, responsibility and restraint are as unequal now as they have been at any other time of populist ferment and generalized fear.

With the end of the Cold War, we have seen, instead of a triumph, of Judeo-Christian values and Western democracy, an anti-western revolutionary amoral and cruel philosophy taking over the world. This leads us to fear that
Judeo-Christian civilization will fall, "and all will come to darkness", but we
Must take inspiration from the words of Aragorn: "I do not know what strength is in my blood, but I swear to you, I will not let the White City fall. Nor our people fail!"

Thus we can take comfort that darkness will not triumph and as Gandalf so inspiringly puts it: "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, in which case you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought..."

As long As we always stand by values of right and justice and freedom and never give up the idea that they will triumph.



overated
Review date: 2008-06-07 Rating: 4 out of 10

boring first installment that promises much and delivers little,it takes a long time to get going and the plot is so hard to follow you just stop caring.

Pure quality.
Review date: 2008-05-18 Rating: 10 out of 10

Amazing scenery, brilliant story, great cast, superb soundtrack and so on...I wish there were more films like this being made!

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Elijah Wood|Ian McKellen|Liv Tyler|Viggo Mortensen

Creators:
Elijah Wood|Ian McKellen|Liv Tyler|Viggo Mortensen (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Entertainment in Video
Manufacturer: Entertainment in Video
EAN: 5017239191695
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: Anamorphic, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2002-08-06
Number of discs: 2
Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 171 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2001-12-19
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Subtitled)

Add to Cart

Accessories:

© 2006 Darren Hester, DesignsByDarren.com, Some Rights Reserved.
Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional