First Online Review of FOTR DVD!

Lights Out Entertainment ^ | kerouac

[Penny1]

Title: LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (WIDESCREEN EDITION)
Studio: New Line Cinema
Year: 2001
Region: 1 - USA

Yesterday, the most amazing thing happened. My wife picked up the mail and walked over to me, a package in her hands. "There's something here for you," she said. I really wasn't expecting anything, but when I looked at the package, my heart started racing. I didn't know why, but I knew it was something special. Like a child who's overanxious on Christmas morning, I snatched it from her hands. My heart was pounding faster and faster as I tore through the packaging. When I opened it, my breath caught in my throat and my eyes bulged. "What is it?" she asked. I tried to speak, but no words would come out. Dumbly, I extended a trembling hand, showing her what it was. "Cool," she said, then turned and went about her business. Cool? This wasn't cool… this was the DVD of Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring. This was freakin' amazing! This disc isn't released until August, yet I was holding it in my hand. I couldn't believe it. I still can't believe it.

So where did it come from? Come on, you know I can't tell you that. If I want to continue getting these things, I have to keep my sources totally secret. I know what you're thinking… "Kerouac, you lying S.O.B., you don't have the LOTR DVD. Oh yeah? Well, try this on for size. The menus are GORGEOUS. All of the images look slightly grainy, like the weathered, yellowing pages of some ancient book. And the menu selections are arranged in a circle, as if they were inscribed on a RING. Still don't believe me? That's fine. When you pick up the disc in August, you'll pop it into the DVD player, and your first thought will be, "Damn, Kerouac DID have this 3 months ago!" And just so you know, I'll still be smiling…

Here's a little background on the premise of the film. If you want more info than this, go read the books! They're wonderful!! It's a time before time, in a land called Middle Earth. A Dark Lord named Sauron created rings of power and gave them to the elves, dwarves, and humans, all in an attempt to rule them with the One Ring, the ring of power. And it was working, but a few resisted. In an epic battle, Sauron was defeated, and the ring was lost. Now it has made it's way into the hands of a Hobbit named Frodo Baggins. And as Sauron appears to be returning, the ring must be destroyed, so Frodo is sent off on a quest that will take him throughout Middle Earth, to the land of Sauron himself, in order to destroy the ring. Got it? Good…

I loved this movie in the theaters. I saw it several times, basking in the fact that FINALLY someone had gotten it right. All of the elements were put together in this gorgeous, triumph of a film. Storytelling, character development, special effects, score, pacing, tone, setting… I could go on and on. It was all… perfect. That is why I was slightly apprehensive to throw this disc into the DVD player right away. What if the beauty, scope, and scale of this film didn't transfer well to the small screen? What if the grandeur just wasn't there? I wrestled with these doubts for exactly 13.2 seconds, then said screw it, and popped it in. Let me tell you folks, all of my fears were unsubstantiated. If anything, this movie plays even BETTER on the small screen. Right from the opening prologue, where the legend of the ring is explained, I knew I had nothing to worry about. First of all, the transfer to DVD looks amazing. Everything is crystal clear, and there were no problems with it getting grainy around the edges. It practically jumped off my screen. Secondly, in the theater it was easy to miss things. I mean, there was so much going on that you just COULDN'T move your eyes across the screen to catch it all. Case in point: During the Prologue, when the battle against Sauron's forces is waging at the base of Mount Doom in Mordor, I couldn't fully appreciate the size and scale of that battle. I could only catch parts of it because it was so large. Now, on the DVD, you're really able to take that all in, and it gives you even more appreciation for the folks at WETA, the effects company that created the program MASSIVE which made these battle scenes. It's really amazing stuff.

Yeah, it looks great, and that's all well and good, but it's not what made me fall in love with this movie. What this movie had, that so many films lack nowadays, was HEART. I cared for these characters. Would that come through while sitting in my living room? Once again, I was worried over nothing. From the very first time Frodo (Elijah Wood) looks up, and those HUGE eyes, filled with all of the innocence and caring in the world, look out to the approaching Gandalf (Ian McKellan), I knew everything was going to be fine. Now I could sit back and enjoy the movie.

So what is it about this movie that is so great? Well, you've got the best ensemble cast that I have ever seen. Ian McKellan as Gandalf was incredible. Personally, I think he was robbed of the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, but then, with a cast this strong, it's hard to really stand out. Orlando Bloom as Legolas made me believe in Elves. His movements, mannerisms, and expressions were so precise, you'd swear he really was an elf. John Rhys-Davies eats up the screen as the diminutive, yet powerful, Gimli the dwarf. Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan add comic relief without going over the top as Merry and Pippin, fellow Hobbits swept up in the journey. As the mysterious, yet noble, Aragorn, Viggo Mortensen really comes into his own as an actor. I thought this guy was cool playing the devil in The Prophecy, but here he's just the man! This guy's got skills, and we're going to be seeing a lot more of him in the future. Now I'm compelled to talk about the most delightful surprise of the film; Sean Astin. I've been a fan of Sean's work ever since The Goonies, but the poor guy gets no respect. I mean, come on, this is RUDY for god's sake! Here he plays Samwise Gamgee, best friend to Frodo, and he plays it perfect. Sam is not adventerous. He'd rather sit around drinking an ale than anything else, but he is loyal. Throughout the course of this film, Sam proves time and again what true friendship is about, and what it means to love another person. Sam loves Frodo, and would lay down his life for him. There is a scene toward the end of the film, in which Frodo no longer feels he can endanger his friends, so he's trying to quietly leave without them. This brings out the best work I have ever seen Sean Astin do. He's heartbroken by the idea of Frodo leaving without him, and he damn near kills himself trying to catch up. It's one of the most touching scenes I have ever had the privilege to watch, and it brought a tear to my eye yet again yesterday. But in the end, it all comes back to one performance… Frodo. Elijah Wood is the heart and soul of this film. Without his performance, the film just wouldn't have worked. You need to BELIEVE in his innocence, bravery, fear, apprehension, and guilt. You need to understand and empathize with every emotion Frodo has. Somehow, Eijah does it. He makes you care and he makes you understand. That's the mark of a truly great actor.

Yet, great effects, a great story, and amazing performances can all still be muddled if the person in charge drops the ball. That leads me to director Peter Jackson. One thing you discover when watching this film is that Jackson obviously has a deep rooted love for his source material. Great pains were taken to get this movie right; to maintain the heart of Tolkien's books, yet make them accessible to a mass audience, and to transfer the story to film. This is no easy task, yet when you watch the film, it looks as if it were effortless. Certain parts of the book were removed, but that doesn't hurt the film. They were extraneous exposition that didn't move the story along. The movie flows and moves like a playful little river; calm in areas, creating a sense of peace, then picking up and barreling ahead, only to calm again… It's rhythmic and it's lyrical. This film really is a beautiful piece of art that should be treasured and admired.

So, my sources are good, but they could only secure me the first disc in the set, so I can't rate the features...yet. When the second disc becomes available to me I'll update this section!

The bottom line is, this movie is the closest thing to perfect filmmaking I have ever witnessed. It reached me at every possible level of film-watching. It satisfied the techno-geek in me with its amazing effects that enhanced the story, but did not one-up it. It satisfied the film-geek in me with it's precisely executed filmmaking. It satisfied the romantic in me with it's sweeping images and grandiose scale. And finally, it satisfied the child in me, creating a sense of wonder and awe that only amazing fantasy can. So when this DVD is released, I highly recommend you pick it up. Sit down, turn off the lights, and bask in the amazing world that Tolkien created and Jackson brought to life. If you open yourself up to it, you'll be smiling the whole way through. And just remember, when August rolls around and you're sitting there smiling, I told you that you would be… and I'll still be smiling, too.

~Kerouac out!

[Penny1]

Found the link to this article at TORn--I'd say this guy liked the film!

Hair and Ecurbh, should we ping the ringers to this one? I think I only have a very old version of the Green Dragon list...

[LowOiL]

When the three (series) makes it out. I plan to purchase them.

[Penny1]

You have more patience than I do! I could never wait that long. Knowing me, I'll probably buy them all as they come out and then buy them again when they package up some multi-disc collector's edition of all three movies with tons of extra footage.

I have no willpower whatsoever! :o

[HairOfTheDog]

Thanks Penny! - You know I will buy them all too...

If ecurbh doesn't happen along soon I will ping the GD list... but his list is better for this kind of stuff unless he is AWOL...

[Overtaxed]

Ii'm still waiting for the director's cut.

[HairOfTheDog]

HEAR HEAR!

The best ensemble cast that I have ever seen...
Ian McKellan as Gandalf was incredible...
Orlando Bloom as Legolas made me believe in Elves...
John Rhys-Davies eats up the screen as the diminutive, yet powerful, Gimli the dwarf...
Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan add comic relief...
Viggo Mortensen...he's just the man!...
Sean Astin... Sam proves time and again what true friendship is about...
Elijah Wood is the heart and soul of this film. Without his performance, the film just wouldn't have worked...

Yet, great effects, a great story, and amazing performances can all still be muddled if the person in charge drops the ball. That leads me to director Peter Jackson. One thing you discover when watching this film is that Jackson obviously has a deep rooted love for his source material. Great pains were taken to get this movie right; to maintain the heart of Tolkien's books, yet make them accessible to a mass audience, and to transfer the story to film...

Gotta keep tryin' once in a while Tuor... It's a sin that you are missing this....

[HairOfTheDog]

I can ping the spoiler list! - They'll try anything! (I wish it was a review of the extended version! Dang!

FoTR DVD alert!

[HairOfTheDog]

Do you have any experience to add on the widescreen version vs the "other" kind?... I imagine I will get the wide screen version, but it does lose quite a bit of size that way... does the TV-formatted version will just cut off the edges? Should I miss the edges?- or does it "squish" it to fit?

[HairOfTheDog]

Ack.... from above... does the TV-formatted version will just cut off the edges?

[SuziQ]

Hey Mikey, I think he likes it!!
Thank you for the ping, Penny. We are actually going to wait until the extended DVD comes out before we buy it. We'll probably get it for our daughter for Christmas. Unless of course someone has a fabulous sale on the first one that we just CAN'T pass up before the other one comes out! Then we'll just have to have two of them, I guess!

[Rocko]

It usually cuts off the left and right sides; sometimes just the left; sometimes just the right, depending on the acton. I prefer letterbox.

[HairOfTheDog]

Thanks. I will likely buy the letterbox too... although you make the other sound better than I thought if they choose frame-by-frame which side(s) to cut... (I was picturing the same chop through the whole film)

[Penny1]

There are several things they do to make it fit the screen. They do crop the left and right sides, but the other thing they do is "pan and scan" where scenes that normally have more than one character on the screen at a time will instead flip back and forth between the characters. What you miss out on is a lot of interacting between characters and some reaction shots.

I urge you to get the widescreen edition. What will probably happen with a movie like LOTR is all that lovely scenery will be chopped to pieces, characters will be cut out of frames, and shots like the following will likely be unrecognizable:

You know, looking at these I wonder why in the world PJ would even ALLOW a pan-and-scan DVD to be released.

[HairOfTheDog]

Thanks for the fine examples!

[Penny1]

Here's another, in case you need even more convincing....this is the kind of character interaction you miss completely when you watch stuff "pan-and-scan:"

Okay, I'll stop now.... ;)

[HairOfTheDog]

Oh don't stop on my account! - I mean who is still on dial-up these days anyway? heh heh

[ecurbh]

Ring Ping!!

Tolkien Bump-List

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Widescreen)

[maquiladora]

Wow....that was fast. Howard Shore was only composing the music for the DVD scenes about a month ago.

How come he never mentions the extra parts at all?

[ThomasMore]

Looking forward to it Bump!